Five Elements Yoga Nidra

This Yoga Nidra practice draws much inspiration from various five elements philosophies, giving you space to explore your relationship with each of the elements as you rest. The practice includes a traditional rotation of consciousness around the body, exploration of the opposite qualities heavy/light and restriction/freedom, breathing through alternate nostrils and alternate sides of the body, rapid visualisation of images, and a guided journey through a forest to connect with each of the elements and to create a sacred altar with symbols of each one.

Transcript

Welcome to this yoga nidra practice.

Take some time to make yourself comfortable.

You might like to come into the traditional posture of Shavasana,

Lying on your back with the feet a little wider than hip distance apart and the arms at the sides of the body with the palms facing upwards.

If it feels more comfortable for you,

Support your knees with a rolled-up blanket and place a pillow or a block underneath your head.

And if Shavasana doesn't feel good for you then move yourself into any other comfortable position using as much support as you need.

Perhaps you can even make yourself so comfortable that you might even forget the body's there at all.

And feel your body beginning to relax.

Feel the tension melting away from the muscles as you prepare yourself to rest deeply.

Yoga nidra is a practice of feeling and being.

There's never any need to force anything nor is there any need to analyze or think about anything that arises.

My voice will guide you through the different stages and simply allow the experience to happen for you as it happens.

Where visualizations are encouraged,

Allow them to arise naturally by themselves and know that some people don't experience the visualizations as images but as feelings or a deep sense of knowing.

There's no right or wrong way to experience this and everyone's different so knowing that the experience will bring you exactly what you need today and that there's no way to get this wrong,

Feel yourself surrendering a little more deeply into relaxation and enjoy this time of deep rest.

Bring your awareness into your body and feel the weight of your body against the surface beneath you.

Notice the meeting points where your body connects to the surface beneath and intensify your awareness of these meeting points.

Feel your body becoming heavy and melting into the surface beneath.

Now bring your awareness to your nose and become aware of any smells in your environment.

There's no need to think about it too much or to analyze where the smells coming from.

Simply be aware that the smells are there.

Bring your awareness into your feet and feel the muscles of the feet relaxing.

Feel the feet completely letting go and the ankles,

Feel the ankles becoming relaxed.

Feel the calf muscles relaxing,

The knees,

The thighs,

The hips.

Feel the whole of the spine releasing and melting into the surface beneath you.

Feel tension leaving the lower back,

The middle of the back,

The upper back and the shoulders.

Feel the arms becoming relaxed,

The upper arms,

The elbows,

The lower arms,

The wrists,

The hands and the fingers.

Feel the back of the head becoming heavy and tension leaving the jaw,

The jaw relaxing and feel the face becoming soft,

The eyes,

The nose,

The mouth and the cheeks all quiet and relaxed.

Become aware of the relaxation throughout the whole of the body.

The whole of the body relaxed and at peace.

Bring the awareness to the breath and observe the natural flow of the breath entering and leaving the body.

Trace the flow of the breath as it enters through the nostrils,

Moves down the throat and down the windpipe into the lungs and watch the lungs expanding.

Now observe the lungs contracting and follow the breath all the way back out again out of the windpipe,

The throat and the nostrils.

Now bring the awareness into the mouth and become aware of any tastes at the present.

Without judgment or analysis simply observe the tastes that are there.

And bringing the awareness back to the breath,

Send the breath over the whole of the body,

Breathing in from the soles of the feet all the way up to the top of the head and breathing out from the top of the head back to the soles of the feet.

Observe how the breath influences every single cell of the body on the inhalation and on the exhalation.

Now bring the awareness to the space behind the closed eyes and observe what's happening behind the closed eye.

Observe any patterns,

Shapes or darkness without analysis or judgment.

Simply watch whatever's there.

And become aware of any thoughts passing through the mind.

Without getting too involved in the thoughts or caught up in their stories,

Just notice that they're there and observe them passing by.

Move the awareness to the skin and become aware of the different sensations against the skin,

The feeling of your clothing or blankets,

The touch of the air against your skin,

The feeling of the air brushing against your nostrils on the inhalation and the exhalation.

And bring the awareness into the ears and become aware of the sensation of the air on the insides of the ears.

And become aware of any sounds that are present in your environment.

Again there's no need to think about the sounds too much or to be concerned with where they're coming from.

Simply notice that the sounds are there and know that they will not disturb you and can only help you to relax even more deeply.

And now invite to arise a feeling of complete safety and well-being.

Perhaps remembering a time when you felt safe,

Well and secure or perhaps imagining a situation where you would feel absolutely safe,

Secure and well.

Intensify your awareness of this feeling of safety and wellness.

This is your inner resource and you can return to it at any time during the practice if you need to.

Complete safety,

Security,

Absolute well-being,

The deep inner knowing that all is well.

If you have a personal sankalpa,

Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.

A sacred vow or desire from the heart for something you wish to manifest or cultivate in your life.

Invite this sankalpa to arise now,

Perhaps as words or perhaps as an image,

Feeling or a subtle impression.

And if you don't have one,

Simply rest the awareness at the heart.

We'll now begin the rotation of consciousness around the body,

Moving the awareness through different parts of the body as they're named.

Beginning at the top of the head,

Rest the awareness at the top of the head and the eyebrow center.

Move the awareness to rest at the eyebrow center and the space between the collar bones,

The right shoulder,

The right elbow,

The right wrist,

The right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The right wrist,

The right elbow,

The right shoulder,

The space between the collar bones,

The left shoulder,

The left elbow,

The left wrist,

The left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The left wrist,

The left elbow,

The left shoulder,

The space between the collar bones,

The center of the chest,

The right side of the chest,

The center of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

The center of the chest,

The navel,

The space below the navel,

The right hip,

The right knee,

The right ankle,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The right ankle,

The right knee,

The right hip,

The space below the navel,

The left hip,

The left knee,

The left ankle,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The left ankle,

The left knee,

The left hip,

The space below the navel,

The navel,

The center of the chest,

The space between the collar bones,

The eyebrow center,

The top of the head,

Resting the awareness at the top of the head.

Notice how heavy the body has become.

Become aware of the feeling of heaviness throughout the whole of the body and feel the body becoming heavier and heavier.

Feel the body becoming so heavy that it's as if it's sinking into the earth,

Becoming one with the earth.

Awareness of heaviness in the body,

Heaviness in the body,

Heaviness in the body.

Now feel the body becoming very light,

Feel the body becoming lighter and lighter,

So light that it's as if it floats away into the sky and becomes one with the sky.

Awareness of lightness in the body,

Lightness in the body,

Lightness in the body.

Now observing both sensations together,

Become aware of the body so heavy that it sinks into the earth and so light that it floats away into the sky at the same time.

Awareness of heaviness and lightness together,

Heaviness and lightness together,

Heaviness and lightness together.

Bring the awareness to the breath.

Observe the movement of the breath as it enters and leaves the body.

Observe the triangular shape made by the breath as it moves through the nostrils beginning from far away,

Moving through the separate nostrils and meeting at the eyebrows and making a triangular shape and moving back out through separate nostrils back into the world.

Observe this triangular shape as the breath moves in and out.

Extend the triangle into the arms and the hands.

On the inhalation feel the breath moving from the fingertips up the arms to the nostrils and to the eyebrow center and then exhale from the eyebrow center through the nostrils,

Turn the arms to the hands and the fingers.

Now extend the triangle into the feet and the legs,

Breathing in from the tips of the toes,

Up the legs,

Up the torso through the nostrils to the eyebrow center and breathing out from the eyebrow center through the nostrils,

Down the torso,

The legs,

The feet and the toes.

And now sending the breath through alternate sides,

Breathing in from the left foot,

Up the left leg,

Up the left side of the torso,

Through the left nostril to the eyebrow center and breathing out from the eyebrow center through the right nostril,

Down the right side of the torso,

The right leg to the right foot and the right toes.

Breathing in from the right foot,

Up the right leg,

The right side of the torso,

The right nostril to the eyebrow center,

Breathing out through the left nostril,

Down the left side of the torso,

The left leg to the left foot and the toes.

Breathing in through the left foot,

The left leg,

Up the left side of the torso,

Through the left nostril to the eyebrow center and breathing out from the eyebrow center through the right nostril,

Down the right side of the torso,

The right leg to the right foot and the right toe.

Breathing in from the right foot,

Up the right leg,

The right side of the torso,

Right nostril to the eyebrow center,

Breathing out through the left nostril,

Down the left side of the torso,

The left leg to the left foot and toes.

Breathing in from the left hand,

Up the left arm,

Through the left nostril to the eyebrow center and breathing out through the right nostril,

Down the right arm to the right hand and fingers.

Breathing in from the right hand,

Up the right arm,

Through the right nostril to the eyebrow center,

Breathing out through the left nostril,

Down the left arm,

Through the left hand and fingers.

Breathing in from the right hand,

Up the left arm,

Through the right hand,

Down the left arm,

Through the right hand and bring the awareness to the nose and through the left nostril to the eyebrow center.

Exhaling through the right nostril,

Inhaling through the right nostril,

Exhaling through the left nostril.

Become aware of the feeling of restriction.

Send the awareness into the body and observe any feelings of restriction.

Invite the feeling of restriction to arise however it comes.

Awareness of restriction.

Awareness of restriction.

Freedom.

Become aware of the feeling of freedom.

Observe the feelings of freedom that arise in the body.

Invite the feeling of freedom to arise however it comes.

Awareness of freedom.

Awareness of freedom.

And become aware of both of these feelings together.

Invite the arising of the feelings of restriction and freedom to happen at the same time.

Restriction and freedom together.

Restriction and freedom together.

Restriction and freedom together.

Bringing the awareness to the space behind the closed eyes,

We now come to the rapid visualization of images.

Simply allow each one to arise as its name.

Beginning with an ancient oak tree.

A gushing waterfall.

The midday sun shining brightly in the sky.

Leaves blowing in the gust of wind.

The symbol of infinity.

A garden of roses.

Sparkling dew drops on a spider's web.

Hundreds of tiny candles illuminating a pathway through the forest.

A feather.

The starry night sky.

A circle of people holding hands.

A phoenix rising from the flame.

Imagine that you're walking through a beautiful forest on a warm sunny day.

You are surrounded by tall trees,

Plants,

Flowers,

Birds,

Insects and animals.

And as you wander between the trees,

You feel the gentle pulsing of the earth beneath your feet.

You become aware of the deep wisdom contained in the forest around you.

Of the healing medicines contained within the plants.

And of the deep nourishment the earth is always providing you with.

You sit yourself upon a tree stump and feel yourself becoming bathed with love and nourishment from the earth.

You notice a small object lying on the ground before you.

A reminder that you're always loved and nourished.

And that healing is always available.

And you give thanks to the earth as you pick up the object and carry it with you as you continue to walk.

You hear the sound of running water and you find yourself approaching a beautiful waterfall that flows into a small pool.

You step into the water and stand beneath the waterfall.

As the water showers over you,

You feel it cleansing your aura and purifying you on every level.

Washing away all that you no longer need.

Thanking the water you step back out of the pool and notice a small object on the ground.

A reminder of renewal,

Purity and the potential for new beginnings.

You give thanks to the water as you pick the object up and carry it with you.

You continue to walk through the forest.

Rays of sunlight beam through the tree tops,

Illuminating different plants and different areas.

And you come to a small patch of grass which is brightly lit by the sun's rays.

You sit on the grass and feel yourself becoming illuminated by the warm sunlight.

As you welcome the light and are bathed in its radiance,

You become aware of how important it is,

How essential the sunlight is for all of life to happen.

And you thank the sun for all that it provides.

For warmth,

For providing the means for growth and transformation,

For illumination and for life.

You notice the sunlight shining upon a small object on the ground in front of you.

A reminder of the sacredness of all life.

And you thank the sun again as you pick up the object and carry it with you.

Continuing to walk through the forest,

You find yourself approaching a clearing.

As you approach the entrance to the clearing,

A gust of wind blows around you.

Feeling the invigorating sensation of the air against your skin,

You become aware of the magic of inspiration and spontaneity.

With awareness of how beautiful and creative your mind and thoughts can be,

You feel yourself becoming deeply inspired by the breeze.

You notice a small object fluttering in the wind.

It gently floats into your hand.

And you thank the wind for its spontaneity,

For inspiration and for the creative power of thought as you continue to walk towards the clearing.

You enter into the large,

Spacious clearing.

There is one more small object on the ground before you,

A symbol of the unknown.

And as you pick it up,

You thank the space that you've entered.

You sit down in the centre of the clearing and arrange your five objects in front of you.

Knowing that you're in a safe space,

Surrounded by the beautiful forest,

The water,

The sunlight and the air,

You close your eyes and enter into deep meditation.

This is a.

If you have a sun calper knows the time to recall your sun calper,

Allow it to arise effortlessly.

The deepest vow or desire of your heart.

And recall your inner resource.

The feeling of absolute safety and wellbeing that's always available for you,

Whenever you need it.

Prepare to turn the awareness back outwards.

Become aware of any sounds that are present in your environment and allow the awareness to jump from sound to sound without becoming too involved in any of them,

Simply observing that they're there.

Become aware of the breath.

Notice the sensation of the air against your nostrils.

And notice the sensation of the air against your skin.

The feeling of your clothing against your skin.

In your mind,

Begin to paint a picture of the room around you.

Can you remember the colours of the walls,

The floor,

The ceiling?

Can you remember all of the furniture and the different objects?

Can you picture your own body deeply relaxed?

Begin to deepen the breathing and slowly begin to awaken the body,

Moving the fingers and the toes,

The wrists and the ankles.

Take your time,

There's no rush.

Begin to stretch in any way that feels comfortable for you and when you feel ready gently blink the eyes open and return to sitting.

This practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.

Reviews

Thankyou, a perfect way for me to start my day, I always wake in pain, so a yoga nidra while I wait for the medication to kick in keeps me calm and restful and sets me up fo the day.

This Yoga Nidra gave me the wonderful blessing of good sleep, thank you!!!!

Lovely script. Your voice was peaceful and the pace easy.
Thank you 🙏

Jessica, thank you so very, very much for another beautiful and brilliant Nidra practice. Much, much gratitude and appreciation. 🙏🏻