Welcome.
I'm Esther Nagel and I'm here to guide you through a yoga nidra for women in the menopause transition.
This is called the fire that remakes you.
Take your time.
And come into your chosen position.
Lie down if that's comfortable for you.
Maybe with a blanket beneath you.
Something warm over you if you need it.
An eye pillow is nice if you have one.
Let yourself be held by the floor.
Make any final adjustments.
Shift your weight.
Let your feet fall outwards.
Let your hands rest,
Palms open.
Little wave from your body.
And let your eyes close.
Take a deep breath in through your nose,
Slow,
Full,
And let it go with a sigh through your mouth.
Again,
Breathe in.
And release.
Once more.
Breathe in.
And let it all go.
You have arrived.
There is nowhere else to be,
Nothing to do,
Nothing to become.
You are simply here.
Before we go deeper,
You might want to bring to your mind your sankalpa,
If you're working with one,
Your heartfelt intention.
Not a goal,
Not something you are trying to fix.
A truth you're growing into.
If you have it,
If you have one.
Let it rise now.
Speak it inwardly of quiet conviction three times.
If no words come,
Simply place your hand on your heart and feel the warmth there.
That warmth is enough.
You are enough.
We now move through rotation of consciousness.
Moving awareness through the body.
Simply hear each part named and let your attention arrive there lightly like a bird landing.
No F.
No commentary,
Just presence.
Write them.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger Little finger.
Palm of the right hand.
Back of the hand.
The rest.
Forearm elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder armpit.
Right side of the chest.
Right side of the waist.
Right hip.
Right thigh,
Kneecap,
Calf.
Thank you.
Ew.
Soul of the right foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe third toe fourth toe fifth toe.
Left thumb Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger Little finger.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the hand.
The rest.
Forearm.
Elbow upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Left side of the chest.
Left side of the waist.
Left hip.
Left thigh,
Kneecap.
Cough.
Ankle.
Sole of the left foot left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe back of the skull.
Top of the head.
The right ear.
The left ear.
A bright she.
The left cheek.
The right eye.
The left eye.
Top of the nose.
The lower lip.
The chin.
The mouth.
The tongue.
The throat.
The chest,
The heart centre.
The belly.
The navel.
The lower belly.
The space.
Upper back.
Metal back.
Lower back.
The whole spine from tailbone to the crown of the head.
The whole body the whole beautiful living changing body Feel the weight of it.
The warmth of it.
The aliveness of it.
Now we will move between opposites,
Allowing the mind to expand.
Simply experience whatever arises and then let it go.
Feel heaviness.
The body sinking.
Heavy as stone.
Heavy as earth Be like us.
The body buoyant.
Floating.
Belly fat.
Feel cold,
A coolness moving across your skin.
The sharp clarity of cool air.
Feel warm.
A deep,
Steady warmth at the very core of you.
Not the heat of distress.
This is the heat of life itself.
Feel tiredness.
An ancient deep bone tiredness.
Years of giving,
Years of holding,
Years of becoming.
I'm that tireless bastard.
Vitality.
Something stirring underneath the tiles.
The current.
A readiness.
Spa.
Now let the body rest completely.
Let the mind become open,
Receptive,
Like a clear sky.
I'm going to guide you into an inner landscape.
Stay awake.
But stay still.
If sleep comes,
Let that be fine.
Your body knows what you need.
The work continues,
Even if you're asleep.
It is dusk.
Sky is deep.
Amber and gold fading into violet at the edges.
The air is warm and still.
You are standing at a threshold.
Behind you.
Though you do not need to look.
Is everything you have been.
Have free bro.
Every name others gave you.
Every way you have made yourself small or useful or acceptable.
It is all there.
Behind you.
And before you.
In the center of this open space.
There is a fire.
A real fire.
Not a small,
Polite fire.
Fire that memes have.
You can feel its heat from where you stand.
You can hear it,
The crackle and breath of it,
The way it speaks in its own language.
You begin to walk towards it.
With each step you feel something shift in you.
Loosening.
As though something you have been carrying,
Some old story,
Some old shape,
Some old you.
Is beginning to soften.
We're close to the fire now.
You can see its colours,
Gold at the edges.
White at the hearth.
And in that white heart.
There is no destruction.
There is only transformation.
From somewhere inside you,
Not from your mind,
From something deeper.
You bring forward what no longer serves you.
It may be her belief.
A belief of I am past my prime.
The belief of I am becoming invisible.
The belief of my best years are behind me.
It might be an identity you have outgrown,
The one who kept the peace.
The one who made herself small.
The one waited for permission.
It might simply be exhaustion.
Grief.
The weight of a life bored out for others.
Whatever it is,
You don't need to name it clearly.
You simply feel it rising in your chest,
Your throat,
Your belly.
And now.
Giving yourself full permission.
You offer it to the fire.
Just watch it go.
Watch the fire receive it.
Watch the flames brighten.
This is not loss.
This is the fire doing what fire does.
Taking what was and returning it as energy.
As heat.
It's light.
Stand here as long as you need to.
Now the fire shifts.
You notice the flames are changing colour.
Moving now into a deep copper gold.
And in that warmth you feel something new beginning to stir.
Not a new role.
Not a new performance.
Something older than that the part of you that existed before all the roles were assigned.
Heart that knows things.
That has always known things.
The fire speaks to it now.
Bring it back to life.
Let that part of you come forward.
She has been waiting.
She is not young she is not cold She is something else entirely.
Wise and unfinished at once,
Rooted and still becoming.
She is you.
The you that is being born from this fire.
Stay with her a moment.
Maybe she has something to show you.
Or give to you.
I'll whisper to you.
Receive it now.
When you are ready,
Begin to walk slowly away from the fire.
You carry its warmth with you.
Not the heat of burning.
The heat of having been through something.
Of standing in it and not being destroyed.
Of coming through to the other side.
Let the landscape dissolve gently now.
Bring your awareness back to the body lying here.
Feel the floor beneath you.
Feel the weight of your body.
And bring your awareness to your breath.
Feel the rise and fall of your body as you breathe in and out.
Notice how the breath is warmed by the inner fire's view as you breathe in.
Breathing out,
Ma air.
From your body.
You have that fire still within you.
Is always within you.
The fire that is you.
Keeps burning.
And brings light and warmth to the world.
Be with your breath.
Heal your body.
Now bring your sankalpa forward again.
All your connection to that inner fire.
Your heartfelt intention.
Speak it inwardly with quiet certainty three times.
Begin to bring gentle movement back to the body.
Gently wiggle your fingers.
And your toes.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in And a full breath out,
Releasing everything.
That you no longer need.
Bring your arms overhead in a long stretch or draw your knees to your chest.
Whatever the body is asking for.
Roll over onto your side.
Rest there for a moment,
Curled up,
Before you rise.
Take your time.
There is no rush.
When you are ready,
Make your way to sitting.
Sit quietly for a moment.
Place your hands on your heart.
And know this You are not in decline.
You are in transformation.
The fire has you.
And what this fire makes is not ash It is gold.
Namaste.
