Yoga Nidra: Embodying The Elements

This Yoga Nidra is suitable for all levels, but it is not specifically a beginner-friendly Yoga Nidra. It includes all 8 stages common to the Bihar School of Yoga and contains guidance and powerful elemental imagery intended to help you feel more deeply connected to nature and the universal forces. It includes sankalpa, mantra, and mental alternate nostril breathing, with awareness of ajna chakra. Over time, these more advanced components will you help you build sensitivity to the subtle body and the energetic pathways we can create through our breath. If you are newer to meditation or to Yoga Nidra, certain instructions may be challenging, but you will still find deep benefits. In order to get the most out of your practice, make sure you are completely comfortable, warm enough, and ideally able to remain relatively still during the practice. Thank you for practicing with me!

Transcript

Begin to prepare yourself for the practice of yoga nidra.

This powerful tantric meditation often gives rise to a wide variety of experiences.

You may fall asleep,

You may stay awake,

Or you may enter the state of yoga nidra,

Complete awareness in deep sleep.

This particular meditation is not meant to put you to sleep for the night and does not have an ending bell.

So if you're concerned that you might fall asleep,

Please set a timer to bring you back to wakefulness.

Traditionally yoga nidra is practiced lying down in savasana with the feet about hip width apart,

The arms alongside the body but not touching.

If that is not comfortable for any reason,

Please choose any position that is.

Take the next few moments to ensure that you'll be comfortable and warm enough for the duration of the meditation.

And as you begin to settle in,

Start to shift your mental and physical energy from doing to being.

Acknowledge that this is your time to deeply rest,

To let go,

And consciously give yourself permission to do so.

Follow the instructions with the awareness,

But do so with softness and ease.

If your mind wanders or you lose focus,

Don't worry.

Just bring your attention back without any tension or concern.

Make any final adjustments to your body posture.

And once you've found comfort,

Find stillness.

Begin by taking a full breath in through your nose.

Pause.

Open the mouth and let it go.

And again.

Full breaths in and out,

Releasing tension with the breath out.

Continue until you feel that surface layer of tension has been released.

Let go of the breath and allow yourself to be in a space of effortless ease.

Feel your body.

Still.

Open.

And aware.

Be aware of the pressure of the floor below and all of the points where body meets floor.

For a moment,

Feel that you can inhale and exhale from all of those meeting points,

Sensing the gentle rise and fall of the body with each breath.

Become aware of the touch of clothing and coverings.

And the touch of air moving across the skin.

The whole body alive to sensations.

To tastes in the mouth.

To smells.

Open fully to smells.

Open fully to sounds.

Be open.

Receive individual sounds as they're heard.

Open and unaffected.

All sounds.

Let them come in unfiltered,

Unedited.

The sound of your breath.

You may or may not be able to hear your breath.

Just observe.

All sounds.

Come open once more to all sounds.

Your breath.

The inner sound of your breath.

The inner sound of your Senkopa.

Your positive intention.

Repeated three times.

The inner sound of your breath.

The inner sound of your breath.

Come open and close.

And open.

Try to feel and hear.

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Sole,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The whole right side of the body,

Left side,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Whole left side of the body,

Left side,

Moving the attention up the back of the body,

Awareness of both heels,

Calves,

Back of the knees,

Backs of the thighs,

Buttocks,

Spinal column,

Tailbone to midbrain,

Midbrain to tailbone,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Crown of the head,

Forehead,

Temple,

Eyebrow,

Eyebrow center,

Eyes and eyelashes,

Ears,

Cheeks,

Bridge of nose,

Nose tip,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The whole nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

The line where lips meet,

Tongue,

Teeth,

Gum,

The whole mouth,

Right side of jaw,

Left side of jaw,

Chin,

The whole face,

Front of the neck,

Pit of the throat,

Right side of chest,

Left side of chest,

Heart center,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

Navel,

Right side of navel,

Left side of navel,

Left side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Left side of pelvis,

Right side of Add the mental repetition of the mantra,

So Hum.

Inhaling So to the eyebrow center.

Hum exhaling.

So hum.

Sound of the mantra following the flow of the natural breath.

Continuing to gently guide the awareness,

Filling the inner space with the sound of the mantra.

So hum.

Stay with the breath and begin to increase the volume of the inner sound of the mantra.

Internally loud and clear.

Let the mantra go.

Release the alternating breath.

Feel breath moving in and out of both nostrils.

Feel the in-breath merge with the eyebrow center,

Pausing there for a moment before exhaling the breath out of the body.

Feel deeply into the body.

With each breath out,

Feel the groundedness of the body.

Feel its stability.

The grounded nature of the body deeply rooted in the earth element.

The body grounded.

Identify with this experience.

Deepen in through the power of the mind.

Grounded.

Stable.

Earthed.

The body,

The mind,

Prana.

The whole being grounded.

Let that experience dissolve.

Dissolve into spaciousness.

The earth losing its solidity,

Its form.

Dissolving.

Becoming liquid,

Smooth,

Fluid,

Flowing.

Liquid evaporating into space.

Form dissolving into space.

Spaciousness within the body.

Feeling into the space beyond matter.

Ever increasing spaciousness beyond form.

Letting go into that space beyond.

Become present now to the space of the mind.

Soft,

Effortless gaze into the inner space of the mind.

Vast,

Warm,

Infinite space.

Breathe into that inner space.

Visualize a steady flame of fire.

See its bright outline.

The bright outline of the flame.

Soft,

Rosy glow of light around the flame.

The inner heart of the flame.

The dark space at the center.

Gaze into that inner space of the flame.

Go into that space.

Feel its vastness.

The expansiveness of the space at the center of the flame.

Let that go.

Visualize raindrops falling in slow motion on the clear glass-like surface of a still lake.

See each raindrop slowly falling,

Creating splash and ripples.

See the dance of raindrops on the still surface of the lake.

All mountain,

Heavy with stone,

Boulders.

Loud crack,

Magnificent boulder loosens from the side of the mountain.

Thumbs crashing down,

Thundering down the side of the mountain.

Breaking trees,

Crashing down the side of the mountain.

Warm embers of a cozy fire.

Warm glow of the coals.

Coals glowing bright orange and white,

Others welcoming red.

See a charcoal black at the outside of the fire.

White ash around the edges.

Look deep into the heart of the coals.

A crystal,

Sunlight through the crystal.

A prism of light,

Rainbow colors dancing around it.

Perfectly clear crystal,

Producing whole spectrums of color.

Lay of light dancing endlessly through and around the crystal.

Dark storm clouds,

Heavy and gray.

A dark eye begins to form,

Energy pooling at the center of the form.

Clouds begin to turn,

Drawing energy further into the center.

Intensity increases,

A tunnel of air is formed.

A tornado,

Incredible force of wind,

Of air.

Tornado ripping through the air,

Landing onto the earth,

Raising the earth up into the sky.

The fierce and awesome power of the wind.

Moonbeam,

Visualize a moonbeam,

Lighting up patches of earth in a deep forest on a dark night.

Moon peeking out from behind the clouds,

Soft beams of light coming out,

Touching the earth.

The touch of the moon kissing the earth.

See a steady candle flame,

Its bright outline,

Its rosy glow.

Infinite space at the heart of the flame.

Infinite space,

Infinite potential.

Into that space,

Mentally speak your sankalpa,

Your intention,

Three times.

Let sankalpa go.

Feel back into the body,

Your body,

Its inner dimensions,

Movement within.

Feel the inner flow of energy,

The flow of your blood moving with the power of your heartbeat.

Air moving in and out of your lungs.

Your body breathing,

Your body breathing,

Lying on the floor.

Feel the contact of body to floor,

Contact of clothes and coverings.

Movement of air across your skin.

Visualize your whole body in the room,

In the room within the building.

Hear the sounds around you,

Identifying each sound and its source.

Open to all sounds,

Your body,

Your breath,

Sounds around you.

Know that you have been practicing yoga nidra,

And the practice is now complete.

As you feel ready to do so,

Introduce movement,

Wiggling your toes and your fingers,

Expanding these movements as you feel to,

Moving intuitively.

Draw your breath in fully,

Pause,

Let it go.

Notice any shifts that have occurred,

And when you feel ready,

Roll over onto one side,

Give yourself a little squeeze before re-engaging with your day.

Haryom Tatsat.

Haryom Tatsat.

Reviews

Lovely deep practice. Thank you so much! I just wish the sound was a bit louder.

Being able to stay alert and actually noticing the various parts of my body, which I haven’t consciously felt in a long time. Relaxed and beautiful. 🤩 Thanks

I loved the incorporation of the elements. It brought such an awakening to the practice. Deeply relaxing and invigorating at the same time.

❤️... swept me away and back again. Grateful ... Thank you.

Thank you 🙏

The volume seemed to rise and fall. Maybe it was my level of consciousness.

I love this complete version. The alternate nostril breathing with mantra and third-eye focus is especially relaxing. Thank you Hilary.

This is so rich an experience. I haven't done the alternate nostril breathing without using my hand before and, surprisingly to me, found I experienced the movement of the breath more intensely. The visualisations were beautiful. I feel deeply rested. Namaste Hilary.

Thank you for this beautiful Nidra. I really went deep with this one. 🙏

Thank you🙌🏻🙏🏻

Amazing work, Hilary - I dive deep into this wonderful, and very divers Yoga Nidra - I love the elements - even though I seldom get so far, usualy I am off to sleep bevor I reach this part ... I listen to this meditation regularly - actually - I am kind of addicted to it 🎉🌈💫
Love Astra

That was an amazing and restorative Yoga Nidra practice. Love your strong and steady guidance and pacing. And I feel so good 😉. Thanks, Hilary!

Brilliant Yoga Nidra Hilary. It took me really deep. I felt like I was ‘out of it’ then could snap back into clarity. Sincere thanks and blessings 🙏

So nice 🤩
Perfect any time of the day. Smooth voice guiding and a lovely awareness moving focus around the body. With both sankalpa and mantra 🙏🏻
Thank you 🧘🏻‍♀️ ✨💞

Deep and powerful - I was so relaxed afterwards 🙏🏻

Quiet and clear, I like it a lot.

Lovely thank you!

Completely engaging.

Quite amazing.....so gentle, so simple. ....yet so complex and complete. Thank you dear Teacher.

Best yoga nidra I have encountered. Thorough body scan and imagery. Fully refreshed and aware.
Thank you🙏🏼

Thank you so much for this wonderful meditation. I feel soothed and ready for the day.