Nidra For Anxiety Relief / The Peace Of Wild Beings

A 40-minute Yoga Nidra session inspired by Wendell Berry’s "The Peace of Wild Things." This practice is designed to help you ground, soften your inner landscape, and gently guide your body and mind toward a more peaceful state.
No experience or flexibility is required—simply settle into a position that feels safe and comfortable, listen to my voice, and allow yourself to imagine, breathe, and reconnect with nature throughout the Nidra journey.
In a world where our nervous systems are often overwhelmed, Yoga Nidra offers stillness for the body while the mind remains softly aware. This combination supports the shift out of stress responses and into a state where clarity, integration, and healing can naturally emerge.
Everything in this session is an invitation. You are always in charge of your experience—adjust your position, open your eyes, or make any change that supports your comfort and sense of safety.

Transcript

Namaste, This is Beatriz and I welcome you to this Nidra Session, Inspired by a beautiful poem by Wendell Burry, The Peace of Wild Things, A poem that emphasizes the tranquility that comes from observing the natural world and letting go of worries, A world where our nervous systems are often overwhelmed. Nidra invites the body into a stillness while the mind remains gently aware and is this combination that helps the nervous system to shift out of stress responses into a state where healing, Integration and clarity can naturally arise. Throughout this session, Everything is an invitation for you and you are always in charge of your experience. If anything doesn't feel right, You can adjust your position or open your eyes if needed. Let your comfort and sense of safety matter more than anything else. Take a moment to settle into a comfortable position, Lying down or reclining in a way that feels supportive. Let your body be arranged in a way that communicates safety, Ease and permission to rest. If closing your eyes feels comfortable, Allow them to soften now and if not, Keep them half open or open totally, Feeling the ground beneath you without asking anything in return. This is the simple fact that you are here, You are here, You existed, You are here. And noticing the breath in your body as it is, Without changing it, Where does it feel in your body today and how it feels. Just take now a few moments to connect with the breath using a gentle technique that feels like poking a mirror. I invite you to take a slow inhale and as you exhale, Imagine you're poking up a mirror in front of you. Letting the exhale be warm and gently poking the mirror in a way that feels comfortable for you, So inhaling and exhaling on your own pace. I invite you to bring your attention gently towards your heart area, Not forcing anything, Just sensing your heart area, Something supportive for this moment of your life. It might be a word, A feeling or a simple direction like, I am held by the calm of resting nature. Let it be small, Kind and true to yourself. If we did it inwardly, Three times now, As if planting a seed in soft soil. So, Rotating attention through the body, Moving your attention to different parts of your body as you hear them name. You might mentally whisper the name of the part to yourself as you feel it by my voice. Let your attention rest on the right hand thumb, Second finger, Right side of the chest, Right waist, Big toe, Second toe, Taking some time to move to the center of the heart, And moving then to the left hand thumb, Left hand second finger, Third finger, Fourth, Fifth, Palm of the left hand, Back of the left hand, Left waist, Now the back of the body, Both heels simultaneously, The backs of the knees, Back of the thighs, Lower back, Both shoulder blades, Back of the neck, Moving slowly to the front of the body, Both cheeks simultaneously, Both eyes and the back muscles of the eyes, As one feel of sensation, A single breathing organism. Bring attention to the natural breath, Feel it, Just noticing, Feel the breath like a gentle tire, And if anxiety is present, Imagine the breath widening the space around it, Giving it room, Just navigating and sensing the breath as a quiet presence, Let the breath be your anchor, Feel the explore opposites gently, With full permission to stop at any time, I invite you to sense heaviness in your body, Where does heaviness live today, Let it be there, How it takes you back to the mother earth, Just feeling, Sense lightness, Even if it's just a hint of it, Maybe in the breath, Or the space around the body, Where does heaviness live today in your body, Let it be there, Making you feel as a particle of pollen in the air, Now move between heaviness and lightness, Like drifting between shade and sunlight, While drifting in the river, Under the trees on a sunny day, Now see if you can feel heaviness and lightness, At the same time if your body, You to sense which part of your body there is a sense of warmth, Warmth like this sunlight, This is perhaps in the belly, Inside of the mouth, Where does warmth live today in your body, Being aware of them, Just feeling, And now sense where coolness lives in your body, Is perhaps the point of the nose, The earlobes, Just feeling your body today, A fresh sensation, Like the cold water of a river, Just feeling where coolness lives in our body today, Again I invite you to move between the feeling of warmth in your body, And the sense of coolness, Feeling those warmth parts, And then the cool ones, Now trying to see if you can feel the both of them, At the same time, Your body, Now let these opposites dissolve into a simple awareness of sensation, Imagining yourself walking towards a quiet place in nature, A place where the world softens, Where the mind loosens its grip, Arriving at the edge of still water, Where the surface is smooth, Gently reflecting the sky and branches, A place untouched by worry, And somehow nearby noticing a beautiful heron standing in the shadows, And travel, And a wood rake rest on the water, Held effortlessly by the surface, These beings do not rush, They do not rehearse the future, They simply are, Feeling yourself entering this peace, A peace that doesn't require you to fix anything, A peace that welcomes you exactly as you are, Lying down in your imagination beside the water, Letting the earth support you, And letting the presence of the wild beings remind your body how to rest, Nothing is the matter of you, You are allowed to stop carrying the weight of forethought and fear, You can breath again, Let the still water mirror your own stillness, Let the quiet of the natural world seep into your bones, Let the imagery fade, Let even the breath become soft, Rest as awareness itself, Noticing sounds, Sensations, All appearing and disappearing, In a vast open space, You are the space in which everything comes and goes, You are the stillness beneath every movement, You are the awareness that is never anxious, Even when anxiety is present, Rest here, In silence, In simplicity, In being, In the moment, Bringing back and repeating it three times, I am held by the calm of resting nature, I am held by the calm of resting nature, I am held by the calm of resting nature, Begin to sense the vast quiet awareness you have been resting in, Like the open night sky, Unbounded, Still, Now gently notice the subtle movements of thought, The quiet intelligence within you, The part of you that knows how to come home, Sense the soft texture of your inner wall, Emotions, Images, Impressions, All floating gently, Feel the breath again, A time moving through you, Bringing life and present back into the body, Finally sense the weight of your body resting on the earth, The shape of your limbs, The contact points with the earth, The safety of being held, Gently returning to your room, Wiggling fingers and toes, Allowing a gentle stretch if feels good right now, Then when you are ready, On your own pace, Opening your eyes or lifting your gaze, And sensing what has changed from the beginning of the practice till now, As we're practicing today with me, Let the peace of still water and the quiet companionship of the wild beings, Be with you today, Namaste