Yoga Nidra For New Beginnings

I hope you love this luxurious, gentle, deeply restorative Yoga Nidra, ideal for afternoon or evening use. Recorded as a Yoga Nidra for Spring, it's themed around the new beginnings and sense of possibility we connect to in spring, but is appropriate for all seasons, reminding you to tend to the seeds of new beginnings you wish to sow in your life! And remember, my friends - through rest, you are renewed! You are reborn! *While not specifically intended for sleep, there is no ending bell.*

Transcript

Welcome to your yoga nidra practice.

My name is Hilary Jackendorf and thanks so much for joining me.

This yoga nidra is intended as a yoga nidra for springtime,

Focusing on connecting to a feeling of renewal,

A sense of possibility,

The opportunity to begin again.

Of course,

You can practice this yoga nidra any time of the year whenever you're seeking to connect to this feeling.

Take some time now and prepare yourself for this journey inward.

Make sure that your devices are on do not disturb.

Make sure that you'll be warm enough.

You might like to have some support under your knees to allow your lower back to release more fully.

You might also like a thin cushion or a folded blanket under your head.

Take as much time as you need to get comfortable.

If you're resting in savasana,

Ensure that your feet are about hip-width apart and your toes turned out if that's comfortable.

You can allow your arms to rest alongside of your body with a little bit of space between the side body and the arms with the palms facing up or in.

But if this isn't appropriate for you or doesn't feel right,

If it feels better or safer to rest your hands over your heart or your abdomen,

That's fine too.

Once you've found comfort,

Let yourself begin to settle in.

Ideally during the practice of yoga nidra we rest in stillness so that we can really sink into the experience and go as deep into our consciousness,

Into ourselves as possible.

However,

If at any point your body is experiencing pain,

Navigate that with wisdom,

Moving as needed and then returning to stillness.

Begin to arrive fully in your body for your practice,

Consciously giving yourself full permission to let go,

To soften and to be at ease.

The practice is fully guided,

But make sure that you follow the instructions with a soft quality of focus.

Not trying too hard,

Not worried if you miss some point of guidance,

It doesn't matter.

See if you can cultivate the attitude that the guidance flows to you,

It flows through you,

Or maybe it flows by you.

That's all good.

Connecting to your natural breath,

Begin to lengthen your exhalation,

Perhaps gently constricting the back of your throat and letting your exhale be a subtle ujjayi breath,

Natural spontaneous inhale.

Exhale like the sound of the ocean.

Take three more breaths like this,

Spontaneous inhale and an elongated exhale,

Perhaps cultivating that gentle ujjayi breath.

Let go of this and just let your breath be natural.

Begin to really feel into your body,

Feeling the weight of your body,

Completely supported.

Whatever surface you're lying on,

Be at the floor,

Be at your bed.

Have the sense that you are resting on the earth,

That you are supported by the earth,

And that you can let go.

Connecting to a felt sense of the way you've positioned yourself,

Feeling into the shape of your body,

Feeling the shape of your body as a unique landscape,

Charting the terrain of your body,

Its peaks and valleys,

And feeling the earth of your body resting on the body of the earth.

Allow yourself to soften completely,

Aware that any muscular holding,

Any muscular tightness or tension has a quality of doing,

A quality of activation,

And in this moment there is no need for that.

Let yourself simply rest,

Connecting to a felt sense of non-doing,

A felt sense of pure being.

Begin to scan through your body,

Noticing any areas where tightness or tension might still remain,

And see if you can imagine your breath flowing in and out of those areas,

Creating spaciousness,

Creating ease.

As you hold different parts of your body in awareness,

Feel that your in-breath creates spaciousness,

And the gentle warmth of your exhale melts any tension away.

And with every breath,

Feel that you're welcoming in softness,

Expansiveness,

Spaciousness,

Ease.

Each breath creates the space to welcome in a new way of being.

Sensing now that each in-breath,

The surface beneath you rises to hold you,

To cradle you,

Each out-breath your body releases more and more of its weight.

Feel that quality of rising,

Lifting with the in-breath,

Releasing,

Softening with the out-breath.

You may begin to notice that as the moments pass,

The quality of your breath is shifting slightly.

As your body becomes more and more at ease,

Your breath becomes more gentle,

More subtle,

More refined.

Know that this is perfect,

That your body is breathing exactly as it needs to,

Letting go of effort,

Making no attempt to shape your breath.

And now,

Cultivating a felt sensation,

A felt experience of possibility,

A felt experience that each moment is a new beginning.

And see if you can feel into a sense of possibility that may arise simply through letting go,

Simply through the experience of coming to rest within your own being.

Become aware of what seeds of possibility you're tending within yourself,

What you're cultivating.

If you have a sankalpa,

Connect to this heartfelt desire now,

Feeling it in your body as fully as possible.

Feel the sense of possibility generated in every cell of your being when you connect to your sankalpa.

Letting go of sankalpa.

At this time in the practice,

The awareness will go on a journey,

A sort of sacred pilgrimage around the terrain of the body,

Anointing each part with the awareness.

As different points of the body are named,

Feel into each point,

Connect to a felt sense of warmth or energy,

And visualize radiant light at each point,

Guiding attention to the space between the eyebrows,

Feeling this point,

Noticing any experience of warmth or energy here,

And visualize radiant light illuminating this point,

Guiding attention to the throat pet,

Sensing warmth or energy,

Radiant light illuminating the throat pet,

Heart center,

Center of the right side of the chest,

Right shoulder,

Right elbow crease,

Right wrist,

Tip of the right thumb,

Tip of index finger,

Tip of middle finger,

Tip of ring finger,

Tip of little finger,

Right wrist,

Right elbow crease,

Right shoulder,

Center of the right side of the chest,

Heart center,

Center of the left side of the chest,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow crease,

Left wrist,

Tip of left thumb,

Tip of index finger,

Tip of middle finger,

Tip of ring finger,

Tip of little finger,

Left wrist,

Left elbow crease,

Left shoulder,

Center of the left side of the chest,

Heart center,

Navel,

Pubic area,

Right hip point,

Right knee,

Right ankle,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Right ankle,

Right knee,

Right hip point,

Pubic area,

Left hip point,

Left knee,

Left ankle,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Left ankle,

Left knee,

Left hip point,

Pubic area,

Navel,

Heart center,

Throat pit,

Point between the eyebrows,

Visualizing the entire body,

The entire body held in awareness,

Illuminated with this radiant golden light.

In the stillness of the body,

Begin to sense the movement of breath.

Spontaneous effortless breath.

The whole body being breathed,

Life force energy spontaneously moving through the entire body,

Traveling to every cell of your being.

Following the movement,

The rhythm of each breath,

Following the breath as though noticing it for the first time.

Feel that sense of beginning anew at the beginning of each inhale and the beginning of each exhale.

The sense of possibility contained in each breath,

In each moment.

Staying with the breath,

Beginning now to simply count each breath as it passes,

Counting backwards from the number 18 the following way.

Breathing in 18,

Breathing out 18,

Breathing in 17,

Breathing out 17.

If the count is lost or if zero is reached,

Simply start again.

Let go of the count.

Let go of the breath and see if awareness can be drawn inside the body.

See if awareness can enter the space of the heart.

Explore finding an inner sanctuary here,

A space within that feels safe,

A space where you can take rest.

Have the sense that this inner space is where you can tend to yourself,

Where you can nourish yourself so that the seeds of the new beginnings that you're tending can flourish.

Feel that each moment spent resting in this inner space allows for greater growth in the future,

A more beautiful blossoming at the appropriate time.

Gradually shift attention toward the space of the mind,

Knowing that you can return to this inner space and take rest at any time.

Letting the awareness come to rest in front of the closed eyes.

Individualize images,

Experiences as their name.

Visualize weaving yellow flowers into a floral crown,

Ribbons dancing in the breeze,

Running through a meadow with open arms,

Dancing,

Twirling through the meadow,

Flames of a fire,

Sensing the transformation,

The wood changing form.

Stories peeking out from behind yellow water cups,

Acorns on the forest floor,

Drawing clear,

Pure water from a deep well.

Rainy dripping from your finger,

Catch it on your tongue.

A sense of possibility,

New beginnings,

New life.

A baby chick hatching from an egg,

Planting seeds in rich earth,

The midday sun warming your skin,

A warm breeze touching the back of your neck,

The earth below you,

The sky above you.

You are the space between.

Let yourself feel this fully.

The earth below,

The sky above.

You are the space between.

Remember the seeds of new beginnings you are tending.

Remember your sun culpa.

And activate a felt connection to your sun culpa,

Sensing the possibility it contains.

Perhaps it contains the possibility for a new way of being.

Let go of this,

Trusting in the perfection of your own unfolding,

The perfection of your own path to growth,

To transformation,

Knowing that everything occurs in its own time.

Become connected to your breath and just rest in this connection to breath for a moment.

Feeling your breath to be the bridge between body and mind and start to more fully activate that connection.

Begin to tune in to the sounds of the day,

Opening awareness,

Recalling where you are in the room,

The space around you,

Listening to sounds,

Remembering where you are in the room,

Attuning to sensations in your body,

Feeling the earth of your body resting on the body of the earth.

Feeling any subtle transformations that may have occurred.

And when you're ready,

Begin to gradually deepen your breath,

Expanding your inhale and extending your exhale,

Feeling into the pleasure of breathing.

In your own time,

Begin to slowly and gently activate your body,

Introducing small movements if you feel to.

Know that there's no rush.

You can remain in stillness for a while longer if you choose,

Resting fully in this space between,

The space between the practice of deep rest,

Sacred rest,

Turning inward,

And the activities of the day to come.

You can rest in this space between for as long as you like.

If you're ready to return to your day or evening,

Begin to stretch your body,

Making larger movements,

Maybe drawing your knees into your chest,

Or maybe gently turning your head from side to side.

And as you intentionally return,

You might like to take a moment to mentally thank yourself for taking this time and fully feel into the range of effects of the practice of yoga nidra.

Thank you so much for joining me,

For trusting me to guide you.

I hope that you feel rested,

Renewed,

And carry with you the sense of possibility,

Remembering that every moment is a new beginning.

Reviews

Wonderful what I heard of it. I fell asleep! I’ll listen again for sure. Thank you 💖

Thanks very much for this restorative practice! I really liked your soothing voice, pacing and the theme of spring renewal!

So wonderful, exactly what I needed, thank you! Using this Nidra to accompany my inner spring. Also love the not too abrupt ending, so I could rest a little more afterwards with ease ✨🙏🏻

Great pre sleep with the right pauses as I can’t remember the end.

Loved this Nidra and the story that comes with it, wonderful visualizations too 🧚✨

Loved this. Big fan of Hilary’s meditations! 🙏🏻💚

Appreciate the original imagery within traditional framework. I shall return.

Lovely! 💕🌸💕
Leaving me refreshed and renewed although I didn’t expect that to
happen. Gentle and pleasant. 🙏🏾

Hilary,
I just love your meditations. Your voice is calming, tension-easing, and articulate and I adore your descriptive words and mentions of special objects in Nature. My brain and body are always very relaxed during and after listening to your Yoga Nidra mediations. Namaste
🙏🏼🌲🪶🍂🔥🍁✨

How wonderful…. Such a calm and measured voice to guide me through levels of awareness that are life’s blessing.

A gentle guide to help incline the mind to the possibilities of renewal. Deeply relaxing 🙏

Beautiful experience of profound relaxation and deep rest.

Thank you for this beautiful experience Hilary. I loved the theme of new beginnings and every word felt profound to me. 🙏

An amazing and loving session! Thank you so much Hilary!

So so so so so good. ❤️🧬❤️🧬❤️🧬❤️Thankyou

Thankyou Hilary. Calm, peaceful and immrsive. A treat for my Sunday morning.

Thankyou 🥀🙏🧘‍♀️

Thank you for sharing that beautiful Yoga Nidra practice. This was about as perfect an experience as I could imagine. Reminds me of my very first Yoga Nidras 15 years ago. Thank you!

Lovely meditation 🙏

Delightful. Beautifully guided. Thankyou Hilary for another gem 🙏💖