Welcome to this yoga nidra.
This is an invitation to slow down and soften and to let go of effort and to remember the quiet wisdom that knows how to rest.
You are invited today into Waterfall Haven,
A hidden place of mist and flowing water,
Where a dragonfly appears to remind us of something simple and something ancient.
That presence does not need force,
And that awareness moves fast when it is light.
So make yourself comfortable and lie down in a way that feels nourishing and supported.
Allow the body to be fully held by the earth beneath you.
Let the breath soften.
Let the shoulders melt.
Let the weight of the day begin to drift away.
Take a nice,
Big,
Nourishing breath,
Filling the lungs,
And exhale with a soft sigh.
There is no effort needed here.
Simply allow yourself to be carried by the rhythm of my voice,
As if resting on a quiet current of water,
Flowing steadily and naturally on its own.
And as we enter this practice of yoga nidra,
Allow your sankalpa to arise,
A heartfelt intention that comes not from striving,
But from truth.
It may come as a word,
A feeling,
Or a quiet inner knowing.
And if nothing arises,
Trust that your deeper wisdom already knows the way.
And let your sankalpa settle into the heart,
Like a seed placed gently in fertile soil.
You do not need to push.
You do not need to force.
It is already becoming.
And bring your awareness now to the tiny muscles around your eyes,
And allow them to soften.
And as the eyes relax,
Feel the face softening.
Allow the jaw to release,
And the tongue to rest easily in the mouth.
Allow all expression to fade away.
As your face lets go,
Notice how the rest of the body responds.
Feel the body settling downward,
As if gently lowering onto a smooth,
Floating surface that knows exactly how to hold you.
You are welcome here.
Welcome in your own body.
Welcome in this moment.
Now,
Imagine yourself floating on a simple wooden ramp,
Beside a hidden waterfall.
Tucked within an ancient landscape.
The air is cool and fresh.
Mist drifts softly through the space.
The sound of falling water is constant and soothing.
Steady and alive.
The raft supports you completely.
Rocked by the steady rhythm of the water.
There is nothing to steer.
Nothing to manage.
As the mist shifts,
You notice a subtle shimmer in the air.
A pause.
A moment of stillness.
And then,
You see it.
A dragonfly,
Hovering quietly nearby.
Its wings catch the light.
Delicate and iridescent.
Moving with perfect precision.
It does not hurry.
It does not linger too long.
It simply knows where to be.
Bring your awareness now to the space between the eyebrows.
The place of inner seeing.
Feel the soft shimmer of the waterfall gathering here.
Light pools gently behind the forehead.
A quiet awareness awakens.
Clear.
Spacious.
Feel this place of subtle seeing.
And let awareness begin to flow.
The dragonfly drifts towards the crown of your head.
As it pauses there,
A gentle warmth spreads across the scalp.
The crown softens.
The forehead smooths.
The space behind the eyes grows quiet.
The dragonfly glides along the right side of the face.
The nose.
Tempo.
Cheek.
Jaw.
Wherever it lingers,
The body responds by releasing.
Now the dragonfly moves across the left side of the face.
Tempo.
Cheek.
Jaw.
The whole face feels open,
Spacious,
Bathed in calm presence.
The dragonfly settles at the right shoulder.
A quiet easing unfolds.
Awareness flows down the upper arm.
Through the elbow.
Into the forearm.
All the way to the wrist.
In the palm of the right hand.
The dragonfly circles the palm gently.
Its wings humming softly.
Each finger relaxes.
One by one.
Light spilling through the fingertips.
Now sense the entire right arm.
From shoulder to fingertips as one continuous field of sensation.
Soft.
Floating.
Radiant.
The dragonfly moves across the left shoulder.
A quiet easing unfolds.
Awareness travels down the upper arm.
Through the elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
And into the palm of the left hand.
The dragonfly traces a slow spiral at the center of the hand.
Each finger softens.
Quiet.
At ease.
Now sense the whole left arm.
From shoulder to fingertips.
As one luminous field of sensation.
Warm.
Relaxed.
At ease.
Both arms rest now.
Balanced.
Open.
Still.
The dragonfly drifts towards the center of the chest.
Hovering near the heart.
The chest softens.
The ribs widen gently.
Awareness moves into the heart space.
Feeling warmth.
Spaciousness.
A quiet rhythm beneath the breath.
Awareness flows gently into the belly.
The dragonfly circles slowly here.
The abdomen releases.
The organs soften.
Any held emotions begin to melt.
Like tension dissolving into flowing water.
The dragonfly continues down the right hip.
Knee.
The dragonfly hovers at the sole of the foot.
Warming the arc.
Awakening a gentle glow.
Each toe is touched in turn.
Like small points of light.
Softened.
Blessed.
Invited to rest.
Sense the whole right leg.
From hip to toes.
As one continuous field of sensation.
Heavy.
Supported.
At ease.
The dragonfly moves to the left leg.
The hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Calf.
Passes at the sole of the left foot.
Light gathering.
Spreading softly into the toes.
Each toe receives this quiet attention.
Relaxing.
Settling.
Glowing gently.
Sense the whole left leg.
From hip to toes.
At ease.
As one continuous field of sensation.
Settled.
Complete.
Now bring awareness to the back of the body.
As the dragonfly passes like a quiet shadow of light.
Awareness traces the places where you are most deeply held.
The heels resting.
The calves.
The back of the thighs.
The buttocks.
The spine gently supported.
Vertebra by vertebra.
From the base.
Through the back of the heart.
Up to the shoulders.
Feel all the points where the body meets the surface beneath you.
Supported.
Now sense the entire body all together.
From crown to sole.
Fingertips to toes.
As one luminous field of sensation.
The dragonfly rises into the mist above you.
Its presence still felt.
Light and steady.
Now feel the whole body becoming heavy.
As the sound of waterfall deepens.
Low and steady beneath you.
So heavy it sinks deeply downward.
Bones weighted.
Muscles melting.
Gravity drawing you into rest.
Now feel the body becoming light.
As if mist lifts gently from the water.
Carrying the body with effortless ease.
As if the raft lifts gently on the water.
Heaviness returns.
Grounded.
Anchored.
Lightness rises again.
Open.
Spacious.
Both sensations coexist.
And floating.
Stable and free.
Now bring awareness to the breath.
Gentle rise and fall.
Chest and belly.
As if the waterfall itself is breathing you.
Dragonfly hovers somewhere nearby.
And the waterfall continues its steady song.
Not controlling.
Not changing.
Simply sensing.
Feel the breath moving in and out of the nostrils.
Like cool mist on the inhale.
Warm air on the exhale.
Feel the lift of the chest.
The soft fall of the belly.
You are not breathing.
You are being breathed.
Let each inhale draw you inward.
Let each exhale soften you further into rest.
As the breath flows.
Like water moving without effort.
Notice the landscape of the mind.
Thoughts may arise like ripples on the surface of the water.
Feelings may move like passing currents.
Some sensations are clear.
Some are subtle.
All are allowed to move.
Like the dragonfly skimming the water.
Awareness touches lightly.
Then lifts again.
There is space between each movement.
Room to feel without being full.
Rest in this gentle spaciousness.
Where experience flows without effort.
Beneath thought and sensation.
There is a quieter knowing.
A steady presence.
A silent intelligence.
Like the deep pool beneath the waterfall.
Still and clear.
Here,
Insight does not arrive as words.
But as a gentle sense of rightness.
A remembering that you are guided.
Even when the path is unseen.
You do not need to search for it.
It is already here.
Rest in the subtle clarity.
Awareness thins even further now.
Like mist dissolving into the sky.
Like the dragonfly resting without movement.
Less effort.
Less doing.
Just being.
Water.
Stillness.
Dragonfly and waterfall.
Body and space.
All part of the same field of quiet joy.
Here,
There is nothing missing.
Nothing to resolve.
Only a soft contentment.
Like floating in warm water.
Held without edges.
The body restores itself.
The mind settles.
Something essential is replenished.
Rest here for a few more breaths.
From this place of deep rest.
With the sound of the waterfall still echoing softly within.
Invite your sankalpa to arise once more.
Not from effort.
But from truth.
Let it pulse gently in the heart.
Like a soft echo of the waterfall within.
It is planted.
It is alive.
It will unfold in its own perfect time.
Begin to sense the body again.
The surface beneath you.
The air on your skin.
Gently wiggle the fingers and toes.
Take a deep,
Nourishing breath.
Draw the arms up overhead.
In a nice big stretch.
Gently drawing the knees up.
Rolling to one side.
Slowly making your way back up to a comfortable seat.
Carry this ease with you.
Carry this remembering.
The waterfall haven lives within you.
Thank you for resting here.
