HiberNation

This yoga nidra can be used anytime you need to experience deep sleep. Primarily, it is for bedtime but can be used during the day for restoration and recuperation - just set an alarm. Pile on the layers and get into any pose of repose you like. And then leave the rest of the world behind as you hibernate!

Transcript

Welcome to the gift of Yoga Nidra.

My name is Mary Catherine and I will be your guide for today's practice.

It is conceived with the intention of complete rest if used during the day to recover from illness or injury,

Crisis or grief.

Maybe you're just starved for sleep.

Whatever the reason,

This is primarily a bedtime story,

Nourishing the deep sleep of the night.

As such,

There will be no ending bell,

Just a few words to invite you back into the present if you're meditating during the day.

Consider setting a gentle alarm if you want to resurface.

I call Yoga Nidra a gift because it helped restore my soul and I know it can do the same for you.

It is the gift of the present,

One that keeps on giving long after the meditation has ended.

Any way you do this practice,

In any position,

Is just right.

All you have to do is be comfortable and listen.

As the days shorten,

We naturally tend to go deeper inside ourselves,

Into the caves of our hearts,

Creating space to refocus,

Reassess and reflect.

Winter is a time to nourish our practices of relaxation,

To restore and repair our overtaxed nervous system,

And to prepare for the activity of the other three seasons.

In this regard,

We are much like the mother bear,

Who withdraws into her den to conserve energy.

She provides for the cubs entirely from within herself,

From stored energy.

At rest,

She seeks no other external sources to care for her baby bears.

At rest,

She is whole and complete.

She is just being a bear,

Caring for her cubs by caring for herself.

Hibernation is Mama Bear's time to rest,

Restore and renew,

Even as she is feeding her offspring.

It's the ultimate in multitasking,

Feeding your children while at total rest.

The word hibernate comes from the Latin word hibernare,

And,

According to Merriam-Webster,

Was first used in 1816.

It means to pass the winter.

Interestingly,

The Latin word has its origins in the ancient name that the Greco-Romans gave to the country Ireland,

Hibernia,

The land of winter.

It was the farthest place on the map of the world known to them at that time.

So even bears are a little bit Irish.

Bears are currently being studied for the ingenuity of their bodily systems,

At rest.

During hibernation,

Bears lose only fat.

Muscle mass and skeletal strength are maintained.

Inflammatory responses are dialed down.

Their cells switch on and off to manipulate energy and oxygen.

Their tissues are hoodwinked into continuing to do the necessary work while at rest.

All internal systems are reset,

Shielded from disturbance.

Brain activity shuts down.

The bear enters a state called torpor,

Very similar to yoga nidra.

Neither awake nor totally asleep.

Mental and motor activity are suspended with semi or total insensibility.

They go so deep,

There's no dreaming.

In hibernating bears,

Their immune system also shuts off,

Switching on when metabolic rates rise.

Unlike a bear,

However,

Your body is constantly repairing itself while at rest and sleep,

Recovering dynamically in a sacred pattern of renewal,

Set to a different cycle than the bear.

Integrated,

Your body,

Mind,

And spirit work hard together while you rest so that you can arise after eight hours or so energized and restored.

Without sleep,

This cannot occur.

It is thought that bears,

Other mammals,

And reptiles exhibit the adaptogenic behavior of hibernation in anticipation of famine.

Quite literally,

It is a healthy coping mechanism.

When a mother bear enters her hibernaculum,

The carefully selected place she has chosen to rest,

She is plump and full,

Hearty and stalwart.

She has spent the summer gorging on delicious fish,

Acorns and beech nuts,

Apples,

Berries,

Black and blue,

Pink and purple,

Red berries,

Huckleberries,

Honey,

Straight from the hive,

Pie,

Picnic baskets,

Toasted marshmallows.

As the weather turns,

From warm to cold,

And snow quilts the ground,

A soft sheen of crystals blanketing the earth,

Mama Bear lumbers inside.

Guided by an internal clock,

The rhythmicity and cyclical nature of the seasons,

She is just doing what a bear does,

Every year.

It's déjà vu all over again.

She uses her keen senses,

The feel of the air,

A gentle breeze or a forceful wind.

Her magnificent sense of smell picks up fresh,

Pungent scents,

Carried on the air,

Arising from under the earth.

She notices the leaves falling from the trees,

And hears the crunch of them underneath her paws.

She is aware of the stillness of the earth as it shuts down,

Ears open to the quiet,

And eyes closed.

Going inside the den to fully surrender,

She trusts in the Creator,

Lets go,

And sets aside all cares and concerns to enter the dreamscape of the body,

To just be,

Exactly as a bear should be,

Security system already in place.

She can hear with the ears of her heart,

No food,

No water.

For many months,

She does not even need to get up to go to the bathroom.

She transmutes one substance into another,

Converting it to her highest use.

The bear's lair is just large enough to accommodate her,

Providing room for posture changes and heat conservation.

The den can be a cave,

But it doesn't have to be.

It can be under a rock ledge or a pile of blackberry brambles.

It can be up in the hollow of a tree,

Or under the root ball of a fallen one.

It is a favorite place of that season,

Somewhere in her home range.

Mother bear lines the rest nest with leaves,

Moss,

Grasses,

And other soft padding.

If she is caring for cubs,

They accompany her.

Bear cubs need their mothers for at least 18 months.

They are born in the den,

Helpless and tiny,

In the beginning of winter,

And emerge in the spring,

Walking and talking,

Beginning the cycle over again.

While I chant this short bear blessing,

Om,

Ursa,

Shanti,

Make any final adjustments to your own den,

Making sure it is just right for your own hibernation,

Whether it is short or long.

Just as the bear's body temperature drops,

So too will yours.

So consider wrapping yourself up in additional comfort,

Piling on as many layers as you like,

And then grant yourself permission to leave the light and enter the darkness of stillness and silence,

The quiet beneath the mind,

And above the noise.

Om is a Sanskrit word for mystical syllable and can mean so many things.

For today's practice,

Let us consider it as the essence of life,

The divine affirmation of yes.

Ursa is the Latin word for she-bear,

And shanti is the Sanskrit word that means inner peace of the body,

Mind,

And spirit.

Om,

Ursa,

Shanti,

Om,

Ursa,

Shanti.

Om,

Ursa,

Shanti,

Om,

Ursa,

Shanti,

Om,

Ursa,

Shanti.

Be still.

For five to seven months,

All a wintering bear needs is air.

That's it.

Air.

So now that you're settled down in your den,

Allow your attention to drift to your breath.

Notice where the breath begins and where it finishes.

Belly,

Chest,

Or perhaps even your nostrils.

If it's the nostrils,

Observe which nostril.

Lunar left or solar right.

Which nostril is more open and which is more closed.

Notice if the breath feels full or empty.

Notice the turning point of the breath.

That flicker of suspended breath just before it returns to itself.

During hibernation,

A bear's breath slows,

Becoming almost nonexistent for maximum integrated energy conservation.

Just like a yogi or a yogini.

Take a few deep breaths at your own pace,

Allowing the breath to flow in its own inherent rhythm and pattern.

Perhaps you'd like to deepen it to see where it goes.

Just do whatever comes naturally to you in the moment.

You can observe a lot by watching.

Now let's tiptoe around the periphery of the mother bear and then into her den,

Making a light footprint so as not to disturb her.

Notice if your tracks are shallow or deep as you bring your awareness to the tailbone and allow it to rest there for a moment.

Then amble over to the right inner groin.

Inner right knee,

Inner right ankle.

Arch of the right foot,

Right big toe,

Index toe,

Middle toe,

Ring toe,

Little toe.

Right edge of right foot,

Right ankle.

Outer right knee,

Right thigh,

Hip,

And waist.

Right ribcage,

Armpit,

Inner right elbow,

And wrist.

Allowing attention to move to right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger.

Feeling sensation in the pads of the right little finger,

Ring finger,

Middle finger,

Index finger,

And thumb.

To the space under each fingernail.

Utilitarian spaces.

To scoop,

Dig,

And scratch.

Feel sensation in the heel and pad of the hand.

Outer right wrist and elbow.

Tracking over to the right shoulder and along the ridge line of the shoulder up to the neck and into the hollow of the right ear.

Rounding over the canopy of the head to the hollow of the left ear and down along the ridge to the left shoulder,

Outer elbow,

And wrist.

Continuing to the outer left little finger,

Ring finger,

Middle finger,

Index finger,

And thumb.

Guiding awareness to the pads of each finger.

Thumb,

Index,

Middle,

Ring,

And little.

The spaces under each fingernail.

The heel and pad of the hand.

Gently gliding attention to the left wrist,

Elbow,

And armpit.

Down along the range of the ribs on the left to the waist and hip.

Further down to the outer left thigh and knee,

Ankle bone,

And outer blade of the left foot.

Awareness lingers at the left little toe.

Ring toe,

Middle toe,

Index toe,

And big toe.

Rounding the toe to the inside arch of the left foot,

Ankle,

Knee,

And thigh.

The left inner groin,

Returning back to the home space at the tailbone.

Take a moment to feel the completeness of having returned to the den.

Grounded and rooted in rest,

All is as it should be.

Then drift attention up to the sacred,

Sacral area.

The den of all dens from mammals.

The womb.

Secure and yet free floating.

Relax here.

Listen to Mother Bear's heartbeat,

Slow and rhythmic.

Listen to her breath,

Shallow and steady.

Listen to the rumbling or utter quiet of her digestive system.

Notice if you are alone or have a companion.

Whatever the case,

Everything is just right.

Now exit the womb and move up towards the belly.

Berfed,

Cleaned and cared for,

Indulging in rich nutrients.

Metabolism kicking in as the freeze ends and the thaw begins.

Perfect timing.

Open up to the place behind the breastbone.

Bask in the glow of the bare heart.

Encased and shielded by the structure of the bones and the flexibility of the interstitial muscles.

The lungs and heart expand and contract like a pair of bellows.

Arrhythmically.

Perhaps this den is your most comfortable.

Move up to the hollow of the throat.

Feel the thrumming of the vocal cords as you roar,

Growl,

Snore or communicate with your cubs.

Tone,

Pitch and articulation are all perfect.

Just right.

Then travel awareness up to the place between the eyebrows.

Luxuriate in the light of the neural pathways at rest.

Calm,

Quiet and collected.

Just right.

Finally,

Travel attention up to the top of the skull.

Feel the connection with trusted source.

The one who has created the power of rest,

Of hibernation,

Of inherent restoration.

Perfect alignment and attunement to the natural order.

All systems are now functioning optimally at rest.

Witness the depth of total relaxation and ultimate nourishment.

With complete confidence,

You can say this intention.

I sleep easily and deeply.

I sleep easily and deeply.

I sleep easily and deeply.

At this moment you have gifted yourself a new way of processing rest.

Uplifting your mental point of view so that your body can downshift into relaxation.

A paradigm shift.

Total self-care by doing nothing.

Protected and complete trust and faith.

While you are in the den,

All is being managed for you on your behalf for your highest good.

You don't have to do a thing.

No responsibilities,

Duties,

Or obligations.

Just be now.

Give thanks to all the mama bears who have shielded,

Protected,

And defended you.

Who have roared on your behalf.

Feel their presence.

Surround and bless you.

Sustain,

Comfort,

And nurture you.

Embraced by love and a big bear hug.

It ain't over till it's over.

Reviews

What a cozy, unique listen 🙏 I’ll
Definitely revisit

Wow! Woke up at 3 am and couldn’t sleep. Found this and was initially so captivated by the story of the bear didn’t think I would sleep. But, never heard the end😂. Love this meditation❤️❤️

Thank you for your suggestion that I explore HiberNation as well (next to Owl Anon), Mary-Katherine🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻I still have not much of a clue about the content, and normally I wait until I know more about it before I write a comment, however, I did no longer want to get a request for a comment in the middle of the night, whenever I wake up. I do have an affinity for bears, always have. Curious about the nidra part.I LOVE yoga nidra, and I normally am conscious while practicing🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Helpful and interesting, at least the part before I slept. Thank you

A fantastic nidra! One to return to over and over.

An amazing Nidra. Creative and deeply nourishing for the winter season. I love Mary-Katherine’s Nidras!