Yoga Nidra | Embracing The Dark Night

In this yoga Nidra practice, you will be gently guided to connect with yourself in a deep and profound way. By acknowledging every layer of the self, you not only begin to calm the nervous system, you move into the alpha brainwave state, the space between sleep and dreaming. Here, you can begin to rewire your brain and live from your aligned self.

Transcript

Thank you for being here.

My name is Ayla Nova and it is an honor to share the practice of Yoga Nidra with you.

In this practice,

You will be guided to experience your light through one of the darkest nights of the year,

The winter solstice.

With darkness,

There comes challenges and when we learn to sit with our experience rather than pushing it away,

We allow ourselves to honor where we truly are.

This doesn't need to be labeled as good or bad,

It just is what it is in this moment.

Everything is fleeting and this too shall pass.

There is a glimmer of hope that brighter days are on their way.

Take a moment to be exactly where you are right now.

Throughout this Yoga Nidra,

You will be invited to become a witness to your experience,

Releasing any judgment that you've created for yourself so that you can be okay to see yourself as you are.

Through Yoga Nidra,

You expand your awareness by accessing the space between the waking and sleeping state.

From this brainwave state,

You let go of the analytical mind,

Gaining access to the subconscious.

Here you begin to rewrite the programming that holds you back from your full potential.

This is done by planting your Sankalpa,

A heartfelt wish,

Desire,

Prayer or intention.

It must be a positive,

Personal,

Concise,

Present tense I am declaration to self that resonates deeply.

This will become your newly restored belief.

By continually returning to this practice,

Your desire transformation becomes inevitable.

You are invited to take a comfortable position lying on your back.

You may wish to do so on a couch,

Recliner or more traditionally on a yoga mat.

If you are using this practice for sleep,

Lying on your bed is another alternative.

Wherever you may choose to practice,

Please lay on your back with your whole spine in alignment and rest your arms naturally by your sides,

Allowing your shoulders to soften and place your palms skyward,

Allowing the heart to open.

Your forehead will rest slightly above your chin and it is now time to invite the senses to turn inward by closing your eyes,

Shavasana.

Before you begin,

Take one cleansing breath,

Inhale deeply,

Hold your breath at the top,

Enjoy the pause,

Exhale,

Sigh out through the mouth.

One more time for good measure,

Take a deep inhale,

Hold at the top,

Exhale,

Sigh out through the mouth,

Let it go.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

Take a moment to be exactly where you are,

Creating an awareness of your physical body.

Release any desire to escape or dissociate or numb,

Ignore this moment,

See if you can really connect into every edge of your body,

Noticing the outline,

The silhouette,

The fingerprint of your body,

Aware of all of your edges,

Release any labels,

Let go of any expectations or preconceived notions,

Begin to observe,

Noticing the breath moving in and out,

The rise and the fall of the belly,

Aware of your whole being expanding with your inhale,

In a subtle release,

A let go,

With your exhale,

Settle into the container of the room you rest in,

You have created a space for yourself that is comfortable,

So you can begin to trust yourself to be still,

Moving into a non-reactive state,

Rest in your experience,

Allow all that arises to be a messenger,

Welcome these messages,

Listen and observe these messages without engaging,

Holding only space and compassion,

As you witness whatever may arise,

Remain still,

If you respond to any messages by making an adjustment to your body,

Do so with little judgment and then return to your stillness,

Allow yourself to surrender into the space around you,

What is it that you are still holding on to,

Is there any tension you can release from the body,

Are there any stories that can be silenced,

Any dialogue where you can the volume slightly down,

Scan your body from head to toe,

Noticing anything you're holding on to,

From your day,

Your week,

Month,

Year,

Perhaps a lifetime,

Notice if you can become just slightly more relaxed,

Allow your awareness to travel towards the mind's eye,

Place your focus here,

This is a space of intrinsic wisdom,

Insight and intuition and it is where your sankalpa emerges,

An intention that awakens in this present moment,

Existing in all the dimensions of your reality,

Invite this declaration of I am to be instilled by the energy that illuminates the mind's eye,

If the message remains unclear,

See how some of the following sankalpas sit with you,

I trust,

I am enough,

I am worthy,

I am at peace or perhaps simply I am,

In your mind's eye repeat your sankalpa three times,

Plant the seed of intention deeply into the subconscious mind,

I am whatever it may be,

I am,

Declare it to be true,

I am,

Your sankalpa has been planted,

Then you will return to it at the closing of your practice,

Shift your awareness to the body,

Transitioning to the rotation of consciousness,

Anamaya Kosha,

As your attention travels through the physical body,

Sense your edges begin to melt into spaces of comfort,

Ease and well-being,

Surrender into your stillness,

Allowing my voice to become your voice,

As you move through the awareness of your physical body,

Imagine that a light is shining onto your body,

Bringing awareness to every part of yourself,

Shining light onto the right hand thumb,

The right hand thumb,

The right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Back of the hand,

Palm of the hand,

Whole right hand,

Light shining onto the whole right hand,

Whole right hand,

Shining onto the right forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder,

Right shoulder,

Right shoulder,

Light shining onto the collarbone,

Underarm,

Right side of the chest,

Right side body,

Right side of the abdomen,

Awareness lighting up the right hip,

Right hip,

Right hip,

The top of the leg,

The back of the leg,

The right glute,

Awareness shining light onto the right knee,

The back of the knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

The right ankle,

The right ankle,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

All five toes,

All five toes,

All five toes in awareness,

The right foot,

Right leg,

Right side body,

Right arm,

Right hand,

Fingers and thumb,

Awareness of the whole right side of your body,

Shine light on the whole right side of your body,

Shine your awareness now into the left hand thumb,

Left hand thumb,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Back of the hand,

Palm of the hand,

Whole left hand,

Whole left hand,

Whole left hand lit up with awareness,

Sensations moving into the left wrist,

Up your forearm,

Left elbow,

Upper arm,

Light shining onto the left shoulder,

Left shoulder,

Left shoulder,

Shining awareness across the left collarbone,

Left side of the chest,

Underarm,

Left side body,

Left abdomen,

Left side hip,

Left hip,

Left hip,

Sense your awareness shine onto the left glute,

Back of the leg,

Top of the leg,

Knee,

Left knee,

Shin,

Left ankle,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

All five toes,

All five toes,

All five toes and awareness,

Sensing the whole left foot,

The whole left leg,

Left side body,

Left arm,

Left hand,

Fingers and thumb,

The whole left side of the body,

Light it up with your awareness,

Rotate your consciousness now to the crown of the head,

Every follicle of hair on the crown of the head,

The energetic space above the head,

Aware of the forehead,

The sensations around your temples,

Awareness of the eyebrows,

Softening of the eyebrows,

Eyelids,

Every single eyelash,

Aware of the orbs of sensation of the eyes,

Beyond the eyelids,

Deep into the skull,

The cheekbones,

The bridge of the nose,

To the tip of the nose,

Lighting up the awareness around the nostrils,

Both nostrils,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

Sense both lips together,

Point of the chin,

Stretching your awareness along the jawline,

Lighting up the space below the ears,

Awareness shining onto both ears,

Aware of the craters and curves of both ears,

The band of awareness that wraps around towards the back of the skull,

The base of the skull,

Connecting to the neck,

Cervical spine,

Top of the neck,

Awareness running up and down the spine,

Past the thoracic and lumbar spine,

All the way to your tailbone,

Lighting up awareness of the alignment of your spine,

Your whole spine in awareness,

Awareness traveling to your shoulders,

To your shoulder blades resting down onto the earth below you,

Light shining onto your shoulders and your collarbones,

Light shining down the right arm towards the fingertips and thumb,

Then spanning back across the collarbones towards the left arm,

Awareness lighting up the whole left arm,

All the way to your fingertips.

Now experience the lightness of both arms,

Aware of the sensations as you light up both arms in awareness.

Shine your awareness back towards your throat,

Your collarbones and shoulders,

Aware of the light shining onto your chest,

Your ribs,

Light shining along both sides of your body,

Past your abdomen,

Towards your hips,

Awareness lighting up towards the pubic bone,

Light shining onto your reproductive organs,

Aware of both hips,

Aware of both glutes,

Lighting up awareness along the back of the legs,

The hamstrings and calves,

Lighting up awareness onto the top of the legs,

Upper and lower legs,

Aware of the sensations in both knees,

Both ankles,

Allowing for the awareness to travel into the right foot,

All the way up the right leg,

The right hip,

Sweeping across the pelvis to the left hip,

Down the left leg,

Past the knee,

The ankle,

The whole left foot lighting up in awareness,

Light up the awareness from the left to the right leg,

Traveling back and forth,

Sensing and feeling your way from the left to the right,

The right to the left,

Experiencing both legs,

Experiencing both feet,

Awareness lighting up the soles of the feet,

Up your legs,

Your torso,

Across your chest and out through both hands,

Aware of the sensations in both arms,

Both shoulders,

Your whole neck,

Your whole head in awareness,

From the soles of the feet to the crown of the head,

Experience the sensations that expand through your whole body,

Your whole body in awareness,

Lighting up your whole body in awareness,

Shining light on every dark part of yourself,

Experiencing yourself as a whole and complete being,

Pranamai kosha,

Vital life force,

Not only in your breath,

But in your whole body,

Experience your inhales,

Every inhale noticing the temperature,

The rise of the chest and the belly,

The filling of the lungs,

With every exhale,

Notice the fall of the chest,

The fall of the belly,

Emptying of the lungs.

With your inhales,

The space is created around your organs as the diaphragm lifts.

Notice that as you exhale,

The diaphragm massages the internal organs,

Calming the nervous system.

When you connect with your next inhale,

Without any manipulation,

Begin to say and chant within the word so.

Place the word so with every inhale into the mind's eye,

Allowing the breath to travel inward.

And when you connect with every exhale,

Say the word,

Chant the word hum internally.

So that as you inhale,

You chant internally so.

And as you exhale,

You chant internally hum.

Inhale so,

Exhale hum.

Inhale so,

Exhale hum.

Continue to chant this mantra,

Allowing yourself to feel it vibrate into your whole body,

Your whole being,

Your whole self.

Inhale so,

Exhale hum.

So hum.

Release the mantra.

With your next exhale,

Steep into your stillness.

Simply be.

Release any attachments.

As you move now into the emotional body,

Mata maya kosha,

In this fluid space of equanimity,

You are invited to sense harmony in all opposing forces.

There is this deep knowing that you are in a space where exploring these opposing sensations is merely a part of your human experience.

Return to your neutral place within.

Remain in the seat of the witness and begin to experience what it is to have abundance.

Draw into the subconscious void what it is to be abundant.

Notice how it feels within when you are calling this abundance.

Aware of the sensations that are here.

Abundance,

Abundance,

Abundance.

Notice any messages here for you.

Allow them to be visitors,

Just passing by.

Abundance.

Now release this abundance.

Any stories that come along with it,

Allow them to drift away.

Returning to a neutral space where you are,

Unaffected,

And begin to now experience scarcity.

Notice all that arises within when you experience scarcity.

Perhaps there are sensations in the body.

Perhaps a memory of a time you have experienced scarcity.

Allow yourself to be in the space of the witness as it all arises.

Scarcity,

Scarcity,

Scarcity.

Now release.

See if you can let go of this scarcity.

Releasing any stories you may be holding on to.

Allow it to all drift away to the space around you.

Come to a neutral space and begin to invite abundance back.

And now notice abundance within the scarcity.

And now scarcity within abundance.

Move into the sensations of scarcity and abundance that you have recently experienced.

Moving back and forth between scarcity and abundance.

Abundance and scarcity until they become one.

Notice the sensations within when you hold the experience as one.

And now release.

Let it all go.

Let it drift away.

Remain in the seat of the witness.

And begin to experience now creation.

Notice what arises when you are creative.

Draw into the subconscious void a space where you can create.

This is a space for creation.

Creation,

Creation.

Notice what ignites in you.

Notice the part of yourself that feels the most alive with creation.

Sense the expansion of the creation to all of your edges.

And allow it to dissolve.

Returning to a place of neutrality where you can begin to now experience destruction.

Allow for yourself to experience destruction.

Perhaps there is a part of yourself where you experience destruction the most.

Notice the parts of yourself,

The memories,

The sensations that arise with destruction.

Allow the destruction to be experienced into every corner.

And release.

Allowing for more room to create than room for destruction,

Than room for creation.

Notice how this space of destruction and creation can be sensed into your whole body.

Notice how this destruction and creation can be experienced simultaneously.

Moving back and forth from destruction to creation until eventually they become one pure sensation experience.

Then allow it to dissolve.

Releasing any attachment you may have to destruction or creation,

To abundance or scarcity.

Release anything you're holding on to.

So you can move now into the space of Vijnanamaya Kosha.

Give yourself space to explore into the mind's eye now.

Draw awareness to the clearing between your brows.

A space that connects you to your limitless creativity.

In this space you connect to your intuitive nature.

Relax your inner gaze and begin to experience yourself move through this rapid visualization.

The stars aligning.

A carousel by the sea.

The dark of night.

A hummingbird.

Time standing still.

The sound of a winter walk.

The time you held on.

The time you held on.

The time you held on.

The time you let go.

Hovering in space.

Running water.

A car passing by.

The lines of a wise man's face.

A single tear.

The one that got away.

The one who was always there.

A fire burning blue.

The smile of a child.

Unconditional love.

A warm blanket.

A warm blanket.

A warm blanket.

Resting where you are.

Feel supported as you rest comfortably.

Supported by a blanket wrapped around you.

You are resting in comfort on the darkest night.

On the darkest nights you are here to experience yourself on a soul level.

It's in the still of winter when things get quiet.

The lesson being for you to listen.

To fully embody your whole self.

You are being invited to listen.

To come home to yourself.

Life has maybe pulled you in many directions and you are being brought back home by the north star.

It acts as a guide,

Bringing you back into the present moment.

You are the compass.

Allow yourself to sit within your body.

Truly experience yourself now.

If the stillness gets uncomfortable,

Know that it will pass.

Open yourself to receive all that is here for you.

Listen carefully to your intrinsic wisdom.

You are here,

Aligned with your whole self and the stars.

The north star guiding you home.

And in this place where you rest,

Your sankalpa emerges.

You can see your sankalpa before you.

Written in the stars.

Allow yourself to experience it here.

Witness it.

Truly see it.

Repeat your sankalpa within your mind three times.

Each time you say it,

Declare it to be true.

Feel it resonate into every aspect of yourself.

Into every cell of your body.

To every layer of your being.

Repeat it now three times.

I am.

I am.

I am.

Feel these words wrap around you like a blanket.

Holding you and cradling you into this space.

From the darkest night it is often hard to see that the light is within you.

This light shines brightly for others to see.

And often it's so bright we don't see it for ourselves.

But it is there.

It is always there.

Embrace your whole body.

Embrace your whole being.

Embrace your whole self.

Returning now into the space you have created.

Come back to your body.

Your human form.

Noticing the air,

How it rests on your skin.

Noticing your face,

How peace is placed on it.

And your heart.

How it beats life and love and acceptance.

You are loved.

Just as you are.

HRIYOM TAT SAT.

HRIYOM TAT SAT.

HRIYOM TAT SAT.

Let your first movements back into this space be gentle.

Watering the fingers and toes.

Perhaps sending the arms up overhead,

Interlacing the fingers.

Making a nice long stretch as you point your toes.

And as you release your palms,

Extend your arms down by your sides,

Perhaps fluttering the eyes open.

You can make your way onto your side now,

Curling your knees up towards your chest.

And as you roll over to the right or the left,

Take a moment to rest here and sense gratitude.

Gratitude for all the stars that aligned for you to be present in this moment.

And perhaps gratitude for a person,

A place,

Or thing that is near and dear to your heart.

You may choose to drift off to sleep,

Or may even press yourself up into seated.

From here you can use this time to meditate,

Reflect,

Or journal.

Give yourself a few moments to wake up if you are choosing to do so.

Thank you for being here.

It's so wonderful to hear all of your comments.

And I also invite you to subscribe to Yoga Nidra and beyond as there will be new content released each week for you to release and relax.

Sending love during this holiday season.

Namaskar.

Reviews

Wonderful pause in my day. Thank you
!

I’ve sampled a number of yoga nidra meditations on Insight Timer now, and this one is probably my favorite. I hope to do it regularly.

😊💜🙏🏼✨

Wow, this was my first time trying yoga nidra and I’m so glad I happened to choose this track for an introduction! Very very profound and difficult emotions came up, but I think that was necessary. Powerful and I know I will return to this time and time again

Nice soothing voice

I find myself coming back to this track again and again. Thank you so much. It’s provided much nervous system regulation.

So helpful. I fell into a deep sleep before it ended.

Fell asleep and stayed asleep until morning! A rare treat. I'll be coming back for sure. Thank you 🌺

A healing and restful practice.

Excellent. The best I've done . Namaste

Really enjoyed this although brought up a lot of emotions. Will be looking for more from you. Thanks

So relaxing I drifted off. I look forward to listening again! Peace & blessings .💙🙏

I am so thrilled to find you are teaching on Insight Timer, Ayla Nova. I’ve recently discovered you on YouTube and all your Yoga Nidra meditations resonate with me so deeply. I also love your calm, gentle and compassionate voice. I hope to see more from you on Insight Timer very soon and look forward to a teachers group and, hopefully, one day, maybe a live event and a course. Thank you very much. Namaste 🙏

Top yoga nitra, a great experience to be sure.
Thank you