Winter Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra can be translated as yogic sleep and this practice has a winter theme to tune into winter's energy of rest and rejuvenation. This yoga nidra consists of listening to sound, body awareness, opposite feelings, visualisation, and meditation. A great practice for a Wintry Saturday or Sunday afternoon when you need to rest.
Transcript
Welcome to Winter Yoga Nidra.
My name is Ingrid van Oostrom and I invite you to come into a lying down comfortable position or reclined seated position.
Let's embrace winter's energy together for rest,
Nourishing foundations and rejuvenation.
When you come into lying down or reclined seating position,
Please make sure you're comfortable and give your body what it needs to rest.
Maybe a blanket underneath or on top of you,
Something for your knees,
Something for your back.
Taking a moment to settle in.
Noticing how your body is feeling,
What kind of thoughts are there for you today.
Taking a moment to tune in with your breath.
At this moment take any movement that you want to take.
Maybe it's rolling the shoulders or give yourself a big stretch or rolling the head to the neck.
Allow your body to become still.
If you'd like to,
You can connect your thumb and index finger together,
Creating an energy circle within yourself,
Making it easier to tune into your own energy.
Palms facing up when you're at the start of the day,
Inviting the day in or palms facing down at the end of the day,
Closing the day.
Becoming aware of your whole body,
Allowing your whole body to sink into the position you're in.
Allowing your body to rest with every exhale that you're taking,
Letting go.
If at any point I say something that doesn't resonate with you,
Know that you have an inner sanctuary you can tune into at that time.
Whether that's focusing on the breath,
Listening to sound or imagining a temple,
A forest or a beach.
I'll give you a few moments here to connect with your inner sanctuary and start to notice how you're breathing.
Are you breathing from the abdomen or the chest,
Maybe a bit of both?
And how does it feel?
Does it feel tight or relaxed?
We're not changing anything here just yet.
We're only tuning into our own breath.
Notice how the body is moving with the breath,
Expanding when you inhale and deflating when you exhale.
Allowing yourself to rest,
To release with every exhale that you're taking.
Allowing your body to become heavy and still.
Maybe you like to set an intention for today,
For the week,
For the month.
Or maybe you have a sankalpa,
A short positive sentence set in the present tense for yourself,
Longer term.
And when you have a sankalpa or when you have an intention,
Which is more for the short term,
Bring that to mind.
What would it feel like?
What would it look like when it's manifested?
And draw that feeling in.
And when you have that feeling,
Start to repeat your intention or sankalpa with feeling three times.
Start to become aware of sounds around you.
Hearing a sound,
Listen to it for a moment.
Releasing that sound and repeating that cycle.
Hearing a sound,
Listening to it,
Letting it go.
Keep practicing listening to sound.
If your mind starts to wander,
Bring it back.
Listening to sound,
Staying with it for a moment.
And then releasing it.
Listening to other sounds.
Keep practicing.
Slowly letting that go.
Letting go of the sound.
I will be naming body parts.
Mentally repeat that body part or feel into it.
Starting with the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand,
Right wrist,
Right lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpits,
Right side of the waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right lower leg,
Top of the right foot,
Sole,
Heel,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Keep following the sound of my voice.
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the left hand,
Left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpits,
Left side of the waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Top of the left foot,
Sole,
Heel,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Right side of the back,
Left side of the back,
Right side of the neck,
Left side 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,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Heart center,
Right side of the abdomen,
Left side of the abdomen,
Navel center,
Pelvis,
Right foot,
Left foot,
Both feet,
Right leg,
Left leg,
Both legs,
Right hand,
Left hand,
Both hands,
Right arm,
Left arm,
Both arms,
Torso,
Head,
The whole body.
Allow your whole body to feel heavy.
Feeling heavy.
Your whole body feeling heavy.
And now allowing your body to become light.
Feeling light.
Your whole body feeling light.
Can you embrace both those feelings?
Embracing heaviness in the body and lightness.
Allowing yourself to feel heavy and light at the same time.
Letting that fully go,
Start to tune into your breath.
Notice how your body is rising and falling with inhale and exhale.
On your next inhalation,
Count 89.
Exhale 89.
Inhaling,
Count 88.
Exhale 88.
Inhale 87.
Exhale 87.
Keep counting backwards at your own pace,
Following your breath.
Keep practicing.
Letting go of that count.
No matter where you are,
Let go of the count and bring awareness up to the mind space or chittakash,
The space at eyebrow center level all around you.
Try to visualize the following story.
If visualizing is tricky,
Simply listen to the words.
Imagine yourself standing in a vast,
Snow-covered forest,
Wearing appropriate warm winter clothes.
The world around you is covered in snow and the air is crisp and cool.
The sky above is a rich,
Deep darkness with no moon in sight.
The trees stand tall and bare,
Their branches reaching up into the night and the earth beneath your feet feels firm,
Silent and still.
You are in the heart of winter.
There is no rush and there is no movement.
It's quiet.
You are fully present with this winter landscape.
There is a certain discomfort in the cold,
The chill that you feel on your face.
The quiet is thick,
Almost heavy and the darkness surrounds you.
You let the discomfort of winter be and allow the chill,
The silence and the vastness of the dark sky to simply be present with you.
It reminds you of necessary rest.
As you stand there,
A small,
Flickering light appears ahead of you.
You start to walk towards it and with each step warmth wraps around you,
Bringing a sense of comfort.
You feel the warmth settle into your body and slowly the discomfort of the cold begins to dissolve.
The warmth is gentle,
Nurturing and comforting.
It calms your mind and soothes your body.
Within the darkest moments there is always light and there is always comfort if you allow it in.
The light slowly grows brighter and brighter and you realise that it's not a single flame.
You see a bonfire that's surrounded by a circle of stones.
You walk towards it and take a seat close to it.
The warmth fills the space around you and you feel its glow reach every corner of your whole being.
The cold that once held you is now dissolved and you feel safe,
Nourished and at peace.
The fire is here for you.
It's a symbol of renewal.
The stillness of winter has brought you to this moment where you can rest,
You can gather strength and prepare for days ahead.
The light within you burns as brightly as the flames before you,
Glowing in the stillness of the winter night.
In this space there is no rush,
There is no pressure or responsibilities.
There is only the peaceful knowing that darkness and lightness are part of the same cycle.
You are exactly where you need to be in this moment of restoration.
The fire invites you to fully relax and release all tension.
Rest and embrace the quiet strength of winter's embrace.
From this place of rest you will be ready for the light when it returns.
Let go of the story.
Stay with the mind space Chetakash and allow yourself here a few moments to simply be.
Allow anything that comes up to come up.
Acknowledge what it is and then let it go.
Refocusing on the mind space.
Repeat that cycle of observing,
Acknowledging and releasing.
Keep practicing.
If your mind starts to wander,
Bring it back to the mind space,
Observing,
Acknowledging and releasing what's coming up.
There is no need to follow any thoughts,
There is no need for any judgement.
Simply allow yourself here to sit with the mind space,
Observing,
Acknowledging and releasing.
Keep practicing.
Letting that go,
Let it go.
Bring back to awareness your sankalpa or intention that you set at the beginning of this practice.
Mentally repeat it three times with feeling.
Start to feel air coming in through the nostrils and flowing out through the nostrils.
Starting to externalize,
Becoming aware again of your body,
Your body,
Your whole physical body.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
Yoga Nidra is complete.
Bring some movement in your fingers,
Your feet.
Maybe you'd like to stretch your arms overhead or bring a little twist into the body.
Do what feels good.
I will finish this session with three oms.
Feel free to join in or simply sit in the sound.
Inhaling.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
