Welcome to this full moon meditation.
This meditation is designed to connect you to the energy and the wisdom of the moon at its peak.
As the mystic poets describe,
The moon is happiest when it is full.
Before I invite you to lie down,
Take the time to grab any props you want to be very comfortable for this meditation.
You're going to be lying flat on your back for the next 45 minutes or so.
So take the time to get props,
Maybe for pillows under your head,
Soft and small,
Maybe cushions under your knees,
A blanket for comfort and warmth.
Whatever allows you to feel cozy and relaxed.
When you're ready,
Please lie down on your back.
For those that know Shavasana,
We receive this in Shavasana.
Start to get comfortable with your spine flat and supported on the ground beneath you.
Legs stretched out slightly wider than your hips.
With the feet pointing outwards.
Have your arms relaxed alongside your body with your palms facing up.
Like in every celebration of the moon,
It is really a good time to take stock of where you are,
What has happened,
What needs to happen,
What has already served you and is done with.
We do all this with a sense of detachment and abandon to any outcome.
We simply recognize,
To honor,
To give thanks and then let go.
So you can start with a couple of things that you need to release.
And then a couple of things that you want more of,
A few more qualities in your life,
Energies,
Whatever it is that you need,
Whatever it is that you feel you want to invite more into your life,
More into your being.
See if you can get 5 or 10% more comfortable in your position and let your body be completely flat and supported.
Horizontal,
Restful state so that you are open,
Safe and free to let go.
Align yourself so that the center of the head,
The crown,
The center of your forehead,
The tip of your nose,
The center of your chin,
The center of your breastbone,
Your belly button and the center of your pubic bone are all in one line.
When you feel ready,
Take a nice deep inhale and sigh out your exhale.
Deep,
Full inhalation and sigh out the exhale.
With every sigh,
You're releasing your body deeper into the ground.
A layer deeper into relaxation.
These sighs can be as quiet or as loud as you need them to be.
Every exhalation is an invitation to that quality of dropping into relaxation,
An invitation to the quality of letting go,
Surrendering to the support beneath you.
Take your time and be patient with this process.
Don't rush and let it take its time.
Just become aware of your breath.
Let it be complete,
Full and deep.
Expanding your belly,
Ribs and chest as you inhale and allow it all to hug back in and relax into you as you exhale.
Take a couple of more breaths like this,
Inhaling and exhaling to release deeper.
Close your eyes if you haven't done so and just simply connect to the breath.
And now let your breath be free,
As natural as it wants to be.
Just feel how it moves in your body,
How your body moves to receive and release your breath.
Body opens,
Expands with your inhale and hugs back in and down with your exhale.
Just keep your awareness on your breath with the inhalation and relaxing your whole body from head to toe and from toes to head with every exhale.
Continue like this for a few rounds,
For a few moments,
Consciously relaxing your body as you keep your awareness on your breath flowing in and out.
We are here together to celebrate the full moon.
The full moon is the high point of the lunar cycle,
The celebration of the cycle.
It's when the moon shows her full face to the earth.
Connect to how you are feeling at this point,
To what this full moon means to you.
What wishes do you want to come true?
If you are moon sensitive,
It might bring up some emotions,
Maybe pleasant,
Maybe not.
All you have to do is just simply be aware,
To notice and breathe.
It is all there to serve you,
To serve your expansion and your awareness.
You can also take a moment to reflect back on the past month and see what do you need to let go of.
What is done?
And now with your body comfortable,
Do any adjustments before we make a strong resolve for complete stillness as we start our journey.
Our Yoga Nidra practice begins now.
Open your senses.
Bring your awareness to the inside of your mouth.
Taste inside the mouth.
Hearing,
Listening with your ears and whole body.
Bringing awareness to your nose.
Smell,
Welcoming the touch of your breath inside your nostrils.
And vision.
Bring your awareness to your eyes,
Relaxing your eyes from the world of looking.
And allowing your vision to turn inwards.
Feel the touch of air on your skin.
The touch of the ground holding you.
The touch of the clothes on your skin.
All five senses withdrawing inwards,
Taking a break from the outside world.
In Yoga Nidra,
We practice something called Sankalpa.
Sankalpa translates into your deep soul resolve and desire.
To practice Sankalpa,
We first get in touch with the frequency of gratitude.
And from a grateful heart,
We connect to our deepest and most desired wish.
Take your awareness right into your heart center,
Your mystic heart,
Right in the middle of the chest,
Behind the breastbone.
And notice in your heart and from your heart,
What is there to be thankful for?
What in your life is worth celebrating?
What in your life is worth celebrating?
There's always something to be grateful for.
Feel the frequency of gratitude in your heart.
Embody the potency of gratitude from your heart until you feel it in your whole chest,
In your arms,
Down into your belly,
Down into your toes,
Up through the throat,
All the way through the neck,
Shoulders,
Face,
All the way up to the crown.
And from that place of gratitude,
Ask yourself in your life right now,
What is your deepest,
Most heartfelt desire?
What in your life right now could use some extra support,
Extra charge?
Just rest your awareness in your heart and let that bubble up for you.
Form it into a language that is true to you.
Form it in short,
Positive statements,
In words that ring true to you.
It can be an intention,
A resolve,
A dedication.
Trust what bubbles up from your heart and repeat it to yourself three times.
Once you have repeated your Sankalpa,
Release with gratitude,
Trusting that they are heard.
Let it go and give thanks.
We now begin to take your awareness into different parts of the body,
Starting with the right side.
Take your awareness to the right side of your body.
As you keep your body motionless,
I will call out a part and you can move your awareness to this part.
If this is something that you find difficult,
You can simply visualize the part or name it in your mind.
Before we begin our rotation of consciousness through the body,
I invite you to see the full moon,
Bright and luminous,
High above your body,
Shining down on you with its brilliant magnificent moonlight.
See the moon shining down on you,
See your whole body lit,
Touched by the moonlight.
As I call out the parts of your body,
You can see the moonlight touching that part of your body.
The following instructions will involve visualization.
For those that prefer to work with breath and your own inner rhythms,
Simply bring your awareness to the part of the body called and fill it with your breath.
Bring your awareness to the right hand thumb.
See or feel moonlight touching your right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and pinky finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand.
See the full moon touching your right wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right armpit,
Shoulder,
The right side of your ribs,
The right waist,
Right hip,
Right upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the right foot.
See moonlight touching and shining across your right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and pinky toe.
Now shift your awareness to the left side of your body and see or feel moonlight touching left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Left ring finger,
Left pinky finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the left hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left armpit,
Left shoulder,
Moonlight touching the left side of the ribs,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Upper leg,
Knee cap,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot.
Moonlight touching your left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and pinky toe.
Bring your awareness to the moonlight touching the top of your head,
Your forehead,
Your temples,
Eyebrow center,
Eyelids,
Nose,
Ears.
Moonlight touching your cheeks,
Lips,
Feel the moonlight touch the front of your neck,
Your collarbones,
The hollow space between your collarbones,
Right chest,
Left chest.
Moonlight right at the center of your heart.
Lower abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
Pelvis.
Place moonlight at your low back,
At your mid back,
At your upper back,
Your shoulder blades,
The back of the neck,
Back of the head and then top of the head.
We travel down your spine,
Bring your awareness to the crown of the head and place the dark disc of the new moon at the crown of your head.
Take your awareness down the spine to the center of your eyebrows and place the crescent moon at the center of your eyebrows.
Down the spine to the throat,
Placing a half moon at your throat.
Down the center of your heart,
Your mystic heart and place a full moon at the center of your heart.
Down your spine to your navel,
Placing a half moon at your navel.
Down the spine to the sacrum,
Crescent moon at the sacrum and down to the base of your pelvis and the spine,
Placing a new moon at the base of your spine.
Feel your whole right arm covered with moonlight.
Your whole left arm covered with moonlight.
Now feel both arms together illuminated by the healing light of the full moon.
The whole right leg lit and bright.
The whole left leg lit and bright by the moon above.
Both legs together,
Lit,
Luminous,
Full of light.
See your whole front body covered with moonlight and feel your whole back body filled with moonlight.
Now see and feel both front and back of your body together,
Illuminated,
Bright with moons.
Your whole body,
Your whole body is lit up,
Luminous by the light of the full moon.
Now let go of the body rotation and come back and rest your awareness in your natural breath.
Just connect to the breath rhythm and allow your breath to guide you.
Connect to your breath rhythm and become aware of the three parts of your breath.
Your cosmic breath.
See how your inhale mirrors the cosmic contraction and the exhale mirrors the cosmic expansion and the pause in between is the transformation and the period of transition.
Open your awareness of your three parts cosmic breath and how that brings your awareness deeper into the lunar cycle as it reflects and mirrors the great cosmic breath.
From full moon to new moon is an inhalation.
An inward breath for restoration and renewal.
From new moon to full moon is the exhalation.
It is expansion into the world expression.
With the pauses of the full and the new moon the transition is in between.
Bring your awareness to your belly and the rise and fall of your belly as it receives and releases your breath.
Inhaling the belly rises,
Exhaling the belly falls.
Inhaling belly rises,
Full moon,
Exhaling belly hugs all back in,
New moon.
Connect to this rhythm and mentally stay connected to your belly.
Inhaling up,
Full moon,
Exhaling down,
Hugging in,
New moon.
Stay with this breath.
Stay with this full moon and new moon breath in your belly.
Continue to mentally repeat it if that supports your practice.
Full moon as you rise,
New moon as you exhale.
Full moon and new moon with the movement of the belly as you welcome and release every breath.
Synchronizing your inhale with the full moon and your exhales with the new moon.
Stay awake and aware.
Just be in the awareness of your breath moving up and down in your belly.
Belly rising,
Full moon,
Hugging in,
New moon.
As you inhale let the full moon brightness and healing luminous energy fill your whole belly and as you release your breath bring the new moon into your belly,
Round by round synchronizing your breath to the rise of the full moon and the new moon.
Round by round continue to breathe in this way.
Now let go of your visualization.
Let go of the practice of the moon breath and rest in your natural breathing.
Just allow your breath to be as it needs to be.
Now become aware of the darkness behind your nose and connect to any places any parts of your body that feel dark or unknown.
Spread this darkness across your entire body.
Let your whole body become dark.
Sense your body as darkness from your head down to the tips of your fingers down to the tips of your toes.
Your body is dark.
And now become aware of light.
Bring awareness to your skin and connect to the light that is touching your skin.
The light of the moon caressing your skin.
Connect to any place in your body that feels familiar,
Light and spread this light across your entire body.
Your whole body is lit and luminous.
Let your whole body be light.
Experience your body as light from the crown down to the tips of your fingers and toes.
Your body is light.
Your whole body is light.
Now let go of light and come back to the darkness.
Feel the darkness inside your entire body.
Let go of darkness and come back to light.
Feel light inside and outside your entire body.
Continue to go back and forth,
Returning to darkness,
Returning to light until you can see both simultaneously in your body.
See and feel darkness and light simultaneously at the same time in your body,
Both sensations merging into one.
See and feel your whole body both light and dark at once.
Now let go of darkness,
Let go of light and rest in your breath,
Your natural cosmic breath.
And bring your awareness to the space behind your forehead,
Your Chittikash,
The screen of the mind.
And just notice if you see any forms,
Any visuals,
Any colors or patterns,
Just notice.
Don't worry if nothing is revealing itself.
The more you relax into this space,
The more that your mind movie will reveal itself.
Just notice and relax in that space.
Keep your awareness in the dark mirror behind your forehead.
And repeat these simple images that I suggest to you without judgment.
Just simply see the image and visualize these images as I suggest them to you.
A silver circle,
A candle flame,
Summer rain,
A white rose,
A white rose,
A white rose,
The tide coming in and out,
The tide coming in and out,
The dark side of the full moon sinking into the ocean,
Moonbeams reflecting on a still lake,
Moonbeams reflecting on a still lake,
A rainbow,
A rainbow,
A rainbow.
Come back to your eyebrow center,
Back to the dark mirror in front of your closed eyes and behind your lids and let go of the visualizations and rest in your breath.
We now balance between the waxing and waning cycles,
Taking in the new and releasing the old for clarity and wisdom.
This is a time to examine all aspects of your life,
All aspects of being,
Bathing under the light of the full moon.
Allow this light to permeate your entire body,
Your entire being.
Feel the moonbeams fill your whole body.
Feel your body filled,
Illuminated with the light of the moon until you can feel your whole body bursting with this divine healing light.
See it expand from your body outside surrounding you,
Expanding,
Expanding until you are engulfed,
Until you become the moon.
Feel yourself as the full moon.
See yourself as the full moon.
See yourself as the full moon looking at the earth from far above.
Look around to see the sparkling stars around you in the dark sky.
Knowing each star is a possibility,
Reach out and grab what is possible.
Reach out and collect the shining stars,
All the possibilities.
Now look at the stars sparkling and glimmering in the palm of your hand.
Feel the joy.
Feel the joy that each possibility brings.
Now hold out your hand mentally filled with the stars and gently blow them down towards the earth.
Watch as they shimmer and sparkle down as they make their way to the earth.
All the possibilities,
All the joy shimmering down towards the earth.
And as the last star has reached and fallen into the earth,
Reach within the belly of the moon that is you.
Reach within the full moon belly that is you,
The moon that is you and pull out a handful of moon beams from your belly,
Bright and luminous.
Bring these from the heart and infuse them with creativity,
With hope,
With love,
With joy,
With all the qualities that you want more of.
Take the first moonbeam and send it to the earth.
Watch as it covers part by part by part until the whole earth is lit and hugged,
Engulfed by this moonbeam.
Send out your next.
And then your next.
Know that each one will help the other grow.
Each one is filled with the divine qualities that we want to manifest more of.
One by ones and then down to the earth.
And when the moonbeam practice is done,
Thank the stars,
Thank the heavens.
Knowing there are infinite possibilities,
Infinite hope and creativity.
Thank the stars,
Thank the heavens.
And once again,
Rest in your breath.
Allow your breath to guide you into the depth of your heart and rest your awareness in your heart center and relax into a deep,
Deep state of rest.
From the depth of your heart,
Feel your heartbeat.
From your heartbeat,
Repeat your sankalpa.
The same resolve,
The same intention,
The same affirmation that you have created for yourself at the start of the practice.
From this subtle state,
Repeat your sankalpa three times quietly to yourself.
From your heart to your heart.
Knowing it is heard.
And we now slowly start to allow the breath to deepen.
Become more aware of your inhales,
Full of hope and joy and positivity,
Happiness and serenity.
Become aware of your exhales,
Releasing all stress,
Despair and tension,
All that is negative and no longer serving.
Feel how the universe takes care of you and allow the universe to take care of you.
Become aware of your body relaxed from your head to your fingertips,
Down to the toes,
To the tips of the toes.
Be aware of your breath,
Deep and full,
Filling your entire physical body.
Inhale fills the body,
Expanding it as you inhale.
And as you exhale,
Feel your body hug back into the center line.
Allow your breath to be full and deep,
Not aggressive or forcing,
Just complete.
Complete inhales and complete exhales.
From the core of your belly,
Do a few of these rounds,
Allowing your breath to help you bring your awareness back to the surface,
Gently,
Round by round.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Start to bring back the environment around you.
See the room,
The space that you are lying in.
Start to bring back details,
Colors,
Objects,
Sensations.
Feel the ground beneath you,
The props holding you,
If any,
Your clothes,
The atmosphere.
Just start to externalize your senses.
Keep your eyes closed.
See and feel and hear and smell your space.
And slowly start to move your body,
Inviting gentle movements until you can give yourself a full body stretch.
Slowly invite movements back to your body.
Allow the impulse to happen rather than force.
And when you're ready,
Give yourself a full body stretch,
Hug your knees and roll onto your side and be on your side for a moment.
The practice of Yoga Nidra has now completed.
Thank you for joining me and I wish you a blessed full moon.
