Yoga Nidra: Aries

This Yoga Nidra has been inspired by the astrological sign of Aries. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and is the sign of initiation, the individual self, determination and courage. The visualisations in this practice include exploration of the opposites fear & courage, and winning & losing; and a journey including the overcoming of a great obstacle. The practice is suitable for everyone but those with a significant Aries placement in their chart may find it especially useful or inspiring.

Image by Caiyetano Gros

Transcript

This Yoga Nidra practice has been inspired by the astrological sign of Aries.

Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac.

It's the cardinal fire sign which rules the first astrological house,

And is ruled by the planet Mars.

Aries is the sign of initiation,

The individual self,

Courage and bravery,

Action,

Heat,

Passion,

And conflict.

And the sign of Aries is symbolized by the Ram.

The visualizations in this practice have been inspired by the sign of Aries.

The practice is suitable for everyone,

But if you have a significant Aries placement in your chart,

You may find it especially useful or inspiring.

So begin by making yourself comfortable.

Find a position that you'll be able to rest in without feeling distracted by your body.

You may like to come into the posture of Shavasana,

Lying on your back,

With your feet falling out to the sides,

A little wider than hip distance apart,

And with your arms at the sides of your body,

And the palms facing upwards.

Or you might like to come into another position that's more comfortable for you.

Take any support you need for your body,

And see if you can make yourself so comfortable that you might even be able to forget that the body's there at all as you relax.

And before we start,

Just take a moment to acknowledge yourself for taking this time for yourself,

And for your rest and self-exploration.

And thank yourself for making this time for you.

And as you feel your body beginning to settle,

Feel the weight of your head against the surface beneath you,

And feel your head becoming heavy.

Feel your brain relaxing inside your skull,

And feel your head sinking into the surface beneath you,

As it completely relaxes.

Feel the muscles in your face relaxing,

And feel tension leaving your jaw.

Watch your head continuing to relax with every breath that you take.

And now feel the relaxation spreading into your neck and shoulders.

Feel your neck and shoulders relaxing completely,

Sinking into the surface beneath you.

Feel your arms relaxing,

And your wrists,

Hands and fingers.

Feel tension leaving your arms and hands,

As they melt into the surface beneath you.

Feel the muscles in your back relaxing,

Feel the top of your chest relaxing,

Your ribs relaxing,

And your belly becoming soft.

Feel your hips relaxing,

And your thighs.

Feel tension leaving your thighs,

And your hips.

Feel tension leaving your thighs,

As your legs become heavy,

And melt into the surface beneath you.

Feel your knees relaxing,

The muscles around your knees releasing,

And your calves.

Feel your calves relaxing,

And your ankles,

Your feet,

And your toes.

Feel the whole of your body continuing to relax,

With every breath.

And as you breathe in,

Breathe through your body,

From the tips of your toes,

All the way up to the top of your head.

And then as you breathe out,

Breathe out from the top of your head,

Back to your feet.

Watch the breath flowing through the whole of your body,

Breathing in from the feet to the head,

And breathing out from the head to the feet.

Feel the flow of the air moving through the body,

From the feet to the head,

And from the head to the feet.

Now bring your awareness into your ears,

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

Just notice that the sounds are there.

There's no need to get too involved in where they're coming from.

Now send your awareness out to the farthest sound that you can hear.

The sound that's the most far away in the distance.

And become aware of closer sounds.

Become aware of sounds inside the room,

And of the sounds of your own body,

Of your breath,

And of your heartbeat.

And know that none of these sounds are going to disturb you as you practice.

That they will only help you to relax more deeply.

And if there's something you'd like to initiate in your life,

Something you'd like to start or bring into action,

Bring that into your awareness now.

Allow an impression of whatever it is that you would like to initiate to arise for you,

However it comes.

You might see it as a picture,

Or it might come as words,

Feelings,

Or a sense of knowing.

And now imagine that you're standing in a garden with a seed in your hand.

Keeping that intention with you for whatever it is that you want to initiate in your life.

Find a place in the garden to plant your seed.

Cover it with soil,

And give it some water.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

Invite to arise a feeling of safety and well-being.

Imagine that you're in a situation that contains all of the circumstances you need to feel completely safe,

Secure,

And well.

You might like to recall a time or place where you felt safe and well in the past.

Or you might like to create an imaginary situation that has everything you need for your safety,

Wellness,

And well-being.

Safety,

Wellness,

And security.

Feel the feeling of safety and wellness intensifying.

Absorb yourself in the feeling of complete safety,

Absolute security,

And well-being.

This is your feeling that you can return to in the practice at any time that you need it.

Safety,

Security,

Well-being.

And if you have a personal intention for this practice,

Take a moment to recall your personal intention now.

This practice includes a visualization involving the overcoming of a great obstacle.

So if there's an obstacle that you wish to overcome,

Gently bring that into your awareness now.

Or if you have another intention,

For rest or for something different,

Just become aware of that intention.

And now we'll begin the rotation of consciousness around the body.

As you move from body part to body part,

Feel into each place with curiosity,

As if it's the first time you've ever felt into that part of your body.

We'll begin at the tip of the tongue.

Feel into the tip of your tongue,

As if it's the first time your awareness has ever explored the tip of your tongue.

And now move into the whole of your tongue.

Feel into the whole of your tongue.

Feel the sensations inside your tongue.

And feel into the roof of your mouth,

The bottom of your mouth,

The teeth,

And the gums.

Feel the sensations inside your mouth.

Feel the sensations inside the whole of the mouth.

And feel into the lips,

The jaw,

The cheeks,

The nose.

And feel into the eyes.

Feel into the eyeballs,

The eyelids,

The eyelashes,

The eyebrows,

And the eyebrow center.

Feel into the forehead,

The top of the head,

And the back of the head.

And feel into the whole of the head.

Feel the sensations occurring in the whole of the head.

Now bring the awareness to the right shoulder.

Feel into the right shoulder,

The right upper arm,

The right elbow,

The right lower arm,

The right wrist,

The right hand,

The right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger.

Feel into the right hand,

The right wrist,

The right forearm,

The right elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The right side of the chest,

The right waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The right knee,

The lower leg,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the right foot,

The top of the right foot,

And the right toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Now feel into the left shoulder.

Feel the sensations in the left shoulder.

The left upper arm,

The left elbow,

The left lower arm,

The left wrist,

The left hand,

The left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger.

The left wrist,

The left forearm,

The left elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The heel,

The shoulder,

The left side of the chest,

The left waist,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The knee,

The lower leg,

The left ankle,

And the heel,

The sole of the left foot,

The top of the left foot,

And the left toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

And now sending the awareness up the back of the body.

Feel into the heel of the right foot,

And the heel of the left foot,

The right buttock,

And the left buttock.

Feel into the spine.

Send your awareness up each vertebrae of the spine,

As if it's the first time you've ever felt into the bones of the spine.

And feel into the right shoulder blade,

And the left shoulder blade,

The back of the head,

And the top of the head.

And now move the awareness down the front of the body.

Feel into the forehead,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

The eyebrow center,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The left eye,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The nose,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The jaw,

The right collarbone,

The left collarbone,

The space between the collarbones,

The right side of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

The center of the chest,

The navel,

The lower abdomen,

The right hip,

The left hip,

The right knee,

The left knee,

The right ankle,

The left ankle,

The right toes,

The left toes.

Now feel into the right leg.

Bring the awareness into the whole of the right leg,

And the whole of the left leg,

The whole of the right arm,

And the whole of the left arm,

The whole of the right side of the body,

The whole of the left side of the body,

And the whole of the body together.

Feel into the whole of the body together,

The whole of the body together,

The whole of the body together.

Bring the awareness to the breath.

Observe the natural inhalation and exhalation.

Feel the gentle movement of the chest as you breathe in and out.

And now bring your awareness to the beginning of each inhalation and exhalation.

Bring your awareness to the initial spark of movement that begins each inhalation,

And that begins each exhalation.

Focus your awareness on the beginning of each breath.

Allow the rest of the breath to flow by itself as you watch the beginning of each inhalation and exhalation.

Now feel into your body and invite the feeling of fear to arise in your body.

What do you feel inside your body as you invite the feeling of fear?

Feel fear however it manifests for you.

Intensify your awareness of fear,

Awareness of the feeling of fear.

Awareness of the feeling of fear,

And now courage.

Invite the feeling of courage to arise.

What do you feel inside your body as you invite the feeling of courage?

Feel courage however it manifests for you.

Intensify your feeling of courage,

Awareness of courage inside the body,

Awareness of courage.

And is it possible to feel both of those at the same time?

Are you able to feel the feelings of fear and courage inside your body together?

Can you feel fear and courage together?

Fear and courage together.

Now invite to arise the feeling of winning.

What do you feel in your body as you recall the feeling of winning?

Feel the feeling of winning arising inside your body.

Intensify the feeling,

The feeling of winning,

The feeling of winning.

And now the feeling of losing.

What do you feel in your body as you recall the feeling of losing?

Feel the feeling of losing arising in your body.

Intensify the feeling,

The feeling of losing.

The feeling of losing,

The feeling of losing.

And are you able to feel both of those at the same time?

Can you feel the sensations that arise with the feeling of winning?

And with the feeling of losing together?

Can you feel winning and losing together?

Winning and losing together.

Now shift the awareness to the space behind your closed eyes.

Or if you like,

You can move the awareness up to the space behind the forehead.

We'll now come to the rapid visualization of images.

Allow each impression to arise as it's named.

There's no need to force it or to think about what's coming.

Just allow each one to come however it comes.

It may come as a picture,

Or it may come as a feeling,

A sense of knowing,

Or a more subtle impression.

We'll start with the first green leaf sprouting on the branch of a tree in springtime.

Striking a match.

The red surface of the planet Mars.

Two rams butting heads.

Winning a prize.

Starting a project.

A knight in armor riding on a horse.

A fire burning inside a dark cave.

A newborn baby.

The first star sparkling in the evening sky.

Scoring a goal.

The number one.

The first ray of sunlight beaming over the horizon.

See yourself sitting on a hilltop at night time.

The full moon glows above you,

Providing just enough light for you to see your surroundings.

A cool breeze blows around you.

And you know you must make a fire to keep yourself warm.

You gather some wood from nearby and create a fire.

And as the first flame of the fire begins to flicker,

You see a small group of people coming towards you.

They sit around the fire.

And as you warm yourselves together,

One person begins to speak of a secret treasure.

Hidden in a faraway cave.

A precious treasure that brings whoever find it that which their heart most desires.

It takes much courage and determination to get there and to enter the cave,

They say.

Many don't dare to try.

And those who do,

Are the ones who will.

But as soon as the words of the treasure are spoken,

You know that you will be the one to find it.

And that you cannot delay in setting off on your quest.

You thank the people and begin your journey immediately.

It is not an easy journey.

You make your way over hills and through valleys.

Crossing rivers and passing through the desert.

And at times,

You're not even sure that you're following the right path.

But you are determined to find the treasure.

And your sense of determination leads you onwards.

You come to a small abandoned village.

And you notice something sparkling in one of the stone walls that surrounds the village.

As you draw closer,

You see a small tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you see a small tree with a small branch on the side of the tree.

And you know that the sword will come in useful as you continue with your journey.

You continue onwards,

Climbing more hills and crossing more valleys,

The thought of the treasure motivating your every step.

And then you come to a forest that's so overgrown with shrubs,

Trees and vines,

That it appears to be impossible to get through.

You carefully begin to cut your way through the forest with the sword,

Realizing that you must be the first person to ever pass through this dense and overgrown place.

And inside you,

You find yourself knowing that your treasure is not far away.

And so you clamber your way through the trees,

Cutting a path for yourself.

And after some time,

You notice that the trees are becoming thinner,

And that more sunlight is filtering between the treetops.

You find yourself leaving the forest and emerging onto the side of the mountain,

And the entrance to a large cave stands before you.

You know that this is the cave which contains the treasure,

That you have made it.

But as you step towards the cave,

A figure emerges from inside and blocks the entrance.

You look into its eyes,

And you see this obstacle for exactly what it is.

Arousing all of the courage that you have inside of you,

You confront that which stands between you and your treasure.

And using all of the strength and power that you have,

You defeat it.

You step into the cave.

Darkness surrounds you,

Aside from a glowing red light at the back of the cave.

You walk towards the light,

And as you draw closer,

There you see the thing that you have most been longing for.

The deepest desire of your heart stands right before you.

Step into it,

And as you merge with your heart's deepest desire,

Feel yourself surrendering into absolute peace.

If you made an intention at the beginning of the practice,

Now's the time to recall your intention.

Remember your intention now.

For rest,

For overcoming an obstacle.

Whatever intention you made,

Recall it now.

And now recall your feeling of absolute safety and well-being.

Invite the feeling to arise for you again.

Absolute safety and security.

Complete well-being.

Feel it vividly inside your body.

Safety.

Security.

Well-being.

This is your feeling that you can recall at any time that you need it.

In your practice and in your life.

See yourself standing in the garden from the beginning of the practice.

See yourself standing in the garden that you planted your seed in.

And look carefully at the soil.

Watch as a tiny green shoot emerges from the soil.

And now begin to turn your awareness back outwards.

Become aware of the sounds that you can hear.

Send your awareness from sound to sound,

Without getting too involved in any one thing.

Just notice that the sounds are there.

Feel the sensation of the air against your skin and of your clothing against your skin.

And can you remember the colors of the clothes that you're wearing?

Begin to deepen the breathing in preparation to end the practice.

And start to make some small movements to reawaken the body.

Moving the fingers and the toes.

The wrists and the ankles.

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

Take your time.

There's no rush.

When you feel ready,

Gently blink your eyes back open.

And return to sitting.

This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.

Reviews

That was such a vivid experience. I have never managed visualisation as easily as that before.
Heartfelt thanks for that 🤍💫

What a beautiful way to celebrate the traits of Aries. Thank you so very, very much for your wonderful nidra meditation.