Still Point Nidra

This is a contemporary take on an ancient practice of yoga nidra. Journey through a stillpoint inducing a calm and awake nervous system reminiscent of craniosacral therapy. Awaken self-realisation through practice.

This script is inspired by Thomas McConkie, Founder of Lower Lights.

Transcript

Take a moment to settle in.

Letting the body organize in a way that feels effortless.

Allowing you to relax but also to be alert and present.

Take three cleansing breaths.

Be gentle,

Quiet,

And let the breaths be long.

In through the nose,

Out through pursed lips.

You can start by bringing awareness to the entire physical body now.

Noticing the shape of the body,

The posture.

And you can bring awareness to the breath.

Noticing the in-breath and the out-breath.

Bringing particularly on the out-breath,

The way the body softens.

Let's go.

Release is not an intention,

But an attention.

With each out-breath,

The shoulders fall,

The chest sinks,

The belly softens.

And soft tissue dissolving.

As we continue to sink,

Feel into listening with your body.

Follow this sense inward through your fascial body.

Through this genius and luscious network of connective tissue.

Don't chase.

Simply follow.

Surrender to being drawn in.

I like a mycelium thread of listening.

Listen to the spaciousness within and surrounding.

A rising pulse magnified at your palms and fingertips warm,

Electric.

Aware of your heartbeat,

Your breath,

And a third rhythm.

Filling in the cranium,

Lengthening at the spine,

Expanding.

Followed by a narrowing and returning.

And the cycle begins again.

And notice in this moment that you can notice.

Notice that you're aware.

You may be aware of many things,

But the fact is that at the heart of this moment and this experience you're aware.

Moment to moment the objects of your awareness will change.

One moment aware of a thought,

The next moment aware of sensation in the body,

Then a sound.

But notice that while the objects of awareness will change,

The prior fact of awareness does not.

You're always aware and you can be aware that you're aware.

Take a moment to rest in this quality of presence.

Allow your awareness to glide over the continuing parts of your body as you hear them named now.

Just following my voice.

The right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

The right wrist,

Lower arm,

Right elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

And armpit,

The right waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Right knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And little toe.

The whole right side of the body,

Your entire right side.

Awareness now of the left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Left wrist,

Lower arm,

Left elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

And armpit,

Left waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Left knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

And little toe.

The whole left side of the body,

Entire left side,

The spinal column,

Sacrum,

And the cranium bones now,

Occipital at the base,

Sphenoid,

Frontal bone,

Parietal,

And temporal bones,

The roof of the mouth,

The floor of the mouth,

And tongue.

Extend this attention further inward now,

To the traversing diaphragm of the body,

The traversing diaphragmatic spaces in the body,

Moving through the energetic wheels of your body,

At the urogenital,

Pelvic,

Respiratory,

Thoracic,

Hyoid,

And pituitary.

A fascial diaphragm's traversing from the base of your spine through to the crown of your head,

With your imaginative listening,

Sense the infinite space within these traversing places,

Allow these to soften with every rhythmic beat,

Breathing the bridge between,

Breathe,

Sink further into your sensory imagination,

Follow the rhythmic pulse deep inside the cavernous,

Sensuous,

Folding canvas of matter within your axis,

Filling with fibrous and yet luscious layers,

Thrumming,

Palpating under the skin.

When you're concentrated,

Your awareness is focused.

When your mind wonders,

Your awareness opens up and expands.

But in any event,

You're still just aware.

You're always present to something.

Your awareness is at the heart of who you are.

And the mind can endlessly evaluate how things are going in this moment,

How my life is going,

Am I doing well,

How this meditation is going,

Am I doing it right?

Notice that beneath the level of these distinctions and these appraisals that the thinking mind makes,

There's a quality of profound trust in our experience.

You can trust yourself,

You can trust the very ground of being in this moment,

Trust that whatever's happening in life in this very moment,

That you can meet the moment just as you need to.

Notice any resistance to this quality of trust.

This can be a more challenging aspect of the still point to access.

Notice any tightness,

Any distrust,

Any mistrust,

Any fear.

And you can trust all of that too.

Trust all of that response is exactly what needs to come up in this moment and to be felt and to be experienced.

Notice at a subtle level in this moment a tendency to want to control how the meditation is going,

To steer it to arrive in a certain place.

And notice a part of you that's willing to submit to exactly what's happening,

A part of you that doesn't need to steer,

Doesn't need to exert.

And at the still point between control and submission,

You can sense a quality of deep peace,

Profound peace,

A peace beyond any description,

A peace that passes understanding,

A still point induced,

A rhythm lulling,

A reset before coming back online.

And notice a quality of rest that naturally comes forward.

The still point is not something we're reaching for.

It's not something artificial to us that we're grafting on.

But rather the still point is who we are at the deepest level.

In this case,

You can notice the quality of rest.

You can allow the physical body to rest and to be soft.

Allow the mind to rest.

You can allow thoughts to flow in a calm stream.

Whatever the conditions of the body in this moment,

Whether you're incredibly comfortable or incredibly uncomfortable,

Whatever the conditions of the mind,

Whether your mind is empty and peaceful or full of different thoughts and agitated or a little of both,

Notice the quality of stillness,

Of spaciousness,

Beyond push and pull,

Beyond what's playing pleasant and unpleasant.

Notice at the deepest level of who you are in this moment.

There's a natural quality of contentment.

You can just rest in this moment and allow yourself to be deeply satisfied,

Calling off the search,

No seeking.

And notice that the more deeply you touch into this quality of rest,

The more able you are to just accept this moment and all of its rewards and gifts,

All of its challenges,

This quality of acceptance,

The ability to just be present naturally arises.

Take a moment here,

Totally at rest,

Fully present to everything this moment is,

Exactly as it is.

Allow yourself a final moment to experience all of these flavours together,

Like a fine banquet,

A quality of presence,

A quality of rest,

Profound rest,

Contentment independent of any conditions,

A deep sense of contentment,

Of everything is okay,

Transcendent trust.

Whatever the conditions of life in this immediate moment and beyond,

You can trust yourself to respond.

Trust the ground of being.

Trust your own basic goodness and the basic goodness of life.

Notice how new these qualities feel in the moment,

Endlessly refreshing themselves.

And at the same time,

Notice how familiar they are.

Feel how,

In a sense,

They've always been with you,

Always been right here at the heart of all experience.

As we close the nidra,

Attend to the sense that you are calm and awake.

And when you hear the Sambal sound,

Open your eyes,

Stretch,

And move on with your day,

A little more awake,

A little more calm.

Reviews

Exceptional! I've never done a yoga nidra where the insides of the body were relaxed before. Loved this new take on the practice ✨💚

Love the originality!

Good guidance and practice. Appreciated the pacing in the body scan and the still point exploration after. Great message.

Loved it! Silent background. Refreshing new naming of body parts. Especially cranial bones .
11/30/23

Thank you!! This is an extremely interesting practice. I'll have to repeat it often.

Namasté!

What a wonderful trip was I just in

Very calming and relaxing

I love this Nidra and the title, it brought me to my still point, in this moment, just as it is ❤️🙏😊namaste 🕉

Gorgeous Ev!

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏