Tree House Yoga Nidra

This Yoga Nidra Meditation takes you through 5 stages of relaxation, holistically addressing your psychological, neurological and subconscious needs. Also known as yogic sleep, Yoga Nidra is the act of staying conscious but separated from external awareness. By pulling back your energetic layers (koshas) through body awareness, breathwork and guided imagery, you can access your true self in the safe, loving environment of meditation.

Enjoy your Journey to the treehouse.

Transcript

Hello,

Loved ones.

It is Deb from Heart-Centered You,

And it is with gratitude that I invite you to your Yoganidra session today.

I always start each Yoganidra session with a few reminders and assurances.

As you lie here in Savasana,

Take a deep breath and as you exhale,

Let go of any and all expectations.

And with each new breath you take,

Know that just being here is enough.

There is nothing that you need to make happen.

There is no one that you need to please.

And most importantly,

There is nothing that you need to be that you are not already.

So,

Welcome home.

Home to your most relaxed,

Safe,

And peaceful self.

If you haven't already found the most comfortable position for you,

Please make any needed adjustments.

Close your eyes.

Let your hands fall to the sides,

Being sure not to touch your body.

Let your ankles drop to the corners of your mat.

And let the floor hold you,

Just as the earth holds the roots of a tree.

Feel the safety of the ground beneath you.

Feeling all the places that your body connects with the mat,

A blanket,

The floor,

Wherever you are.

And set the intention to be as still and as present as possible.

Think to yourself,

I will not sleep.

But if you need to make any adjustments,

That's fine.

And if you happen to drift off,

That's okay too.

This is a practice that takes practice.

So do not fill yourself with worry about falling asleep or analyze if you're doing it correctly.

It is the intention that matters most.

The mind will be reminded of this practice throughout our session.

And the more you practice,

The more aware you'll become.

As you feel your body settle into your mat even more,

Pay attention to the space around you.

First,

The sounds within the room.

And then any voices,

Traffic,

Music,

Anything outside the room.

Feel the temperature of the air floating across your skin.

Maybe you can feel the sun's rays trickle across your body or the cool air coming into your lungs.

Really be aware of all those sensations and then let them drift.

And how about those internal messages of the body?

Any aches or pains?

The constant chatter and to-do lists?

Any anxieties or struggles?

Let's welcome them in.

Invite these thoughts,

These sensations and say thank you for being here,

For bringing these feelings to my attention.

And as each one comes,

Imagine them as a flower that you place in a wicker basket,

Folding each thought,

Each feeling into a soft blanket within that basket.

And when your basket is full of flowers,

Full of everything that isn't serving you right now,

Please send that basket into the sky and watch it float away in its very own hot air balloon.

So now,

While you are here practicing yoga nidra,

You can rest and surrender that much more,

Knowing you haven't ignored or walked away from your worries or feelings.

In fact,

You're giving them and you some much needed fresh air.

As you watch that hot air balloon drift further and further away,

Take the opportunity to fill the new space we've created with asankalpa,

An intention for today's practice.

Even for your way of life,

Really.

A way that you want to feel that is simple in the present tense and positive.

State it with feeling,

Belief and emphasis.

It could be something as simple as I am rested.

Or it could be more pointed as in more and more,

I am embracing forgiveness over pain.

Discover your sankalpa naturally,

Don't feel a need to force it.

And then,

Just as we did with your sensations,

Your internal messages,

Let your sankalpa float away in another hot air balloon and focus again on your physical body.

We now begin the rotation of consciousness where we take a trip through all the different parts of the body,

Swiftly bringing our mental attention from part to part,

Just long enough to imagine a drop of oil or a soft kiss on each part of the body before moving on to the next.

Take comfort knowing that no one part of the body is more deserving of attention than the others.

Every inch receives the same gift of awareness and tenderness.

We will begin with the right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the right hand,

Right wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right armpit,

Shoulder blade,

Right side of the chest,

Right side of the waist,

Right hip,

Right backside,

Right side of the groin,

Right thigh,

Right knee,

Right calf,

Ankle,

Heel of the right foot,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot.

And now each toe on the right foot in turn,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

The thumb of your left hand now,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left armpit,

Shoulder blade,

Left side of the chest,

Left side of the waist,

Left hip,

Left side of the groin and backside,

Left thigh,

Left knee,

Left calf,

Ankle,

Heel of the left foot,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

And now each of the toes of the left foot in turn,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Now to the back.

Become aware of the right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

The right backside,

And left backside.

The full length of the spine,

The whole back together.

Now move to the front of the body,

The top of the head,

The forehead,

Both sides of the head,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

And the space between the eyebrows,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right ear,

Left ear,

The right cheek,

Left cheek,

The bridge of the nose,

And the tip of the nose,

The upper lip,

Lower lip,

Chin,

Throat,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Belly,

Groin,

The whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

The whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

The whole of the back,

Backside,

Spine,

And shoulder blades,

The whole of the front,

Abdomen,

And chest,

The whole of the body together,

Relaxed and present,

The whole of the body together.

See your whole body supported,

Rested,

The whole body.

Now bring your focus to your breath,

Feeling the natural flow of your breath in and out of your lungs.

No effort,

Whatever pace and depth feels good to you.

As you breathe,

Pay attention to the movement of your belly,

Feeling it rise and fall with each breath in and out.

Really synchronize your breath with your movement in your belly and start counting your breaths backwards from 27 to 1.

Think to yourself,

27 belly rising,

27 belly falling,

26 belly rising,

26 belly falling,

25 belly rising,

25 belly falling,

And so on,

On your own now.

And if at any point you lose count,

Simply start again at 27.

And if at any point you lose count,

Simply start again at 27.

You may stop counting and move the focus of your breath to your nostrils.

Simply bring your awareness to the air moving in and out of your nose now,

Awakening energy to every cell in the body.

And start counting again from 27 to 1.

27 breathing in through the nostrils,

27 breathing out,

26 breathing in,

26 breathing out.

And so on,

On your own.

And so on.

Great awareness counting down.

Great awareness counting down.

Great awareness counting down.

Stop counting.

And wherever you are,

Stay alert.

There is no need for sleep.

There is only awareness.

Being aware of the spaces and places that hold you to the earth.

And imagining now that your whole body is increasingly heavy.

Feel the edges of your body gently melting not just on top of your mat,

But into it.

Surrendering your whole body that is heavy as steel.

And now release that sensation and imagine that the whole body is light as cotton.

See your whole body gently floating away from the floor with each breath letting go of the earth feeling lighter,

Softer,

Weightless.

Let yourself move between those two sensations.

Feel your body melting into your mat,

Heavy as steel,

Unable to lift your arms or legs.

Feel the weight as fully as you can and then let it go.

And feel the sensation of a body so light,

Airy and free,

Hovering effortlessly above the floor.

Can you now imagine being both at the same time?

Heavy as steel and light as cotton.

And letting go of those sensations now,

We come to a visualization part of our practice where you are invited to bring your awareness to the space between your eyebrows.

Your third eye.

As you hear,

See,

Smell,

Maybe even taste the various images I'm about to share with you,

Use this voice as a lighthouse.

If you find yourself a little lost,

Maybe confused along the way,

Let the voice guide you,

Let it be a way home.

So now try to bring your feeling,

Your awareness,

Your emotion and imagination to each vision as fully as you can.

A burning candle.

A stormy night.

A circle of friends.

A tall palm tree.

A boat sailing on the water.

An infinite ocean.

The sound of a bell ringing.

The crispness of biting into an apple.

Birds flying across a sunset.

A full moon.

And a rising sun.

Slowly let everything fade.

And imagine that you are walking in the most peaceful forest.

Looking around you,

You see the most beautiful,

Lush green leaves.

You feel the soft,

Cold dirt beneath your feet.

You can smell the sap from the bark on the trees.

And if you listen closely,

You might even hear the buzz of a bird's wings or the song she sings on her way back to her nest.

There is no rush to the forest.

Everything happens in time and everything has its purpose.

Be it providing shade,

Food or pure beauty.

And as you walk deeper into that forest,

You notice a ladder made from branches hanging from a tree in the distance.

As you approach,

You see the birds beckoning you inside what looks to be a tree house made just for you.

You have to climb up.

And as you do,

You peek inside to find such a magical place.

The sun's rays finding their way through the wooden walls cast sparkling beams of light throughout.

The beams practically light flowers on fire,

Illuminating a rainbow of color that rests atop vines that playfully twist and turn about.

There is a small table in the center of the room,

A table with a box.

The birds continue to beckon you inside,

So you take one more step in and another and another until you reach the table.

You reach for the box,

Open it and see that inside is a mirror.

And as you hold that mirror up,

You can't help but look at yourself and smile to share a moment of compassion with yourself.

Keep looking.

Wish yourself love.

Cover up forgiveness.

Embrace your passion and gratitude for all that you've created,

For all that you've given and all that you've received.

Breathe in the scent of the flowers,

The forest air.

Listen to the songs of the birds and feel the breeze on your face.

And draw your awareness back inside,

To the light in your chest,

The light of your inner teacher.

Listen to what your heart has to say.

And remember your sankalpa,

Your resolve from earlier.

Repeat it three times with intention and total belief.

And when you are ready,

Slowly make your way back down the ladder,

Back through the forest and back to your mat.

See yourself back in this very room,

Lying in savasana.

And as you close your practice,

I invite you to surrender ever so gently to these words,

These sensations and experiences.

Let them nurture you,

Care for you,

Protect you.

Let them fill you with the compassion and inner strength that's within you all the time.

The practice of yoga nidra is now coming to an end.

As I say the words,

Harayom tatsat,

You will awaken if you've fallen asleep and we will come back to the physical body and the physical breath.

Harayom tatsat.

Little by little,

You will start to develop awareness of your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.

You can start wiggling your fingers and toes,

Massage your head back and forth on your mat and slowly making your movements a little bigger and a little fuller.

Become more and more aware of your surroundings now,

Allowing the sounds,

Smells and temperature to come back into focus.

Keep your eyes closed,

But keep moving your body slowly,

Maybe bringing your knees to your chest or your arms outstretched over your head.

I invite you to roll onto your right side now for a few deep breaths before sitting up fully.

Start your head with your arm and take your time moving at a pace that is comfortable for you.

After a few breaths,

Come to a seated position.

And as we sit here together,

Bring your hands to your heart and extend your deepest gratitude.

Namaste,

Loved ones.

Reviews

A truly loving and restorative Yoga Nidra. I floated in joy and peace up in the sacred treehouse. Thank you!🙏🌸

Thank you🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻Three years later, I have for the first time practiced this again. Enjoyed it again. Feedback this time: Rather than going through 2 cycles of pranayama kosha, I would prefer a choice: either focus on belly or on nostrils, and then later have more time to spend in the tree house. There was so much expansion going on there, and suddenly I felt rushed to get out of the tree house, and out the forest, and back in my body. And still: thank you🙏🏻🌟🙏🏻

This was wonderful, and I feel so peaceful and refreshed. Thank you so much, Deb 🙏🏻💚

Thank you. Namaste 🙏💚

Beautifully delivered and easy to follow. Deeply relaxing. Than you for sharing this meditation 😊🙏.

I feel so whole, so complete and at one. Thank you Teacher for that wonderful gift and for making my day. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Pure delight, thank you.

Lovely and very relaxing

Absolutely LOVE this meditation! I've been doing it everyday for weeks now. Thank you. ❤

Calm pace and tone.

I loved this, will listen and follow again!!

Just beautiful. Thank you ♡

Absolutely great

This meditation is divine! I will be incorporating it to my weekly practice.

Deborah, a beautiful nidra meditation. Thank you so very much. Truly appreciate this.

At last a Yoga Nidra for consciousness in the yogic tradition. Love her voice and gentle guidance. Grateful.