Spring Themed Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra can be translated as yogic sleep and this practice has a spring theme to tune into spring's energy. This yoga nidra consists of breath awareness, body awareness, and visualisation. A great practice for a Spring morning or afternoon when you need to re-energise
Transcript
Welcome to this spring-themed yoga nidra.
Please make sure you're comfortable in a lying down or reclined seated position.
Give your body what it needs to be supported.
Maybe a pillow underneath the head,
Blankets underneath the back or under the knees.
And please make sure you're warm enough.
Have enough layers on to stay warm for the duration of this yoga nidra.
Have a blanket close by or over you.
Bring your feet a little bit apart or you can bend them at the knees.
Bring your feet really wide so your knees can fall in towards each other.
Arms by the sides,
Palms facing up,
Inviting spring into your energy.
Connecting thumb and index finger together.
Lift your head up a little bit,
Elongate the back of the neck and then release back down.
Make any adjustments that you need to be comfortable.
Don't be too comfortable though as you might fall asleep.
If you're prone to falling asleep,
Maybe you would like to set an alarm just in case.
Take a moment here to settle your body.
Allowing your feet to become heavy and soft.
Same with the legs.
Buttocks,
The hips,
The pelvic bowl.
Lower back,
Middle back and upper back.
Abdomen,
Chest,
The sides of the body.
The shoulders,
The hands.
The arms.
And the head.
Allow your whole body to be soft and heavy,
Sinking into the mat.
Maybe you would like to set an intention for today's practice.
Maybe for today,
The week or the spring season.
Bring to mind a short positive sentence for yourself.
Set in the present tense.
Or maybe you have a sankalpa.
Bring that to mind.
And when you have that sentence,
Repeat it mentally three times with feeling.
Start to notice how you're breathing today.
How does it feel?
Is it tight?
Is it relaxed?
Quick or slow?
In the abdomen or the chest,
Maybe a mix.
Being a witness here to your breath,
How are you breathing today?
Start to bring a little bit more depth into your breath.
Drawing the breath in lower into the lungs.
Making your breath a little bit longer,
A little bit deeper,
A little bit slower.
And exhaling fully,
Maybe gently bring the navel to the spine,
Forcing the diaphragm up and squeezing the air out of your lungs.
Keep practicing here for a few more moments.
Breathing deeply in and breathing fully out.
So allowing your body to be soft and heavy.
I will start to mention body parts.
And when I do,
Mentally repeat that body part or feel into that part.
We're starting with the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Right hand,
Right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Right armpit,
Right side of the waist down to the right hip,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Heel,
Sole,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and fifth toe.
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Ring finger,
Middle finger,
Little finger,
Left hand,
Left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left side of the waist down to the left hip,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Top of the left foot,
Heel,
Sole,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and fifth toe.
Keep following the sound of my voice,
Not sleeping.
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Right side of the lower back,
Left side of the lower back,
Right side of the middle back,
Left side of the middle back,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Right upper back,
Left upper back,
Back of the neck,
The spine from bottom to top,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Left eyebrow,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Upper lip,
Tongue,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Throat,
Right side of chest,
Left side of chest,
Right side of the abdomen,
Left side of the abdomen,
The whole body,
Right foot,
Left foot,
Right leg,
Left leg,
Torso,
Back,
Right hand,
Left hand,
Right arm,
Left arm,
Head,
The whole body,
The right side of the body,
The left side of the body,
The front of the body,
The back of the body,
The whole body.
Start to bring awareness back to the breath and bring awareness to the abdomen.
Feel the abdomen rise and fall with the inhale and the exhale.
On your next inhale,
Count 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhale 56,
Exhale 56,
Inhale 55,
Exhale 55.
Keep practicing counting backwards with your breath.
Awareness at the breath in the abdomen.
Keep practicing.
Slowly start to let go of that count no matter where you are,
Bringing awareness up to the breath in the chest.
Feel your chest rise and fall with your inhale and your exhale.
Full awareness at the breath in the chest.
On your inhale,
Count 38,
Exhale 38,
Inhale 37,
Exhale 37,
Inhale 36,
Exhale 36.
Keep practicing counting backwards,
Awareness at the breath in the chest.
Keep practicing.
Slowly letting that go no matter where you are with the count.
Let that go.
Bring awareness to the breath in the nostrils.
Feel the breath coming in and out of the nostrils with inhale and exhale.
Fully aware of the breath in the nostrils.
On the inhale,
Count 65,
Exhale 65,
Inhale 64,
Exhale 64.
Inhale 63,
Exhale 63.
Keep practicing counting backwards,
Awareness at the breath in the nostrils.
Letting go of the count no matter where you are.
Letting go of the breath awareness at the nostrils.
Shifting your focus up to the eyebrow center when you have your eyes closed or open.
Bringing awareness to your mind space,
Chittakash.
Try to visualize the following story.
If visualizing is tricky,
Simply listen to the sounds,
Listen to the words.
Picture yourself standing barefoot in an expansive field.
You feel the earth beneath your feet.
You see the blue sky above.
It's a warm spring day and a soft wind is brushing your cheeks.
And you notice daffodils are swinging in the breeze.
As you look ahead,
You see a hill in the distance and you see many paths that look like they will take you to the top.
You choose one and you start to follow it.
The grass next to it is short,
But it starts to become taller and more dense the more you head down the path.
As you move along,
It becomes a little bit difficult as the path is starting to disappear into the taller grass.
You move through it and you continue to carve a path through the long grass as it becomes as tall as your shoulders.
You can still see the hill as you push on through and you use that as your focus.
Suddenly you break through the grass and you come to the foot of the hill.
There are giant steps embedded into the slope.
And as you stand at the bottom looking around,
You manage to pull yourself onto the ledge of the first step and you begin climbing,
Pulling yourself up every time.
You reach a broad platform near the top and you stop to take in the view.
You look at the mountains,
The trees,
The rivers and the valley below.
You notice that there is a path of wildflowers and you see butterflies hovering from flower to flower,
Almost leading you down the hill and towards a door carved into the side.
It's a large wooden door with a golden handle.
You reach forward and you open the door,
Which leads you into a dimly lit cave.
You feel safe.
In the middle of the cave,
There's a ray of sunlight.
You walk into it.
You tilt your face towards the light and feel the warmth of spring on your face.
You enjoy this moment.
You open your eyes and you look back out the same way you came.
This time you turn into another direction.
And you follow it into a beautiful garden full with flowers and buzzing wildlife.
Looking at the view,
You feel full of vibrant and creative energy.
You take a moment to simply be,
To soak up spring's energy.
You start to walk back to the steps that take you back down and with ease you make your way to the bottom of the hill.
You go back through the carved out path in the grass and you find yourself where you started in the expansive fields,
Feeling the warm earth beneath your feet,
Noticing the flowers and seeing the blue sky above.
You feel energized,
Motivated and awake.
Letting go of the story,
Taking a moment here to simply be.
Giving your body,
Mind and spirit space.
If any thoughts arise,
Allow them to arise.
Acknowledge that they're there,
But know that you don't have to follow them.
Observe them like clouds coming into view and floating away.
Allowing yourself to be without getting involved and attached to anything that comes up.
If your mind begins to wander,
Bring it back to your mind space and bring back to mind your intention or sankalpa that you set at the beginning of your journey.
The beginning of this practice.
And when you have that sentence,
Start to repeat that sentence again three times,
This feeling.
Bringing back awareness to the breath in the nostrils,
Feeling cool air coming in,
Warm air floating out.
Becoming aware again of your body,
Your body,
Your whole physical body.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
Bring some movement into your body.
Wiggle your fingers,
Your toes.
Take any movement that feels good right now.
Maybe bring your arms up overhead for a stretch.
Maybe you like to bend your knees one way and the other way for a little twist.
Or bringing the knees up to the chest for a little hug.
Whatever feels good for you,
Take that movement.
And when you're ready,
Rolling to your right side.
Take a few breaths there.
And if you're sitting,
Bringing yourself up into a seated position.
If you're lying down,
Also coming back up now into a comfortable seated position.
I will finish this practice with three oms.
Feel free to join in or simply sit in the sound.
Take an inhale.
Thank you so much for joining me and yourself for this practice.
Have a lovely,
Lovely rest of your day.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
