Yoga Nidra: Pisces

This yoga nidra session is inspired by the astrological sign of pisces, the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac. The mutable water sign, Pisces is the sign of the subconscious, endings, transitions, hidden things, spirit, connectedness, creativity and flow, and these Piscean themes are woven into the practice. It is suitable for anyone, but those with a significant Pisces placement in their chart may find this especially enjoyable, useful or inspiring.

Music by Eugeine Mininni
Image by Steph Meade

Transcript

Welcome to your yoga nidra practice.

This practice has been inspired by the astrological sign of Pisces.

Pisces is the 12th and final sign of the zodiac and is represented by the symbol of two fish.

Pisces rules the 12th astrological house and is ruled by the planet Neptune.

Pisces is the mutable water sign.

It's associated with the subconscious and the imagination,

With dreams,

With things that are not real.

Things that are hidden with death and transition,

Emotion,

Flow,

Creativity,

Spirituality,

And intuition.

The practice of yoga nidra naturally falls under the sign of Pisces,

As we move beyond our everyday waking state of consciousness and explore deeper levels of our subconscious and unconscious minds.

And as we rest in the liminal space,

Beyond everyday duality.

This practice is suitable for everyone.

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

You may find it especially useful or inspiring.

I'm not going to talk you out of today's session,

But several minutes of gentle music will play at the end.

So if you'd like to use the practice to assist your transition into sleep,

You'll be able to gently relax into sleep at the end of the practice.

And the music at the end of the session will guide you into sleep.

Or if you intend to reawaken at the end of the practice,

The music will serve as your signal to come back.

So make sure that you're comfortable now.

Yoga nidra is traditionally done in the posture of Shavasana.

Lying on your back with your feet a bit wider than hip distance apart,

And with your arms at the sides of your body and your palms facing upwards.

You might like to support your body by placing a blanket under your knees,

Or by placing a cushion or a pillow under your head.

And if Shavasana doesn't feel like a position that you can lie comfortably in for a long time,

Then find a position that works for you,

Especially if you're intending to fall asleep after the practice.

See if you can make yourself so comfortable that you might even be able to forget that your body's here at all.

And if at any time the need to move does arise,

Before you move yourself,

Take a moment first to just observe that desire to move.

Sometimes,

As you acknowledge it,

The need for movement goes away all by itself.

But if that need to move does continue to persist,

Then move yourself slowly and mindfully,

Taking care not to disturb the rest of the body too much,

So that you can maintain your state of deep relaxation.

Now bring your awareness into your feet.

Feel into your feet.

Feel your feet resting against the surface beneath them,

And feel the muscles in your feet beginning to relax and let go.

Feel all of the toes relaxing.

The big toes,

The second toes,

The third toes,

The fourth toes,

And the little toes.

And feel the soles of the feet becoming relaxed.

Feel tension leaving the soles of the feet,

And tension leaving the tops of the feet.

Feel the feet completely relaxed,

Melting into the surface beneath them.

And feel the ankles relaxing.

Feel tension leaving the ankles,

And the lower legs,

And the calves,

And the knees.

Feel the knees relaxing,

And tension releasing from the muscles around your knees.

And feel the thighs relaxing.

Feel the legs relaxing completely.

Feel the legs and the feet completely relaxed,

And melting into the surface beneath you.

Now move your awareness to your spine,

And feel each of the vertebrae of the spine relaxing and letting go.

Feel tension leaving the muscles in your back.

Feel the whole of your back relaxing completely.

And feel the front of your body relaxing.

Feel your belly becoming soft.

Feel the relaxation spreading over the whole of your chest.

Feel tension leaving your shoulders and your neck.

And feel your arms,

Your wrists,

Your hands,

And your fingers relaxing and sinking into the surface beneath you.

Feel the back of your head becoming heavy.

Feel the brain relaxing inside your skull.

Feel the face becoming soft,

And tension leaving the jaw.

And feel the whole of the body completely relaxed.

The whole of the body free from tension,

Relaxing completely.

The whole of the body completely relaxed.

Shift your awareness to the breath,

And become aware of the gentle flow of the breath.

Feel the air flowing in and out of your body,

As you breathe in,

And as you breathe out.

And now imagine that the air is like a wave,

Washing over the whole of your body.

As you breathe in,

The wave washes from the soles of your feet,

Up to the top of your head.

And as you breathe out,

It washes from the top of your head,

Back to your feet.

And with every breath,

Feel the wave floating you into deeper levels of relaxation.

Now bring your awareness into your ears,

And become aware of any sounds that you can hear.

Just allow your awareness to jump from sound to sound,

Without getting too involved in what they are,

Or where they're coming from.

Simply observe that the sounds are there,

And know that they will not disturb you during your relaxation.

And every sound will only help you to relax even more deeply.

And know that there is no way to get this practice wrong.

This is your time,

For your relaxation,

And for your own inner experience.

You can listen to my voice for as long as it serves you,

Or you can simply drift away.

You are free to sleep if you need to sleep.

This is your time.

So knowing that you can't get it wrong,

Permit yourself to surrender even more deeply into relaxation.

Now imagine yourself in a place of absolute peace,

Safety,

Security,

And well-being.

Imagine an environment,

Situation,

Or circumstance where you would feel completely well,

Completely safe,

And completely at peace.

See this place arising vividly around you,

And feel the feelings of peace,

Safety,

And security arising inside you.

Feel yourself completely surrendering into this place.

Know that you are safe and secure,

And that you're free to relax into deep peace,

Freedom,

And well-being.

And if you have a sankalpa,

Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.

The sankalpa is a deep prayer from the heart,

A vow for the deepest desire you wish to fulfill in this life.

If you have a sankalpa,

Invite it to arise for you now,

And feel it vividly.

And if you don't have one,

Simply rest your awareness at the heart center.

Relax into your heart,

And feel what's happening there.

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

Allow your awareness to float from body part to body part,

As each one is named.

And feel into each part as your awareness floats through it.

We'll begin inside the mouth,

At the tip of the tongue.

Feel into the tip of the tongue,

And the whole of the tongue.

Feel your awareness floating into the whole of your tongue,

And into the roof of the mouth,

And the bottom of the mouth,

To the teeth,

And the gums.

Feel the awareness floating into the jaw,

To the lips,

The cheeks,

And into the nostrils.

Feel into the insides of the nostrils,

And into the eyes.

Feel into the eyeballs,

The eyelids,

The eyelashes,

The eyebrows,

The eyebrow center,

The forehead.

Float the awareness over the top of the head,

To the back of the head,

The neck,

The shoulders,

Down the right upper arm,

Through the right elbow,

The right lower arm,

The right wrist,

To the right hand,

And into the right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger.

Feel the awareness flowing down the right side of the chest,

Through the right ribcage,

The right waist,

To the right hip,

The right thigh,

The right knee,

The right calf and shin,

To the right ankle.

And feel the awareness flowing into the right foot,

To the sole of the right foot,

The top of the right foot,

And each of the right toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Now feel the awareness floating from the left shoulder,

Down the left arm,

To the left elbow,

The left lower arm,

The left wrist,

The left hand,

And into the left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger.

Float your awareness down the left side of the chest,

To the left ribcage,

The left waist,

The left hip,

And down the left thigh,

To the left knee,

The left ankle,

And into the left foot,

To the sole of the left foot,

The top of the left foot,

And each of the left toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Float your awareness up to the top of your head,

And rest the awareness at the top of your head.

And feel the awareness flowing to the space between the eyebrows,

To the space between the collarbones,

And to the right shoulder,

The right elbow,

The right wrist,

To the right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger.

Float the awareness back to the right wrist,

The right elbow,

The right shoulder,

The space between the collarbones,

And to the left shoulder,

The left elbow,

The left wrist,

The left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger.

Float back to the left wrist,

The left elbow,

The left shoulder,

The space between the collarbone,

And the centre of the chest.

Float your awareness to the centre of the chest,

And to the right side of the chest,

The centre of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

The centre 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.

And 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.

And fifth toe.

The left ankle,

The left knee,

The left hip,

The space below the navel,

The navel,

The centre of the chest,

The space between the collarbones,

The eyebrow centre,

And the top of the head.

Gently rest the awareness at the top of the head.

Feel how still your body has become.

Feel your body completely still.

Your body is so still,

It's as if it's fast asleep.

Observe the stillness in the body.

Stillness in the body.

Observe stillness in the body.

But although the body feels completely still,

Become aware that there is still movement happening.

Feel the gentle movement of the chest,

The peaceful movement of the lungs,

As the breath moves in and out.

And can you feel the subtle movements that always continue?

The beating of the heart,

The circulation of the blood.

Feel all of the small movements that are happening in the body.

Observe the movement in the body.

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

Can you feel the body completely still and alive with movement at the same time?

Is it possible to feel stillness and movement together?

Can you feel stillness and movement together?

Now send your awareness deep into your body.

And become aware of all the things that are hidden inside your body.

Send your awareness to all of the hidden places inside your body.

Those places that you do not usually see or perceive.

Send your awareness deep into your internal organs.

Into your bones.

Into your blood cells.

What can you find inside your body that's hidden?

Become aware of all that is hidden.

Explore all of the hidden places inside your body.

And now bring your awareness to the most visible parts of your body.

Bring your awareness to your skin,

To your face,

Your lips,

Your eyes,

Your hair.

Become aware of your visible body.

Feel into all of the most visible parts of your body.

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

Can you feel into the most hidden and the most visible parts of your body at the same time?

Can you observe the hidden and the visible parts of your body together?

Bring your awareness to your breath.

Feel the gentle flow of the breath.

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

And now shift your awareness to the spaces in between the breaths.

Let the transition between each inhalation and exhalation.

There's a short pause.

Rest your awareness on these pauses.

Rest in the natural spaces between each inhalation and exhalation.

And between each exhalation and inhalation.

Allow the breath to happen naturally.

And rest the awareness in the spaces between the breaths.

Continue to rest in the spaces between the breaths.

Float the awareness to the space behind the closed eyes.

Or if you prefer,

You can rest behind the eyebrow center.

We'll now begin the rapid visualization of images.

As I name each one,

Allow an impression to arise however it comes.

Without thinking or forcing,

Allow each impression to appear by itself.

We'll begin with a raindrop creating ripples on the surface of still water.

Two fish swimming in a lake.

Footprints on a deserted beach.

Helping a friend.

Autumn leaves falling from the trees.

Keeping a secret.

A wise old woman.

A deck of tarot cards.

Hidden treasure.

A graveyard at sunset.

Painting with watercolors.

A quiet estuary.

The evening sun disappearing behind the horizon.

Imagine that you're standing outside of your body.

Watching your body resting.

So peaceful and still.

Imagine that you can see your own aura surrounding your body.

What do you see?

Observe the colors,

Shapes and patterns of your aura.

Witness your own aura.

And now imagine that you're floating away into the sky.

Float away into the sky.

And imagine yourself as a tiny droplet inside a cloud.

Feel yourself connecting to all of the other droplets in the cloud.

Feel yourself as a tiny droplet and also as an important part of the whole cloud.

Both a unique droplet and one with the cloud.

Now feel yourself gently falling down from the cloud.

And drifting with all of the other raindrops around you.

Down towards the earth.

You gently float down and land into a small stream.

Feel yourself merging with the stream.

Becoming one with the stream.

And feel yourself surrendering into the flow of the stream.

As you're gently carried along with the water.

Flow with the stream.

And as the stream widens into a river.

Feel yourself flowing with the river.

Allow the river to carry you.

Feel yourself surrendering completely into the flow of the river.

You effortlessly flow around corners and over stones.

Flowing past any obstacles with ease.

And as the river widens even further and meets the ocean.

Feel yourself flowing into the ocean.

And becoming one with the vast,

Expansive ocean.

Feel yourself merging with the infinite ocean.

Become one with the eternal depths of the water.

There are no limitations as you expand into the vastness of the ocean.

And as you surrender into the eternal,

Infinite ocean.

Feel yourself becoming free.

Reviews

These astrological nidras are really incredible Jessica. I look forward to and in hope of all 12 signs.

With much thanks and gratitude. So very happy to see more and more wonderful people joining you.

Absolutely delightful Yoga Nidra. I managed complete surrender

I liked this a lot. Recovering from Covid, this was a soothing rest. Plenty of time to thoroughly explore body sensations. Being a droplet of water merging with raindrops, stream and ocean. I was awake all the way through but if I’d fallen asleep I’m sure the music at the end would have wakened me. Piano and strings were lovely.