Yoga Nidra Forest Meditation

This yoga nidra practice, also known as psychic sleep, will take you on a journey into deep relaxation, and through a magical forest, to be healed and recharged by nature. All you need is a comfortable place to lie down, listen and follow along with the sound of my voice. Yoga nidra assists many mental and emotional ailments, and many physical issues as well, including insomnia, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Music Composer: Music Of Wisdom

Transcript

Welcome everyone to this Yoga Nidra session.

Go ahead and begin to find your comfortable position lying down.

That could be on your yoga mat,

On the ground,

On a blanket,

A soft carpet,

Or your bed.

If you're going to lie down on your bed for Yoga Nidra,

Turn the opposite direction that you usually sleep in,

So that your body won't feel as keen on falling asleep during the practice.

Take your time,

Gather your props,

Pillows,

Cushions,

Supports,

And always have a light blanket on top of you.

Get yourself positioned really well so that you feel like you don't need to move a single inch during this practice.

When you're lying down on your back,

Spine long,

Imagine your spine running from your tailbone all the way up through the top of the head,

Very long and loose.

Notice all of the points of the body that are touching the ground right now.

Which points of the body are in contact with the mat or bed?

See them melting down more.

Palms are facing up and legs rolling out to the side.

Everything begins to settle in.

In this practice of Yoga Nidra or conscious sleep,

We're going to simply rest and pay attention to the instructions.

While the body is still and calm,

Losing all sensation,

The mind follows the instructions and guides the attention to where it's directed.

Try to remain awake and alert so you can follow the instructions.

If you fall asleep,

It's okay.

It just means your body needed a little rest,

A little deeper rest.

But try to remain as bright and lucid as possible.

So now is the time to recall your Sankalpa,

Your personal resolution for your practice.

Working with the same Sankalpa you've been using,

Bring it to mind again and say it to yourself once.

Now bring your attention back to the body.

When I call a body part,

I want you to squeeze it,

Activate it as tight as you can.

All of the muscles in that area will engage and then release and let all of that tension fall away.

The moment you release that body part,

There's no more movement for the remainder of the class.

We're starting at the left hand,

Squeezing,

Tightening,

And release.

The left arm and elbow,

Squeezing,

Release.

Left shoulder joint and armpit area,

Release.

The left hip and buttocks,

Release.

Left thigh,

Release.

Left knee and lower leg,

Release.

The left foot and toes,

Release.

And moving up to the right hand,

Hand and fingers,

Tight,

Tight,

Tight,

Release.

The right forearm,

Elbow,

And upper arm area,

Release.

Right shoulder joint,

Shoulder muscles,

Armpit region,

Release.

Right hip and buttocks,

Release.

Right thigh,

Release.

Right knee and lower leg,

Release.

And the right foot and toes,

Squeezing tight,

Release.

Now all of the muscles of the back,

The whole back,

Release.

The front of the torso,

Chest and torso,

Release.

Neck and throat,

Release.

The face and the scalp,

Release.

Now leave the body perfectly still.

Bring your awareness to your breath at the center of the chest.

Imagine the area at the center of the chest where your heart chakra stems from.

Where does it begin?

And how far out does it extend?

How much space does the heart chakra encompass?

What color is emanating from this energy center?

As you rest your awareness here,

What can you see and feel?

Now notice your breath here.

Notice your breath rising and falling right in the center of the chest,

Within the chakra.

Observe the lifting and falling,

And observe any change it creates in the energy center.

Now bring your awareness to the tip of the nostrils,

Right where the air is entering the body.

Try to become extremely sensitive at the tips of the nostrils.

What does the air feel like passing by?

What temperature is it?

Is it soft or strong?

What can you notice?

Now leave the breath by itself.

Body and breath,

Still and quiet.

The mind is awake and alert,

Vibrant.

Move your awareness,

Your attention,

Into the left thumb.

Place every ounce of attention in the left thumb.

Left index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Left palm,

Back of hand,

Left forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder joint,

Left armpit region,

Left upper chest,

Left side of the ribcage,

Left side of the torso,

The left hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Left heel,

Ankle,

Sole of foot,

Top of foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And pinky toe.

Now leave the left side all by itself.

Bring your attention to the right thumb,

And moving quickly around,

Letting each part dissolve once it's been called.

Starting in the right thumb,

Right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Left palm,

Left back of the hand,

Left forearm,

Elbow joint,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder joint,

Left armpit region,

Left upper chest,

Right upper ribcage,

Right torso,

Right hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

The right heel,

And ankle joint,

Right sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And the right pinky toe.

Now leave the right side of the body by itself.

Move the awareness into the back body,

The entire space,

Length and width of the back.

Move the awareness to the upper shoulders,

The collarbone,

The thyroid gland,

At the base of the throat,

The front of the throat,

Sides of the neck,

Back of the neck,

The space where the neck attaches to the head,

Back of the skull,

Top of the skull,

Sides of the skull,

Forehead,

Left eyebrow,

Right eyebrow,

Both eyebrows together,

Left temple,

Right temple,

Both temples together,

The chin,

The bottom jaw,

The bottom teeth,

The top teeth,

All the teeth together,

The top part of the jaw,

The joints of the jaw,

The bottom lip,

Upper lip,

Both lips together,

The entire tongue,

The entire tongue traveling down the throat,

The top of the tongue,

The bottom of the tongue,

The very tip of the tongue by itself,

The left nostril,

The right nostril,

Both nostrils together,

Left eyeball,

Right eyeball,

And both eyeballs together,

The skin beneath the eyes,

Lower eyelids,

The upper eyelids,

Left ear and inside of the ear,

Right ear and inside of the ear,

Both ears together,

Both eardrums together,

Bring your attention to your physical heart in the chest,

Lungs,

Stomach,

Liver,

Kidneys,

Spleen,

Gallbladder,

Small intestine,

Large intestine,

And all of the glands,

All of the nerves running out from the spinal cord,

All of the nerves of the body,

All of the veins bringing blood back to the heart,

All of the veins,

All of the arteries taking blood away from the heart,

All of the arteries at once,

Let these images dissolve,

Bring your awareness behind the forehead,

Rest it there gently,

Remind yourself,

I am practicing Yoga Nidra,

I will remain awake and alert,

Using your power of imagination,

Feel the physical body getting heavier now,

Rapidly increasing in weight,

As if everything under the skin was filled with liquid mercury,

Extremely heavy,

The entire physical body sinking down,

Through the mat,

Through the floor,

And now the body is becoming lighter,

Very quickly becoming lighter and lighter,

Until it's floating up off of the floor or bed,

As light as a piece of styrofoam,

Now the body is becoming colder,

Rapidly becoming extremely cold,

Imagine walking through a blizzard,

Every inch of skin freezing cold now,

And it's becoming warmer again,

Warmer and warmer until the body is getting hot,

Imagine lying in the noon day sun,

Near the equator,

Lying on the hot ground with the hot sun beating on the skin,

Extremely hot,

And now the body is becoming a perfect temperature,

Rapidly,

Increasingly comfortable,

Imagine the body standing up,

Slowly beginning to walk and take in the surroundings,

You're on a soft green grass,

Bright green,

Cool to the touch,

The bottom of the feet,

Brown earth below it,

Fertile soil supporting you,

An occasional dandelion spread through the grass,

About a hundred feet to the right and to the left,

Begins a forest of trees,

Oak trees,

And you can see that they're perfectly spaced,

Straight ahead of you,

Grassy field extends on and on and on,

Into the horizon,

Where it meets with the sky,

A light blue,

Clear and brilliant,

The same blue that represents the throat chakra,

Crystal sky blue,

You see one cloud in the sky floating by,

Notice its shape,

Notice its size,

And notice its speed,

You decide to begin walking slowly,

Towards the right,

Entering the trees at the midpoint,

Where the grass starts to fade away,

And the ground becomes full of tree roots,

And smaller shrubs,

And there seems to be a natural pathway,

As someone's been here before,

Walking,

It feels serene and calm and inviting,

And so you continue into the trees,

Up in the distance you hear the sound of something scurrying,

And a chirping sound,

Notice what's there chirping,

As you continue to walk,

You come across an old well,

It looks to be abandoned,

An old well,

Made of wood,

And stone,

And steel,

Notice what it looks like,

As you look around,

You can see that there once was a garden near this well,

There are circular etchings in the ground,

Where the flowers used to be planted,

Continue to walk on the path,

And stopping to notice anything that piques your interest,

Remaining alert to any symbols that you might see,

Begin to find a place to rest on the ground,

Perhaps you notice a soft grassy area again,

Or a very low to the ground stone,

That's perfect to sit on,

See the body sitting down comfortably,

Supported,

Safe,

Relaxed,

Because you're so at peace in this environment,

You decide to close your eyes and have a short meditation,

And you bring your awareness to the back of the forehead,

Still noticing the fresh air,

The smell of the trees and grass,

And the soft sounds around you,

With your focus concentrated in this area,

It's time to recite your Sankalpa to yourself,

Three times now mentally,

Recite your personal Sankalpa,

Allow your attention to become a little looser,

Imagine you could take in not just the field of energy right around you,

But the field of energy from every single tree and animal in that forest,

Every stone,

Every blade of grass,

Extend your awareness outwards to encompass all of the nature around you,

Continue extending it until it takes up both sides of the forest,

The grassy field all the way to the horizon,

The blue sky,

The cloud,

And then the entire planet earth and beyond,

And now slowly begin to shrink your awareness back down gradually,

Bringing it back around planet earth,

And then closer,

Closer in,

Closer in,

Until eventually it's just around your physical body,

That is now lying back on the floor or bed,

Motionless,

The physical body on the back,

On the floor or bed,

Notice the breath once more,

Where does your attention go,

Observe the breath moving,

Where does the attention go,

Without moving or opening the eyes,

Notice the room that you're in once again,

Recall what's in the room with you,

Notice the air that's touching your skin or your face,

Slowly start to pull your breath in more consciously,

Guiding it down into the abdomen,

And then letting it go naturally,

Pulling breath in more consciously,

Down to the abdomen,

And letting it go naturally,

Notice the points of contact that the back of the body makes with the ground,

And begin to wake up gradually,

Beginning with very small movements,

Fingers,

Toes,

Head rocking right and left just slightly,

Stretching arms overhead and feet in the opposite direction,

And then perhaps just gathering your knees towards you into a soft hug,

Rolling over to one side,

Staying nice and soft,

Start to bring yourself up,

Sitting up straight now,

Eyes still shut,

Find a comfortable seat,

As soon as you're upright,

Hands are relaxed,

Palms facing up,

Your right palm resting on top of the left palm,

And thumbs touching at the tips,

Bring your awareness once more to the center of the chest,

And see that deep forest green color,

We'll conclude the practice with an Aum,

You can listen,

Follow along mentally,

Or recite it out loud,

Inhaling,

Aum Shanti,

Shanti,

Shanti This concludes the practice of Yoga Nidra,

Try to maintain Mauna,

Or spiritual silence,

For the rest of the evening,

Or the rest of the day,

Depending on when you're listening to this,

No excessive talking,

No loud talking,

No gossip,

Keeping the spiritual silence,

Keeping the energy strong.

Namaste.