Beltaine Yoga Nidra

A Yoga Nidra practice in celebration of the Celtic festival of Beltaine. Beltaine celebrates the abundance of springtime, and the practice includes a visualisation of the warm sunlight illuminating the body's energy points, breathing coloured light through alternate nostrils and alternate sides of the body, exploration of the opposites abundance/lack and passion/apathy, and a guided visualisation to pass through the Beltaine fires, receiving the blessings of the fires, and to enter into the mystery of the forest. The practice ends with time resting at the heart to welcome your heart's passion and the abundance of things you feel grateful for.

Where this practice is inspired by the season, it can also be used at any time that you feel the need to welcome feelings of gratitude and abundance.

Photo by Leigh Patrick

Transcript

Welcome to your practice.

Make sure that you're comfortable and ready to begin.

Yoga Nidra is traditionally practiced in Shavasana,

Lying on your back with your legs open a little wider than hip distance apart and with your arms a little away from your sides,

With the palms of the hands facing upwards.

You can support your body here by placing a cushion or a block under your head,

Or a rolled up blanket under your knees or your ankles,

Or if Shavasana doesn't feel comfortable for you,

Choose another position that feels better.

You can bring your feet to the mat and rest the knees together,

Or take the soles of the feet together,

Opening the knees towards the sides,

Or come into any other position where you feel that you'll be able to rest comfortably without feeling any distractions from your body.

And as you begin to settle,

Feel your body safely supported by the earth beneath you.

Feel into all of the places where your body connects with the surface beneath you,

And notice how with every exhalation your body surrenders more deeply into that surface.

Watch the breath gently flowing in and out.

With every exhalation the whole of the body relaxes even more deeply.

Now bring the awareness into the ear.

Notice any sounds that are present in your environment right now,

And just acknowledge the different sounds that are there.

There's no need to get too involved in them,

Just observe them and know that none of the sounds are going to disturb you,

But that they can only help you to relax even more deeply.

See yourself in a beautiful,

Peaceful,

Natural environment.

Somewhere where you feel completely safe,

Secure and at ease.

You might like to imagine yourself to be in a place that you know,

Where you always feel safe,

Secure and well.

Or you might like to imagine a place that has everything that you would need to feel safe and secure.

See your safe and beautiful space arising vividly all around you.

Notice the natural features around you.

Any plants,

Trees,

Animals,

Birds,

The sky.

And feel into your body,

And feel the feeling of safety,

Security and well-being intensifying inside your body.

Feel all of the sensations that arise with that feeling of safety and security.

Welcome that feeling of safety into every cell of your body.

This is your feeling that you have created for yourself.

And you can always return to it at any time if you need to.

Absolute safety,

Security,

Peace and well-being.

And now see yourself lying down in your peaceful,

Safe place.

Feel the support of the earth beneath you.

And notice the abundance of the earth all around you.

Notice all of the signs of life blossoming around you.

Look up to the sky above you and see the warm sun shining brightly in the sky above you.

Welcome the warm sunlight as it shines down onto the space between the eyebrows.

Illuminating the space between the eyebrows.

And the throat.

Warm sunlight shines down to the throat.

Illuminating the throat.

And the right shoulder.

Warm sunlight shines down onto the right shoulder.

The right elbow.

The right wrist.

The tip of the right hand thumb.

The tip of the right index finger.

The tip of the right middle finger.

The tip of the ring finger.

The tip of the little finger.

The right wrist.

The right elbow.

The right shoulder.

The throat.

The left shoulder.

The left elbow.

The left wrist.

The tip of the left hand thumb.

The tip of the left index finger.

The tip of the left middle finger.

The tip of the ring finger.

The tip of the little finger.

The left wrist.

The left elbow.

The left shoulder.

The throat.

The centre of the chest.

The left side of the chest.

The centre of the chest.

The right side of the chest.

The centre of the chest.

The navel.

The lower abdomen.

The right hip.

The right knee.

The right ankle.

The right big toe.

The second toe.

The third toe.

The fourth toe.

The fifth toe.

The right ankle.

The right knee.

The right hip.

The lower abdomen.

The left hip.

The left knee.

The left ankle.

The left big toe.

The second toe.

Third toe.

The fourth toe.

The fifth toe.

The left ankle.

The left knee.

The left hip.

The lower abdomen.

The navel.

The centre of the chest.

Warm sunlight shines down onto the centre of the chest.

Illuminating the centre of the chest.

Bring the awareness to the breath.

Observe the breath entering and leaving the body through the nose.

Leaving the nostril.

And notice how the breath makes a triangle shape as you breathe in and out.

It comes from outside the body.

And as you breathe in it moves up through each separate nostril and meets at the eyebrow centre.

Making a triangle.

And then as you breathe out it moves out through the separate nostrils again.

Keep watching this triangular shape made by the breath.

And now visualise coloured lights moving through alternate nostrils with the breath.

As you breathe in see a yellow light flowing into the left nostril and flowing up to the eyebrow centre.

And as you breathe out see a blue light flowing out through the right nostril.

Breathe in blue light through the right nostril up to the eyebrow centre.

And breathe out yellow light through the left nostril.

Breathe in yellow light through the left side.

Breathe out blue light through the right side.

Breathe in blue light through the right.

Breathe out yellow light through the left.

Continue breathing through alternate nostrils.

With yellow light flowing through the left side.

And blue light flowing through the right side.

Now extend the breath into the hands and the arms.

Breathe in yellow light from the left hand up the left arm.

Through the left nostril to the eyebrow centre.

And breathe out blue light through the right nostril down the right arm to the right hand.

Breathe in blue light from the right hand up the right arm.

Through the right nostril to the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out yellow light through the left nostril down the left arm to the left hand.

Continue breathing through the alternate arms and hands.

Breathing yellow light on the left side and blue light on the right side.

And now extend the breath into the legs and feet.

Breathe in yellow light from the left foot up the left leg.

Up the left side of the body.

Through the left nostril to the eyebrow centre.

And breathe out blue light through the right nostril through the right side of the body.

Down the right leg to the right foot.

Breathe in blue light from the right foot up the right leg.

Up the right side of the body.

Through the right nostril to the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out yellow light through the left nostril.

Down the left side of the body.

Down the left leg to the left foot.

Continue breathing through alternate sides of the body.

With yellow light flowing through the left side.

And blue light flowing through the right side.

And now breathe green light through both sides of the body together.

Breathe in green light from the feet.

Up the legs.

Up the front of the body.

Through the nostrils to the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out green light from the eyebrow centre.

Down the front of the body.

Down the legs to the feet.

Continue breathing this triangle of green light from the feet to the eyebrow centre.

And now breathe the green light through the arms and the hands together.

Breathe in green light from the hands.

Up the arms.

Through the nostrils to the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out green light from the eyebrow centre.

Through the nostrils.

Down the arms to the hands.

Continue breathing this triangle of green light from the hands to the eyebrow centre.

And now breathe green light through the nose.

Watch the triangular shape of green light flowing in through the nostrils to the eyebrow centre.

And back out again.

Feel into your body and invite the feeling of abundance to arise.

The feeling of abundance.

To help bring the feeling you might like to remember a time from your life when you felt very abundant.

That your life was very full.

Or you can just allow the feeling to arise by itself.

Welcome the feeling of abundance.

Notice where it arises inside your body.

And intensify the feeling.

The feeling of abundance.

Feel it vividly.

The feeling of abundance.

And now the feeling of lack.

Invite the feeling of lack to arise.

The feeling of lack.

To help bring the feeling you could remember a time when you felt very lacking.

That something about your life was very empty.

Or you can just allow the feeling to arise by itself.

The feeling of lack.

Welcome the feeling.

Feel it vividly.

The feeling of lack.

Feel the sensations that arise inside the body with the feeling of lack.

And intensify those feelings.

The feeling of lack.

And are you able to feel both of those together?

Can you experience the feelings of abundance and lack inside your body at the same time?

Are you able to experience abundance and lack together?

Abundance and lack together.

The feeling of passion.

Invite the feeling of passion to arise.

Welcome the feeling of passion.

Feel into your body and welcome the sensations that arise with the feeling of passion.

Feel it vividly.

The feeling of passion.

And the feeling of apathy.

Welcome the feeling of apathy.

Feel into your body and welcome the sensations that arise with the feeling of apathy.

Feel it vividly.

The feeling of apathy.

And are you able to feel both of those together?

Can you invite the feelings of passion and apathy to arise at the same time?

Is it possible for you to feel both of those together?

To feel passion and apathy inside the body together.

Passion and apathy together.

See yourself standing in front of two large fires in the evening time.

It is Beltane Eve and the fires burn brightly.

The scent of sacred herbs drifts out of the fire and you feel warmed by the flames.

You slowly start to walk between the fires.

And the light and heat of the fires illuminates your body as you pass between them.

And as you walk between the fires,

You welcome the blessings of the flames.

Blessing your life.

Blessing your health.

Blessing your family.

Blessing your path.

Blessing your spirit.

You pass between the fires.

And in the distance,

A row of trees calls you into the forest.

You run towards the trees and enter into the forest.

What do you find there?

Bring the awareness to the heart.

Rest the awareness at the heart centre.

And with the awareness at the heart,

Invite your heart to show you its greatest passion.

Let your passion arise from the heart however it comes.

And take some time to acknowledge it.

Keeping the awareness at the heart,

Now invite your heart to show you the abundance of things that you have to be grateful for in your life.

Allow them to arise however they come.

The things that you are grateful for.

Acknowledge them.

Take some time to acknowledge the abundance.

And now,

Very slowly,

Begin to turn the awareness back outwards.

Notice the sounds that you can hear in your environment.

Just let the awareness jump from sound to sound,

Without getting too involved in any one sound.

Just notice that they're there.

And feel into the feeling of the air against your skin.

The feeling of your body resting into the surface beneath you.

And in your mind,

Can you picture the room that you're resting in?

Can you remember the colours of the walls,

The ceiling,

The floors,

The furniture and all of the different objects?

And begin to deepen the breathing as you prepare to end the practice.

Make some movements with the fingers and the toes.

The ankles and the wrists.

And give yourself a stretch in any way that feels good for you.

Take your time,

There's no rush.

When you are sure that you're wide awake again,

Slowly open your eyes.

Your practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.