Heart Chakra: Sacred Inner Refuge: Yoga Nidra

In this yoga nidra you will be drawn right into the great beauty and wisdom of your heart. An uplifting, soulful journey that will leave you feeling heart centred, expansive and free! Connect deeply to a place within that is eternally home.

Transcript

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra.

My name is Lucy McCarthy,

And this journey is simply an invitation to sit with your heart,

To remember and reconnect to the loving essence that is at the root of everything.

A quiet but earnest call to live a compassionate,

Heart-centered life.

To prepare for the practice,

Go ahead and set yourself up with the coziest of Yoga Nidra nests.

Gather up any props that will sweeten your experience.

We will lay down on the ground,

On the back,

In the posture known as Shavasana,

Corpse pose.

A bolster or a couple of cushions for the backs of the knees,

A light pillow for beneath the back of the head,

An eye covering and a blanket on top of you can all feel deeply soothing and nourishing.

Place your body symmetrically and in a way that allows for maximal comfort so that you can sustain stillness for the duration of the practice.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is a sacred ancient practice of self-remembrance,

Awakening to the truth of who and what we are.

The body will be guided into such a profound state of deep relaxation that it can mimic the sleep state whilst our conscious awareness stays very much awake and aware.

Through the process of self-observation,

We can dive deep through the layers of our experience into the depths of the subconscious mind.

It is in this space that profound healing and transformation can take place.

If you haven't already,

Gently close the eyes.

Allow the eyes to gently soften towards the back of the skull.

The only faculties that you need for this practice are that of hearing and awareness.

Here and now,

Make a heart-centered vow to stay awake and aware for the duration of the practice.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

Observe the contact of your body with the ground beneath you.

Allow the full weight of your body to melt and surrender into the loving,

Supportive arms of the earth beneath you.

Now draw your awareness into the inner body.

Into your inner-verse.

Just as majestic as the dark,

Star-studded sky,

So too is the darkness and inner terrain of our body filled with wisdom and wonder.

Allow there to be a settling into this inner landscape.

Notice how you feel.

What pervading mood or emotion may you be bringing to the practice?

Simply observe this.

No judgment.

Welcoming ourselves just as we are.

Trusting in the process of this practice to heal and integrate whatever it finds.

Now guide your awareness into the center of your chest.

The space between the breastbone and the spine.

This high throne of our energetic heart.

Our true,

Inner sanctuary.

Attune to one thing in your life right now that fills you with a sense of appreciation.

Once the feeling arises,

Let the cause,

The being or the thing go and simply be with the pure feeling of appreciation.

Invite this feeling of thankfulness to swell and fill the entire inner body from top to toe.

Whole body bathed in these feel-good chemicals.

This sacred sensation of thanksgiving,

Pulling us into heart-brain coherence.

It is from here that we call in our sankalpa.

Sankalpa is one of the most foundational pieces in a yoga nidra practice.

It helps us to awaken to our true benevolent nature.

It is a personalized,

In-the-present-moment expression of our most sincere inner longing.

One way to approach it is to think of a virtuous emotion that you most wish to embody this lifetime.

And then to artfully craft that into a statement that begins with I am,

Followed by the virtue.

Examples could be,

I am love.

I am worthy.

Turn inwards and allow your sankalpa to reveal itself to you from the depths of your heart.

Once you have it,

State it three times silently within.

State it in an inner voice and tone that expresses promise,

Passion,

And trust.

We will now move into the physical realm of our experience by rotating our consciousness through the physical body.

Each body part named,

Guide your awareness to that area,

And simply observe what you can feel there.

And then place the sacred seed sound of the heart,

Yum,

Here.

We will thread our awareness through 61 points in the body in a practice known as shava yatra,

Pilgrimage of the sacred body.

Bathing and blessing each point with the healing,

Heart-centered vibration of the sound yum.

Go ahead and glide your awareness to the brow center,

The point between the two eyebrows.

And sense and notice what you can feel here.

And then bless it by placing the sacred sound yum at the brow center.

Now pull your awareness into the center of the throat.

Feel.

Chant the sound yum in the center of the throat.

Right shoulder joint.

Right elbow joint.

Right wrist joint.

Tip of the right thumb.

Tip of the right index finger.

Tip of the right middle finger.

Tip of the right ring finger.

Tip of the right baby finger.

Center of the right wrist.

Center of the right elbow.

Center of the right shoulder.

Each body part named,

Feel.

And then place the sacred sound yum there.

Center of the throat.

Left shoulder joint.

Left elbow joint.

Left wrist joint.

Tip of the left thumb.

Tip of the left index finger.

Tip of the left middle finger.

Tip of the left ring finger.

Tip of the left baby finger.

Center of your left wrist.

Center of the left elbow.

Center of the left shoulder.

Center of the throat.

Center of the chest.

Right nipple.

Center of the chest.

Left nipple.

Heart center.

Solar plexus.

Navel center two inches below the belly button.

Right hip.

Right knee joint.

Right ankle joint.

Right big toe.

Right second toe.

Right third toe.

Right fourth toe.

Tip of the right fifth toe.

Center of the right ankle.

Center of the right knee.

Center of the right hip.

Navel center two inches below the belly button.

Left hip joint.

Left knee joint.

Left ankle joint.

Left big toe.

Tip of the second toe.

Tip of the third toe.

Tip of the fourth toe.

Tip of the left baby toe.

Center of the left ankle.

Center of the left knee.

Center of the left hip.

Navel center two inches below the belly button.

Solar plexus.

Heart center.

Center of the throat.

And returning once more to the brow center.

Now hold in your awareness your entire body.

Your entire body.

Your entire body lit up with the light of your awareness.

The sacred bija sound of yam vibrating heart energy through the whole body.

We will now experience a subtler realm of our experience.

The energetic body.

Bring your awareness onto your breath.

And without any kind of interference,

Simply observe the breath as it is.

Watching it travel across the shores of the inner lungs.

The spontaneous,

Effortless,

Natural breath.

With every natural inhale,

Sensing a soft expansion and blossoming.

With every exhale,

A sweet surrender and release.

Be with the breath.

Now as you continue to watch the breath in its natural state,

Bring your awareness back into the energetic heart center.

In the center of the chest.

As each natural inhalation arises,

Sense a filling and expansion of the inner heart.

And as each exhale manifests,

Feel,

Sense,

Or imagine a gentle unraveling and untethering of any knots of the heart.

Inhale,

Heart expands.

Exhale,

Heart knots unravel.

No matter how many knots exist within the heart,

We all have to start somewhere.

In the process of letting go,

Of alchemizing our wounds into the place that the light gets in.

Just as the Sufi mystic Rumi said.

Now gently surrender the focus of the breath.

And begin to open to receiving and perceiving the sense of the energy that pervades the breath,

Body,

And beyond.

This vital life force energy that is the animating force of the entire universe,

Inner and outer.

Sometimes felt as a tingling or a soft hum both within and beyond the physical body.

At other times still sensed as a pulsation of energy that goes way beyond the boundaries of the skin.

Sense the exquisite vitality and radiance of your whole energy body.

Now fold your awareness into the point between the two eyebrows and all the way back into the midbrain.

The seat of our pineal and pituitary glands.

This mystical point is known as Chid Akash.

A space of limitless potentiality and infinite possibilities.

This will be our home base as we dance through pairs of opposites.

Various sensations or emotions will be named and the invitation is to awaken as fully as you can each sensation in the here and now whilst remaining as relaxed and at ease as possible.

Now conjure forth the sensation of separation.

What does it feel like to be separate?

To stand apart?

To be separated from the crowd?

Fill your whole being with the sensation of separation.

Now completely let that go and bring forth the feeling of connection.

How do you experience connection in your body?

What's the feeling of being connected?

Immerse your whole body in the sense of connection.

Now fully release that and bring your awareness back to the point between the eyebrows and back into your midbrain.

Now awaken the sensation of judgment.

What does judgment feel like?

Both to judge and be judged.

How do they land in your body?

What effect do they have?

If any memories arise along with a sensation of judgment,

Do your best to surrender the storyline whilst holding on to the feeling of judgment itself.

Now release that back into the ether.

What does compassion feel like?

When you are met by others with great compassion towards you and in equal measure when you bathe others in your own compassion towards them.

How does the feeling of compassion land within you?

Now release that and place your awareness back into the seat of the midbrain.

What does the sensation of heartbreak feel like?

To be grief stricken.

What does grief do to you?

Notice any thought forms,

Images or sensations that arrive along with this sensation of heartbreak.

Stay as relaxed as you can while immersed in this feeling of heartbreak and grief.

Now let that go fully.

Now awaken the sensation of love.

What does love feel like?

What is it like to love and be loved?

Drench the entirety of your being with this feeling of love.

Now even let this go and return your awareness once more to the space between the eyebrows,

This mystical seat of oneness,

Of union beyond all duality.

We will now move into the creative,

Psychic and wisdom realm of our experience through the pathway of inner visualization.

Various images will be called out in rapid succession.

The invitation is to see,

Imagine or visualize from the blank canvas of your mind said images.

A rosebud blossoming.

A butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

A river of light.

The earth spinning around the sun.

The feeling of relief.

Bells ringing in the distance.

A sandstorm in the desert.

A sandstorm in the desert.

A sandstorm in the desert.

Falling into the arms of a loved one.

A flickering candle flame on an altar.

A devotee dropped to their knees at the doors of a temple.

A crystal buried deep in the earth's crust.

A single tear rolling down an aged cheek.

A torrential downpour.

A warm,

Gentle hand laid over your heart.

A warm,

Gentle hand laid over your heart.

A warm,

Gentle hand laid over your heart.

Now sense the visceral feeling of that hand tenderly placed over your heart.

Sense the contact,

The connection.

Feel the warmth of their touch and let it lure you inwards.

Deep inwards into the sacred cave of the heart.

A softly lit,

Dark cave.

A glow with a soft red light.

And this sacred inner refuge inviting a great softening.

Deep surrender and a laying down of any walls that have been built up around the heart.

Let them fall.

Let them tumble.

You are held here.

Safe.

Calm.

Loved.

In the midst of this sacred cave of the heart,

You see a huge sheepskin rug.

You lay down on it.

The cushioning gifting you the softest landing.

As you lay there,

A deep sense of relief washes over you.

A raw tenderness.

A remembrance of the love that you came into this world with and that you will depart from with.

A profound sense of being loved fills you.

Unconditionally and unquestioningly loved.

Embraced and appreciated.

In this sacred cave of your heart,

Allow yourself to bask in the love within and all around you.

Immerse yourself in this soft,

Warm silence.

This sacred,

Everlasting,

Benevolent presence.

Love.

Now from the depths of this inner sanctuary,

Once more invoke your sankalpa.

Your I am statement that expresses the heart's deepest longing.

State it three times in the fertile ground of the heart cave.

State it with reverence,

Steadiness,

And resolve.

Now let that integrate into every cell of your being and the whole universal field surrounding you.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Sweetly begin to flow your awareness into the ebb and flow of your breath.

Let breath awareness begin to tether you back into the here and now.

Then feel the physical,

Dense body lightly moving in response to the breath.

Noticing the weight of the body connected to the earth.

Call yourself back.

Notice any sounds in your far-off environment.

Then any close-by sounds.

Sense the touch of your clothing onto your skin.

Then slowly begin to bring movements back into the fingers and toes.

One by one,

Hug your knees into your chest.

Roll onto one side.

And rest here a moment in this seed-like position.

Notice how you feel.

The quality of your mind.

The state of your heart.

When you're ready,

Gently press yourself up into a comfortable,

Tall seat.

And bring your hands together in front of the heart in prayer.

This sacred,

Ancient gesture known as Anjali Mudra,

The sunrise of the heart.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

As above,

So below.

All is one.

Many blessings.