Rest Deeply Now: Autumn

Relax deeply now with this simple spoken deep relaxation. Let yourself be immersed in Autumn. Flowing with descriptions of nature and the essence of Fall, inspired by the Himalayan tradition of Yoga Nidra, this Nidra takes you to a place of letting go and rest and connecting with what really matters. Expect to emerge recharged, renewed. Use whenever you need quality rest and relaxation and sweet soothing. Shared with kindness from me to you.

Transcript

So just coming into a really comfortable position ready for this practice of deep relaxation.

Just taking the time that you need to get yourself really cozy.

And this deep relaxation is inspired by the season of autumn,

So the air may be a little bit chilly.

And so just getting socks on,

Blankets,

Cushions,

And you can lay any way that feels the most comfortable for you.

It may be on your back,

Or it may be on your side,

Or even on your front.

And so getting yourself really comfy.

And in these opening moments,

Just encouraging the whole body from the back of the head or wherever the head is lying down,

Along the length of your spine,

Arms and legs,

Feet.

Just inviting the whole of you to soften a little bit,

To allow yourself simply to arrive.

And just notice where in the body you can really easily relax.

And noticing where in the body perhaps is a little resistant.

And so taking the awareness there with kindness,

With curiosity,

And just inviting it to soften and let go a little bit more.

Becoming aware of the breath now.

Lift ebb and flow in and out.

And be reassured that for the next wee while,

There is absolutely nothing that you need to do.

All of the to-do lists,

You can just lay to one side and just invite yourself into this wonderful cocoon of rest,

Of relaxation,

Of restoration of energy,

Of regeneration.

All of the lovely R words that you can think of when you settle down and allow yourself to relax.

The breath is gently flowing in and flowing out.

There's no real effort.

We're just settling and arriving.

And so we're going to take the awareness around the body in a really simple way.

And I'm inviting you to join me on that journey.

And yet if the deeper mind needs to go elsewhere,

Then that's completely fine too.

As I said,

There's nothing that you need to do.

Being here is more than enough.

More than enough.

And so let's just imagine it's a late autumn afternoon and the daylight is fading here in Scotland,

In the UK as a whole.

There's a beautiful quality,

A silvery quality to the light in autumn.

And this twins very nicely with the association of the metal element with the season of autumn.

We can think about the ability of metal to cut away when it's shaped into a knife.

And in autumn time,

It's very much nature's season for letting go.

All of the sap rising,

All of the energy put into growing leaves so that the trees can reap the benefits of sugar production from photosynthesis.

Now,

Now the opposite is happening.

The sap is withdrawing inwards and down into the roots.

And with that,

Autumn puts on this glorious show of colours that start on the trees,

The rust reds,

The acid yellows,

The lime greens,

The browns,

The wine reds.

And here in Glasgow now,

That colour is now on the grass and on the ground.

Most of the leaves have fallen.

And so as the energy is retreating and withdrawing and gathering,

It's this phase of gathering yin,

So too must we.

We have this idea or this sense in society that we're separate from nature.

There's a 24-7 culture and actually we're not.

So if like me,

You're finding it hard with the clocks going back,

If you have that happening in your country or just wanting to be in bed a lot earlier,

You know,

As soon as it's dark round about half,

Four,

Five o'clock,

Come seven o'clock in the evening,

It feels a little bit like midnight.

So anyway,

Let's embrace the gathering yin energy of autumn and let that really inspire our deep relaxation practice today.

And so,

As I say,

We're going to take our awareness around the body and we're imagining that it's twilight or late afternoon on the cusp of twilight and there's that wonderful silvery gleam to the sky.

Clouds are a blue-grey and there's a coral tinge at the horizon line as the sun is setting.

Birds flying across the sky,

Could be geese on their migration,

Could be robins,

Could be other birds.

And just aware of the sights and sounds,

The scents and the textures of this late autumn afternoon,

This early evening on the cusp of twilight.

And the first stars are starting to glimmer and the moon has yet to rise.

And in this wonderful in-between space,

We can imagine ourselves looking out over a beautiful autumn landscape and what are the elements of that landscape that you could,

In your imagination,

Distill down to the very essence of autumn?

For me,

It's the crunch of leaves underfoot and the smell of mouldering leaves as the rain has fallen on them day after day after day.

The smell of the earth,

The sharp,

Chilly air,

Especially in the mornings.

The beginnings of frost lacing the leaves and freezing the water over in my birdbath in the front garden.

It's the colour of the wine-red hawthorn berries on the jaggedy twigs and branches of the charcoal-coloured hawthorn trees.

They're more like bushes here.

It's the colour of the leaves,

It's the clarity of the blue skies on the days that we get sunshine and it's the warmth of the sun in those rare moments standing with the face turned up like a sunflower.

And so thinking and feeling and remembering in your body and in your mind autumn,

What it means to you and distilling it down into some precious elixir or nectar of autumn.

And we're just going to place it very carefully around the body as we go.

So becoming aware of the eyebrow centre,

A little drop of the essence of autumn just there and notice if you're still looking behind closed eyes and just encourage all of the muscles behind the eyes to let go.

From there bring the awareness down to the soft space in between the collarbones.

Another drop of autumn energy just there.

Coming out over to the right shoulder and drop in the very centre of the shoulder and down the arm,

A drop at the elbow and at the wrist and then palm open to the sky.

That amber nectar pooling in the palm.

Or is it silver?

I'm not quite sure.

And then a little drop at the tip of the thumb,

The index finger,

The middle finger,

The ring finger and the little finger.

Bring the awareness back to the wrist,

The elbow,

The shoulder,

The soft space in between the collarbones and then bring the awareness over to the left shoulder,

A little drop right in the centre of the shoulder,

Coming down into the V of the elbow,

Down into the wrist and then pooling in the left palm.

Become aware of the palm,

The left thumb,

The index finger,

The middle finger,

The ring finger and little finger.

Bringing the awareness back up to the wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Back to the soft space in between the collarbones and coming down into the chest now,

Into the centre of the chest,

Drop of the essence of autumn in the centre of the chest,

In the heart centre and drop over at the tip of the right breast,

Back to the centre of the chest,

To the heart and then over to the tip of the left breast.

Drop the essence of autumn right there and then coming back to the centre of the chest.

As the awareness flows down the body,

It's as if the sap is gently withdrawing down the trunk of our body as a tree.

Coming down now to the navel,

A drop of the essence of autumn at the navel and then in the centre of the pelvis behind the pubic bone.

Bring the awareness out to that right hip and leg,

A little drop at the centre of the right hip,

In the knee,

In the ankle and then a sense of it pooling in the arch of the foot.

Become aware of the instep on that right foot,

The big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

Bring the awareness back up into the ankle now,

The knee,

The hip,

The centre of the pelvis and then over to the left hip,

A tiny droplet in the centre of the left hip,

Tiny droplet in the centre of the knee and the ankle and then the luxurious pooling.

Is it warm?

Is it cool?

I'm not sure.

The arch of the left foot,

Tiny droplets again at the tip of the big toe,

The second toe,

The third toe,

The fourth toe and the fifth toe.

Bring the awareness back up into the ankle,

Knee,

Hip,

Centre of the pelvis,

Navel,

Heart,

Soft space in between the collarbones and back up to the eyebrow centre.

Becoming aware now of the crown of the head,

Tiny drop,

Sparkling almost like a gem or a jewel,

Clear light of the autumn sunshine,

Shining with utter clarity at the crown of the head.

And here we are completely anointed with the essence of autumn,

The smell of the earth,

The crunch of the leaves,

The longer nights,

The twinkling stars,

All of the aspects of what autumn is.

And autumn is very much a time of letting go.

And so bringing the awareness back to the eyebrow centre,

Back to this soft space in between the collarbones and coming down into the centre of the chest.

You may wish to focus just on the centre of the chest,

Almost as if you found an acorn that's been missed by the squirrels or across the centre of the chest and the tips of the left and the right breasts as well,

Almost as if it's the three stars of Orion's belt shining brightly in the early evening sky.

Let's imagine for this moment that the breath is coming in and out of the heart.

Or if you're connected with the three points in the chest,

Across all three points.

Notice the rise and fall of the chest,

Of the belly as you breathe.

And as we breathe in,

We take in the new,

The fresh,

Nourishing air.

And as we breathe out,

We're letting go,

Getting rid,

Waste,

Toxins.

It's a very efficient process.

But now let's add in something beautiful and you may wish to imagine a colour or a kind of light,

Or again,

Just thinking over wonderful autumn days,

Something that sums up the season for you in a really nourishing and delightful way.

And imagine that you can breathe that energy right in right now.

And as you exhale,

The energy can flow all around the body to wherever it's needed.

And if there's anywhere in the body that's particularly vulnerable just now,

Then really there's an invitation to share that wonderful,

Fresh,

Nourishing energy wherever it's needed.

And I like to imagine or experience the breath in and out.

It's a series of radiating circles.

As the breath comes in,

A lovely sense of filling up and then the energy just flowing,

Radiating out to the very edges,

The very tips of my toes,

Fingers,

Nose.

And connecting with beautiful natural forms,

The sense of a dew drop dropping into still water and the ripples eddying out.

The rings of a tree,

Each year it grows.

Another ring is added into its trunk,

The girth growing with every fresh year.

Think of the autumn rain falling year after year,

Eddying out,

Radiating out into each new tree ring.

And there's a sense of connecting through the heart with endless love.

Connecting through the heart with that creative force,

Life is a gift.

You may want to experience that creative,

Loving force as a warmth or energy in the heart.

Almost imagining that the heart is like a wonderful warm fire.

Could be inside the house in a log burner or in an open grate.

And as we stoke the fire with the new breath in,

The embers and coals and logs burn that little brighter.

And again,

That warmth,

That energy radiating out into the whole body on every exhale.

So becoming aware of the very edges of your body.

And it may be you're naturally drawn to your fingertips,

Your toe tips,

Your nose,

The crown of the head,

Or you may have a sense of the entire outline of your body.

What makes sense to you?

Noticing the background shimmering of aliveness.

That shimmering is a magical quality,

Almost like a gentle sparkling.

We've just turned the volume down a little on it.

So it's in the background shimmering away.

And in autumn,

We connect deeply with what is of real value.

We let go of all of the busyness,

All of the growth that's happened in springtime and summer.

And it's time to let go of doing too much,

To draw closer to what's really important because we don't have the endless energy of summertime.

And so drawing close in this moment to what really matters.

And maybe that is best placed right in the center of the heart.

And then becoming aware once again of the very edges of you.

And let's for the next we will dance,

Maybe breathing into the heart.

And as you exhale,

Taking awareness to the very edges,

The outer peripheries that is you.

Maybe a sense of an energy layer beyond the body.

And then back into that tiny,

Potent center in the heart.

You may prefer to do it exactly the opposite.

Breathe into the very edges.

And then as you exhale,

Just come back,

Back into the very center of you in the heart.

And then let go.

And imagine both at the same time.

And the very edges filled to the very peripheries and also in the heart,

That pointed focus in the heart.

Is that even possible?

Where is that and how is that?

And then just let go,

Allow the breath to flow in and out just comfortably and naturally.

Then becoming once again aware of all of the different points that we've anointed with the essence of autumn.

We're our center in between the collarbones,

Shoulders,

Elbows,

Wrists,

Pulling in the palms,

The fingers and thumbs,

Down the body,

The heart,

The navel in the center of the pelvis,

The hips,

Knees,

Ankles,

Insteps and the tips of the toes.

Just becoming aware of each of those points as best you can,

Just if you like.

And bestowing upon each point a magical sparkling quality like a rare jewel.

That sense of deep preciousness mapped,

Spun across our body.

Walking in the fields the other day on this beautiful day retreat,

We stopped in the late afternoon sun and noticed the shimmering of gossamer like threads of all of the spider webs just across the grass.

Very faint,

Very fine,

All of the tiny little money spiders.

And I see this gossamer like silk shimmering,

Catching the light across the grass,

Across the branches of the trees.

And it took me back to the late summer walking in the fields of barley in Yorkshire and the way that the sunlight catches the tips of the ripe barley and yeah,

Just a beautiful ombre from peach to gold and the rustling of the husks walking down the middle of the field.

This was different,

Softer,

Finer,

More refined,

Delicate,

Precious.

And we almost would have missed it were it not for one of the attendants just pointing it out.

Look,

Stop.

And so looking,

Stopping,

Noticing,

Noticing the very preciousness in your fingertips,

In your toe tips,

In each joint mapped out across the body as fine as the threads on that late autumn afternoon.

And imagine that maybe on every inhale those essence of autumn,

Little drops of preciousness can expand outwards a little bit,

Almost as if energetically there's an expansion,

A magnification,

An intensification.

And then on the exhale,

Gently landing in the body itself and the wonderful earth of the body.

And do they glow brighter on the inhale and a little duller on the exhale?

I'm not sure.

But breathing with that,

Inhale expansive,

Bright,

Exhale embedded,

Soft.

And then imagining and experiencing both,

Both a wonderful expansive quality out beyond the confines of the body and deeply embedded in the body,

Deeply soft and heavy.

Is that even experienceable?

Is that a word?

How does that feel?

And where is it?

And then letting go and just flowing with the breath.

And maybe it's a lovely idea just to take the breath up and down the spine,

Up on the inhale and all the way down the spine,

Down the legs and out through the toes on the exhale.

Sense of soothing the body with the breath,

Inviting in waves of relaxation with every exhale.

Noticing the position of your body,

However it is arranged.

However you're lying,

Noticing where it feels heavy,

Where it feels soft and relaxed.

And just seeing if you can let go that little bit more,

Knowing that you're completely supported,

That this is a space where there's absolutely nothing you need to do and most certainly no one that you need to be.

Just melting down into that soft space of welcome.

As if the leaves up on the branches of the tree stare longingly down at Mother Earth all the seasons long and finally get to come home,

Don't keep falling down to land on the grass.

Becoming aware of the ebb and flow of the breath and in this wonderful in between space of rest and alertness.

If it's helpful to offer your future self some support for the coming days,

Then here's space for that.

For some of us it may be an affirmation or a positive intention for ourselves or even San Calpa and for others it could be visualising,

Just embedding more meaningful things in.

Ditching,

Letting go of doing too much as best we can and then just embedding these small gems into our day,

Into our week,

Into our month so that we are connected with what helps us truly thrive.

When we're connected with what really matters we have a great sense of perspective.

When we connect through the heart with love we have an even better sense of perspective.

So inviting in that sense of connection,

Of listening,

Of tuning in,

Of supporting and honouring.

And so as the light is fading more and more it's going to get to its midpoint on the 21st of December.

Maybe a good commitment to yourself and to your wellbeing could be resting regularly.

Whether it's listening to guided deep relaxation or snoozing on the sofa but committing to deep rest,

Good quality relaxation in the coming days so that we can refill the well,

Restore and regain energy,

Be rested enough that we have a really good sense of what we can do and what we don't need to.

And with that sense of letting go,

Of embracing the preciousness of this very moment,

This practice of deep relaxation is going to come to an end.

So let's start to deepen and lengthen each breath.

Maybe even breathe in a way that you can hear your breath.

Good.

And then bringing small movements into fingers and into toes and maybe into the face.

And from here if you like and you're laying on your back you can stretch the whole body out.

And in another position just moving the body in a delicious way,

Starting to become more awake,

More alert and aware.

And eventually if you're lying on your back or your side you can hug your knees,

Rock from side to side and then come to rest on a comfy side.

If you're on the front you might want to ease back into a gentle Charles pose,

Something like that.

This practice of deep relaxation inspired by the season of autumn,

Infused with the essence of the metal element is now done.

It is now over and finished.

It is time to be more awake and alert.

Thank you very much for listening.

May the rest of your day or night flow beautifully and well.

Reviews

Lovely and relaxing meditation. Perfect for a chilly November night. 🙏🏻☯️🌸

So wonderful! Beautiful and evocative narration, took me to deep places of restoration 🙏