Yoga Nidra Drum Journey

On this yoga nidra drum journey, we explore our own consciousness using our breath and body as a guide. In this journey, you are invited to listen to different parts of the body, for the wisdom of the body-mind. This practice is on the longer side, and some previous Yoga Nidra experience would be helpful. Get your rest nest ready and enjoy!

Transcript

Welcome to this practice of yoga nidra.

My name is Arielle Ashford and I am so excited that you have found this meditation to help you ease into a peaceful sleep or perhaps taking a break from your busy day.

Get yourself cozy and ready in your rest nest.

Lay back and enjoy.

And as we are making our way there,

Checking in with the body and with all the pillows and blankies.

The eye pillows.

All the different things that you have with you tonight.

Making sure that you are so comfortable.

So comfortable that you may even forget that you have a body.

That's the kind of comfort we are talking about.

Where you can melt into this position for the next 30 or so minutes and drift off into places unknown.

As we are checking in with the body and checking in with all of the things and settling into our space,

Into our rest nest,

Our nidra nook.

Coming right into the breath.

Perhaps this is the first time we are checking in with the breath today.

Perhaps it's the first time this week.

You see how the breath is feeling tonight.

Maybe it's luxuriously long and smooth or maybe you notice this tendency that the breath seems to be getting stuck or caught.

The most simplest of invitations to this area if it feels like it's getting caught to smooth out and relax.

Let this tension begin to ease away.

As we begin to transition from this manifest world into something a little more subtle.

Perhaps you'd like to check in with the body one more time and notice.

Notice if there's any stuck or pent up energy.

If there's any last minute wiggles that feel like they need to express themselves before we tuck ourselves in for this practice.

If anything is saying it needs to be released,

Please feel free to take the liberty and let it express itself.

Let it shake itself out or itch itself or wiggle or anything that it's asking,

The body is asking to happen.

Once those wiggles and tingles and jiggles have all worked themselves out,

Coming back to stillness,

Coming back to the breath.

Perhaps if there was a place where the breath was getting caught before maybe it's worked itself out,

Perhaps you're able to notice.

Breath beginning to get deeper and smoother,

More and more luxurious.

And now into the backside of the body,

All the different points that are touching the earth,

The back of the head,

The shoulders,

The back of the arms,

The hands,

The buttocks,

The thighs,

Calves and heels,

Noticing all of these points and noticing all of these points at the same time simultaneously.

Letting the awareness anchor itself down in the heels and feeling what it feels like to be the consciousness of the heels.

What does it feel like to be a heel of the foot?

Let the awareness run up the backside of the body to the crown of the head.

Feeling into this space and becoming the awareness of the crown of the head,

What does it feel like to be the crown of the head?

And you let the awareness fill both spaces at the same time.

The heels and the crown of the head and noticing the space,

The distance between these two points.

Taking in the length of the body.

And if you'd like,

Letting the awareness come out to the pinky finger of the right hand.

And exploring this pinky finger,

What does it feel like to be this pinky finger?

And let the awareness dance its way over to the pinky finger of the left hand.

Feeling into this space,

What does it feel like to be the pinky finger of your left hand?

And now can you hold both pinky fingers in the awareness simultaneously and feel into the space between the width.

And from the pinky finger of the right hand,

Can you begin to trace an outline around the body from the pinky finger of the right hand to the index finger of the right hand down to the thumb,

Around the thumb,

Up the right arm to the shoulder,

All the way into the neck and around the head,

Taking notice of the placement of hair around the head and down the neck to the left shoulder and down the left arm and continue tracing the body in this way.

You can move as fast or as slowly as you would like,

Taking in the shape,

Taking in the shape of the position of your body.

Seeing the outline of the body,

Noticing all the fingers and toes and spaces in between.

Letting go.

Letting go of this now.

And tuning into any sounds that you hear.

Just as you were in the center of a circle,

Tuning into all the sounds around.

Just seeing sounds that are coming from the right side,

From the left side,

Above the body,

Below the body.

Seeing all of the sounds exist exactly how they are.

Not trying to change them or alter them.

Attach likes or dislikes to them.

Just letting the sounds be what they are,

Existing in their own way.

And as we are taking in all of these sounds,

Let the sense of hearing come closer.

Just the sounds inside of the room.

The sounds even closer.

The sounds even closer until you find the sound of your own breath.

And noticing the breath here,

Sitting with the breath,

Enjoying this peaceful,

Quiet breath.

Perhaps you follow the inhale and feel the belly expand.

Feel the belly deflate on the exhale.

This oxygen is expelled.

It's done its duty for the body.

It is now being released back out into the earth.

You may be nice to stay with this breath for a few moments,

Witnessing this miraculous function that happens without even thinking about it.

Seeing and witnessing this breath.

Could you now release the awareness of the breath and come to rest in the heart center?

And from this space in the heart center,

Could you visualize or imagine a beautiful light beginning to emulate from the heart center,

Whatever color or texture or patterns in this beautiful light that's being emulated from the heart.

When it comes to wrap the body,

The bubble around the body,

Whatever feels the most cozy and in this bubble or cocoon of this most beautiful light,

We know that we are safe.

Perhaps taking a moment to call in any spirit animals or angel guardians,

Spirit guides,

Plant guides,

Fairy guides,

Calling them in to this practice with us.

To preside over,

To heal and to guide.

And as we are here in this beautiful light that is radiating from the heart with all of our protectors around us,

We call in sankalpa.

Perhaps you have found the sankalpa that you are working with or perhaps you'd like to use the group sankalpa of I am safe and able to rest and you'll take this sankalpa and holding it in our hearts,

Mentally repeating it three times to activate this seed to let it germinate and grow in our hearts so that we are able to show up in this world as the best version of ourselves.

And let sankalpa rest.

We will begin our journey around the body.

Different parts of the body will be named and tonight we'll just feel into these body parts and listen,

Listen to the wisdom,

Wisdom of the body.

Listening to the wisdom of the body.

The crown of the head.

Feeling into the crown of the head,

Noticing if there's any sensation here.

To the forehead.

Feeling into the forehead.

Center of the forehead.

Feeling in to the center of the forehead.

The temple,

The right temple and the left temple.

Right side of the head,

The left side of the head.

Back of the head.

The right ear.

The left ear.

Right inner ear.

The left inner ear.

Space between the ears.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Right from the nose.

Slipping in to the right nostril and the left nostril.

Feeling into the space where the breath starts as two and becomes one.

Slipping out of the breath as one and becomes two.

The top lip,

The lower lip.

Slipping inside of the mouth,

The right cheek and the inside of the left cheek.

The teeth,

The gums,

The tongue.

The tongue of the mouth and the bottom of the mouth and the tongue.

Feeling into the whole mouth.

Feeling into the whole mouth.

Right side of the jaw and the left side of the jaw.

Chin.

The neck.

The front of the neck and the sides and the back.

Down into the shoulder blades and the shoulders.

The chest and the collarbones.

Feeling into the arms and the shoulders to the thumbs.

Feeling into the thumbs.

What does it feel like to be a thumb?

Index fingers and the middle fingers.

Ring fingers and the pinky fingers.

Coming back up the arms and the shoulders and the chest.

Down into the heart center.

What does it feel like in the heart center?

Are there any visuals?

Any colors?

Words?

Feelings?

Feeling into the whole ribcage.

The front and the sides and the back of the little ribs.

The space behind the heart.

The right lung and the left lung.

What does it feel like to be a lung?

Do the lungs have anything to tell you?

Slipping down the spine.

Slipping down the spine to the sacrum.

Pelvic bone.

The internal organs.

What does it feel like in the pelvic bowl?

Does it have anything to tell you?

The center of the pelvic bowl and the pelvic floor.

Feeling into the hips.

What does it feel like to be a hip?

Flowing down the channels of the legs.

All the way down to the toes.

The right big toe and the left big toe.

The left second toe and the right second toe.

The right third toe and the left third toe.

The left fourth toe and the right fourth toe.

The right pinky toe and the left pinky toe.

The soles of the feet.

Let the awareness fill the soles of the feet to the crown of the head and from the right pinky finger to the left pinky finger.

Holding the entire body in the awareness.

Holding the entire body in the awareness.

In this moment you are whole.

You are always whole.

You have always been whole.

Holding the entire beautiful perfect whole body in the awareness.

And come back to the breath.

Come back to the breath.

In this breath could you imagine that the breath is originating from just outside the left foot.

On an inhale it travels up through the left side of the body to the center of the forehead.

On the exhale it travels from the center of the forehead back down out the right leg channel.

And as you inhale you inhale from just beyond the right foot up to the center of the forehead.

And exhale from the center of the forehead out and down the left channel.

A sort of mental naughty shodenum.

Letting the inhale right up the left leg to the center of the eyebrows.

And exhale from the center of the eyebrows down the right leg.

Inhaling from the right leg up to the center of the forehead.

Inhaling down the left leg.

And we'll continue breathing in this way.

Iring out the JP.

Letting go of the space.

I'm coming to rest.

Back in the body.

Could you notice the entire body?

Noticing the entire body.

Noticing.

Could you notice the space just outside of the body?

Noticing the space.

Then come back to the body and notice what it feels like to be so deeply grounded in the body.

And notice what it feels like to be just outside of the body.

And could you hold these two experiences at the same time?

Holding them at the same time.

Letting go of this now.

Settling back into the body.

And as we settle into the body,

Could you notice any sensations?

These sensations may be felt in a specific area.

Maybe you have tinglies in one place and creepy crawlies in another place.

Maybe you have a third feeling in a third place.

And all of that is okay.

Feeling into the body for sensation.

And letting these sensations be what they will be.

Perhaps you find that the consciousness wants to move from sensation to sensation.

And let it,

Let it feel free to wander around.

Maybe you come to land on one sensation.

Or maybe it's one part of the body.

And wherever you happen to land,

Could you listen?

And let the thinking mind move out of the way so the body mind may appear.

Listening.

In this course of listening,

It is totally possible that something else,

A different part of the body would like to be listened to as well.

You are so welcome.

As long as you listen.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

You are so welcome.

And this heart beats.

Calling you back.

There is one more stop to make.

On our trip back home.

I want to feeling into the backside of the body.

Feeling into the entire body.

Feeling into the breath and perhaps it would feel really nice to take a big deep long inhale.

Maybe a nice stretch.

Moving at your pace though moving so slowly.

Visualizing the room that you are laying in all the details that you can picture in your mind's eye.

Where you're laying in the room the position of the body.

And only when you are ready moving so so slowly.

And you are so welcome.

Thank you so much for joining me and I will look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you.

Reviews

I've done this nidra 3 times now and I love it! Thank you for creating it--the background sounds, especially the drumming, really transport me. This is my new go-to when I have the time in my day for a longer nidra.