Yoga Nidra: The You In Your Heart

Deep Sleep Relaxation and Visualisation. Inspired by Louise Hay. Here you are guided through a Nidra Style immersion through the layers of body, breath & mind into a beautiful forest. In this safe and sacred place, you are invited to meet, nourish & nurture your inner child & inner self. This meditation aims to bring comfort, courage & compassion, when you need it most - from yourself to yourself.

Transcript

Take a few moments and make sure your body is completely comfortable.

If you're intending to drift off to sleep during this meditation,

Then adjust yourself so you're comfortable and cosy,

You're the right temperature and your body is completely supported by the bed,

Any pillows,

Wherever you're lying,

Just knowing that you're supported by the surface where your body lies,

And you're able to give over the whole weight of the body to this surface,

Whether that's a sofa,

A yoga mat,

A bed.

Once you're comfortable,

Closing your eyes.

The eyes are this huge sensory door and that symbolic practice of slowly,

Gently closing the eyes is a way of slowly,

Gently closing the door to the external world and drawing your awareness inside to the internal world.

Once you're here in the internal world,

Taking some moments to breathe deeply and slowly,

With mindfulness,

You're able to observe this breath,

Really noticing how the breath is expanding the body on the inhale and relaxing the body on the exhale.

And every time you're exhaling,

A slow,

Long,

Deep breath,

Allowing the body that relaxation that increases and deepens with every exhalation,

Relaxing from the tips of the toes to the ends of the fingers,

To the top of the head,

Feeling the scalp relaxing,

The forehead relaxing,

The eyebrows relaxing,

The eyes and eyelids relaxing,

Feeling the eyelids growing heavier and heavier every time you exhale,

And as the eyelids grow heavier,

The rest of your body grows heavier as all the muscles disengage and any tension,

Tightness or stress is released from the body,

Giving over to a complete sense of profound relaxation,

A deep sense of profound relaxation,

Every exhale deeper relaxing,

Every exhale going deeper into relaxation,

Every exhale the whole body softening,

The back points of the body,

Back of the head,

Shoulders,

The upper back,

The lower back,

The tailbone and hips,

The backs of the legs and the heels,

The back body sinking into the floor,

Sinking into the bed,

Sinking,

Slowly,

Calmly,

Softly sinking,

Every exhale deeper relaxing,

In this state of relaxation,

Noticing the stillness in the body,

There's no need to move,

A stillness in the external muscles,

A stillness in the face,

The jaw,

The neck,

A calmness in the breath,

Consciously giving your body this space,

This space to relax and to heal,

While you move your awareness to the centre of your chest,

In this space becoming aware of the breath flow,

How just the breath moves the body,

How just the breath expands the ribs and relaxes the torso,

How just the breath expands the chest and relaxes the chest,

Expands the chest and relaxes the chest,

And with these deep slow breaths,

Noticing the space at the bottom of each exhalation,

Every time you breathe out,

There's a suspension of the breath,

Maybe just for a second or two,

Where there's complete stillness at the bottom of the breath,

And seeing if you can elongate that space,

That suspension at the bottom of the breath,

Remaining in that space for a little longer each time you're there,

And now also becoming aware of the space at the top of the breath,

In this space at the top of the breath,

Perhaps you can feel gently your heart beating,

Or perhaps there's also just stillness and suspension at the top of the inhale,

So now at the bottom of the exhalation,

Allowing yourself to be in that suspended state of stillness,

And at the top of the inhalation,

Also allowing yourself to be in this suspended state of stillness,

Remaining in this suspended state for as long as it feels comfortable,

Not pushing yourself to be there,

Feeling that this place of stillness in between the breaths is a comfortable place to be,

It's a safe space to be,

It's a space that's only deepening the relaxation,

Increasing the calm and tranquility in the body,

These spaces between the breaths are the moments we truly meet our awareness,

Now allowing the breath to continue in a slow deep but natural rhythm,

Continue to focus on the centre of the chest as you gently let go of the regulation of the breath,

You just trust the breath will continue to move in slow deep revolutions,

Inhaling to exhaling,

Trusting the breath to continue its flow as you move your awareness deeper,

Deeper into visualization,

Visualize yourself walking through a beautiful forest,

With tall trees,

Birdsong,

And brilliant sunlight,

As you're walking down the forest track,

You notice the sounds,

The colours,

The sensations,

And the feelings that this forest invokes within you,

And the feelings that this forest invokes within you,

Feelings of returning to nature,

To inner peace and tranquility,

Calmness and serenity,

This forest is a place you feel completely safe,

You continue to walk through the forest,

Observing the leaves and the foliage,

The moss,

The rocks,

The whole forest is in harmony and in tune with your inner being,

So you feel as though you're part of this forest,

You're one with this forest,

You continue walking until you find yourself in a forest clearing,

On the other side of the clearing,

You see a small child,

Perhaps four or five years old,

And the child looks lost,

And as you draw closer,

You hear the child is crying,

You see the child has tears rolling down its cheeks,

And continue to approach the child,

And as you grow ever closer,

You see the child is you,

Your face as a child is this child's face,

With tears of helplessness,

You kneel down next to the child,

And gently with the back of your hand,

Wipe away their tears,

You tell them that they're safe,

That they're in a forest,

That they're one with this forest,

And that there's nothing to be afraid of,

In this moment you're able to tell this child anything that you feel they need to hear,

Words of love,

Reassurance,

Strength and courage,

You can praise yourself for being so brave,

For being kind,

You can share with this child any advice,

Or words of wisdom that you feel you needed to hear,

And finally,

Anything you didn't hear as a child,

From parents,

Or teachers,

Or friends,

Or elders,

You now have the gift of allowing this child to hear those words that you so desperately needed to hear,

You as an adult can share with this child those loving words,

Healing words,

Wise words,

You notice now the child has stopped crying,

And has a beautiful smile across their face,

Their life has come back to their eyes and they're sparkling with joy,

There's no more fear,

No more hurt,

No more worry,

Their face is shining,

Glowing,

Glowing,

They look to you with love,

Trust,

And affection,

And they run into your arms,

And you embrace this child,

Surrounding them with your love,

Compassion,

Care,

Hope,

Comforting and protecting them,

Whispering it's all okay,

It's all going to be okay,

You're safe here,

You're safe with me,

Your heart's beating as one heart,

Your heart's beating as one heart,

And as you're hugging this child,

As you're hugging yourself,

You allow them to get smaller and smaller,

So small,

Until they're the perfect size to fit inside your heart,

And you place them there in the center of your heart,

To rest in their purity,

In their light,

In their love,

So you can carry them with you always,

It may feel intuitive to place one or both hands onto your chest now,

Honoring yourself and this child within your heart,

And in a state of deep compassion,

Safety,

Sanctuary,

Serenity,

Calm,

Surrounded by love,

Filled with love,

Feeling home,

Feeling you are home,

Sinking deeper into a healing,

Restful,

Restorative night's sleep,

Traveling deeper and deeper into a peaceful slumber,

Feeling whole and held,

Feeling home,

If you're drifting off to sleep,

Sleep well,

Sleep peacefully,

And if you're moving out from this meditation,

Then move out slowly,

With care and compassion,

Starting just by taking some mindful breaths,

And then slowly,

Carefully,

Bringing your awareness back to your body,

Knowing you can carry this feeling,

Carry this purity and love in your heart,

Moving the fingers and the toes,

And then taking as much time as you need to come up to a comfortable seat,

And once you're seated comfortably,

Gently blinking your eyes a few times,

And coming back into your environment,

I'm wishing you a beautiful continuation into sleep,

Or into the rest of your day.