The Mountain

A guided yoga nidra bedtime meditation for grounding, with a scan around the brain and body. It is followed by a visualisation of a mountain, ever silent and still, watching and holding. The end of this practice allows a deep and peaceful rest into sleep.

Transcript

This is a yoga nidra for sleep and so I will end the nidra with the words drift into a deep restful sleep. If you are not already make yourself comfortable either lying down on your back or seated and supported and let us begin by setting the intention to give our whole-hearted attention to this practice. Let us take the awareness into the body and give the body permission to deeply let go completely and utterly allowing the body to let go and as we go on this journey through different states of consciousness I will be by your side always by your side. The practice of yoga nidra begins now. The invitation is to guide your awareness around the body and to place the awareness deeply into the body part that I name. You might find that your awareness produces objects as you place. Perhaps stars, A shape or a color. The most important part of the practice is the placing of your awareness. Let us come now to the crown of the head and place the awareness at the crown of the head moving down the forehead and the back of the head to the middle of the brain and the front of the brain returning to the forehead to the tip of the nose and the chin the right side of the face and the right earlobe the tip of the right ear and the right temple to the top middle of the forehead and the left temple the tip of the left ear and the left earlobe the left side of the face and the chin the right cheek the right eyebrow and the eyebrow center the left eyebrow the left cheek and the chin the point under the bottom lip and the point between your lip and your nose the right nostril and the outer edge of the right eye the inside of the right eye and the bridge of the nose to the inside of the left eye and the outer edge the left nostril the point between the lip and the nose the point under the bottom lip and the chin the right temple the top middle of the forehead the left temple and back to the chin moving the awareness now to the tip of the tongue the body of the tongue and the roof of the mouth and from here we slide back up to the brain through the base of the skull to the right hand side of the brain and the left hand side of the brain and come to balance in the middle of the brain and from here we move into the body dropping down through the throat to the right shoulder down through the elbow and the wrist to the palm of the hand the thumb index finger middle finger ring finger and little finger back up through the hand to the wrist elbow and shoulder to the throat and to the left shoulder through the elbow and the wrist the palm of the hand the thumb the index finger middle finger ring finger and little finger back up through the hand wrist elbow and shoulder back to the throat and down to the heart resting here in the heart center now we move down to the navel and the pelvis to the right hip and the right knee the ankle the top of the foot and the big toe second toe third fourth and fifth toe coming back through the sole of the foot the ankle knee and hip and returning to the pelvis to the left hip knee ankle and top of the foot the big toe second toe third fourth and fifth toes back through the left sole ankle knee and hip and returning to the pelvis to the navel the heart center and the throat the right shoulder and the whole of the right arm the heart and the left shoulder and the whole of the left arm back to the heart radiate outwards from the heart to the whole of the ribs the navel and the whole of the torso the pelvis and the right hip the whole of the right leg back to the pelvis and the left hip and the whole of the left leg back to the pelvis navel and the heart center as we stay here and as we change our focus and move our attention to the breath as you inhale you begin to notice your awareness move with your breath perhaps expanding beyond the points inside of the body as you breathe in and as you breathe out settling back into place inhaling and exhaling in this safe space releasing your focus on your breath and bringing the awareness to the space behind the eyes notice a mountain with a strong solid base and a peak that reaches high into the sky this mountain has stood here for lifetimes and has watched the passing of time year after year on this mountain grows a tree it has grown here from a seed into a mighty tree and the mountain has watched as the tree grows and changes with each season moves with each wind in the spring as the tree grows bright green shoots that become leaves and flowers and the Sun gives warmth needed for growth as the mountain watches all summer comes and the leaves are dark green the Sun is hot and there is new life here and still the mountain watches the leaves turn red yellow and brown as autumn comes the Sun softens and the air changes and still the mountain watches silently when winter arrives and the leaves have gone the wind rain and storms lash across the mountain the tree is working deep underground to prepare for the next spring and still the mountain keeps its silent watch roots of the tree reach down deep into the rich mountain earth the mountain that never speaks and never sleeps and is always silently holding the wind blows and the tree sways to and fro it has developed a strong trunk and deep roots yet still maintains the flexibility to move with the changing conditions presented by the elements gaining strength from the earth and the Sun deep into the roots and throughout its whole body we leave the mountain now and become aware of the breath inside of the body as we inhale the abdomen rises and as we exhale we soften back into this place feeling soft safe and secure you drift peacefully into a deep restful sleep