Yoga Nidra For Unity

According to Samkhya philosopy, we live in a dualistic universe. This Yoga Nidra is a practice to explore the polarities of our world and integrate them into unity. As you embark on this Yoga nidra, you can reflect on the unwavering nature of your spirit (Puruṣa) and the ever-changing part of your nature (Prakṛti) and how to two interact with one another. My intention for this practice is that we can integrate these pieces of ourselves and in turn, find more unity in the world.

Transcript

Hello.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to join me for this yoga nidra practice.

My name is Laura Venable,

And today I'll be guiding you through a practice to heal the internal divide.

To change the world,

We must first begin with ourselves.

So thank you for being here with me for this important work.

If you're not already,

You can bring yourself into a comfortable and supported position on your back.

Give yourself the support that you need,

Perhaps that's a bolster under your knees,

A pillow behind your head,

A blanket to keep you warm.

And if you have something to cover your eyes,

This practice is enhanced greatly by the darkness.

For every action,

There is an equal and opposite reaction.

Now you might already be familiar with this quote by Isaac Newton,

And one could say that it even describes the fabric of the nature of our reality.

For one experience,

There is a seemingly opposite experience.

You can observe these polarities all around us,

For the brightness of the day leads to the darkness of the night.

The robust life of summer quickly becomes the barren landscape of winter.

The fullness of our inhale is countered by the emptiness of our exhale.

We live in a world of duality,

And when we learn to dance in the space between the polarities,

We can begin to find middle ground within ourselves and beyond.

It all begins within your body,

With your breath.

Let yourself sink a little heavier into the earth beneath you,

Feel where you're being supported,

And notice if there's anywhere that you can surrender a little bit more.

Observe your breath as it naturally begins to slow,

And notice how and where your breath is moving in your body.

Notice if there's a tendency to hold your breath.

Notice if your breathing is feeling smooth or rough today,

Or if you're lingering naturally at the top or the bottom of your breath.

Let your breath begin to connect with your body in a way that brings the inhale up through the soles of the feet,

Through the legs,

Through the torso,

To the crown of the head.

And then with the exhale,

Move your breath down back through the body,

Through the legs,

And out of the soles of the feet.

And just allow your breath to continue in this rhythm for a moment,

Moving up slowly through the body as you inhale,

And moving down back through the body as you exhale.

Breathe slowly,

Breathe steadily,

And let your anchor of awareness become the breath.

And the next time your awareness reaches your feet,

Let it linger there a little bit longer.

Feel the soles of your feet,

Feel your heels,

The toe mound,

The toes.

And let yourself feel what it feels like to be fully rooted in the ground.

How does it feel to be anchored in your beliefs,

Your body,

Your decision?

And then begin to shift your breath all the way up to the crown of the head,

And find this ethereal connection to something that you cannot see,

Touch,

Or feel.

This beautiful connection to the unknown.

And then lower your awareness down into your heart,

This beautiful bridge that connects our physicality and our energetics together.

And allow the field surrounding your heart to expand.

Let it fill the room you're currently occupying.

This is something only you can feel.

This is a practice between you and yourself.

And this practice begins in your heart.

It is here where the practice of yoga nidra begins.

And this practice begins in your heart.

It is here where the practice of yoga nidra begins.

Begin to listen for your sankalpa.

Your sankalpa is an intention that emerges first from your heart.

It's a positive and brief expression to dedicate your practice.

Something like,

I am whole,

Or I am united as an example.

And once you have this intention,

Repeat it to yourself internally at least three times.

Let it echo and reverberate through your whole spirit.

Let it touch every cell,

And let it be the song of your soul.

And when you're done,

Simply just let it go.

And trust that the seeds of your intentions have been buried in the soil of your internal gardens.

And when you're ready,

In your mind's eye,

Begin to visualize a beautiful golden spool of thread.

It might shimmer and glisten like the purest light you've ever seen.

And as we move through our body scan today,

Bring this golden thread with you.

Let it touch your body from one area to the next,

My voice being your guide.

Bring your awareness into your right thumb,

Your right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

Feel the palm of your right hand,

The back of your right hand,

And your entire right hand.

Slowly shift your awareness in this beautiful golden thread up your right arm and settle for just a moment in your right shoulder,

Before sweeping your awareness down the entire right side of your body like a paintbrush until you reach the heel of your right foot.

Feel the sole of your right foot and the top of your right foot.

Then bring your awareness fully into your right big toe,

Your second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Feel your entire right foot.

Feel this glowing network on your right side of the body.

And then bring your awareness and your golden thread into your left thumb.

Feel your left index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger.

Feel your whole left palm.

Feel the back of your left hand.

Then feel your entire left hand.

Sweep your awareness up your left arm,

Pausing at the left shoulder.

And then move swiftly down through the side of the body until you settle into the heel of your left foot.

Feel the sole of your left foot and the top of your left foot.

Feel your left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Feel your entire left foot.

And then begin to feel this glowing network on the left side of the body.

And then feel every part that you've touched so far,

Along with the glistening golden thread connecting the left to the right.

Feel both of your feet together.

Feel the backs of your calves together.

Feel the backs of both thighs together.

And shift your awareness into the base of your pelvic bowl,

Feeling where your sit bones connect to the ground.

And feeling your pelvic floor muscles connecting together like a hammock.

Feel the back of your head.

Feel the back of your head.

Feel the back of your sacrum.

Feel the back of your lower back.

And as you lift your awareness up and out of your pelvis,

Up the spine,

Rest your awareness in the area of the spine just behind the belly button.

The entire upper body is being supported by this small section of vertebra that is about the size of your wrist.

Continue moving your awareness up the spine until you meet your rib cage.

Feel the ribs expanding up and out to the right and then to the left.

Feel your breastbone and feel the collarbones running along the front of the chest until you find the shoulders.

And feel your shoulder blades.

Begin to feel the small vertebra in your neck where the skull rests right on top of the first vertebra.

Then move your awareness up and back just slightly until you reach your midbrain.

This is where your pineal and pituitary glands live.

The master spirit glands where our future,

Past,

And presence all fold in upon one another.

You can ask these glands to activate now.

Pineal gland,

Show yourself to me.

And then shift your awareness up to the crown of the head.

And then down to the space in between your brow center on your forehead.

Feel your right eye and your right eye socket.

Then feel your left eye and your left eye socket.

And then feel both eyes together.

Feel down the bridge of your nose and feel the upper jaw.

Notice where the teeth connect with the bone.

And then feel your lower jaw.

And again,

Notice where the teeth connect with the bone.

And then begin to feel your tongue resting in your mouth.

Bring your awareness into the center of your throat.

And then back down into the energetic center of your heart.

Connect to your whole body now.

Feel yourself here as whole and united.

Allow the awareness of your full body to begin to settle until only a lingering golden light remains right in the center of your rib cage,

Right at your heart.

And begin to notice your breathing again.

In the most subtle way,

Begin to follow your breath in until you can't breathe in anymore.

For just a beat of your heart,

Hold the breath at the peak of the inhale.

And then gently begin to exhale until you find emptiness.

And again,

For just the beat of a heart,

Linger at the bottom before slowly breathing in again and repeating.

And continue with this pattern of breath.

But begin to round and smooth out the edges of your breathing.

So the inhale smoothly becomes the exhale.

And the exhale smoothly becomes the inhale.

Stay very present during the transitional Stay very present during the transitional period between the breaths.

Observe the spaces in between the extremes.

And feel just how the inhale becomes the exhale.

And how the exhale becomes the inhale.

Your breath might even begin to resemble a circle.

A seamless and infinite dance from one to the other.

With the magic happening in the space between.

It is through this dance with extremes in life that we can begin to find a state of wholeness,

That we can begin to find a state of wholeness,

Trust,

And surrender,

That everything in life has its place.

That is where we find unity.

Shift your awareness away from the breath and back into your mind's eye.

Let the darkness of the night wash over you.

Lean into the dark void that exists in the darkest,

Most remote corners of the universe.

Don't just see the darkness,

Feel the darkness washing over you.

Now let it go.

Begin to call in the brightest light imaginable.

Allow your soul and spirit to be warmed by the most vibrant,

Healing light that you could possibly imagine.

Fill your bones from the inside out and become a beacon of light in the darkness.

Now begin to return your awareness into your brow center,

Your Chittakash.

Recall a time in your life where you've been righteous in your beliefs.

A time where you might have felt superior to someone or something else.

Perhaps even a time where you felt a sense of knowing what's best for someone else.

Now let that go and remind yourself of a time where you've been shown a new perspective.

A moment where you once thought you were certain about something and it no longer felt true.

A change in perspective that might have even left you feeling humbled.

Now let that go and return to your Chittakash.

How does it feel to be fearful?

How does it feel when you're paralyzed by fear?

And let that go and begin to invite in the feeling of being absolutely consumed by the most beautiful,

Unconditional love possible.

How does it feel to trust that your future is provided for and that you are living a life of love?

Return to your brow center.

In this space,

You can call forth visions for the future.

You can connect to memories of the past.

And you can find closure in the present.

Through the wisdom of your pineal gland,

You can heal and reframe your perspectives.

And as you lay here on the ground,

You find yourself sitting in a sticky,

Mud-like substance.

You feel stuck.

And you look to your right and you feel a sense of relief.

And you find the part of you that's unchanging.

You find the constant,

Conscious part of your spirit that has been with you since the first day of your life.

And even beyond that,

This is the unwavering part of yourself that connects the chapters of your life together like a thread.

And you look to your left and you find the part of you that's ever-changing.

This multifaceted version of you represents all that you have and will be.

It's the unconscious part of your spirit that's constantly evolving and shifting.

This is the part of you that's ever-changing.

It's the unconscious part of your spirit that's constantly evolving and shifting.

This is the part of you that lives in the material world and at times might even get caught up in the theatrics of life.

So here you are,

Together,

Stuck in the mud,

In the version of you on the left,

The ever-changing part of you.

Tells you how you might be caught up in the material influence of the world around you.

And then you begin to hear a voice to the right.

This time it's the unchanging part of you,

Reminding you how you can overcome the materialism of the world.

You are so much more than the drama of the day-to-day.

You are the observer here.

And suddenly,

You find yourself breaking free from the mud.

You begin to float up above the ground.

Until you land in a tree.

I am the tree.

And you might even feel like an eagle sitting on his perch.

And you can look back on the ground beneath you.

And you can see a fuller picture.

You can notice the dualistic nature of the world behind you.

You are the experiences of your life.

You are a culmination of your beliefs.

And yet,

You are also untethered from the suffering of the material world.

You are both.

And as you look back to the ground,

You see both of these sides of yourself.

Dancing together.

Dancing together.

Resembling the yin and yang symbol.

There's a beautiful balance between these polarities.

Both are needed.

And perhaps the dual nature of our world can give you some comfort.

That in this dance of life,

We're all just experiencing and exploring different polarities within ourselves.

And as you reflect on these different polarities,

You can again begin to observe them within your own body.

Become present to the dynamic movement of your breath.

Your inhale.

Your exhale.

The space between the two.

Feel yourself full.

Feel yourself empty.

Notice how the emptiness becomes full again.

Notice how the fullness becomes empty again.

You are everything and nothing at the same time.

And as you seek balance and the comfort of these polarities,

Begin to listen for your song.

And when you hear it,

You can repeat it internally to yourself again.

And if it's morphed into something new,

Repeat your new resolve to yourself.

The practice of yoga nidra is complete.

You can bring your awareness into your physical body again by finding gentle movement.

You can take your thumb and you can rub it into each fingertip on each hand.

You can shake the head no on the ground feeling into the rhythm of your body.

And you can feel the rhythm of your body.

And if you're ready,

You can take your arms up overhead and find a nice full body stretch reaching through the toes and the fingertips.

Hug your knees in towards your chest.

And as you inhale,

You can take your arms up overhead and find a nice full body stretch reaching through the toes and the fingertips.

Hug your knees in towards your chest and make your way to whichever side of the body might be calling you right now.

And then with your eyes closed,

Press upright into a seated position.

And just take a moment to find length in your spine.

Root down into the ground through your sit bones.

But at the same time,

Pull up through the crown of the head.

Rooting into the ground and lifting into the heavens.

Bring your hands to your heart.

And you can take an inhale breath.

And with the exhale,

Bow your head down to your heart,

Honoring yourself and your ability to and your ability to take the time out of your day to honor these practices and change the world.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.