This is a Yoga Nidra journey to honor and celebrate Winter Solstice,
The longest and the darkest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Winter is upon us now and it is time to let go,
To surrender,
Slow down and to listen.
So take the time that you need to gather all of your props and create a cozy winter rest nest for yourself,
Just as if you were tucking yourself in to prepare for the dark night.
As we look to the wisdom of the natural cycles,
This is the time of year we are invited to pause,
To turn inward and prepare for the deep rest of hibernation.
As the snow and the rain falls,
A hush or deep sense of silence blankets Mother Earth and all is quiet and still.
The air is cool and crisp and encourages us to retreat home into our cozy dens.
So as we sink into the quietude of this rest,
Take a moment here to quietly whisper your intention to yourself three times and let's begin to rotate our attention through our physical body.
Bring your awareness to the point between the eyebrows,
The forehead,
Top of the skull,
Both eyes,
Both eyes deeply resting now,
Bridge of the nose,
The flow of air inside the nostrils,
Left ear,
Notice the sounds moving into the left ear and the right ear,
Sounds moving into the right ear,
Both ears at the same time and could you take in all the sounds with not only your ears but with your entire body,
Listening with your whole body,
Tip of the tongue,
Roof of the mouth,
Inside of the cheeks,
Space between the lips,
Chin,
Feel the whole weight of the head sinking into your pillow,
Heart center,
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Wrist,
Center of the palm,
Left fingers,
Fingertips,
Could you sense the space around your left hand and your left arm,
To the right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Wrist,
Center of the palm,
Five fingers,
Tips of the right fingers and the space that surrounds your right hand and your right arm,
Sense both hands and both arms at the same time,
Deeply resting,
Awareness back to the heart,
Front of the ribs,
Sides of the waist,
Heels,
Top of the feet,
Soles of the feet,
Tips of the toes and could you sense the space that surrounds the feet and the legs,
Both feet and both legs,
Deeply resting here,
Whole body sinking into the gravitational pull that reminds us to surrender,
Could you sense the whole front side of the body and the back side of the body,
Sense both the front of the body and the back of the body at the same time,
Half of your attention is on the front of the body and the other half is on the back of the body,
Resting,
As your body sinks deeper into stillness now,
Allow your whole awareness to dissolve into the spaces all around you and even as your awareness drifts off,
Could you still sense your body breathing itself,
Your body breathing into stillness,
Feel the pulse of your body as you breathe and feel the pulse of mother earth as you rest,
Moving through you like the ocean tide as your body breathes,
Air moving into your body,
Could you sense deep rest grounding you down,
Allowing the bones and the skin of your body to feel heavy,
Sinking down toward the cool moist soil of the winter,
So heavy as if your entire body could dissolve and stretch into the earth,
Uniting with all of the roots,
Your whole body sinking down and spreading and connecting with all of the earth's resources,
Feel heavy,
Moving up out of the soil,
Rising up as if your body could become light like a feather floating up toward the clouds,
Floating up toward the dark night sky,
Feeling a blanket of the stars over your body holding you,
Realm of the star beings and the ancestors to hold you here,
As if all the particles of your physical body could expand and become one with all the galaxies here your body is light and then sense into the in between space,
The love and the support,
Feel the earth and the sky at the same time and behind closed eyes,
Could you begin to visualize dancing northern lights,
Dancing northern lights,
A white owl flying across the night sky,
A great white owl flying across,
Snuggling up with a warm blanket,
Snuggling with a warm fuzzy blanket,
Shimmering snow underneath the moonlight,
Shimmering snow underneath the moonlight,
Holding a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate holding a warm cup of tea or a cup of hot chocolate,
Stepping into your warm home on a crisp,
Cool night stepping into your warm home on a crisp,
Cool night,
Animals retreating into their dens for the winter season animals retreating into their dens for the winter season,
Dew after a rainstorm,
Lingering drops of dew after a dark stormy sky behind a double rainbow,
A dark stormy sky behind a double rainbow,
Your deeply resting body here on the earth behind a double rainbow,
A dark stormy sky behind a dark stormy sky,
Your deeply resting body here,
Your awareness to wander through the hallways of your mind your awareness to wander through the hallways of your mind,
Be floating between wake and sleep,
Quietly whisper your intention,
Like dropping the seed of your intention here into the dark winter soil so that flowers can bloom in the spring,
To sensing the energy within this room,
You can deepen the breath or maybe start to move your body this winter solstice yoga nidra is now complete
