Meditation With Still Moonlit Lake Yoga Nidra

This is a guided Yoga Nidra meditation and visualization called Meditation with Still Moonlit Lake (background music: Our Peaceful Ocean composed by Music Of Wisdom. Travel to the depths of a moonlit lake, following a spinning pearl, while repeating the mantra "so ham" in your mind. Yoga Nidra is a form of guided meditation also known as “yogic sleep” or “effortless relaxation,” but notably your mind remains awake, aware, and alert. Yoga Nidra is designed to allow your brain to transition through different brain wave frequencies that promote healing and restoration in the body. It's usually practiced lying down, and can be practiced any time of day. With practice, Yoga Nidra can help with sleep quality, insomnia, emotional trauma, getting over addiction, depression, and anxiety. Yoga Nidra is not advisable for those suffering from severe trauma or those with severe depression or other severe mental health conditions.

Transcript

As we come into this yoga nidra meditation,

Find a comfortable place for your body in a comfortable position.

You might be sitting up or you might like to lie down.

Just begin by noticing and relaxing all of the big muscle groups of your body.

Arms,

Legs,

Back,

Torso.

Allow your body to soften.

Allow your belly to soften and make your breath smooth.

Allow your mind to get into the groove of the slow inhale.

Slow exhale,

The continuity of slow inhale right into slow exhale.

Let your mind start to kind of drift up and down with that rhythm.

And now let your focus be on that flow from the eyebrow center to the base of the nose.

You might hear along with this track,

The sound of so hum.

So hum.

Just listen to that sound and the mind.

On the inhale,

So,

And on the exhale,

Hum.

Allow that sound to start to really flow in your mind with smooth,

Continuous flow of awareness,

Coordinated with your breath and with the sound,

So hum,

Flowing in your mind.

Inhaling,

So,

Exhaling,

Hum.

Now letting that flow move to the back of your mind.

If you can do a visual of this,

That's great.

If not,

It might be more of a felt sense.

Bring to mind a still lake in the moonlight,

Whatever that might look like for you.

The waters are still and the moonlight is reflecting on these waters,

This kind of stream of light across the water.

And in the center of that light,

There's a spinning pearl.

The sound of this pearl is the mantra,

So hum.

It's not coordinated with the breath anymore.

It's this pearl spinning with the mantra,

So hum.

So hum.

Let that repeat in your mind and listen to the sound,

So hum.

So hum.

A full moon is shining onto the stillness of the surface of this lake.

And the mantra,

Like a pearl,

Is spinning at its surface.

So hum.

So hum.

I invite you to allow the spinning pearl with the sound,

So hum,

To start to float downward into the water.

From the surface down into the waters of the still lake.

Still listening to the mind,

So hum.

So hum.

So hum.

Bring your attention again to this gently spinning pearl,

Going from the surface down into the lake.

With the vibration of the sound,

So hum.

So hum.

Gently let thoughts go.

Let them be on the surface of the lake.

As you bring your attention down deep to see the spinning pearl drifting down in the waters.

Softly,

So hum.

Let your focus be on the so hum.

So hum.

So hum.

As thoughts come into your awareness,

Allow them to be way in the background.

Or way up there at the top level,

The surface layer.

The surface of this lake,

There are just some ripples on the water.

We bring our attention back down,

Focusing only on the stillness.

Let everything else be up there on the surface.

The light of the full moon is still reflecting onto the stillness of the surface.

And piercing through that surface into the depths of the lake.

Allow yourself to remain focused and quiet.

Down here in the depths of the lake.

The depths of the mind.

Any time your mind gets engaged in the surface thoughts,

The waves,

The ripples,

Just gently bring your attention back down.

Let that slowly spinning pearl with the mantra so hum,

Drift down again from the top.

Allow yourself to feel the stillness and the quiet as it gets deeper and deeper in the lake.

So deep now,

Not even the sound,

So hum.

So hum.

The mind will likely get engaged in some thoughts,

From time to time,

That's so normal.

Just gently allow them to drift upwards toward the surface.

And let your attention stay in the depths.

If at any point you feel like you've really gotten off track,

You can gently bring your awareness back into your body for a moment.

Noticing the flow of breath in your nostrils.

Relaxing the main muscle groups in your body.

And with your breath,

Come back to that even effortless,

Smooth,

Continuous flow.

Allowing yourself to witness what's here,

The fact that you're here,

Without getting engaged in it.

I invite you to notice what you're hearing,

The little bit of awareness of your mind.

An awareness of the light,

The moonlight,

And the stillness of the lake.

Listening as the mantra repeats in the mind,

And so hum.

So hum.

So hum.

So hum.

Even that gets very quiet at times.

We're focusing on this direct experience of stillness and the deeper layers of the mind.

Even if we might be aware of surface activity,

Waves or ripples on the surface of the lake,

The light shining on the lake,

The mantra and that spinning pearl.

So hum.

Coming back to the stillness and the depths.

It's always here.

In a moment,

We'll be finishing up this practice.

Although you can certainly continue as long as you like.

Gently become aware now again of the breath as it flows in the nostrils.

Inhaling,

So exhaling,

Hum.

Bring your awareness back to the whole of your body from head to toes.

With practice over time,

We're able to keep our awareness in the deep stillness,

Even as we're observing or witnessing the thoughts that are going through the mind.

When you're ready,

You can open your eyes.

This practice of yoga nidra is now complete.