Welcome to this yoga nidra inspired by the season of autumn.
My name is Hillary Jackendorf and I'll be guiding your practice today.
Thank you so much for being here and for taking the time and space for deep healing rest.
At the beginning of autumn we may start to feel the need to take rest more often.
We may begin to dive more deeply into our meditation practice,
Letting go of some of the outward moving energy of summer.
We explore finding balance between our work in the world and the deep pull towards our inner work.
In autumn we connect to gratitude for the abundance of the harvests and for all of the abundance we experience in our lives.
We celebrate the fruits of our labor and we delight in the richness of life.
As autumn progresses,
Just like the trees after they shed their leaves,
We begin to send our energy down into our roots to sustain and nourish us through winter.
By embracing this inward and downward moving energy,
We create an opportunity to cultivate a deeper sense of listening that allows us to hear and honor the wisdom of our intuition.
You can practice this yoga nidra all through the autumn season or any time of the year that you feel called to connect to the qualities of autumn.
If you're new to yoga nidra,
Welcome.
Yoga nidra is a gentle but powerful meditation technique that grants us access to an embodied experience of letting go.
In other words,
Yoga nidra is a practice that shows us what it feels like to truly release everything we're holding onto physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally.
Through yoga nidra we learn how to let go and we learn to release all the layers of identification and story that represent who we think we are.
Typically yoga nidra is practiced from lying down in shavasana,
Lying on the back with the feet about hip width apart,
Falling naturally out to the sides,
With the arms along side of you but not touching,
The palms facing upward or inward.
However,
This is just one way you can work with this incredible practice.
If it suits your body or if it suits your energy on this particular day,
You can practice from sitting up,
You can adjust the pose of shavasana however you feel to.
It's your practice.
It's your body.
So you get to decide how you arrange yourself.
Please do take the time to make sure that you'll be as comfortable as possible,
Making sure that you'll be warm enough.
You might like to put on some cozy socks.
You might like to cover yourself with a blanket or have some support under your knees to prevent hyperextension and create ease in the low back.
You might also like some support under your head,
Especially if you're lying on the floor.
Take as much time as you need to ensure that everything feels just so.
And once you've found comfort,
Let yourself settle into stillness,
Truly giving yourself time to rest,
To turn inwards.
During the practice of yoga nidra,
Give yourself full permission to let go.
Just be effortless.
Be without doing and allow yourself to fully receive the medicine of this meditation.
Develop an awareness of the energy present within your body and mind.
At this very moment,
Tune in.
Check in with yourself and notice whether or not you feel fully ready to turn inwards.
In order to release any restlessness or tension in your body or mind,
Let's take a few conscious,
Low and deep breaths together.
Breathe in fully through your nose,
Expanding abdomen,
Then chest.
Pause here and then exhale audibly through your mouth,
Releasing breath from the chest,
Then the abdomen with precision.
Again,
Breathe in deeply through your nose.
Breathe out completely through your mouth,
Making your exhalation a little longer than your inhale,
Activating your parasympathetic nervous system and consciously releasing tension from your body.
Again,
Breathing in,
Expand your abdomen upward and outward,
Feeling your breath naturally rise up into your chest,
Hold for a little bit,
And then exhale slowly,
Chest,
Then abdomen.
Two or three more breaths like this on your own,
Each breath guiding you gently,
Fully into your body and into the present moment for your practice.
And now let go of this conscious breath and allow your natural breath to emerge.
Easy,
Spontaneous,
Natural breath,
Coming and going of its own accord,
Nothing to do.
Begin to sense the boundaries of your body and the space you occupy,
Feeling into your density and weight,
And letting yourself release onto the earth even more,
Feeling as though your body and the body of the earth are one.
Activate now full awareness of the sense of hearing,
As though hearing sounds for the very first time,
No need to think about the sounds and no need to label them.
And see if you can listen more closely,
More deeply,
Feeling that you are at the center of the soundscape.
Hearing sounds arising from all four directions,
From the west,
The north,
The east,
And the south.
Listen to the sounds arising from above,
From below,
From within.
Cultivate an awareness of inner sounds.
Listen closely for the sound of your breath.
Without changing your breath,
Notice how no two breaths are the same.
Remember the moment when the breath begins and when it ends.
Let yourself feel into that space between the lifespan of each breath.
Giving a soft focus to your out-breath,
Feeling into its descending quality.
Each out-breath allowing you to release more fully into softness,
Stillness,
And ease.
Each out-breath an invitation to let go even more.
As you continue to soften,
Bring the following intention into your body,
Into your heart,
And into your mind.
I let go of my burdens and worries as easily as autumn leaves fall to the earth.
You can mentally repeat this or simply have a felt sense of it.
I let go of my burdens and worries as easily as autumn leaves fall to the earth.
Let go of this.
Prepare to move the awareness around the body,
A journey of consciousness.
As each part of the body is named,
Feel into it.
Allow it to soften as though from within and visualize the healing golden rays of twilight shining on each part,
Illuminating it.
Drawing awareness into the right hand thumb,
Feeling the thumb letting it soften from the inside and visualizing a golden ray of light,
A light just before sunset shining upon the right hand thumb.
Continue like this.
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the right 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 right foot,
Right big toe,
Left toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Whole right side of the body held in awareness,
Softening,
Illuminated in the golden rays of twilight.
Writing attention to the left side,
Let the awareness fill the left hand thumb,
Allowing it to soften,
Envisioning golden rays of twilight shining on the left 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,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Whole left side of the body held in awareness,
Illuminated at ease and at rest.
Drawing awareness into the back of the body now and simply feeling each part and its connection points with the surface beneath.
Awareness moves to the heels,
Sensing and feeling the heels in contact with the surface beneath.
Half muscles,
Backs of thighs,
Buttocks,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Shoulders,
Backs of upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Backs of the hands,
Forearms,
Elbows,
Backs of upper arms,
Shoulders,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
To the top of the head.
Feeling attention down the front body now,
Awareness of the forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Bridge of nose,
Tip of nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The whole nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
The line where lips meet,
Right side of jaw,
Left side of jaw,
Chin,
The whole face,
The whole head,
Front of neck,
Pit of throat,
Right side of chest,
Left side of chest,
Heart center,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
Pelvis,
Entire right leg and foot,
Entire left leg and foot,
Both legs and feet together.
Awareness to the entire right arm and hand,
The entire left arm and hand,
Both arms and hands together,
Be aware of the center of the body,
The torso,
The trunk,
Feeling into the entire torso,
Front,
Back and sides,
Be aware of the limbs in connection to the torso,
Be aware of the neck in connection to the torso,
The head in connection to the neck,
Feel into the entire body,
The entire body,
The entire body,
Within the stillness of the body,
Start to notice the sensation of breathing,
Know that the body is breathing perfectly,
That there's nothing to do,
Allow the breath to flow spontaneously,
Effortlessly on its own.
Pay attention to the breath in the nostrils,
Feeling the breath here,
Begin to imagine or have the sense that the breath flows in through the nostrils and rises up two streams of breath to converge at the eyebrow center,
Each exhalation flows from the eyebrow center back down and out through nostrils.
Keep following the breath in this way,
Each inhale,
Breath and awareness ascend,
Each exhale,
Breath and awareness descend.
The visualization is accessible,
The breath can be visualized as two steady streams of golden light rising up to the eyebrow center to converge in a single point,
Flowing down from the eyebrow center,
The streams of light separate and flow out of the body,
Merging with the air.
Let go of following the breath and simply feel the eyebrow center,
Noticing any sensations here,
Perhaps a subtle pulsation as feeling into this space.
Starting to feel into different sensations in the body,
Begin to sense the weight of the body,
The weight of the body against the floor,
Against the earth.
Sense the presence of heaviness in the body and feel this growing,
The body becoming heavier as though gravity is increasing its pull.
Feel the body imprinting the earth with its weight as though growing deep roots into the very core of the earth,
The entire body as heavy and still as a fallen tree deep in the forest.
Feel the body heavy,
Still,
Grounded,
Experiencing the depth of this sensation,
Each cell of the body heavy and dense.
Let go of this,
Tune in to a feeling of lightness,
Feel that the body is just touching the earth.
Feel lightness in the sensation of air against the skin.
Feel the entire body to be growing lighter and lighter like an autumn leaf blowing in the breeze.
Feel this sensation,
This feeling of lightness,
Almost a sensation of weightlessness.
Come to know the freedom in this sensation of lightness.
Feel that the body is as light as a leaf gently floating to the earth,
The entire body light,
Lightness at a cellular level,
Spaciousness inside.
Let this go,
Feel into the body just as it is.
For a few moments,
Simply observe whatever experience is arising.
Be with what is.
Guide attention into the space of the heart now.
Discover this inner space deep within the very center of the chest.
Take rest in the silence and the stillness of this inner space.
Let all of the awareness rest here and feel that you are home.
Come to a felt sense of safety and know that you can rest.
Perhaps you can hear the inner voice of your heart.
Perhaps you can open yourself to the quiet whispers of intuition.
Draw attention from the space of the heart towards the space of the mind.
Becoming aware of the space in front of the closed eyes.
And visualizing or imagining the following images or experiences as named.
Visualize the soft mist of the early morning.
Hornicopia overflowing with the autumn harvest.
Going down into a root cellar,
Feel the coolness,
The dampness of the air.
The warmth of a healing soup.
The smell of cinnamon.
Drawing water from a deep well.
Trees covered in golden leaves.
Leaves gently falling to the earth.
Swirling upwards in the breeze.
Walking through a dense forest on a carpet of red and orange leaves.
Dry leaves turning to dust.
Bare branches of an ancient tree.
The energy of the tree descending to its roots.
The vast network of roots mirroring its canopy.
The completion of a journey.
Crossing misty meadows holding an ancient staff.
Touching in your intuition.
Carefully tending a fire in a fireplace.
Nurturing its flames.
Feeling its warmth.
Sweeping the hearth.
Sweeping ashes from the hearth.
Tendrils of smoke rising from a stone chimney.
Dissolving into the night air.
Harvest moon.
Harvest moon.
Hold this image in the mind's eye and feel that you are bathed in moonlight.
Visualize yourself resting on the earth.
On a bed of fallen leaves bathed in the healing light of the full moon.
Release this image and bring the following intention into your mind,
Into your heart,
And into your body.
I listen deeply to the inner whispers of my intuition and open myself to the gifts of change.
Read this mentally or have a felt sense of this intention.
I listen deeply to the inner whispers of my intuition and open myself to the gifts of change.
Begin to connect back to your natural breath.
Aware that your body is breathing.
Feeling the coolness of the in-breath and the warmth of the out-breath.
See if you can hear the sound of your breath.
Begin to open your awareness to the sounds outside,
Drawing them in.
Becoming present to the environment around you.
Begin to feel back into your body,
Noticing sensation.
Feeling the touch of the air to your skin,
Your clothes to your skin.
Feel the touch of your body to the earth,
Cultivating an awareness of your entire physical body.
Be aware of the space you occupy and your position in the room.
Remember the direction you face.
Remember your surroundings.
Remember the day of the week,
The time of the day,
And that you have been practicing yoga nidra.
Know that the practice is now complete.
Consciously drawing your attention outward,
Reconnecting to your body,
To the space around you.
And beginning to consciously,
Slowly deepen your breath.
Letting your breath move your body from the inside.
Expanding your inhalation,
Extending your exhale.
Feel that your breath is the bridge between the internal space and the external space.
Feel that your breath is the bridge between body and mind.
As you continue to deepen your breath,
Begin to slowly introduce small movements,
Wiggling toes and fingers,
And gradually expanding those movements.
Moving mindfully,
Maybe squeezing your knees into your chest,
Taking a gentle twist.
Moving intuitively.
Take your time here.
There's no rush.
When you feel ready to do so,
Gradually,
Slowly make your way onto your right side and give yourself a little squeeze before coming up to seated.
Once you return to a seated position,
Spend a few moments in meditation,
Remaining with your eyes closed,
Just feeling into the effects of this practice.
Noticing what has shifted.
Noticing how you feel.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
Wishing you a beautiful autumn season of abundance,
Turning inward and taking rest.
