Loch Lomond: A Wild Yoga Nidra Journey With Music

A special invitation to rest in the soundscape and poetry of this beautiful corner of Scotland. This guided meditation is loosely based on a Yoga Nidra structure and takes you across the water to the wild woods with space to receive what you need and let go of what you don’t. This ambitious collaboration is woven together with specially composed music by Stef Vink. Headphones will help you to hear all the notes. See also our other musical tracks.

Transcript

Welcome to you and welcome to Loch Lomond.

I'm Kerry Mackay.

You may hear engine and water sounds as you've joined me on a small ferry boat.

This evolving soundscape will accompany you as you sail across the loch to the north eastern shore and enter the oak woods.

The intention of this yoga nidra is to invite connection to your whole self through connecting and resting with the elements of this Scottish location.

I'm describing a real journey through this landscape.

It inspired the composition of the music and some sound recordings were made along the way.

Now that you are underway and the course is set there's nothing else to do.

Know that your work is done and however you are as you begin this journey is welcome.

This time is entirely for you and there's no way you can get this wrong.

Whatever you experience is held safely within the practice.

Your journey is unique to you and you're welcome to take only what you need from this yoga nidra and leave the rest.

So it's time to get really comfortable and settle down.

Adjust anything you need to.

The fresh air and the deep hum of the engine is an invitation to rest and to be in your body,

In your heaviness.

The boat is moving carrying you across the water but you are still.

If you'd like to bring your awareness to your physical self starting with your feet.

Then notice the feeling of your legs,

Your pelvis,

Your belly,

Your back,

Your chest,

Your arms and your hands.

Invite your awareness into your neck,

Your throat,

Your face and the whole of your head.

Then sweep your awareness back down the centre of the body,

Arriving back in the feet again.

Being gently aware now of your whole body just as it is.

If you'd like to,

Notice the rhythm of your breath.

Allowing the breath to be how it is,

Giving it space to settle with the boat.

Follow the wave of the breath with your awareness and your kindness.

This continual flow of in-breath and out-breath.

The water of the loch is a glistening silver swirling with a dark slatey blue.

The boat pushes through creating a rippling bow wave.

The wake at the stern is foamy white spreading wide and softening as it stretches backwards.

The steep valley sides are rocky and wooded.

They contain this water and guide this journey.

Under the boat the water is very deep.

Beneath the water the loch bed is sculpted glassier sediment and then layers and layers of rock.

Slow,

Cool,

Grounded energies.

If you'd like to,

Notice these meeting you from below.

Water and earth offering support,

Offering a gentle holding.

Support to rest into,

Here in this moment.

You disembark in the north as you reach the shore on the far side of the loch and stand on the pebbly beach.

If you'd like to,

Arrive here by taking a moment to feel each of your feet.

Bring your awareness to the surface of the left foot and then the inside of the left foot.

Bring your awareness to the surface of the right foot and then the inside of the right foot.

Adjusting to the rhythms of this new location.

The oak woods are behind,

Meeting the shore and stretching upwards.

The deep green of the trees is an invitation to enter.

On this threshold,

There is time though to be with the lapping waves a little longer and to allow your breath to respond.

In the woods,

Everything is different.

Your eyes expand into a temple of trees,

Green upon green upon green.

Angled columns of sunlight stream down,

Spotlighting insects floating on invisible air flows.

White wooden enemies glow like stars and heart-shaped wood sorrel leaves flutter on impossibly delicate stems.

Emerald cushion mosses glisten damply on the lush woodland floor and layers of old leaves,

Twigs and nuts form a bed of soft humus.

The scent of this and the taste of this wafts up in waves.

The sounds of the woods are cushioned by this soft bed and passed from tree to tree,

Space to space.

If you like,

Notice also the spaces in between the sounds.

There's a small stony path climbing upwards in slow curves.

If you take it,

The sound of your footsteps adds a new rhythm to the soundscape.

Climbing up along the curling path,

It gets steep and perhaps your legs tire and you need to slow down and soften into your breath.

You can rest whenever you need to as you move higher through the trees.

The invitation is to trust the journey and the mystery of the woods.

Finally,

You reach the edge of the trees and leave their shelter.

The short steep path goes round one more corner and then suddenly thrusts you up into the sky.

The view from the summit opens out to reveal the far mountains and the whole length of the loch below.

The distant rocks on the wooded valley sides glitter in the sun.

Up in the air,

This vastness,

This openness,

Gently invites you into your heart.

Being with what's present now.

Listening gently to what's there with a sense of allowing.

Making space for expansion.

Making space for contraction.

Making space for stillness.

You will know when you're ready to return.

There's a small path surrounded by bracken and long grass leading downwards.

If you take this path,

You will return to the shore via the woods on the other side of the hill.

Here it is cooler and darker.

The trees are smaller with the branches close to your head.

The way goes down steeply in rocky steps.

Trust your feet and your breath to find a new rhythm.

Stepping down and down.

Ahead there is a small stream running down a gully and the way across is a narrow wooden bridge.

Before the bridge there is a natural stopping place under an old rowan tree.

The invitation is to pause here and go within.

Gently asking,

Is there something that you would like to let go of?

What is it that you don't need to carry back home and can leave behind in the woods on this side of the bridge?

Asking the question is enough,

It doesn't matter if something specific comes up or not.

You are held safely by the wisdom of the woods and by the foundation of the earth.

When you're ready,

It's time to cross.

Stepping lightly now,

Notice how you are as you continue going downwards,

Simply trusting the way.

If you feel like it,

Notice your thoughts.

And then notice the space between your thoughts.

Being with what's there with a sense of allowing.

As you arrive on the Loch shore again,

The water greets you as you are now.

The rhythm of the waves invites you back to your breath.

The pebbly beach invites you back to your feet.

There's nothing to do but be.

Back on the boat,

It's time to settle into the return journey across the Loch.

Settle into your returning self.

You are coming back.

Feel,

If you like,

The vibrating hum of the engine.

Become aware of the movement of the air,

Any sensations on your skin.

And the sense of this air in your nostrils,

On your tongue.

Notice the colours,

The light and the movement of the water.

Perhaps become aware of your physical self again,

Starting with your feet.

Notice any sensations in your legs,

Your pelvis.

Your belly,

Your back,

Your chest,

Your arms and your hands.

Invite your awareness into your neck,

Your throat,

Your face and the whole of your head.

Then sweep back down the centre to the feet again.

Sensing the whole of the body now.

Asking your body what it needs as we come back.

Is there a deeper breath or a yawn or a wriggle through the jaw that feels good?

Is there a part of you that would like to move or stretch?

Thank you for being here and thank you for trusting the elemental healing of this special location.

Thank you for gifting yourself this time.

Space to rest and space to connect with whatever is ready to arise.

It's a precious gift.

As this journey completes,

Know that whatever you experienced,

It's safely held within this practice of conscious awareness.

And most of all,

Know that all of you is welcome home.

Welcome home to yourself.

Welcome home.

Your Yoganitra journey is complete.

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Reviews

Thank you, Kerry🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻I so enjoyed your guidance through your beautiful slice of heaven in Scotland: the water, the woods, the birds, the vastness of the sky after leaving the woods, with high shrieking ( was that a hawk?), the pebble beach, the climbing, overseeing the loch from above…
I really needed some nature, too hot and humid right now where I live with lots of storms…
And I get to experience it while practicing yoga nidra and resting: how great is that?!🙏🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🙏🏻
P.S. The combination with the music was wonderful, especially the piano music.

Thank you for a lovely journey. Through nature, breath and the body 🙏🏼

A lovely journey with nature, music and guided word intertwined to create a pathway to peacefulness. Thank you for another wonderful offering, Kerry. Namaste...🕊️😌🕊️