Woodland Yoga Nidra

A deeply relaxing Yoga Nidra inspired by time spent in the gentle company of ancient trees. This practice includes a body scan, breath awareness and a guided nature visualisation to help you find a place of deep rest and profound peace.

Transcript

Hi, It's Pen here. With a yoga nidra practice inspired by a walk I took this evening, In the grounds of an old stone castle, Close to where I live, I felt so immersed in the natural beauty of the place. The towering trees, Spring flowers, Birdsong, The clear water in the stream, And the sun slowly setting behind the woodland. You can find such solace and healing in places like these. So settle in for this yoga nidra in the company of trees, And as you get comfortable, I'll remind you of a few essentials. You can do this practice lying down, Maybe with some support under the back of the legs, And a pillow behind your head, Or alternatively find yourself a spot in a really comfy chair. As I guide you through the practice today, You may find yourself drifting off, Perhaps towards sleep, Or maybe to explore that liminal place that exists between wakefulness and sleep. You might hear my voice in the background, But not quite follow what I'm saying. You might be fully present, Or you might fall fast asleep. Let your experience be what it is. Have no expectations and make no judgments. Thoughts will inevitably come and go, And when you notice that you're actively engaging with them, Bring your attention back to my voice. It doesn't matter how many times you need to do this, It is all part of the practice. I invite you to keep as still as you can, And if you need to move, Do so softly and slowly. If you're worried about falling asleep and not hearing the session come to an end, You might want to set an alarm to sound in about 30 minutes or so. You'll have the chance to repeat a sankalpa at the beginning and the end of this practice. A sankalpa can be a wish for something positive in your life, Or a statement of your values and how you want to live your life. So if you have your own, Please use it today. If you want a sankalpa but you don't have one at the moment, You can spend the time at that point in the practice listening inwards to see if something arises, Or you can use the simple but powerful words, I live my truth. It is important not to force this part of the practice, So if it doesn't resonate with you, Or you can't find anything that feels right, Just rest quietly, Enjoy the stillness and the silence. Now make any last adjustments to your comfort. Bring your awareness to your sense of hearing, Noticing any sounds around you. They may be in the room or outside. Now becoming aware of the sense of touch, Feeling whatever is supporting your body, Might be the floor, A bed, A chair, And noticing where your body is connecting with it. Maybe you can sense the touch of your clothes on your skin, Or the weight of any blanket or cover that's resting over you. Bringing your awareness to your breath, Take a few long slow deep breaths in and out through your nose, And see if you can make the exhale just a little longer than the inhale. As you breathe out, Perhaps you feel your body softening. If you have a sankalpa, If you have a sankalpa, Perhaps you're using I Live My Truth, Silently repeat it three times. So now we will begin a body scan. When I mention a part of the body, Gently guide your awareness there, And if you like, You can imagine filling each part of the body with a warm golden nurturing light, Beginning with the crown of the head, The forehead, The right eye, The left eye, Both eyes together, The nose, The mouth, The right cheek, The left cheek, Both cheeks together, Taking that warm golden light to the right ear, The left ear, Both ears together, The back of the head, The back of the neck, And the throat, And now focusing on the right side of the body, A golden light gently touching the right shoulder, The upper arm, The right elbow, The forearm, And wrist, The back of the right hand, The palm of the hand, The thumb, And all of the fingers, The whole right arm, The right armpit, And the right side of the ribs, And the waist, The right side of the chest, And the belly, The right hip, And thigh, Knee, Lower leg, And ankle, The top of the foot, The sole of the right foot, All the toes on the foot, The whole right foot, The whole right leg, The right side of the pelvis, The lower back, The upper back, The whole right side of the body, Now bring your awareness to the left side of the body, A golden light gently touching the left shoulder, Upper arm, Elbow, Forearm, And wrist, The back of the left hand, The palm of the hand, The thumb, And all the fingers, The whole left arm, The left armpit, The left side of the ribs, And waist, The left side of the chest, The heart, The left side of the belly, Moving down to the left hip, Thigh, Knee, Lower leg, And ankle, The top of the foot, The sole of the foot, All of the toes on the left foot, The whole left foot, The whole left leg, The left side of the pelvis, The lower back, And upper back, The whole left side of the body, The whole body, The whole body, Resting here with the whole body glowing in a warm golden light, Moving your attention now to your breath, Beginning with mindful awareness of the body as it breathes, Not controlling or altering the breath, Simply let it be natural, Noticing how the body responds physically to the breath coming and going, Perhaps feeling the body rising and falling, Or expanding and contracting, Maybe you have a sense of the body filling and then emptying. Now draw an imaginary line from the very base of your spine to the crown of your head, Move your awareness up this line as you inhale, And down the line as you exhale, Inhaling from tailbone to crown, Exhaling from crown back to tailbone, Simply following the breath up and down the spine, Inhaling up, Exhaling down, Breathing at your own pace, Inhaling up the spine, Exhaling down the spine, Moving your awareness with your breath as it travels up and down this imaginary line. Now releasing your attention from your breath, Imagine, Think, Or feel yourself standing on a grassy path running alongside a small shallow stream, The sun is high in a cloudless sky and the air is warm upon your skin, You walk along the path following the stream as it meanders through a lush green meadow, You stop for a moment to watch dragonflies dance over the water, Then slip off your shoes and dip your feet into the clear stream, Your toes tingle in the cold but you can feel the warmth of the sun on the back of your neck, You reach into the water and select a silky smooth pebble to put in your pocket, With your shoes on or off you continue your streamside walk heading towards three large trees on the edge of the meadow, When you reach the trees you find a comfortable spot at the base of one of the huge old trunks, As you sit quietly in the shade of this mighty tree your breath softens and slows, Maybe you can almost sense the tree breathing with you, To imagine, Think, Or feel yourself reaching into your pocket and finding the silky smooth pebble from the stream, Leaning back, Resting against the ancient trunk, You feel the deep creases and rough crevices of the bark against your back, Smoothness in your hand, Roughness against your back, Smooth and rough together, Sitting in the welcome shade, A shaft of sunlight pierces the vast canopy of leaves above you, Warming the left side of your body, Your right side in the cool shade, Your left side in the warm sun, Right cool, Left warm, Both cool and warm together, Take a moment here to contemplate the maze of deep roots that exist below you, To keep these trees firmly anchored in this beautiful place, Feel yourself sharing that sense of groundedness and connection with the earth beneath you, Now look up through the leaves to the tiniest of branches at the very top of the tree, See how they bend and move with the breeze, Acknowledging every breath of air, Grounded, Connected, Yielding and free, Resting here in the shade of this mighty tree, Begin to watch the space behind your eyes, Allowing whatever arises to fade in and then out, Perhaps you see images, Shapes, Colors or simply darkness or light, Simply experiencing the flow, Allowing experiences to arise then fall away, Now releasing the images, Sensations and experiences of this free flow, Bring your awareness to your heart center, Silently repeating your sankalpa three times or resting quietly in gentle awareness, Now we'll begin a slow and gentle return from this yoga nidra practice, Starting to become aware of your physical body and the sensations of touch, Your clothes touching your skin, Your body touching the surface beneath it, Becoming aware of sounds inside the body, Inside the room, Maybe outside the room in the house or on the street, Noticing the breath, Deepening and lengthening the inhale, Making it just a little bit longer than the exhale and then invite some gentle movement back into the body, Wiggling fingers and toes, Circling ankles and wrists and perhaps taking the arms up overhead and giving yourself a lovely full body stretch, When you're ready taking yourself over to one side if you're lying down and mindfully bringing yourself upright again, Taking a moment here to find some gratitude for taking the time out of your day to practice, Now you're ready to practice nourishing body, Mind and soul, Thank you for joining me for this yoga nidra practice, Goodbye.

Reviews

Wonderful, thank you!