Welcome to this Yoga Nidra.
Thank you for being here.
Begin by building up the earth to meet you.
Gathering any props you may need to support your body in this relaxation.
As you lay your body down upon the earth.
You're invited to take the form of Shavasana.
Arms extended along your sides with palms turned upward in a gesture of surrender and receptivity.
Legs are equal distance apart.
As your ankles gently roll open to each side.
Take a few moments now to land in this space.
Inviting all parts of you to land and arrive fully.
In presence.
Knowing that the whole of you is welcome here.
Inviting all parts of you.
To arrive to this moment in this space.
And when you are ready,
Beginning to close down the gates of your eyes and allowing your eyes to sink into the back of your head.
As you draw your attention inside.
Begin to become aware of the space your body is occupying.
Tracing the edges of your earth body with your awareness.
As you inhale.
Imagine you are breathing in through the pores of your skin.
Breathing out,
Inviting your edges to soften and let go.
With each inhale,
Breathing in through the layer of your skin.
And with each exhale,
Melting into the support.
Melting into the warm,
Nurturing embrace of the earth beneath you.
Continue to follow the cycle of breath as you rest deeper into your yoga nidra nest.
Now begin to become aware of the areas of your body that are connected to the ground beneath you.
Invite your breath into these spaces by breathing in through the nose.
And then let it go through the mouth.
Inviting each part to land and sink deeper.
Shifting your awareness now to the areas of your body that are elevated off the floor.
And in this space,
Inviting the earth to rise up to meet you.
Feel the energetic support of the Earth holding you here.
And imagine she is placing pillows made of clouds into the hollow spaces behind your ankles.
In the small of your low back.
And underneath your neck.
Breathing into these spaces that are supported by the clouds.
And from within these spaces,
Sign out through your mouth as you soften and relax more deeply.
Feel your body held by the earth.
Your Earth body is held.
Support it.
And connected.
To the body of the earth.
As you continue to follow your awareness inside and grow more curious of your inner landscape.
Stay connected to the sound of my voice.
And set an intention to remain awake and aware for the duration of this practice.
Silently,
Repeat to yourself now,
I am awake.
I am aware.
And I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
I am awake.
I am aware.
And I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
The practice of Yoga Nidra now begins.
From the fertile ground upon which you lay.
I invite you to follow your breath downward.
As you begin to draw your breath into the bowl of your pelvis.
Taking a few full nourishing breaths as you arrive here.
Gently awakening this sacred energy center.
Here within you rests a rich,
Living soil bed.
It is within the dark soil that we begin to listen for the seed of Sancalpa.
Sankalpa is a short positive statement rooted in your deepest remembrance.
The remembrance of your true nature.
That which you are.
And have always been.
Planted in the present moment.
It begins with I am.
If you've already been working with the Sankalpa,
Begin to nurture it now.
Otherwise listening within this dark fertile space.
Some possibilities,
Maybe I am safe.
I am supported.
I am lovable.
Or simply I am.
Now begin to sense or imagine planting a seed of light,
Your Sankalpa,
Deep within the rich soil bed of your being.
Your inner earth.
Sliding it down into the dark fertile ground.
Knowing that your Sancalpa is held within the field of potentiality.
Silently repeat your sankalpa three times to yourself now,
Stating it clearly and feeling it with your whole body.
Embodying the words of your Sankelpa.
Embodying this sacred remembrance.
Surrender your Sankelpa now and trust that it will take root and bloom in its own perfect and divine timing.
From this space.
Begin to invite your awareness to rise.
Flowing upward to rest just below your navel.
You may notice a subtle pulse here.
A subtle pulse in the core of you.
From here,
Inviting your awareness to rise to the center of your heart.
Feel the beating of your heart.
Your heart beating with the drum of the earth.
Continue to follow the sound of my voice as we move through your inner landscape.
Inviting the light of your awareness to fill each body part I call upon.
From the center of your heart to the tip of your right hand thumb.
Moving all of your awareness into the tip of your right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
The palm of your hand.
The back of your hand.
Your whole right hand.
The center of your wrist.
Elbow.
.
.
Shoulder.
.
.
Armpit.
Collarbone.
Your whole right arm.
Your whole right arm illuminated by your awareness.
The center of your chest.
And flowing all of your awareness down into the tip of your left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
The palm of your hand.
The back of your hand.
Your whole left hand.
The center of your left wrist.
Elbow.
.
.
Shoulder.
.
.
Armpit.
Left collarbone.
Your whole left arm.
Your whole left arm.
Guiding your awareness back to the center of your chest.
And moving upwards to the center of your throat.
Inviting all of your awareness to inhabit the center of your throat.
Rising upwards,
Feel your whole tongue,
Teeth,
And gums.
The inside of your right cheek.
The inside of your left cheek.
The light of your awareness filling your whole mouth.
Feel your lips and your whole mouth.
The tip of your nose.
Your right nostril.
Left nostril.
Sliding your awareness up to the center between your eyebrows.
Shining the light of your awareness upon your third eye.
Feel the inside of your right ear.
The inside of your left ear.
Meeting in the space between your ears,
In the center of your head.
And from within this space,
Begin to sense,
Feel,
Or imagine bright white light filling the inside of your brain.
As you rest your focus upon it,
Feel this light growing brighter as it fills your whole brain and your whole cranium.
Your whole cranial center.
Radiant light filling your whole cranial center.
Feel this light reaching the top of your head.
The back of your head.
Washing over your brainstem.
And flowing down your spine like a river.
Following this stream of light,
Your awareness,
Down your whole spine.
Feel your whole spine being washed by brilliant white light.
Continue to follow this light downstream.
Feeling the light running down the backs of your legs.
Both calves.
Both ankles.
Both heels.
The soles of your feet,
The tops of your feet.
And filling all 10 toes with this pure,
Beautiful white light.
Feel both feet.
And all 10 toes together.
The light washes over the tops of your ankles.
Kneecaps,
The tops of your thighs.
Both hip bones.
Feel both legs and both feet together at once.
The wave of light fills your pelvic bowl.
Light filling your whole abdomen.
Your whole abdomen filled with light.
Rising up into your heart center.
Feel this light filling your whole center.
Your whole heart.
And from your heart centre,
Following this light down both arms into the palms of your hands.
Feel both arms and both hands together at once.
Invite this light to ripple upwards.
Throat.
Third Eye Center.
The center of your head.
The crown of your head.
Feel this brilliant white light filling your whole body from crown to toes.
Feel your whole body at once.
Light filling your whole body.
Whole body awareness.
Whole body awareness.
Whole body awareness.
Become aware of your body breathing.
Without changing the rhythm or depth,
Simply watch as breath flows in and out.
Notice how your chest,
Lungs,
And abdomen gently expand with each inhale.
And following the flow of energy out as you exhale.
Continue to follow these subtle waves of breath as you begin to count upward from 1 to 12.
Inhaling for one.
Exhaling for one.
Inhaling for two.
Exhaling for two.
Simply following the natural and divine rhythm of your breath as you count upwards to 12.
If you lose track or your mind wanders,
Simply start back at one and begin again.
Wherever you are,
Releasing the counting and resting back in spacious awareness.
Within this space.
Begin to conjure up the sacred objects and images I named.
Allowing them to float through your awareness.
And letting them go just as quickly.
Ancient burial grounds.
Waterfalls.
A wise owl.
A wise elder.
Lush green rainforest.
Dew drop on a morning leaf.
The wise one within you.
The wise one within you.
Icicles melting.
A tiger's face.
Fire crackling.
The beat of a ceremonial drum.
Wind chimes in the breeze.
Ancestors dancing upon a mountain ridge.
Animal bones.
Ancient burial grounds.
Now imagine you are walking down a long winding path in the woods.
You are barefoot as you walk towards the morning sun.
The soil is cushioned beneath your feet.
The sun still rising.
Peers through the trees to greet you.
The light grazes your forehead as it refracts through the branches.
No one else is upon this trail.
It's just you and the birds and the squirrels.
You feel safe here.
While you may not remember,
You have walked this path before.
You're not entirely certain of where you're going.
But you follow the path as it unfolds before you.
Listening to the chirping of the animals.
And the steady sound of your step as your feet gently kiss the earth.
As you continue walking.
Your eyes wander to the low brush.
And you notice the fallen branches.
Fungi,
Flowers and rocks that line the path.
A stone catches your eye.
And you bend down to pick it up.
As you take a closer look,
It shimmers as it catches the light.
Feel this stone inside the palm of your hand as you wrap your fingers around it.
Notice its color,
Texture,
And weight.
This stone chose you,
And so you decide to take it along with you.
Walking into the morning sun.
You continue along the path and can begin to hear the sound of water rushing in the distance.
It is so peaceful here and you feel gratitude for the gift that this new day brings.
As you approach a cluster of trees.
The trail begins to narrow,
And suddenly opens up to a glacier-fed river.
You look out across the clear water and admire the deep valley of trees.
And wide open sky.
The sun continuing to rise overhead.
You take a few steps closer to the water's edge and breathe in the fresh mountain air.
Closing your eyes,
You reach your arms up towards the sky,
Feeling the warmth of the sun drip upon your face.
Drinking in this beautiful day.
As you lower your arms,
You realize you are still holding this precious stone that you picked up along the way.
You decide to return it to the river.
But not before saying thanks.
And so you bring the stone to your heart space and breathe your gratitude into it.
Blessing it with a kiss.
Then you cast it out into the air and see it plunge into the water with a small splash.
As you look up from the water,
You notice a woman standing on a river rock close to the opposite side of the bank.
You sense that she has been watching you.
She is standing with a blanket wrapped around her.
You don't know who she is,
And yet there is a resonance in her presence.
With the river being low,
You decide to cross the waters,
Being careful to step over the rocks.
As you go to meet her on the other side.
As your feet touch the crystal blue waters,
Your whole body feels cleansed and cleared.
Feeling your whole body cleansed and cleared by the glacier-fed water.
As you approach the woman on the other side.
The two of you stand each on a river rock opposite one another and hold each other in presence.
Feet still immersed in the river,
She takes a blanket off of her body and wraps it around yours,
Revealing her wings.
Her hands hold your shoulders.
As your eyes hold one another in view.
Without saying anything,
You pull one another into a beautiful,
Loving embrace.
Stepping back.
You hear a call from high above.
Turning your gaze towards the sky,
You see a bald eagle soaring effortlessly in the breeze.
Her beautiful call echoing through the whole valley.
You shift your focus back to the woman.
But she is no longer there.
Walking up upon the ridge.
You begin to scan the trees along the riverbank.
There is no sight of her.
Laying upon the grass,
You find an eagle feather that has dropped from its wing.
You pick it up and run the feather through your fingertips.
As you trace the fibers of the feather.
You begin to recall your sankalpa.
Sancalpa.
Your sacred vow.
Silently repeat your sankalpa three times to yourself now,
Stating it clearly and embodying it with feelings.
Knowing that it is already true.
Slowly begin to become aware of your body resting upon the earth.
Beginning to find a little bit of movement in your fingers and toes.
Perhaps giving them a little wiggle.
Maybe gently rocking your neck side to side.
As you begin to reawaken your earth body.
You may wish to stay lying here.
Or perhaps roll on to one side.
As all parts of you land back in the space.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
The seen and the unseen are one.
Thank you for this journey.
It was an honor to be with you.
