Nidra Works - Yoga Nidra | Autumn

A Nidra practice celebrating the season of Autumn. Such a glorious time, the turning of the trees, the yellows, golds, and reds, an astonishing display of nature, a time of transition from summer to the coming winter. And like the changing of the seasons, the leaves turning colour and falling from the trees, autumn is also a wonderful reminder to us to also know it's ok to let go… to let things be, and trust in nature and life. I hope you enjoy it.

Transcript

Settle into this practice, Your practice, And remember that there is no right way to do nidra, Nothing you need to know or understand before you practice. Just come with an open mind and let go of all expectation, All judgement, And just trust yourself in the process. Settle now into comfort, The most comfort you can imagine. Bring pillows, Cushions, Blankets and bolsters and create your own very special nidra nest. Let yourself discover a sense of being really supported as you lay on your back in shavasana, Your arms by your sides or lightly on your belly, Your legs hip width apart, Your feet falling open ever so slightly, And just let go. Feel the ground or your bed beneath you support and hold you as you take rest, Your rightful space to rest. And just when you think you've reached your point of greatest comfort, Just ask yourself if there's anything you can do to make yourself just that little bit more comfortable. Perhaps if you have a blanket over you, You could tuck it in around the sides and over your feet to give yourself a real sense of containment. And just let go. Really let go. Now there is nothing for you to do. Nowhere to go, No one to see and no one to tend to other than yourself. Let go of the thinking and the doing, Inviting a sense of feeling and being. That's all you need to just be. If you've not already done so, Gently close your eyes and if you prefer not to close your eyes that's absolutely fine. Just gently lower your gaze as you start to fill your belly with a deep breath in through the nose. Take a little more air into your chest and now hold your breath for one, Two and then sigh it out and let it go. Again, Breathe deeply into your belly feeling it rise on the inhale. Take a little more air into your chest and hold for one, Two and then sigh it out and let it go. Continue in your own time with your own breath. Make a resolve now to stay awake during this practice. But if any time you feel yourself drifting to sleep don't fight it, You can just let your body do what it needs to do today. Your body knows best. I will be guiding you through the practice with my voice and will bring you back to everyday awareness at the end. But again if at any point you want to let go of my voice just trust yourself. And if you want to let go of any invitation I may offer for visualisation, Again trust yourself, You know what's best for you. This is your practice, Take what you need and leave what you don't. Remember you can't get this wrong. Breathing normally now in and out through your nose, Feel the weight of your body start to sink into the ground knowing you are completely supported and completely held. Let go. Allow your muscles to relax, Your face to soften, Your eyebrows softening, Your eyelids softening, Your eyes relaxing back into their sockets, Your temples letting go of all tension, Your jaw becoming soft, Your teeth and your tongue relaxing, Everything letting go. Feel your shoulders drop now as the weight of your world is put down for this time, Your chest gently opening with a sense of soft release, Your belly free and easy, All tension gone, No more holding on. Feel your hips opening as you sink deeper still into the ground beneath you, Your legs relaxing, Letting go of all tension, All the way to your feet, Just let everything go. Bringing your attention back to your breath now, Just observe and notice the sensations inside the body as you inhale beautiful freshly oxygenated air, Filling your body, Your whole body with all that you need. Everything that nourishes and feeds your body, Your whole body, Your beautiful whole body. And on the exhale notice how everything softens just that little bit more, Your muscles losing their grip on your bones, Everything letting go, Allowing yourself this time to simply be. Become aware of your body, Your whole body as it's lying in this space. Without opening your eyes or lifting your gaze, Bring into your mind and attention the space your body is lying in. See through your mind's eye, The walls, The door, Windows perhaps, Just observe yourself in this space, This safe and restful space. Now begin to notice sounds around you, They might be sounds from the external world, My voice perhaps or birdsong, The sound of children playing, Cars or anything else you may hear outside yourself. Or perhaps you hear the sound of your own breath inside your body moving effortlessly in and out of your body with ease. And without any engagement just be aware of these sounds, Curious but just observing. Take an invitation now to come home to yourself and feel where that resonates inside your body. Trust yourself in where you feel this to be, Your home within yourself. Asraya, Your sacred sanctuary within, The place that's been with you forever and that will be with you forever, Your centre of wellbeing. And breathe into that space knowing that it's a safe and pure space and somewhere you can go back to at any time you want. We now make our sankalpa, Our intention, Our heartfelt desire. The word sankalpa comes from kalpa meaning vowel and san meaning our connection with our highest truth. This invitation is for us to connect with that which honours our deepest desire in our life, Our deepest meaning in life, Our purpose. And today maybe let your sankalpa come to you. Trust what comes, It's always present, Has always been here for you, Waiting for you to name it and own it. And whatever your sankalpa, As a short positive statement in the present tense, Repeat it to yourself silently three times. And if nothing comes today, Maybe just stay with your centre of wellbeing, Of your home within yourself, Honouring that place which you know to be your true source within. We will go around the body now, Naming different points. As you hear the name of each body part, Bring your attention to that place, Maybe silently repeat it to yourself. And as we go around the body today, Perhaps imagine beautiful beams of the low autumn sun shining softly through the trees ever so gently, Touching the points around your body with an autumnal golden glow. Whatever image works best for you, Trust your intuition and the invitation. We start at the right hand thumb. Bring your attention to the very tip of your right hand thumb. Feel the glow of the autumn sun ever so lightly touch the very tip of your right hand thumb. First finger, Second finger, Third finger, Little finger, Thumb and fingers together, Thumb of the hand, Back of the hand, Your right wrist, Forearm, Elbow, Upper arm, Shoulder, The right side of your torso, Your right hip, Thigh, Knee and the space at the back of the knee, Lower leg, Right ankle, Heel, Sole of the foot, Top of the foot, The very tip of your right big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe and little toe. All your toes together the whole of the right side of your body. Now bring your attention and awareness to your left hand, The very tip of your left hand thumb. See a beam of gorgeous autumn sunshine, Gently touch the tip of your left hand thumb. First finger, Second finger, Third finger, Little finger, The thumb and fingers together, Palm of the hand, Back of the hand, Left wrist, Forearm, Elbow, Upper arm, Shoulder, The left side of your torso, Your left hip, Thigh, Knee and the space at the back of the knee, Lower leg, Left ankle, Heel, Sole of the foot, Top of the foot, The very tip of your left big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe, Little toe. All your toes together, The whole of the left side of your body. Now take your attention to the crown of your head and seeing the golden sunlight, Gently touch the crown of your head, See how you are radiating, Glittering, Resplendent with this golden light, Your forehead soft and spacious. Bring your attention and your beautiful golden light to lightly touch your right eyebrow, Left eyebrow, Right eye, Left eye, The space between your eyebrows, Right ear, Left ear, The space between your ears, Your right cheek, Left cheek, Your nose and the very tip of your nose, Your upper lip, Your lower lip, Both lips together, Your chin, Your throat, Right collarbone, Left collarbone, Right side of your chest, Left side of your chest, Right groin, Left groin, Your pelvic floor, The whole of the right leg shining bright, The whole of the left leg, Both legs at the same time, Both legs together, The whole of the right arm shimmering and glistening with golden light, The whole of the left arm, Both arms at the same time, Both arms together, The whole of your back, Buttocks, Spine, Shoulder blades, The whole of your front, Chest, Abdomen, The whole of your back and front together shining bright, The whole body together, Inside, Outside, To the front, The back, Radiating with light, The whole body together, The whole body together at ease, Exhale and let it go. This ease might give way to effortlessness and a feeling of lightness, A wonderfully light sensation in your body, Feel your body become light, As light as a leaf, Gently floating in the breeze as it almost dances its way down to the ground, Letting go, A sense of lightness in your body, Completely weightless, Bright and weightless. And now feel your body become heavy, Sense the heaviness of your head on the floor, Your bones on the ground, Become aware of a feeling of sinking deep into the earth, Like the roots of the trees, Feel a sense of heaviness and deep rooted connection with the earth. Now feel the opposites of a sense of lightness and then a sense of heaviness, Of heaviness and lightness and maybe with your breath go between these two states, On your inhale feel how light you are and on your exhale feel the heaviness, Inhaling your body becomes light as light as a falling autumn leaf, Exhaling feel your body heavy and deep rooted as a beautiful autumn tree, Golden in the sun. Continue in your own time and with your own breath. Now hold them together in your mind's eye, Lightness and heaviness together, Heaviness and lightness together. Exhale and let it go. Coming back to your breath now, Become aware of your breath inside your body, Observe on your inhale, Feel the air filling your nostrils and going to every part of your body, Then on the exhale again just observing, Feel the air let go, Watch as your whole body decompresses with your exhale and lets go, Sinking ever deeper to the ground beneath you. Continue in your own time with your own breath, Simply observing, No control, No judgement, Just a curious observation. And now begin to notice those parts of your body which are connected to the floor and those which are not. Sense your legs sinking to the floor and the little space behind your knee, Your buttocks and the little space at the top of the thigh, Your back long and flat on the floor and the little space at the small of your back lifted ever so slightly from the floor, Your head heavy and rested on the floor or your pillow and the space at your neck. Again just observe, Just be aware of your body lying in this space and the space that your body is in. Exhale and let it go. I'd like to invite you now to take a little journey. I'll be offering some suggestions but always remember to trust yourself, Your intuition and if anything doesn't sit right don't feel you have to follow what is being suggested. Remember to trust yourself and you can always go back to your centre of wellbeing at any time. Imagine you are in the countryside. It's a beautiful autumn morning, The sun is shining low on the horizon, A gorgeous golden ball rising up from the earth surrounded by orange hues bringing light with the dawn, A soft pink in the sky leading to light pastel blues. There's a gentle mist beginning to clear across the fields. You're walking peacefully along a winding path. It's a little cold, You can see your breath in the air as you exhale but you're so well wrapped up you feel nothing but comfort and ease in this place. The sunshine glistens through a dusting of frost on the ground, Lighting everything up in a magical way. The hedgerows and plants all around are decorated with perfect exquisite diamond-like dew, Everything sparkling anew for the new day. Golden ferns line your pathway, Shafts of golden sunlight beam through the trees ahead of you, Leading you along your way. You reach the end of your path and turn left, Walking along another pathway into an open field. Walking up to the brow of a gentle sloping hill, You come to the top where the world opens up to a wide wide expanse. As far as your eyes can see, Across the soft rolling hills ahead, The autumnal colours shine radiantly and majestically in the rising morning sunshine. A beautiful array of dark greens lit up by crimson reds, Burnt orange and mustard yellows. Ahead of you is a gentle hill sloping downwards towards a small woodland. You walk downwards towards the wood and as you walk you can see the fields either side of you have been harvested, The earth laying at rest now, Ready to ripen again in the spring. The abundance of the harvest is waiting to be enjoyed. You continue downwards enjoying birdsong around you, Maybe the cooing of wood pigeons or the song of skylarks. A few white billowing clouds lay low in what's become the brightest of blues in the morning sky. Everything lit up with a golden sunshine, Nature at its absolute finest. Everything is calm and peaceful. You know you are in a safe place, Together with nature. As you approach the wood you become more aware of all the wildlife around you, Not only the beautiful birds soaring in the sky above. The hedgerows too are brimming with life, Squirrels, Rabbits and more. The sound of the woodland and all its nature within welcoming you into this space. You see a pathway leading into the wood. The path is covered in golden leaves from the trees, Leading away deeper and deeper into the wood. This beautiful safe place, A magic and enchanted place. As you go in you see the boughs of the trees above growing towards each other to form a beautiful arch as you walk deeper still into the wood. The autumn sun shining through the golden leaves, Some of which are falling as you walk, The leaves letting go from the trees, Reminding us it's okay to also let go. The trees around you all shapes and sizes, Each one unique, Give you a feeling of protection, Of safety. You notice beautiful mushrooms growing at the bottom of some trunks in amongst the carpet of golden leaves. Bright red berries in the bushes and brambles overlaid with beautiful ripe blackberries, Nature's last burst of offerings in autumn. You see a little wooden bridge ahead, Leading you over a bubbling stream of the purest spring water. You go over the bridge to the other side. Continuing along your path of golden leaves until you come to a magnificent oak tree, Hundreds and hundreds of years old. Its sturdy trunk as wide as your open arms, Its roots nestling deep into the earth below. This tree represents steadfastness, Solidity, Knowledge and wisdom. You see more leaves from this tree falling ever so gently downwards, Almost dancing in the dappled sunlight. Beautiful golden leaves gently falling all around. And you notice these leaves have fallen to form a golden bed of leaves. The leaves change and become a soft, Luxurious golden blanket, Almost velvet, Inviting you to take rest in the comfort and warmth it offers. And as you lay in your golden bed of autumnal colours, You bring the blanket around you and take rest. The deepest rest possible. Feeling fully enveloped, There is an invitation now to just let go. Lying on your golden bed of leaves wrapped in your blanket, You can finally let go and sink into the earth. Be supported, Be held. You can fully let go. Let go of everything you've been carrying. Let go of everything you no longer need. You don't need to hold on anymore. You can completely let go. And as you take this deep rest, Know your body is being restored. Allowing yourself to be in this state of deep rest, You are enabling your body to renew, To restore, To be nourished and revitalised. Just take a moment to be grateful for having given yourself this time. Be grateful for your incredible body. Be grateful for its innate ability to rest and renew, All by itself. Now return to your experience of yourself in this moment, Here and now, To this breath. Notice how it feels to melt the boundaries of being. To feel that you are the observer of all that is unfolding within you. That you are awareness, Like the air, Everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Resting in the freedom of simply being. May today there be peace within. May you trust you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Now we return to our sankalpa. Repeat your statement again three times silently to yourself and really embody your intention, Your heartfelt desire. Recognise what a gift it is to feel this quality, A full embodiment of this quality and remember you can always return to this feeling whenever you want, Through your awareness to breath. Drawing your attention back to your breath again, Notice it flowing through your nostrils with ease. Breathing softly, Rhythmically, Naturally and feel you are floating back to everyday awareness. Take another long inhale through your nose, Filling your whole body with beautiful fresh air and exhaling, Sigh it out and let it go. Allow an awareness of your whole body as you come back into this space. Feel your clothes and the blankets that cover you. Notice the sensation of your whole body on the floor at ease and at complete rest. Keeping your eyes closed or your gaze low, Start to imagine the external space around you and slowly with no rush drift back into this space, Inviting the effects of this practice to stay with you as you return back into your body, Into this space. Maybe gently start to give movement to your fingers and toes, Waking up your body as you return to this space and when you feel fully awake, Gently blink open your eyes or lift your gaze, Roll to the right and stay on your side for a few moments. There's no rush, Take all the time you need. Using your left hand to slowly push the floor away from you, Come to a seated position. The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Reviews

Wonderful! 🙏🏻

I woke up this morning and it felt like Autumn, An Early autumn. I found this practice to be so gentle, so peaceful, so complete. Thank you Kate.

Kate, with so much thanks and gratitude for this beautiful practice to celebrate the Autumn. A magnificent journey.

Lovely practice!♡°•☆
Thank you so kindly❣️♡~;
🙏🏼✨️🫶🏽 ✨️ 🍃 🍂