Yoga Nidra Forest Walk
This is a standard format Yoga Nidra, which includes settling, Sankalpa, body scan, breathwork, and visualisation. The visualisation for this practice begins in a field and transports us to a cave temple where we resonate again with our Sankalpa.
Transcript
Settle in and find a nice,
Comfortable place on your back.
Placing a cushion under your knees.
Letting the knees fall out a little to the side.
Sinking the shoulder blades into the earth or the bed.
You can have your palms facing up or down.
A little bit away from the side of your body.
Just taking a gentle breath in through your nose.
And sighing that out through the mouth.
Now bring your attention to the world around you.
Just listen.
What is the furthest sound you can hear?
Now drawing your attention closer to the sounds near and around you.
Allow yourself a moment to become aware of all sensations around you.
Sounds.
Smell.
Temperature.
Feel these and connect with them.
Visualise your body resting on the floor.
Now become aware of your own physical presence.
Go deeper inside now.
Deep inside to notice your heart's deepest longing.
What does your heart desire?
Create a sankalpa,
An intention,
Affirmation based on this heart's longing.
A positive statement in the present tense.
As though it's already happening.
For example,
I flow through life with ease and peace.
I am relaxed.
When you've come up with your own intention,
Sankalpa state,
Say it three times as though it is already happening.
Now bring your awareness back to your body on the floor.
Keep as still as possible without building up any stress.
Notice each part of your body as it is mentioned.
Notice if you find this practice easy or difficult.
Notice if any specific parts of your body are more difficult to sense.
Sense the entirety of your body all at the same time.
Feel your entire physical presence.
Now let that go.
Bring your attention to your right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and ring little finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the hand,
Your wrist,
Forearm,
Right elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the ribcage,
Your waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Your right ankle,
Heel,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Now the toes,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth and fifth toe.
Now bring your attention to your left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and little finger,
The palm of the left hand and the back of the hand,
The wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit.
Bring your attention to the left side of the ribcage,
Waist,
The hip,
Thigh,
Left knee,
Shin,
Calf and ankle,
The left heel,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot and now the toes,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth and fifth toe.
Now bring your attention to the back of the body,
The heels where they touch,
The bed or the floor,
Calves,
Back of the thighs,
Both of the buttocks,
The lower back,
The middle back,
The upper back,
Shoulder blades,
The neck,
The base of the skull and the back of the head,
Coming up over the crown of the head to the front of the body,
Forehead,
Eyebrows,
The eyes,
Nose,
The left cheek and the right cheek,
The top lip,
The bottom lip,
The inside of the mouth,
The teeth,
The chin,
The neck,
Collarbones and the top of the chest,
The whole ribcage,
The upper abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
Pelvis and the pelvic bone,
The groin,
The groin,
Thighs,
Kneecaps,
Shins,
Top of the ankle and the foot,
Now all of the toes together and the space between the toes,
The whole body relaxed,
Heavy and still.
Bring your awareness now to your breath,
Feel the breath entering into the body through the nostrils,
Follow the breath as it moves into the chest and the abdomen and now as you exhale,
Follow the breath as it moves from the abdomen to the chest and back through the nostrils,
Feel enlivened by the inhale and relaxed by the exhale,
Then feel each breath as energy and count these breaths up to 12 and then back down again,
One breath in through the nostrils,
Travelling down the throat to the chest and into the abdomen,
Exhaling the way it came,
Up through the chest,
Throat,
Exiting through the nose as one,
Repeat this to the count of 12,
If you lose your count at any moment,
That's okay,
Let that go and just start again from the beginning.
Feeling enlivened by the inhale,
Relaxed by the exhale.
When you reach 12,
Then count back from 12.
Now let those breaths go,
Return to breathing normally.
Clear your mind of any control of the breath.
I'd like you to imagine that you are standing outside in nature,
Feeling your bare feet on the earth,
You are standing in an open meadow,
Surrounded by a lush forest,
Tip your face upward to feel the warmth of the sun,
Smell the wildflowers in the air,
In the distance you see a path into a forest,
You walk towards the path and step into the forest.
Once inside the forest,
Your eyes adjust to the shade of the trees and the path continues in front of you,
Winds easily up the gentle hillside,
Sunlight shines through the trees and the birds are singing in the distance,
You continue on the path as it climbs steadily uphill.
Near the top of the hill you see a small opening in the side of the mountain,
This opening is a cave,
You feel drawn to the cave and walk towards it.
Within the cave you see a single lit candle,
You realise that you've stumbled into a sacred temple,
You sit down upon the earth and a sense of calm washes over you,
You feel at peace with all that is,
You need nothing from the outside world,
You gaze into the candle flame and drop into deep meditation.
In the middle of the flame you see the purest golden seed untouched by the flame,
On the surface of this seed you see your sankalpa inscribed,
Gaze into the flame once again,
The seed is no longer in the flame and the seed is now in your heart,
Repeat your sankalpa three times quietly,
Internally,
Gently and with meaning.
You may lay here as long as you like melting into this feeling of peace,
If you wish to stay here in Shavasana then please feel free to remove your headphones and continue to relax.
If you wish to begin bringing awareness back into your body then we do so gently,
We bring our mind back to our breath,
Again following the breath from the tip of the nose,
Travelling down the throat into the lungs,
Expanding the chest and belly,
Exhaling the opposite way,
The air travelling up from the belly,
Out of the lungs,
Through the throat,
Exiting the nostrils.
Do this a couple of times.
Now begin to bring small movements to your body,
Perhaps wiggling the fingers and the knees,
Maybe bringing the knees into the chest to give them a big hug,
Maybe rocking a little side to side,
Those knees held close to the chest and when you are ready,
Rolling onto your preferred side,
Taking a few more breaths here.
