Changing Earth Yoga Nidra

We are all part of the changing earth our cells, skin, organs, bones are constantly transforming healing comes from within. This guided yoga Nidra supports deep rest, renewal and reverence for our bodies and nature.

Transcript

So start to find your place on the earth,

Or on whatever surface is closest to the earth for you today,

Whether that's the couch,

The bed,

A chair.

And bring in support.

Support your head,

Your back,

Your body.

If you can cover your feet,

Your legs,

Your eyes.

So tend to the earth.

The earth of your body,

The earth in the space.

And start to feel where your body meets the surface,

Meets the earth.

Can you direct your breath and attention into where your body meets the earth and the earth rises to meet your body?

First feeling the sensation of your body at the earth and the sensation of the earth touching you.

And then maybe sensing the space between.

And let this be our meditation of relaxation to enter the practice.

Feeling the earth of our body meeting the earth of our space and sensing that layer between.

We are under the Virgo full moon.

This full moon comes at the end of the season of winter in the Northern hemisphere and summer in the Southern hemisphere.

It is mutable earth,

Which is the quality of changing earth.

Now for most of us,

We don't really like our earth to change very much.

We like earth to be stable and strong and steady.

And in yoga,

One of the biggest reasons we suffer is we confuse that which changes which that which doesn't.

So there is something within that is constant and infinite.

And whether you call that soul or a light or spark or consciousness or spirit,

There is that.

From the moment we have consciousness as humans until we lose final consciousness,

We have this sense of ourselves.

And yet the physical changes,

The earth changes,

Our bodies grow,

Our cells shift,

And the world around us changes too.

And sometimes these changes are gradual and slow,

Just like how you don't notice a child growing until you look at a picture or until someone who hasn't seen the child remarks on it,

Because we're with it every day,

That growth.

And then sometimes it's sudden.

Just like two years ago,

The world changed in a seeming instant.

And now we find ourselves again in this space,

Hovering earth to earth,

Under the full moon.

This full moon brings us right up to the point of the equinox,

Just two days before the equinox,

A day of equal day and night on the earth,

One of two.

And so as you feel your body,

As you feel the earth,

Can you feel it changing?

Can you feel as the breath flows in and out,

The compression and decompression in your organs,

The expansion and contraction in the body?

And there's an incredible theme of service and sovereignty in this full moon,

Where we both honor the earth that is us and the earth that we are connected to,

And also the service that comes with that.

These bodies are temples.

And Mr.

Iyengar,

A very well-known yogi,

Was quoted as saying,

The body is a temple,

Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside.

And this is why we practice yoga and yoga nidra.

These are practices to purify the temple.

And how different maybe would we move in the world and honor the changes of the world if we did recognize the body as a sacred temple,

A vessel that is changing,

That is growing older,

Different.

And so just let yourself feel and transform your awareness of the changing earth within and without.

And the more we honor our changing earth within,

The more we ritualize the service that we offer to this temple,

The more we are willing to be of service and bring a quality of ceremony to our tasks in the daily world.

This is a full moon reminding us of the magic in the mundane,

The beauty in the challenge.

Take a deep breath and fill your body all the way up.

Feel it reach down towards the earth and then sigh it out.

And then as you start to inhale,

Can you just start to squeeze your toes,

Your toes and your feet.

Hold the breath as you squeeze your toes and feet and then exhale,

Release them.

And then as you inhale,

Squeeze your toes,

Your feet and start to squeeze up your legs,

Your toes,

Your feet,

Your legs,

Just your toes,

Your feet,

Your legs,

Exhale,

Release.

And now inhale and just squeeze your hands,

Your fingers,

Your hands,

Squeeze your hands and fingers and then exhale,

Release.

And then inhale,

Squeeze your hands,

Fingers,

Your arms,

Your arms and shoulders.

Just squeeze the hands,

Fingers,

Arms,

Shoulders,

Hold And then release,

And then as you inhale can you squeeze your hands,

Your feet,

Your arms,

Your legs?

Squeeze your hands,

Feet,

Arms,

Legs,

Hold,

And then release.

And then as you inhale,

Squeeze your face.

Squeeze your face,

Press your head back,

Hold just your face,

Just your face,

Squeeze and release.

And then as you inhale,

Can you just squeeze your pelvic floor,

Your belly,

Really lock back the belly towards the spine.

And then release.

And then one more time as you inhale,

Squeeze your hands,

Your feet,

Your arms,

Your legs,

Your belly,

Your face,

Squeeze your whole body,

Feel all the parts of the body working together to hold and squeeze and squeeze and hold and hold a little bit longer than you think you can.

And then let it all go,

Surrender it all completely into the earth.

And the practice of yoga nidra begins now.

As you feel your body relax,

Again feeling the body on the earth,

The parts of the body touching the earth,

The parts of the earth touching the body and that space between.

Notice the sensation of your skin with the air of the room,

Is it warm,

Is it cool?

Not judging or labeling but just noticing warmth,

Coolness,

Temperature of the skin.

And then feel into sound,

Again without judgment,

Just noticing the sound of my voice that I want to encourage you to follow.

Maybe the sound of the drum,

Sounds of the body,

Sounds of the room,

Maybe the furthest sound you can hear.

And let all the sounds just carry you deeper into relaxation.

Sense your mouth,

Let your tongue relax.

Feel the lips,

Feel where the teeth and the lips touch.

Feel the sensations of the teeth and the gums,

The tongue,

The roof of the mouth,

The whole mouth.

Feel your whole mouth and tongue,

Noticing any lingering taste,

Sensation.

Let your eyes soften and close if they haven't already,

Maybe you have an eye pillow on.

And even with your eyes closed,

Can you see the room?

The walls,

The ceilings,

Your body on the room.

For a moment just imagine with eyes closed that you're expanding your vision to take in the whole room.

And then can you just take in the right side of the room,

The left side of the room,

The room that is above,

Below.

And just letting the eyes close,

Stay closed,

But imagining the whole room,

Like you were looking out at the whole room.

And then let the eyes settle back into the sockets and move your attention to the space between the eyebrows that should accost the mind space.

And as you feel into the space between the eyebrows,

Notice any sensation,

Pulsation,

Color.

Gather all your attention,

All your senses to this space between the eyebrows.

And imagine the full moon.

Imagine the full moon as you focus the space between your eyebrows,

Drawing all your senses,

Our senses that pick up so many details.

Draw it all into the space between the eyebrows.

Imagine that full moon,

And holding that full moon in your third eye gaze,

Let's set an intention.

Let's offer some kalpa,

The longing,

The vow.

And this may be something you're already working with.

It's a short positive statement,

Beginning usually with the pronoun I,

Spoken in present tense.

For this full moon,

It may be something like,

I am whole.

I am healing.

I am aware.

I am here to serve.

Or something like this.

But even if you can just summon up a feeling of gratitude,

Appreciation,

Love,

Feel that filling up under the full moon.

And then if you want to add the sankalpa,

Stating it quietly to yourself as though you were making a wish on this full moon,

The final full moon of the season,

Carrying us towards the equinox.

And then let it go.

Like planting seeds in the fertile earth.

Let it go.

And as you continue to feel your senses at your third eye,

We're going to move that awareness through the body.

So as we move through the body scan,

I really want you to sense the heart of the body I call.

Really feel it,

See it,

Even repeat it.

And you don't need to move or do anything active.

Just with your consciousness,

Move to the different body parts and really give them all of your attention.

Your right hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Pinky finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Sense your whole right hand.

So you could see it.

Every detail.

Your right wrist.

Right forearm.

Right elbow.

The upper right arm.

Right shoulder.

Sensing the whole right arm as though you could see it.

Right shoulder blade.

Right side of the chest.

Right underarm.

Right ribs.

Right waist.

Sensing the right side body as though you could see it.

All your attention.

Right hip.

Your right thigh.

Right knee.

Right shin.

Right ankle.

Right leg.

All your attention.

Top of the right foot.

Sole of the right foot.

The right toes.

Big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

Pinky.

Feeling,

Sensing attention on the whole right foot.

Then can you sense the whole right leg as though you were gazing upon it.

The whole right leg.

And the whole right side of your body.

Putting your attention to the whole right side of the body.

And then moving all of your attention over to the left.

Giving it all to the left thumb.

And then the index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Pinky finger.

The palm of the hand.

The back of the hand.

The whole left hand in your awareness.

Left wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

The whole left arm.

Left shoulder.

Left shoulder blade.

Left side of the chest.

Left underarm.

Left ribs.

Left waist.

The left side body.

Left hip.

Left thigh.

Left knee.

Left shin.

Left ankle.

The whole left leg.

Top of left foot.

Sole of left foot.

Your left toes.

Big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

Pinky.

The whole left foot in your attention.

The whole left foot.

The whole left leg.

All your attention on the whole left leg.

The whole left side of your body.

All your attention.

All your awareness on the details of the left side of your body.

And then moving that attention to the back of the body.

Feel your right heel.

Your left heel.

Both heels together.

The back of the right ankle.

The back of the left ankle.

Backs at both ankles together.

The right calf.

Left calf.

Both calves together.

Back of the right knee.

Back of the left knee.

Backs of both knees together.

The right hamstrings.

Left hamstrings.

All the hamstrings together.

Right glute.

Left glute.

Both glutes.

Back of your pelvis.

Feel the backs of the right foot.

Both hands together.

Feel the backs of both legs and your pelvis.

And then feel your spine.

Focus your attention on your whole spine.

From the base of the spine to the crown of the head.

Walking up the five vertebra in the low back.

The twelve vertebra in the mid back.

And the seven vertebra in the neck.

Feeling the whole spine.

And then can you sense the low back?

Right and left.

Can you sense the mid back?

Right and left.

Upper back.

Right and left.

Back of the neck.

Feeling the back of the torso.

Back of the head.

Back of the body.

And then feel your crown.

Forehead.

Right temple.

Left temple.

And then sense your right ear.

And your left ear.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Space between the eyebrows.

Feel the right eye.

The eyelid,

Eyeball,

Eye sockets.

Even the eyelashes.

And then sense your left eye.

The whole left eye.

Eyelid,

Eyeball,

Eye socket,

Eyelashes.

Feel both eyes.

Feel the right cheekbone and the left cheekbone.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

The bridge of the nose.

Tip of the nose.

The space of the nostrils.

The whole nose.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Space between the lips.

Where the lips touch the teeth.

Upper row of teeth and gums.

Lower row of teeth and gums.

Roof of the mouth.

Right side of the mouth.

Left side of the mouth.

Whole mouth.

Whole jaw.

The tip of the tongue.

The root of the tongue.

The whole tongue.

The whole jaw and tongue and teeth.

The chin.

The whole face.

Imagine your whole face.

And feel your attention move down the back of your throat,

Down the esophagus,

Moving down to the right and left side of the throat,

To the hollow of the throat,

Right collarbone and left collarbone,

Center of the chest.

Feeling the ribs as they knit together to protect your organs.

Traveling down the ribs to the solar plexus,

The muscles that protect more organs.

And then below the belly button to the navel center,

More flesh and organs as we settle into the bowl of the pelvis,

Sensing organs and tissue,

Pubic bone,

Down to the base of the pelvis.

And just feel your torso,

Your whole torso,

The organ,

The body,

The ribs,

The pelvis,

The flesh.

And then feel your right leg and your left leg,

Both legs together.

Your right arm,

Left arm,

Both arms together.

Your right leg and left arm,

Left leg and right arm,

Both arms,

Both legs together.

Back of the body,

Front of the body,

The middle layer of the body,

Upper body,

Lower body.

Feeling the whole right side of the body all the way to the edges of the skin,

Whole right side.

Feel the left side of the body,

The whole body,

All the way to the edges of the skin,

The left side of the body.

Feel your whole body as though you were looking down at your body,

Seeing your body whole,

Your whole body.

As you observe your body,

Your body whole,

All these intricate parts and systems working together for wholeness,

For homeostasis,

For healing,

For sattva.

Feel your whole body with that sense of reverence and appreciation at how hard this body,

This vessel,

This continually changing earth form is doing for you right now.

Heart beating,

Lungs pulsing,

Organs working,

Blood moving,

Cells changing.

Feel your whole body as though you were viewing the most beautiful temple.

And as you observe your body,

As you observe your body in wholeness as a temple,

Begin to notice the breath flowing through.

As though the breath were opening the doors and windows or the spaces of the temple to let fresh air flow in and clear out any debris,

Any stagnancy,

Any dust.

So as you breathe,

See if you can inhale and breathe up your body and exhale down the body.

Inhale,

Breathing up maybe from the heels to the crown,

Exhaling the crown to the toes.

So breathing up the back of the body and exhale out the front.

So the air is flowing from one end of the temple to the other.

And you are just allowing the breath to flow through like a cleansing breeze,

Inhaling heels to crown,

Exhaling crown to toes.

Every part of the body,

Every layer of the temple being purified by breath,

By prana,

By life force.

Just watch as the air effortlessly flows up the back of the body,

Down the front of the body.

Whole body,

Whole temple coming into balance.

Breathing up the body and down the body.

And that breeze will continue to flow through the temple,

Through the wholeness.

You can take your attention off the body,

Off the breath,

Knowing the breath and the body will continue to work.

Work towards healing,

Work towards wholeness.

You bring your attention to emotion.

And just notice without judgment,

Without a story,

What emotion is present for you today under this full moon.

Don't worry about that being positive or negative.

Just feel what emotion is present.

Feel whatever is present.

You can give it a name,

But it doesn't need to have any other details.

Watch it.

It's texture,

It's color,

It's sensation.

Whatever feeling is present.

And then imagine that breath clearing it out and bringing its opposite.

So whether the opposite would be perceived as positive or negative is irrelevant.

We just want to experience the opposite.

So from whatever emotion was already online,

Allow the breath to clear it out and then briefly hold its opposite.

Let its opposite be present in the space.

And just feel that without judgment,

Without criticism.

Just the color,

Texture,

Sensation.

And then allow that breeze to blow it out of the temple.

And then again,

Just watch your breath.

Inhaling up the back of the body,

Exhaling down the front of the body.

And as you observe the breath flowing in and out,

Notice is another emotion present.

And sometimes they're hard to label something.

It is like heavy,

Tired,

Bored,

Irritable,

Or happy,

Emotional.

Things like that.

And that's OK.

There's no right or wrong.

Whatever is present,

Honor it.

Recognize it.

Give it your attention without following the story.

And then again,

Imagine the breezes flowing it out of the space and bring in its opposite.

No aversion or attachment,

Just the opposite.

Letting the opposite be felt and seen.

And then the breezes,

Release it.

Come back to breathing up and down the body,

Clearing out.

This is the breath.

Clearing out this next layer of mental,

Emotional experience.

And stay with the breath,

But see if there's anything else that needs to be felt.

The full moon has a tendency to put a spotlight on what has been in the shadow over the last lunar cycle,

Or even the last season.

And so allow whatever has been lingering there in the corners,

The crevices,

The surface to come up for a final clean sweep of this temple under the full moon.

Whatever needs to be felt,

Feel it here and now without a story.

Just letting it be an emotion,

A sensation,

A texture.

And then let those breezes clear it out of the temple and bring in its opposite.

Feel that fully,

Whatever it is.

There's no right or wrong or good or bad.

You cannot do this perfectly,

And you cannot do it imperfectly.

It is exactly what is needed.

And then let that go.

And one more time,

Feel that breath move up the back of the body,

Down the front of the body.

And then let that breath move to the central channel.

So you're inhaling from the root to the crown and the crown to the root,

Letting the breath become more concentrated and subtle as you breathe up and down.

And as you feel your breath at the base of the spine,

Pause and breathe.

And imagine a rich red light breathing in and out,

Rich red at the base of the spine.

And then feel that cleansing breath move up into the sacrum,

The pelvis,

The genitals.

Breathing in and out an orange light,

A rich orange light.

And then following the central channel into the solar plexus with your attention and your breath,

Now breathing a golden yellow,

Golden yellow,

Filling the solar plexus.

And then flowing up into the heart,

The lungs,

The ribs,

The arms,

A green emerald color,

Filling the space.

And then breathing in and out.

And then flowing up into the heart,

The lungs,

The ribs,

The lungs,

The ribs,

The arms,

The ribs,

The arms,

Filler color filling the space.

Up into the throat,

A sky blue emanating through the throat,

The jaw,

The ears up and a rich violet.

And as you feel that violet light,

The crown of the head,

Your energy moves just above to see the full moon hovering above your crown.

And as you gaze at the full moon,

The rainbow lights dissolve and you see yourself staring at the full moon from a sacred temple.

And this may be a temple that you've been to before.

It may be in your imagination.

It may be human made.

It may be natural.

Maybe a dream or a fantasy.

It does not matter.

But you are in a temple gazing at the full moon.

You feel like you've done this a million times and a million different lives.

Your feet on the earth in this sacred temple,

Gazing at the full moon.

And as you feel the power of this space,

Your temple,

This full moon,

Your body,

These finite bodies,

This sacred changing earth and our timeless moon.

Place your hands over your heart in this space under this full moon.

And the prayer flows from your lips.

And maybe that prayer is the same as the sankalpa you started with.

Maybe it's included.

Maybe it has nothing to do with it.

Maybe it's an ancient prayer.

Maybe it's in a different language.

Maybe it's a song.

Whatever prayer means to you and whatever the temple is to you,

Under this full moon,

On this changing earth,

You utter a prayer.

And it is heard.

You say,

Sing,

Speak,

Anything that needs to move through you under this full moon in this holy space.

And then as you feel complete,

Full of gratitude,

Everything dissolves.

The moon,

The temple,

Everything dissolves.

Back to the sacred temple.

And as you feel complete,

Full of gratitude,

Bring your awareness back to the body on the earth.

Back to awareness of where the body's touching the earth.

The earth is touching the body,

Climbing all of your attention,

All of your awareness,

Calling every part of your being back into this temple,

Form arriving here fully with reverence as the practice of yoga nidra is complete.

You can allow the breath to flow up and down a few more times.

And then slowly,

Perhaps movement returning through fingers and toes and wrists,

Ankles,

Head.

You might even just curl to the left side,

The side of the lunar and digestion.

Take all the time you need.

Eventually,

Maybe lifting up to your seat.

Place a hand over your heart and a hand at your belly,

Honoring the body,

Honoring the earth,

And also honoring all that is changing within and without,

May this practice support us and help us to be of service,

Not only to our own lives and loved ones,

But to all beings and the world.

And we'll seal the practice with the sound of om.

You can join me or just listen,

Deep breath.

Om.

Om.

Om.