Rooted in our trees,
Written by Karen Pero.
It's time to be good to yourself.
Begin to get comfortable lying down.
I invite you to feel heavy in your body while you connect with the grounding energy of the earth below,
However that feels to you.
Close your eyes or soften your gaze and you have your touchstone in your hand and tuning in to that touchstone,
Really noticing what does it mean to you,
Feeling the vibration of the touchstone and when it feels right,
Place the touchstone anywhere on or off the body and if you don't have a touchstone,
You can always imagine one.
At any point of the yoga nidra,
You can tune in to your touchstone again for the connection of the grounded,
Rooted energy of the earth below.
It's time to be good to yourself.
Daring to rest starts now.
Take a deep breath in and exhale,
Letting your body be held by the surface you're resting on.
Allow the sound of the breath to welcome you into stillness.
Let my words waft over you to deepen your connection with the natural world and within yourself.
Where would we be without the trees?
They help us breathe.
They offer protection,
Guidance,
Direction.
They carry us home.
Throughout yoga nidra,
You are invited to follow my voice but you can always not follow any instruction.
You are invited to stay slightly awake and aware throughout yoga nidra while resting deeply but if you fall asleep,
That's okay too.
Yoga nidra is a gift to yourself to receive what you truly need in this moment.
As Marian Woodman says,
When we truly receive,
We grow continually.
Now repeat your intention three times,
Like you're blessing your body.
We begin in the body,
Rotating attention throughout the body.
When you hear a body part named,
Notice any energy,
Any sensation at the body part and if there's any worry and tension,
Let it release from that body part when named.
I invite you to imagine a leaf going to each body part.
Looking at the space between the eyebrows,
Middle of the throat,
Right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Right wrist,
Right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Middle finger,
Little finger,
Right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
Middle of the throat,
Little finger,
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Left wrist,
Left thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Little finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Middle of the throat,
Middle of the chest,
Right side of the chest,
Middle of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel point,
Middle of the pubic bone,
Right hip,
Right knee,
Right ankle,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe,
Right ankle.
Right knee,
Right hip,
Middle of the pubic bone,
Left hip,
Left knee,
Left ankle,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe,
Left ankle.
Left knee,
Left hip,
Middle of the pubic bone,
Navel point,
Middle of the chest,
Middle of the throat,
Back to eyebrow center,
Rest in stillness at the eyebrow center.
Notice vibration in the whole body,
Even the most subtle pulses,
Tune in,
Drop deeper.
Now begin to inhale slowly,
Filling the abdomen,
Then the chest,
And then the chest cavity all the way up to the neck,
Exhale even more slowly,
Pursing your lips as if you're blowing through a straw,
Feeling as if your breathing is in rhythm with the breath of the trees.
As you inhale,
Feel the breath starting at the trunk of the tree,
Moving upwards,
And as you exhale,
Feel the breath moving all the way to the branches and out the vines of the leaves.
Continue at your own rhythm,
Inhaling through the leaves,
Welcoming the breath down into the trunk,
And with the exhale,
Feeling the breath moving back up the trunk and out through the leaves,
Whole body breathing,
And now your breath returns to normal.
Begin to feel your body getting heavy,
Sinking into the ground,
Your whole body heavy,
Like the trunk of an ancient tree.
Now feel your body light,
With every breath,
The body becomes lighter and lighter,
Like a leaf,
Weightless.
Feel your body light as a leaf,
Flowing in the wind,
Feel your body back to heavy,
Your whole body heavy,
Like the trunk of an ancient tree,
Heavy.
Feel this.
Now feel your body light,
With every breath,
The body becomes lighter and lighter,
Like a leaf,
Weightless.
Feel your body light as a leaf,
Flowing in the wind,
Light,
Feel this.
Begin to imagine yourself walking through the forest,
Barefoot,
Notice the ground beneath your feet,
On the moss,
You are surrounded by a red glow,
You look up to the sky,
You see the clouds passing by,
The wind brushes up on your face,
Heart beats slow in your own flow,
The trees start to sway,
You put your left hand out and start to feel and pick up the earth,
The soil is red,
Red earth.
You open your hand and there is a small seed in your palm,
You stare at it,
You turn to your left to see a circle in the distance,
You start to get up and walk over to the circle,
What the circle is is actually a spiral,
The spiral is big,
The spiral looks like a tree trunk,
With its everlasting twists and perfect turns.
You enter the spiral and walk its path from where you are to what seems like the end,
You cannot tell and it doesn't matter,
You see a perfectly dug out spot in the earth and you place your seed,
The ground starts to move and shake,
You hear small rocks and soil tumble below,
Roots start to show up,
Popping up like heavy long arms,
The arms thick,
You can see through the ground below,
There is runners underneath,
The runners are like our hands,
Our fingers,
They are strong,
They show you that they can join their hands with other systems below the earth,
They show you they can communicate,
They listen,
They see you,
They feel you,
They are rooted,
Your tree is you,
You are rooted,
In order to flourish above we must be rooted below,
Rest,
Rooted like the trees,
Rest,
Deeply rooted like the trees,
In this space of deep rest,
Feel your intention rising within you like the branches of a tree rise to the sky,
Repeat your intention to yourself three times,
Feeling your intention supported by the earth,
The trees and the space of deep,
Deep rest.
Now very slowly your wisdom council arrives,
They arrive to bless you,
They can be a tree that resonates with you,
They can be spirit guides,
Dry ends,
Tree spirits,
Deities,
Animals,
Even people from your past,
Present and future,
Notice how they greet you,
Now in their presence ask for a soul whisper,
An image,
Word,
Phrase,
It may also be a feeling,
Sensation or color,
A message from your soul,
Notice how you feel in this moment,
If it doesn't come right now that's okay,
It may appear during the day or in your dreams,
Just listen,
Whatever you receive exhale the soul whisper to your heart,
Notice how you feel in your body whether you received a soul whisper or not,
As you awaken from yoga nidra allow the words of my poem to invite you to return,
Every sunset,
Every sunrise,
For thousands of years the trees have been the lungs of our planet,
They have listened,
Shape-shifted,
Transformed,
Lost their leaves,
Shed but returned renewed and just like you they make it through,
If you're off to sleep sweet dreams drift deeper and deeper to sleep,
If you're waking up bring awareness to the breath flowing through the nostrils and deepen the breath a little more,
Begin to move your body slowly,
Your fingers,
Toes,
Waking up in your way,
This completes yoga nidra rooted in our trees,
Be so good to yourself,
I love you
