Winter Solstice Rest Yoga Nidra

An entry point into the longest night of the year in the Northern hemisphere. Winter is a time for rest, nourishment, and moving inward. This Yoga Nidra was created with rest in the cycle of nature. Honoring all aspects of yourself that are innate and knowingly turn in.

Transcript

Welcome to the inward portal.

This is the time of year to allow yourself to rest,

To turn inward,

And to release anything that's heavy,

That's weighing you down,

Anything that you've been carrying for too long.

This is also an opportunity to look into the shadow of who you are against the light.

We tend as a society to draw ourselves into the light too often and abandon the dark,

The shadow.

This is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere and the timing is right to go in.

Settle yourself into the shape of Shavasana,

The blanket of body to earth,

Whole back supported and resting into the ground,

Each breath that you take creating a canvas of safe space,

A safe space to experience your inward walk towards the darkness.

Every movement you make to assist in the comfort is a devotion to self-care and making space for bhakti,

The surrender of self to a higher power,

The union of the human soul with the supreme God,

Sacred temple,

Your physical self.

In this shape of Shavasana where the body is lying long on the floor,

There's no fear of falling,

You're wholly supported.

Now let the feet fall away from midline,

Hip-width distance apart,

Arms along side body,

Shoulder blades hugging closer towards the spine,

Assisting the palms as they turn upward toward the night.

This is both a gesture of receiving and of openness,

A gesture to the spiritual nature,

The higher state of consciousness,

All that is.

Each breath you take,

Walking you into the hardest parts of your body,

The last to let go,

The breath exploring each corner and curve,

Leaving only softness behind as a wave of lightness overtakes the rigidity of your physical layer.

Take a slow long breath in and as you exhale let the top lid gently rest against the bottom lid.

Experience this cycle of breath as it washes over your face,

Your body,

And through the energetic temple,

The borderless,

Deconstructed energetic self.

Each cell,

Particle,

And molecule of your existence bathed in prana,

And what we know from prana is to be this life force.

December comes to us as the gift of closure,

The opportunity to close a chapter and to open a new book.

As you come here to this land of stillness,

Allow yourself to be grounded in this moment through your breath.

Let your breath be the tool that the mind clings to in its grip of control,

Its desire to be seen.

Let the breath lull the mind into a passive state of observation,

Gathering the nervous system into a state of rest and trust.

Rest here.

Watch as the breath continues to move throughout the body,

Through the portal of the nose,

Down to the belly,

Touching into the pelvic bowl,

And how the breath is light as air can move this dense physical layer,

And the emptiness of each exhale,

The hollowness that's left behind and brought back inwards through each inhale,

The fullness of life,

The breath of life.

Using your breath as a teacher in this state,

Stay connected to the cycle of receiving and releasing,

The reflection of nature that is you and within your breath.

Where there is a desire to grip,

There's a need to let go.

Just as the trees have shed their leaves,

The energy is now directed to the root system to nourish,

Transition,

And begin again.

The cycle is limitless.

The state is fluid.

You are breathing the course of nature,

Side by side.

The wisdom teachings of nature begin to unfold through the practice of watching your breath,

The intelligent breath.

It's calling for rest.

It's calling for nourishment.

It's calling to go in.

Nature is supporting you in your turn to rest.

It's been preparing the landscape with a shorter day to encourage a longer state of rest.

The call is to turn into,

Into the abyss,

Into the unknown,

Into the darkness,

The places where we've abandoned ourselves,

Abandoned nature.

Tune into,

Turn into,

Be with.

In these deeper states of rest,

The body begins to melt down into deeper and deeper states of restoration,

Like a sponge absorbing the nourishment of each breath,

Reclaiming the rest that it is longed for.

In the energy of this day,

You are in perfect time with the natural cycle of the universe.

You are in perfect time.

Welcome to this perfect moment.

The energetic touch on your skin,

Transmuting the borders and edges of your skin to the inner layers of tissue,

Muscle,

Bone,

Organs,

All beginning to respond to each breath.

Breath washes through the body like the tide across the ocean,

Leaving behind only softness in this landscape.

Your body continues to release with each breath as gravity pulls it closer towards the earth,

Supporting,

Resisting any need to hang on,

Any need to be doing.

Breathe.

Simply breathe.

Welcome rest.

Welcome each sound that comes and each story from each sound made new again,

Shape-shifting into curiosity from knowing.

Each sound takes you towards the center of it,

Lighting the inner sense of awareness and navigating the inner portal of darkness through the sense of sound.

Awareness of your consciousness,

Awareness of the collective,

Body relaxed,

Resting.

The observer within you sitting just under the surface of life,

Just behind the beta brain state,

There is the observer quietly watching,

Witnessing,

Allowing.

No need to control,

To change.

This is the darkness.

This is the darkness.

Rest.

Rest in this perfect state of harmony.

Rest in this perfect state of relaxation.

There is nothing to do.

The action is non-action and this is a choice to be here in rest and nourishment.

You are consciously choosing to rest.

You are innately knowing that the time is now.

The darkest of days is a ripe opportunity to bring your Sankelpa,

Your heart's truth,

A reclamation of what's yours to the union of consciousness through this higher state of being where there is nothing to fix,

Restore or undo.

This is the devoted act of reclaiming what is already there.

You are not needing to be fixed in any way.

This is a remembering.

Your Sankelpa.

If you've been working with a Sankelpa,

It's welcomed here.

It's welcomed in this moment of wholeness.

I am.

The mind is awakened but relaxed.

It's safe to receive what it already knows.

If you're not working with a Sankelpa,

Know that simply to be here is enough.

I am in deep rest.

I am in deep rest.

I am in deep rest.

Let the vibration of your Sankelpa move through you.

There is beauty of being all that is,

Being the breath on the back of spirit,

The breath of life that you are breathing this exact moment.

Rest.

Move all of your conscious awareness into the inner landscape of the mouth.

Cross over the jaw,

Teeth,

Tongue.

Breathe relaxation through the entire landscape of the mouth.

Let it soften into this intelligent void,

This intelligent opening where we're called to rest.

Let the whole mouth go soft.

Awaken the sense of the inner ear,

The canal of vibration of sound,

Inviting the ears now to rest in the consciousness of knowing what is coming,

Of understanding that it's already been there.

It already knows.

Travel this softened awakening over the eyes,

Forehead,

Each cheek,

Your nose,

Mouth,

Both lips,

Upper or lower,

Whole face experiencing the connected consciousness of knowing that it's alive.

Breath moves to the back of the head,

The whole of the scalp,

Neck,

Back of the head,

The weight,

Whole head.

And now asking the inner eye of awareness to touch each and every cell across your body in the way of nourishing and providing life.

Draw the feeling of energy coming from the earth beneath you to the body and being within you.

How slow it is,

How perfect the harmony is with the energy of your body and the energy of the universe.

Same frequency,

Same frequency,

Same frequency.

The spirit within moving slower with the rhythm of nature,

Whole body welcoming the deep sleep of winter.

Your back relaxing its grip on doing and learning to become fully rested.

Surround your right hand with conscious presence of breath and the union with winter.

Rest encompassing your whole right hand.

Rest moving up your right arm into the shoulder blades,

The cushion of your heart.

Cross under the heart and over the shoulder blades to the left arm.

Breathing rest down your left arm and into the left hand.

Whole of your left hand,

The fingers,

Spaces between the fingers.

Left and right hand,

Fingers,

Spaces between the fingers wrapped in the quiet energy of winter.

Rest and stillness in both hands,

Your heart,

Your back body and all the spaces in between.

Follow the energy of rest as it wanders down into the belly,

Touching each breath in the belly with the invitation to sleep.

Body going into hibernation,

Awareness staying at the surface of light.

Anchor rest into the pelvic bowl.

Sense the expansion of breath move through the interior of the pelvis,

Toward the toes.

Each leg being absorbed into a state of rest,

Into the quietness of winter,

The welcomeness of retreat.

Both legs deeply resting,

Whole body resting deeper into stillness,

Making space to sink even deeper and deeper into your body and into the energy of stillness,

The nourishment of rest.

Waves of prana touching the interior of your body,

Waves of nourishment feeding each cell,

Waves of breath creating space for silence.

Whole body ebbing and flowing with the nature of breath,

Whole body ebbing and flowing with the nature of the universe.

This is the universal agreement to be breathed.

Body being welcomed into sleep state,

Breath being slowed,

Body being breathed,

Whole body softening into the stillness of sleep,

Quietness of this winter.

Resting into your body,

Settling deeper into stillness,

Whole body quiets into its lost edges,

Borderless breathing,

Natural flow of air and sensation,

Whole body resting,

Whole body breathing,

Whole body receiving.

Consciously continue to choose your breath.

Breathing is a state of rest,

The invitation to recover.

Continue to meet this aspect of consciousness as the physical form lays to rest the awakened inward state that breathes life into connected being.

Our conscious collective,

The all-knowing,

The all-seeing,

The connection that exists within you and within nature,

In you and your breath,

In you and your community.

Breathe life into this state of being.

Welcome rest.

The Chidacasha is the sky of consciousness.

We can explore this sacred opening at the center of the forehead resting just between the brows,

The awakening of the inner eye,

Eternal peace from eternal knowing,

The all-seeing space of consciousness.

Settle.

Settle there.

See with the eye of knowing as you enter into a snow-covered forest,

The stark contrast of black and white,

The duality of night and day,

Light and dark.

The last of the green blanketed in snow resting heavily on the boughs of the trees,

Deer nestled under the shelter of a vast evergreen,

The yellow reflection of eyes looking back from the darkness.

The duality exists within the dark.

There is light.

The sound of an owl from the shadows,

The forest awakening to your presence,

The crunch of old snow with each step,

The feel of stillness in the air.

Rest is near.

Mother awakens from her slumber to welcome you here.

The animals bow in celebration of the long night.

Through the trees the light of fire calls.

Snowflakes fall on the tip of your nose,

Your tongue,

Your face.

The darkest night is calling.

The longest eve is here.

The stars dance in the sky as the encore goes on and on.

The fire is warm and welcoming to all with beating hearts.

The dark is met by light.

It is burned by the fire and met by the cold chill in the air.

This will be the last of the darkest nights for over 300 days.

Rest here in the rhythm of nature.

Know that it is imperfect time to take solace in the peace from the trees.

The time for doing has passed.

The time for being is here.

Rest.

Rest.

Rest.

The night is calling.

Rest your soul in peace.

Rest your soul here in this peace.

Rest in peace.

Rest in solace.

Rest in knowing.

This is a homecoming to the dark,

The shadows,

The night,

The intelligent void.

There's nothing to do,

Nowhere to be.

You are so welcome here.

You are so welcome.

Begin to welcome back the sankalpa from your heart space.

Welcome it to your heart through the eye of consciousness.

Savor this moment with your wisdom body that asks for rest.

This is your homecoming.

I am.

I am.

I am.

As you make your journey back from the dark towards the light of awakening,

Each external sense begins to come alive.

First you notice each and every sound near and far.

As you wrap awareness closest to you and furthest from you,

Maybe you feel the density of shapes and bodies around you.

Can you smell the scent of the room or a memory of the past?

Feel each cell dance as the energetic body touches the tensile layer of skin and you are welcomed home back to your body.

As each border begins to form,

Each curve begins to realign,

You are welcomed home to this body,

Rested in this pure state of nature.

You are home.

When you are ready,

Begin to awaken by first letting top lid draw upward from bottom lid,

Transitioning from dark into light,

Gently.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Hariyom tat sat.

Hariyom tat sat.

Hariyom tat sat.

Reviews

Thank you Melanie. A lovely way to interpret the solstice and the power of the dark winter. A great way to practice at the end of the year.