Seashore Nidra

Immerse yourself in relaxation with this soothing Nidra, inviting in the healing nourishment of the water element to restore, revive and wash away all you no longer need. In Winter we focus on the water element to rebalance us, it is a time to listen deeply within. This Nidra draws from the tradition of storytelling, nature, and our interconnectedness to lull us awake. Shared live in class and with love from a sleepy nook in Glasgow, Scotland.

Transcript

So,

Just settling yourself into your comfy,

Into a cozy little nest,

Cocoon,

Something like that,

And making sure that you're really warm and connecting with a sense of comfort.

Just inviting the whole of you,

Just as you are,

In for a delicious rest,

For a lovely deep relaxation.

Know that the whole of the to-do list,

From the very first thing on it to the very last thing,

For these moments,

You can just pop to one side.

All of the people that you need to be,

All of the roles and responsibilities that you have,

Can very easily be popped to one side as well.

And you may want to imagine a little lovely place to pop them or just chuck them.

You choose.

And so,

Inviting the weightiness of your body to melt down into comfy coziness.

And just connecting in your imagination with those aspects of the water element that really resonate with you.

For some of us,

It could be the chill of swimming in the summertime off the coast of Scotland in a loch,

In a river.

Just the thrill of being immersed in the sea,

Having to run in and run out,

To build up enough to be able to go in and swim.

And for others of us,

It's going to be something much more luxurious and soothing,

Like a deliciously warm bath or even a spa.

Steam,

Heat,

Enjoying the dark and the damp.

Just relaxing.

And so,

Connecting with those aspects of the water element that really nurture you,

That nourish you,

Like each of us here is a little plant.

And connecting with water is connecting with the elixir of life herself.

Inviting in that connection like a gift.

So you may wish to recall a time in water that was simply lovely.

Could be something recent or something from your past.

Just immersing ourselves in the sights and the sounds and the scents of that time.

What can you hear?

What can you see?

Are you with the colours,

The fragrances,

The tastes?

Welcoming in and filling ourselves up with the nourishment of the water element.

Imagining that we are made of earth or something parched and that the awareness and the breath can flow in and out like water,

Really,

Truly nurturing us,

Feeding us.

Bringing balance back in.

The ebb and flow of the breath like the ebb and flow of the tide.

Flowing all the way in,

Flowing all the way out.

And so imagining little holes in your toes and that as we breathe in the breath is like the fluid flow of the elixir of life and can fill us up.

And so this wonderful nourishment of water flowing up through the bones in the toes,

All the little bones in the toes,

All the bones in the feet,

Up into the ankles,

Into the heel and then out on the exhale.

And with every breath in,

The water,

That lovely sense of being rinsed clean,

Of being truly nourished can flow a little higher.

With every breath now up into the shins and then all the way back out like the ebb and flow at the shore edge.

Bringing in with every fresh breath nourishment,

Minerals,

Strengthening,

Clarity.

And on the exhale we can invite to flow away anything we no longer need.

Nourishing our very bones with every breath in and out.

Higher now past the knees up into the thighs and all the way back out.

Up into the hips and into the bowl of the pelvis as if the bowl of the pelvis were itself a rock pool.

We can imagine ourselves peering into this beautiful miniature world.

The rubies of a beautiful red anemones and the emerald green of the seaweeds.

The iridescent pearl of the mother of pearl shells.

And the spikiness of a little mini hermit crab walking across the golden sand at the bottom.

And this wonderful fluid flow of the cleansing,

Rinsing breath coming higher now from the pelvis all the way up into the spine and all the way back down.

So with every breath we keep climbing higher,

Flowing deeper and higher into the body.

Now up into the back of the waist.

Flowing out along each of the ribs from the spine all the way around to the front.

The ebb and flow of the breath bringing in nourishment with every breath in.

And clearing and cleansing away any toxins,

Any impurities on the breath like that.

Coming up the spine,

Wrapping around the ribs to the breastbone now.

Every breath in.

Filling the bones with minerals,

With strength.

Now the awarenesses in the tips of each finger and thumb.

And the awareness coming up through little holes in the tips of the fingers.

All the joints,

All the bones in the fingers and the hand.

Pulling into the palms of the hands almost like little mini rock pools in the palm of each hand.

Maybe imagining the dusting of sand in the palm.

Tiny pearls encrusting the edge of the pool.

Miniature fronds of the brightest lime green soft seaweeds.

And that wonderful briny ebb and flow of the breath flowing up into the wrists now.

Up into the forearms and then out on the exhale.

Up into the elbows and then away on the exhale.

Almost a lovely forceful ebb and flow as if the tide has turned and is coming in.

And more and more we have been doing with nourishing,

Mineral rich seawater.

The ebb and flow of the breath.

Hearing the sound of the pebbles turning as the breath comes in at the shore edge and the sound of them rolling back out as the breath flows out.

Imagining,

Standing at the shore just seeing the beautiful clear water.

Bubbles winking froth and foam.

The splish,

The splash,

The ebb and flow of the tide swirling water around the rocks now.

The brown rust fronds of bladderwrack seaweed wrapping around the rocks,

Swishing and swirling in the water.

The breath flowing all the way up the spine,

Filling the whole of the rib cage,

Flowing all the way up the arms into the shoulders,

Allowing the weight and the tension around the shoulders,

Around the shoulder blades just to melt away on the exhale as if we're filled up with wonderfully expansive nourishing water.

And then on the exhale we can just be left empty almost.

The ebb and flow of the breath,

Like the ebb and flow of the tide flowing in and out.

Imagining the wonderful soft fluid flow of the breath flowing up the neck now,

Around the whole of the head,

Ending at the crown of the head and then all the way back out.

And some of us might quite like to imagine instead that the breath is simply flowing up the spine and down the spine with every breath in and out.

Some of us may prefer to have each and every bone rinsed,

Washed,

Clean.

As if the awareness and the breath are like one,

Like energy,

Like water but lighter and finer and more subtle and yet more powerful.

The ebb and flow of the energy of the universe coming in through the little holes in our toes,

In our fingers,

Filling us,

Rinsing us clean so that we're radiant and ready and rested and reset,

Reconnected with our own agency,

With our own capability,

With our own deep wisdom as if we can breathe into the deep wisdom in the very marrow of our bones.

And somewhere in the deep ocean,

Beautiful,

Translucent,

Iridescent jellyfish is expanding and contracting,

Expanding and contracting,

Just as we are too as the breath flows in and the breath flows out.

As if the water is like a little magnifying glass and we can turn that inwards into our very selves expanding and contracting,

Letting the light in,

Transferring the energy and then closing off,

Passing it on.

Each and every cell vibrating with life,

Each of the millions and the trillions of cells that make us up,

Vibrating with life,

The breath ebbing and flowing,

The interconnectedness of us all.

Every living thing in the beautiful dance and energy of life.

And from this place of connection,

Immersion,

Plenty,

Nourishment.

Starting to entertain the very notion that this practice is going to be ending.

Some of us might like to imagine a little boat that we can climb into to start to rock our way on the eddies of the waves back to shore.

Some of us might prefer to be ocean bound like mermaids,

The breath tangling the salt through the hair,

Forever floating.

And so in these closing moments of this watery immersion into the practice of yoga nidra,

Into the element of water,

If there's anything from this practice that you would like to bring with you,

You are more than welcome and support and nourish you.

Bring it with you.

Feeling free to leave anything that doesn't serve.

And so connecting with the breath,

Deepening and lengthening and expanding the breath so that you can hear the sound of your breath.

Allowing the fullness of each and every breath to delight you,

To make you more aware of what's happening right now,

Your surroundings,

Where you are in your room,

The other sounds you can hear in your room,

Starting to wiggle into fingers and toes and stretch the whole body out,

Making the body deliciously long,

Like a piece of driftwood and then hugging the knees and making the body deliciously small,

Like a seashell,

Just rocking from side to side,

Lulling with the lovely ebb and flow of movement through the spine,

Lulling yourself awake,

Lulling yourself aware,

Lulling yourself alert.

And so just coming to rest on a comfy side,

Doing absolutely hee-haw,

Just allowing yourself to feel nourished on every level.

This practice of yoga nidra is now over.

This practice is now complete,

Done and dusted.

You are cooked.

Thank you very much for listening.

Reviews

Thank you. Now I can't wait to get to the beach!

A unique watery flow ing Yoga Nidra!🙏✨