Yoga Nidra Inspired By The "Hanged Man" Tarot Card
This deeply restful yoga nidra practice is inspired by the "Hanged Man" tarot card (my version features a bat hanging upside down - apparently bats have to let go whilst hanging upside down for them to be able to take flight). The practice focuses on letting go of an unwanted quality, and drawing in a desired one. Yoga nidra is a deeply nourishing and healing practice, which brings about a deep state of relaxation. Can be used at any time of day.
Transcript
So welcome,
Welcome to this practice of Yoganidra inspired by the Hand Man Tarot card from the Wild Unknown deck.
It doesn't matter if you're not familiar with Tarot or that particular card,
This practice is for everyone.
The image on the card is of a bat hanging upside down.
So Yoganidra means yogic sleep and it's a special and effortless state of consciousness in which deep healing can occur.
It affects every level of our being,
From our emotions to our mental constructs to the physical body.
So welcome to this practice.
Come home to yourself.
The first part of the practice is to get really comfortable.
So that might be lying on the back or the side if you're pregnant or prefer side lying.
Taking some time to arrange the body so that you feel really well supported.
Having a pillow beneath the head,
Some cushions or a bolster beneath the knees which can allow the lower back to really settle.
Bear in mind also that the body temperature may drop,
So covering the body,
Perhaps wearing socks to keep warm.
So closing the eyes here and allowing the body to become still.
Remembering if at any time you need to move,
Scratch an itch or just change position,
That's absolutely fine.
But then coming back to that stillness in the body.
So now becoming aware of the position in which the body is lying.
Having a sense of the shape and the posture of the body and the shape and arrangement of the room.
Feeling the points of contact between the body and the surface beneath.
Then becoming aware of the breath.
The inhale as the breath enters the body through the nostrils.
The exhale as the air leaves.
And feeling all of the places in the body where the movements of the breath can be felt.
And noticing that at the end of the exhale there's a natural pause.
A liminal space between one breath and the next.
A threshold between this moment and the next moment.
And then allowing the outgoing breath to release the weight of the body down into the support of the earth beneath.
With every exhalation now releasing the whole weight of the body down through its points of contact into the support beneath.
Every exhalation is a letting go.
So if you could give away the whole weight of the body.
Then allow the body to settle deeper into stillness with every outgoing breath.
Taking a moment to just observe the stillness and the quietness of the body.
And as the body comes into the state of deepening stillness.
Listening to the sound of the breath.
And letting there be a welcome for all of the sounds that can be heard right now.
Sounds from outside the room.
Sounds from within the room.
The sound of my voice.
Letting there be a welcome for all of the sounds,
All sounds are welcome.
Now let the focus rest with the intimate sound of the breath,
The sound closest to you.
Using the stillness of the body and the spaciousness of the breath.
Invite the mind to follow the example of the body and the breath becoming quieter and stiller.
And as the body lies here in stillness,
Prepare to guide the mind around the body as if the light of the mind's awareness could shine on each place.
Imagining that we can place the light of conscious awareness on these different parts of the body.
Starting with the tip of the right hand thumb.
The right index finger,
The middle finger,
The ring finger and the little finger.
The palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
The right wrist,
The elbow,
The shoulder,
Through the armpit,
The side,
The waist,
The right hip,
Buttock and groin.
The awareness travelling down the right leg through the top of the right thigh,
Back of the thigh,
Top of the knee and back of the knee.
The shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
The right heel,
The sole of the foot and the top of the foot.
And the light of awareness shining at the tip of the right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and the little toe.
The whole of the right side of the body.
Gently moving the awareness across to the left,
The tip of the left hand thumb,
The index finger,
The middle finger,
Ring finger and the little finger.
The palm,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
The elbow,
The left shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Waist,
The left hip,
Buttock and groin.
The top of the left thigh,
Back of the thigh,
Front of the knee and back of the knee.
The left shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
The heel,
Sole of the left foot and the top of the foot.
And the tip of the left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and the little toe.
The whole of the left side of the body.
The awareness shining up through the spine from the tailbone,
Through the low back,
The middle back and the upper back.
The right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade and the point between the two shoulder blades.
The back of the neck,
Back of the head and the very crown of the head.
The awareness moving down through the forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow and the eyebrow centre.
The right eye,
The left eye,
The right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right ear,
Left ear and the tip of the nose.
The right nostril and the left nostril,
The upper lip,
Lower lip and the tip of the tongue.
The awareness moving through the jaw,
The right side of the jaw,
The left side of the jaw,
The chin,
The throat,
The right collarbone,
Left collarbone and the place between the two collarbones.
The awareness moving down through the chest,
The heart centre,
The navel,
The lower abdomen and the pubic bones and the whole body.
The whole of the right arm,
The whole of the left arm,
Both arms together.
The whole of the right leg,
The whole of the left leg,
Both legs together and the whole of the right side of the body and the whole of the left side,
Both sides together.
With every exhale now completely letting go.
All of the points of light we've arranged around the body sinking a little bit deeper into the earth.
With every exhale imagining that you could let go of a quality that no longer serves you.
Every exhale letting go.
With every inhale perhaps imagining that we can draw in a quality that you might like to cultivate.
So with the in breath drawing in that quality into the physical body,
Soaking it in and then alternating between these two states with every breath.
So with the exhale letting go of that quality that we no longer need or want and with every inhale soaking in that positive quality that we desire,
Alternating between the two.
And seeing if it's possible to hold on to both of those two states in our awareness at the same time.
The letting go and the drawing in.
And gently letting that go.
And letting go of everything knowing that like the bat that sleeps and hangs upside down in order to take flight we must completely let go.
Right?
Gently bringing the awareness back onto the breath.
Just noticing the texture and the temperature of the breath as it moves in and out at the nostrils.
Feeling all of the points of contact between the back or the side of the body and the surface beneath.
Feeling the touch of any clothing or the blanket on the skin.
Really noticing the coolness of the air on the face and the hands.
Seeing any taste that can be noticed in the mouth.
Any light that is detectable behind the closed eyelids.
And as we gently start to wake the body back up,
Bringing our awareness back to a state of everyday consciousness.
You might want to bring a little bit of movement to the fingers and the toes.
Just gently giving them a little wriggle.
And then perhaps making that movement bigger into the wrists and the ankles.
And taking any stretch or movement that feels needed right now.
So that might be a full body stretch,
Extending the arms over the head,
Stretching all the way through to the tips of the toes.
Or maybe hugging the knees into the chest and rolling around on the lower back a little bit.
After the practice of Yogananda it's important to take a little bit of time before moving on to the next part of your day.
So just resting here as long as is needed.
But whenever you're ready to come back up to sitting,
Just tuning in with the nostrils.
Sometimes one nostril can feel more open than the other one.
So just seeing if we can tell which one that is.
Then rolling the body all the way over onto the side of that more open nostril.
And if you can't tell any difference then just choosing a side and rolling over.
Again just pausing there for a few breaths.
Resting in this liminal space between the end of the practice and whatever's coming next.
And then whenever you feel ready,
Gently pushing your way back up to sitting,
Remembering to take as long as you need.
So that completes this practice of Yoganidra inspired by the Hand Man Tarot card.
This practice is now complete.
Thank you for listening.
