Yoga Nidra For The Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is approaching. A time for rest, of deep replenishment, a time to cultivate and light the fire within. In this Yoga Nidra, we will explore this fire within, cultivating warmth, light, and energy as we enter this dark and wintery period. This Yoga Nidra is perfect for any time you need to cultivate warmth and inner fire.

Transcript

Hello I'm Libby and this is a yoga nidra practice for the winter solstice so the winter solstice is all about lighting the fire within ourselves embracing and welcoming the darkness that this season this time brings us so coming to find a comfortable space to begin perhaps coming to a place on your back maybe on your side or maybe seated if that feels comfortable for you take your time to arrange your body in a place that feels comfortable for you maybe placing a pillow under your head or underneath the knees or maybe a bolster if you have one covering yourself with a blanket or a cozy jumper to keep you and your body warm take whatever you need to find yourself in a comfortable place when you feel you are able to rest comfortably settle into your chosen place and allow the body to become still become aware of the position your body is lying in know the shape and the posture of the body notice the parts of the body that have connection with the earth noticing the feeling of body to ground feeling held by the earth beneath you become aware of the breath noticing the natural rhythm of your breath the inhale and the exhale feel the gentle rise of the belly as we inhale and feel how the belly softens as we exhale the natural ebb and flow rise and fall of the breath through the body with every exhale feel the weight of the body drop a little bit deeper into the earth into the support of the ground can we let go a little bit more with each breath with each exhale allow the body to settle deeper into stillness with every exhale take a moment to observe the stillness of the body as the body comes into a state of deepening stillness perhaps allow the breath to become more spacious and free notice the sound of your breath perhaps noticing all other sounds around you are they near they far allow the focus of the mind to accompany the breath as we notice that rise and fall of the inhale and the exhale the slight expansion as we breathe in and the drawing in as we exhale draw your awareness inward notice the darkness around you noticing how it feels what emotions arise perhaps we start to visualize a little flicker of lights in the distance as we get closer you start to feel warmth coming off this flicker as you realize you are by a gentle crackling warming glowing fire notice the colors of the fire the smell the feeling of the warmth radiating off it allow the light of the mind's attention to take the form of the warm light from this fire as consciousness travels to each part of the body that is named this warmth travels with it as if the whole body begins as a dark night and as the mind travels around bringing light and warmth to each part the body is illuminated like the glowing embers of a fire bring your awareness to the tip of the tongue and guide the light here spread the warmth on the floor of the mouth the roof of the mouth the upper teeth and gums the lower teeth and gums the inside of the right cheek the inside of the left cheek move the awareness to the inner part of the right ear and shine the warm light all the way through and around the ear right through to the outer part of the right ear the lobe of the ear the shell of the right ear the whole of the right ear move the awareness to the inner part of the left ear and shine the warm light all the way through and around the ear right through to the outer part of the left ear the lobe of the ear the shell of the left ear the whole of the left ear both ears glowing with the warmth of the fire then spread the warm light to the back of the head in the place between the two ears send the warm light on back of the top of the head the very top of the head the crown of the head send the warm light to the right temple left temple and the forehead to the right eye and the left eye warm light to the right eyebrow left eyebrow eyebrow center the right cheek the left cheek the nose send the warm light on the right nostril left nostril let the warm light glow on the bridge of the nose and the tip of the nose move the awareness down to shine the warm light on the upper lip lower lip the chin and all along the jaw be aware of the whole head glowing with warm light of the fire move the awareness to the neck and the throat send the warm light to the right collarbone the left collarbone and the place between the two collarbones move the awareness and the warm light to the right shoulder and armpit the right upper arm elbow and forearm right wrist back of hand and palm of the right hand take the awareness to the right hand thumb to the index finger middle finger ring finger and little finger be aware of the whole right hand glowing with the warm light of the fire now carry the attention back up the right arm and across over to the left side send the warm light to the left shoulder and armpit the left upper arm elbow and forearm left wrist back of left hand and palm of left hand take the awareness to the left hand thumb and to the index finger middle finger ring finger and little finger be aware of the whole left hand glowing with the warm light of the fire now carry your awareness to the center of the chest let the warm light glow along the length of the breastbone into the right side and ribs left side and ribs send the warm light to the right shoulder blade left shoulder blade and the space between the shoulder blades let the warm light glow in the back of the waist lower back the right side of the pelvis and the left side of the pelvis the warm light glows in the right buttock and the left buttock the fire glows in the navel the Manipura chakra and the pubic bones now take your attention to your right hip and let the light glow there and on the top of the right thigh and back of the right thigh send the warm light to the kneecap the back of the knee calf and shin ankle heel send the warm light along the sole of third toe fourth toe fifth toe the whole right foot and leg are glowing in the warm light of the fire now take your attention to your left hip and let the light glow there and on the top of the left thigh back of the left thigh send the warm light to the kneecap the back of the knee calf and shin ankle heel send the warm light along the sole of the left foot to the left big toe second toe third toe fourth toe fifth toe the whole left foot and leg are glowing in the warm light of the fire be aware of the whole body be aware of the warm light glowing down the whole of the right side foot leg arm and hand the whole of the right side glowing in the warm light of the fire be aware of the warm light glowing down the whole of the left side foot leg arm and hand the whole of the left side glowing in the warm light of the fire bring the light to the mind's attention to shine now inside the body see the embers of the fire glowing inside the whole body bring the light of the mental awareness to the whole of the right arm and hand now take the awareness to the left arm and hand now be aware of both arms and hands together now take the awareness of the whole of the right leg and foot the left leg and foot now be aware of both legs and feet together be aware of both arms and both legs together see the glow through the whole of the right side the whole of the left side both sides together be aware of the glow in the whole head now be aware of the whole body the embers of the fire glowing through the body be aware of the whole body like a warm winter fire feel the whole of the physical body resting on the floor and now as we breathe out experience a sensation of extreme heaviness feel that the physical body is so heavy that the bones might settle right down into the ground and as the breath comes up experience a sensation of lightness as if the body was so light it might even float up like smoke from the fire moving up into the sky so light almost weightless as the breath moves alternate between these two sensations heaviness on the exhale and lightness on the inhale exhaling heavy inhaling light now invite both to be held simultaneously be aware of the heavy and the light together at the same time and now let go simply become aware of the natural weight shape and form of the physical body as it rests on the floor and then just notice the body breathing be aware of the breath entering and leaving the body naturally with ease the gentle rise expansion of the inhale and the softening and drawing in of the exhale there is no effort involved the breath is simply coming in and going out let the mind's attention rest with each breath once again draw the attention to the rise and fall of the breath allow the breaths to deepen to get a bit louder so you can hear the sound of your breath feel your body moving with each inhale and each exhale each inhale is a waking breath breathing life into the body returning to a waking state full of energy and life breathing back into that fire we cultivated within our body so we feel the warmth and the energy spread through the body perhaps we start to bring some gentle movements touching the tips of the fingers reeling the fingers and toes circling the wrists or the ankles gently rolling the head from side to side reaching the arms overhead taking a full body stretch all the way from the fingertips down to the toes can hug the knees and towards the chest and gently roll over to whichever side calls to you resting here for a moment with the eyes closed and when you're ready gently making your way up to find a comfortable seated position coming to a space that feels comfortable for you as we come back into our bodies coming back to the breath noticing those subtle fluctuations through the body taking whatever you need whenever you're ready perhaps a gentle bow of the head a flicker of the eyes open thank you for practicing with me today and I look forward to practicing with you again thank you