Hello,
My name is Annie and welcome to this yoga nidra created in honour of the autumn equinox.
The sacred festival where night and day are in balance and harmony.
In this breast ritual,
We'll gently connect with the energy of this season.
Journeying through this balance of light and dark and acknowledging all that has been growing within us,
Whether that is seen or unseen.
We'll pause here at the turning point of the year,
Taking a moment to realign ourselves with the rhythms of nature and allow ourselves to be held by this changing season.
For some of us,
The arrival of the darker months can bring resistance,
A longing for the expansiveness of summer to stay a little longer.
But nature is always there to remind us that the darkness is not an ending.
That we don't always need to be achieving,
Growing and blooming.
There are also seasons for resting,
For turning inward and for nourishing ourselves and tending to the things that matter to us.
Allowing what has already been planted to settle beneath the surface,
Gathering what it needs before the light returns again.
And today will honour both the space that exists between them.
So finding a comfortable place to lie down on a bed or on the sofa or your yoga mat.
You might like to use an eye mask to reduce any light.
And gather some blankets around you to create a cozy yoga nidra space.
As you begin to settle into this practice,
Starting to notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
There's nothing that you need to change or force here.
Just allowing each inhale and exhale to arrive exactly as it is.
Inhaling through the nose.
And exhaling through the mouth.
Seeing if with the exhale you can really embrace that release.
Sinking further into the surface.
And embracing that relaxation.
And releasing any lingering tension.
Checking in with the jaw,
Maybe giving it a little wiggle and then allowing it to soften.
Tuning into the muscles across the forehead.
The eyebrows.
The eyes.
And bringing some awareness to the space behind the eyes.
Letting go of holding in the body and in the mind.
And now just tracing down where the body meets the earth and noticing those contact points.
So from the top of the head.
Following the back down the spine.
Down through the legs to the heels.
Feel that surface grounding you and holding you through this practice today.
And as the body begins to soften,
I'd like to tell you a little bit about the season that we're resting in today.
And as I do,
You can simply maintain a gentle awareness of your breath.
You don't need to listen closely to every word.
Just letting the words wash over you.
Guiding you into the energy of the season.
The autumn equinox is the moment where the night and day are in equal and perfect harmony,
Before slowly starting to tilt into the darker months of the year.
As the wheel begins to turn,
We can give thanks to the earth and the generosity of nature for the summer's harvest.
For all that he has given and grown for us.
We can also reflect that back to ourselves and consider what over the last six months since the spring equinox has come to fruition.
What can we be grateful for?
What have we learned?
Perhaps there are things that didn't work out as we hoped.
Lessons that came through difficulty.
Things that needed to change.
And what has been simmering under the surface that may be ready to nurture during the winter months.
It's a time to give thanks to ourselves and to the world around us,
To celebrate our abundance.
But also to recognise that abundance isn't only about what we can see.
Some of the most important things are growing quietly beneath the surface.
Maybe that's your roots,
Your ideas,
Relationships,
Understanding and learning and rest.
And as we stand at this powerful point between the seasons where the light and the dark distribute themselves evenly through the world,
It reminds us of the beauty of balance.
As a vibrant external energy of summer begins to soften and surrender into autumn's slower and more restful energy.
It offers a powerful transitional moment where our own energies can balance,
Which we'll be exploring in the Nidra today.
Seasonal harvest traditions have been celebrated across cultures for thousands of years.
In many modern pagan traditions,
The autumn equinox is known as Mabon,
A name adopted in the 1970s inspired by a figure from wealth mythology,
The divine son of the divine mother Mordron.
Across different cultures,
Stories of descent into darkness or the underworld,
And of return,
Have helped people make meaning of the changing seasons.
They remind us of the cycles of growth,
Decay and rebirth,
Both within ourselves and in the natural world.
Perhaps the most well-known of these stories is that of Persephone,
The daughter of Demeter,
The Greek goddess of agriculture and the harvest.
According to Greek mythology,
Persephone was taken to the underworld by Hades.
In her grief and longing for her daughter,
Demeter withdrew her gifts from the earth so the land and the crops became barren.
Eventually,
Persephone was permitted to return to her mother,
But because she had eaten seeds of the pomegranate while in the underworld,
She was bound to return there for part of each year.
Her return to the world above became associated with the renewal of spring,
With her time in the underworld becoming linked with the Earth's descent into autumn and winter.
Autumn also invites us to embrace another figure from the cycles of the seasons.
The crone.
The hag.
The wise old woman.
The part of the feminine archetype that has become feared or hidden and pushed aside.
The crone energy stops performing for approval.
She has survived and lived through the seasons.
She sets firm boundaries,
She knows that things change,
And she trusts her internal intuition over the world's noise.
So perhaps taking a quiet moment now to reflect on a few things that you're grateful for over the past season.
These can be big things,
Or they can be very small things.
Something you worked hard for.
Something unexpected,
Or maybe even something that you almost didn't notice.
And allowing your body to soak in that gratitude.
So as we move into the yoga nidra practice,
We'll start by setting a sankalpa.
A sankalpa is a positive intention for your practice,
So if you have one already,
Then you can go ahead and say that three times.
And if you don't,
Maybe this season of the equinox can inspire it.
So,
Using the phrase,
I trust the cycles of light and darkness within me,
And I welcome the change that is unfolding.
And repeating that to yourself three times.
Trust the cycles of light and darkness within me.
And I welcome the change that is unfolding.
We will now begin the rotation of consciousness part of the Nidra.
So resting your awareness and intention at each part of the body that I name and inviting relaxation wherever is needed.
You might like to imagine a soft,
Gentle,
Warm light resting in each place as you bring your awareness there.
Representing that inner light always within you that you can carry through the season.
Or you can simply just notice the physical sensation of each body part.
So beginning in the mouth.
The tongue resting in the mouth.
The tip of the tongue.
The root of the tongue,
The teeth.
The gums.
The inner cheeks.
The upper lip.
The love of it.
And the whole mouth together.
The jaw.
The hinge of the jaw.
Allowing and noticing some space between the teeth.
The right ear.
The left ear.
Feeling the inner ears,
Noticing any sound in this moment.
The nose.
The bridge of the nose.
The flow of breath at the nostrils.
A warm inhalation.
And the cooling exhalation.
The eyes.
The eyelids.
And the space behind the eyes.
Inviting some softening here.
The forehead.
The space between the eyebrows.
Feeling the temples.
Scout.
Ground of the head.
The back of the head.
The throat,
The front of the throat and the back of the throat.
The chest.
Feeling into that gentle rise and fall.
The heart space.
The upper back.
Shoulder blades.
The space between the shoulders.
Moving to the right arm and feeding into the upper arm.
The elbow.
Forearm.
The wrist.
Arm of the hand.
And back of the hand,
The thumb.
The first finger.
The second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Back to the palm of the hand.
Rest.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder and then feeling the whole of the right arm and the hand together.
All of the sensations in the right arm and hand.
Onto the ribcage.
The waste.
Whole of the thigh.
The knee.
Lower leg.
And cold.
Eel.
Top of this up.
The sole of the foot.
The big toe.
The fast toe.
The second toe.
Third toe.
And the little toe.
And now expanding awareness into the whole of the right leg and the foot together.
Now feeling into the whole of the right side.
And now over to the left arm.
The upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
The risk.
Um.
.
.
The back of the hand.
The thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Or finger.
Back to the palm.
The rest.
Auram.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
The shoulder.
And now feeding the whole of the left arm and the hands and the fingers together.
Down to the ribcage.
The waste.
Whole of the thigh.
The knee.
Lower leg.
And cold.
A heal.
Top of the foot.
The soul of the foot.
Big toe.
Fast toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
And the fourth toe.
And now expanding into the whole of the left leg and the foot together.
And now bringing your awareness up to the heart centre.
Our emotional and our spiritual centre.
Just tuning in here and feeding the energy for a moment.
Now expanding that awareness into the whole of the body.
Sensing the body as one.
Separate parts with one field.
Feeding into that energy and all of the sensations.
Now noticing the body breathing.
Not the idea of the breath,
But the felt movement in the body.
Subtle rising of the belly.
And a soft wall aiming.
Like the tide coming in.
And out.
Allowing this movement to happen on its own.
And now further expanding your awareness,
Seeing if you can notice the space around your body.
The space just beyond the outline of your body.
Perhaps even sensing your energy field.
Allowing the edges of the body to soften a little into the space around you.
The boundary between the body and space becoming less distinct and blurred.
We'll now move into the visualisation part of the practice.
As I guide you on a gentle journey through the autumn equinox.
You don't have to force any of these images.
You can,
Again,
Just let the words wash over you.
And as always,
If nothing feels right,
You can just take a moment to breathe and rest in this space.
Imagine yourself walking through an autumnal woodland,
Where the season has started to transition.
There are still traces of summer lingering around.
Along the hedgerows,
Berries are beginning to deepen into rich shades of red and purple.
The last wildflowers are blooming still around you,
Their colours scattered amongst the grass,
Like little remnants of summer.
But the light feels softer.
The air feels crisper and the forest floor is collecting the first fallen leaves.
Some of the trees are still a deep green.
While others are shifting to a deep copper.
With their golden and amber leaves beginning to crunch.
You see conkers that have fallen on the floor,
Mushrooms appearing amongst the moss.
And you take in the earthly scent of the world around you.
You make your way towards the top of a gentle hill,
Where a huge old ancient tree stretches through the landscape.
Its trunk is wide and weathered,
Its branches reaching out in every direction.
This tree has survived countless seasons.
It has known bright summers,
Cold winters,
Storms,
Drought,
Growth and release.
You find a comfortable place beneath its branches to sit,
Allowing yourself to rest against the earth.
And as you sit,
Perhaps imagining roots beginning to grow from the bottom of your body or the soles of your feet.
Slowly extending down into the earth.
Through the soil,
Deeper into the ground.
Until your roots connect with the great roots of the ancient tree.
You feel yourself becoming grounded here.
Held by the air.
And now imagine that,
Just like the ancient tree,
You have everything you need within the earth beneath you.
And taking a moment to draw up whatever nourishment you need for the season ahead.
Noticing what you might need some more of.
Is it right?
Creativity.
Connection.
Patience or courage.
Maybe there's something you want to give more space to or to nurture.
Whatever comes to you,
Allowing your roots to draw it upwards.
And really feeling,
Bringing it slowly into the body.
From beneath the tree,
You can see the horizon stretching out ahead of you.
And the sun is beginning to set.
The last of the day is glowing across the landscape,
And behind you the woodland is beginning to fall into shadow.
You notice that you are sitting between the two.
The light in front of you and the darkness behind you.
You are sitting at the threshold.
In this liminal space where magic and transformation happens,
Here at the Equinox.
In Yoga Nidra,
We often explore the experience of opposites,
Allowing ourselves to experience two seemingly different sensations and then holding them together.
And the Equinox offers us a perfect chance to reflect and practice this.
So seeing if you can sense the warmth of the setting sun on your skin.
And then the coolness of the evening air around you.
And without forcing anything.
Seeing if you can invite both of those things to be experienced at once.
The warmth and the coolness.
And now feeding into the energy of expansion.
Maybe you feel that in your chest.
Sensing activity and external energy.
And then tuning into stillness.
What does the stillness feel like in your body?
And then gently holding both of these together.
Feeling into that expansion and contraction.
And then feeding into the sense of holding on.
And then the feeling of releasing and letting go.
And seeing if you can then hold these energies together.
Here in this season we can hold the light and the dark.
And perhaps today in this practice,
We can meet the darkness with curiosity rather than fear and resistance.
Because nature doesn't treat darkness as something to be defeated or pushed away.
It's necessary in all processes.
So as the final light disappears from the sky,
The evening becomes cooler.
And you begin to make your way gently down the hill back towards the woodland.
And as you walk between the trees,
You notice a warm glow ahead.
And tucked amongst the trees is a small woodland cottage.
There's candles in the window and the scent of cinnamon and apples guide you inside.
Immediately you feel the warmth.
There's a fire glowing softly.
The candles flicker around the room.
There are blankets everywhere waiting for you.
Dried herbs are hanging from the beams,
And acorns and conkers are collected from the woodland.
There are books stacked beside the fire and warm drinks to nourish you.
Reminders of the season are all around.
You wrap yourself in a soft blanket and settle somewhere comfortable beside the fire.
Listening to the gentle crackling of the flames.
Feeling the warmth against your skin.
And perhaps notice the sound of the wind outside.
And you're feeling safe and cosy and warm and held inside.
And the darkness outside hasn't made the warmth disappear.
If anything,
It has made you notice it more,
And the fire is brighter.
Because of the darkness outside.
And you can be in this cozy scene for as long as you need.
If you're ready to make your way back,
Just know that you can come back to these places of comfort and safety and warmth whenever you need it throughout the season.
And now gently bringing your awareness back towards your sankalpa.
Your quiet intention for this practice.
I trust the cycles of light and darkness within me.
And I welcome the change that is unfolding.
I'm just repeating this to yourself three times.
And begin to notice the body resting here.
Feeling into the surface beneath you.
Noticing your breath,
Perhaps starting to deepen it.
Bringing a little more awareness back into the physical body.
Maybe gently moving the fingers and the toes,
Rolling the shoulders.
Stretching the body if that feels good.
There's no need to rush.
You can take your time.
When you're ready.
Just allowing your eyes to gently open.
Letting in the light around you.
Returning slowly from this place of rest.
And perhaps carrying with you the wisdom of the equinox,
That there is beauty in the changing.
Thank you so much for sharing this practice with me today.
I like to think of these practices as rest rituals,
A way of connecting with the season and its traditions through imagination,
Intention and deep rest.
You're always welcome to return here whenever you need and if you'd like to continue resting together you can find more of my yoga nidras,
Meditations and seasonal rituals here.
