Spring Theme - Yellow Butterflies - Yoga Nidra

In this Yoga Nidra practice we'll start off by calming down the nervous system with guided gentle breathing. Then we slide into a soundscape of going through the Koshas of Yoga Nidra. All are infused with nature references and the season of spring. The idea is to approach the season with balance, flow, and renewal. All music is self-composed. I use a keyboard, guitar, mandolin, chimes, and harmonica for this one.

Music and field recordings (nature sounds) by me, Dennis Hollström.

Transcript

Hello this is Dennis and welcome to a spring journey,

A combination of breathwork,

Yoga nidra infused with nature references.

So begin by settling in,

Lying down,

Make yourself as comfortable as you possibly can using any props that you need.

Pillows,

Perhaps some pillows under the knees,

A blanket on the top of your body,

Maybe a small blanket to cover the eyes.

Relaxing your shoulders,

Perhaps rolling your shoulders,

Relaxing the eyes,

Relaxing your forehead,

Relaxing the jaw,

Arms and the legs,

And relaxing the belly.

Take a big breath in through the nose and a long exhale through the mouth again and one more long exhale.

Take two sips of air in through the nose,

One and one on top of that and again a long exhale again and one more time.

Let the breath guide you into stillness and continue to breathe in and out through the nose.

Slow down the breath,

Find a rhythm that suits you so the breath becomes slow,

Rhythmic,

Silent and low.

You want to keep it deep by breathing into the lower part of your lungs.

A good indication that you use the diaphragm is that you breathe through the lower parts of your lungs and that you expand the lower ribs in a horizontal way.

So deepen the breath,

As much as possible and if the breath feels shallow today,

Just accept that,

But do your best to deepen the breath and see if you can keep the breath equal.

So around four or five seconds on the inhale,

Four or five seconds on the exhale,

Slowing down the breath,

And by relaxing completely we get an opportunity to zoom out and get more perspective.

In the season of spring there is a lot of changes going on in the wild,

In nature.

Birds are returning,

Flowers in different colors,

Leaves,

Everything starts anew and it can be a lot at the same time for us to take in,

But by slowing down and keeping balance,

Staying in touch with the earth element,

But also the water element,

Flowing freely and whenever we meet some resistance,

We accept it because it exists,

But then we move on.

We move on with tranquility,

Keeping that slow and rhythmic nose breathing and now just go back to your natural breath.

Imagine yourself entering a forest garden with the blossoms of spring,

Cherry trees,

Small chirping birds,

Green grass,

Yellow butterflies,

Common brimstone butterfly,

Flowers of all kinds,

Wildflowers all around you as you lie down in the soft grass.

Besides a babbling brook with fresh spring water coming straight from the mountains,

From a glacier,

Cold fresh water giving you a cooling breeze,

But at the same time the sun is keeping you warm as you bring forth your sankapa,

Something that feels true to you in this moment and it can be a sankapa that you bring up each time you practice yoga nidra and here's an optional sankapa that you can use.

I flow like a river and I live for the day like a butterfly.

I flow like a river and I live for the day like a butterfly.

Repeating your sankapa three times mentally,

It starts to rain,

A soft rain,

But the trees beside you are bending over protecting you from the rain with its green and wondrous leaves.

At the same time the sun is reflecting on the babbling brook creating a tiny point of light coming up from the babbling brook,

Hovering just above your nose,

A gentle point of light and on your next inhale this tiny point of light enters your nostrils going up in between the eyebrows and you relax each body part that this light enters.

Your forehead,

Relaxing the forehead,

Top of your head,

Back of your head,

The left ear,

Inside the left ear,

Inside the right ear,

Left cheek,

The right cheek,

The left eye,

Left temple,

The right eye,

The right temple,

Both of the eyes,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Face of the tongue,

Top of the tongue,

Upper teeth,

Lower teeth,

The jaw,

Relaxing the jaw completely,

Center of the throat,

Left shoulder,

Right shoulder,

Upper arms,

Elbows,

Lower arms,

Wrists,

Palm of the hands,

Top of the hands,

Left thumb,

Second finger,

Left hand,

Third,

Fourth,

And a fifth,

All the fingers,

Left hand,

Fingertips,

Left hand,

Thumb on the right hand,

Second finger,

Right hand,

Third,

Fourth,

And a fifth,

Fingertips,

Right hand,

Both hands at the same time,

Both of the shoulders,

Relaxing the shoulders completely,

Heart center,

Belly,

Relaxing the belly completely,

Pelvic bowl,

Inside the left hip,

Inside the right hip,

The right hip,

Both hips at the same time,

Upper legs,

Knees,

Lower legs,

Ankles,

Heels,

Soles of your feet,

Top of the feet,

Big toe on the left foot,

Second toe,

Left foot,

Third,

Fourth,

And a fifth,

Tips of the toes,

Left foot,

Big toe on the right foot,

Second toe,

Right foot,

Third,

Fourth,

And a fifth,

Tips of the toes on the right foot,

All the toes at the same time,

Both of the feet,

Knees,

Hips,

Pelvic bowl,

Base of the spine,

Point of light rising to the mid-back,

Upper back,

Shoulders,

Both of the arms,

Both of the hands,

Throat center,

The heart center,

And now the whole body,

Point of light,

The whole body,

The whole body,

Point of light of awareness,

The body is breathing itself,

Just observing the lower ribs rising as you inhale,

Going back going back as you exhale,

The breath is changing the way you feel,

Even if it's subtle,

Constantly,

A subtle activation on the inhale,

Relaxation on the exhale,

Just letting the energies flow through you like a river stream in the spring,

Each breath,

Each moment is a new opportunity to feel the present moment,

To enjoy the present moment,

Behind all the clouds,

All the clouds,

The sky is always blue,

So behind all the thoughts,

Emotions,

Tensions,

The sky is clear,

So again,

Let this light of awareness exist in your whole body,

As the trees are bending back,

A clear blue sky is appearing with gentle winds,

A transition into summer,

Some winds are a bit chilly,

Some a bit warm,

On your next inhale through the left nostril,

Feel a chilly breeze entering,

Going up to the right hemisphere of the brain,

On the next inhale through the right nostril,

Feel that chilly breeze coming in to enter the left hemisphere of the brain,

Now feel that chilly breeze entering both nostrils,

Filling the whole body with a chilly breeze,

A breeze from the winter season,

Still present in the air,

Keeping you cool in the warm sun,

Now feel a warm wind entering your left nostril,

Going up to the right hemisphere of the brain,

Now feel a warm wind entering the right nostril,

Going up to the left hemisphere of the brain,

And now feeling the warm wind entering both nostrils,

Filling the whole body with a warm wind,

A wind from the summer season,

Entering your system,

Telling you that a new season is approaching,

A time for change,

But also a time for keeping balance and keeping the flow,

Now feeling the cool breeze and the warm wind entering your nostrils,

Entering your system,

Simultaneously,

And just observe how you feel,

Become the observer and feel how the seasons are equally important,

The chilly breeze from the winter,

The warm wind from the summer,

And the cool breeze from the summer,

The warm wind from the summer,

And just by observing,

You keep your mind and the body in the moment,

You give yourself permission and space to listen deeply to your heart,

Imagine yourself rising up from the spring garden,

Walking towards the mountains where the glacier is,

Walking further into the blossoms of spring,

The lush green trees and the moss,

And the moss,

Yellow butterflies all around you,

And as you walk farther up the mountain,

You feel like you need some rest,

So you sit down on a stone,

Just watching the top of the glacier,

And you hear some music from the woods,

A tribe from the woods is also approaching the mountain,

Walking towards you,

Smiling with drums,

Singing with joy,

Children,

Men and women men and women in all ages,

All together,

You join the tribe and the music,

As you walk together further up the mountain,

Full of jello butterflies,

You reach a fireplace,

And you lit up a fire,

You sit around the fire together,

And you feel like you're one of the tribe,

And together you celebrate life itself,

Just by being together,

Approaching the summer together,

You let go of the winter,

And the things you want to let go of,

You throw it in the fire,

You set it free,

And as you throw it in the fire,

It becomes jello butterflies,

Flying up towards the glacier,

And you feel a sense of oneness,

Simplicity,

The core of just being,

And how simple it can be,

And as it gets a little bit darker,

You notice that you are also now a point of light,

And all the ones around you are also shining,

You hold hands,

And together you shine even more,

Becoming one,

One with the universe,

Returning to your Sankalpa,

To your Sankalpa,

Repeating it three times,

Internally,

Repeating your own,

Or perhaps this optional one,

I flow like a river,

And I live for the day,

Like a butterfly,

I flow like a river,

And I live for the day,

Like a butterfly,

Slowly you are returning,

Walking down the mountain,

After a long night of joy and light,

Going back to the spring garden,

Taking a more activated breath in through the nose,

And a shorter exhale,

And again,

And one more time,

Moving fingers and toes,

Stretching out the arms and the legs,

Slowly flutter the eyes open,

I wish you a wonderful present moment,

Present moment,

And welcome back,

Anytime,

Kind regards,

Dennis

Reviews

I really loved this meditation, most enjoyable.
Thank you