Nidra Works - Yoga Nidra | Spring

This practice was created as a reminder of the importance to take a rest and simply make space in our lives for the most natural process of change to happen - just as it does in nature, with the seasons. And to trust in that process. As we move further into spring, and as new growth pushes up from the winter’s earth, we are given yet another opportunity to sow our own seeds of intention, to bathe in the promise of a spring dawn, and give gratitude for all that we have.
In gratitude. Always.

Transcript

So prepare to practice yoga nidra and start to settle yourself into your nidra nest,

Taking any pillows,

Blankets,

Bolsters,

Anything you need to really get comfortable.

Traditionally we practice in shavasana with our arms by our side,

Palms facing upwards or they can be gently on your belly,

Your legs are flat on the floor,

Hip width apart,

Maybe with your feet falling out ever so gently.

And you might want to take a low support for your neck,

Make sure it's not too high,

You don't want to put any stress on your spine,

And maybe a bolster under your knees to give support to the lower back.

Whatever you need to do to really get comfortable and take time with this.

And maybe tuck in a blanket around the top of you to really get a sense of containment in your nidra nest,

Your cocoon of comfort.

And if you have an eye mask or pillow,

Remember to put it on the actual brows of the eyes as opposed to the lids,

This will give you a lovely flow of serotonin,

One of our happy hormones.

And however you come to comfort,

If you're seated,

Just make sure you have lots of support for your back.

But if you're seated or lying down,

However you come,

Just start to really sink into comfort,

Really sink into the support beneath you,

Behind you,

And start to let go.

Start to feel your body in this space,

Your body lying in this space.

And gently close your eyes or lower your gaze,

And take a few moments to arrive in your body in this space.

Breathing in through your nose deep into your belly,

Exhale and let everything go with a big sigh.

And again,

Breathe deep into your belly,

So much so that your belly rises on the inhale,

And then exhale,

Just let everything go with a big sigh.

And start to feel your body softening.

One more breath like this,

And then just let the breath be,

Breathing in and out through your nose,

Softly and naturally,

With no effort or control,

Just observing.

And let go of all judgement and all expectation of what this practice will bring.

And just simply allow yourself to be here now.

If you're uncomfortable in any way during the practice,

Maybe just notice that thought,

And more often than not it will just dissolve away.

But if you really feel that you need to move to get more comfortable,

Then please go ahead,

Doing so mindfully and gently.

And if you find your mind going off to other places thinking about things that have happened or are yet to happen,

Again just notice them and gently bring your attention back to your breath,

To the present moment.

The single most important thing is for you to be as comfortable as possible,

Encouraging a feeling of being supported,

A feeling of being held.

And know that this is a safe space,

That you can just let go.

Know that I'll be guiding you through the practice with my voice,

And if for any reason you'd prefer to let go of my voice,

That's absolutely fine.

Likewise for any suggestions or invitations I make for visualisation.

If you prefer to follow your own intuition,

Go with your flow,

Follow yourself,

And fully trust yourself.

There'll be moments of silence in this practice,

And know that I'm here holding the silence for you,

And that you can really relax and let go into those spaces.

And I'll guide you back to everyday awareness at the end.

There's no expertise or prior knowledge required for you to get the full benefits of this practice.

This is your practice,

So take what you need and leave what you don't.

Really trust what resonates for you.

Let go to stillness.

Let go to calm.

Let go to comfort.

And say to yourself that you will stay awake during this practice.

Your mind and body will sleep,

Yet your consciousness will stay awake through the practice of yoga nidra.

But if you do find yourself falling asleep,

Don't fight it,

Just go with the flow,

And allow your body to do what it needs to do today.

Your body knows best.

Trust yourself and the process completely.

Trust the practice.

And now there is nothing for you to do.

Just to be here is enough.

Just the way you are.

Nothing to do,

Nowhere to go,

No one to tend to other than yourself.

All the doing is invited to stop.

And just be.

Know that you can show up here just as you are and that every bit of you is welcome,

Just as you are.

There's nothing to achieve in this practice,

Whatever you experience is just as it should be.

So quieten your mind and let go of all thoughts.

Release all that's been and all that is to come.

And simply welcome what is present.

Feel everything soften.

Your face,

Your eyes,

Your temples.

Let go of all tension.

Your mouth,

Your jaw,

Your teeth and your tongue.

Everything softening.

Your shoulders melting into the floor.

Releasing,

Unburdening.

Your chest and your pelvis sinking deeper still onto the ground beneath you.

The ground supporting you.

Rising up to meet you and hold you.

And feel your belly soften,

No more holding on.

Both legs releasing effortlessly onto the ground.

Allow your bones to lay heavy.

Your muscles to relax and lose their grip as you let go.

As you sink deeper still into comfort.

Deeper still into rest.

Welcoming your body into rest.

Welcoming your body home.

Now bring your attention to your navel.

Watch with your mind's eye as it rises on your inhale and falls as you exhale through your nose.

Simply be aware of what's happening.

This effortless,

Most natural process of breathing.

The body breathing itself.

Nothing to do but simply bear witness.

No control is needed.

No judgement required.

Give yourself permission to just be.

Become aware of this space in which you're lying.

The external space that your body is in.

The walls.

The door.

The floor.

And the ceiling.

Windows perhaps.

Just observe the space that's around you in your mind's eye.

Now become aware of the sensation of air in your nostrils as it moves with ease in and out of your body.

Observe yourself.

Observe your breath.

No judgement.

No control.

Just observe.

As you breathe beautiful fresh air into your body,

Your whole body,

From the crown of your head to the soles of your feet,

Bear witness to the air entering and leaving your body with ease.

On every inhale,

Feel your body sinking ever deeper onto the ground supporting you,

Holding you,

All tension dissolving away.

You can just let go.

And begin to feel the sensations of your clothes and your blankets on your skin as they wrap around you,

Giving you warmth and comfort in your knee-jha nest,

Your cocoon of comfort.

And acknowledge how good it feels to give yourself this time,

This rest.

Feel a real sense of contentment as you allow your body to sink deeper still onto the ground supporting you as it rises up to meet you,

To hold you.

Feel your whole body in comfort and at rest,

Taking your rightful space to rest.

And breathe into your body,

Your wonderful whole body,

Your whole body.

Now notice what sounds are around you.

Welcome them with a sense of curiosity,

No engagement,

Knowing as they come,

They soon will pass,

Dissolving away.

Just observe.

Become aware of the sound furthest away from you.

And now the sound closest to you,

The sound of your breath within your body.

And just be aware of this sound,

Your sound,

Your breath.

Take a moment now to just rest in this silence,

This quiet,

Peaceful space,

Knowing you are safe here,

Knowing you are held here.

There is nothing but peace in this space.

You can fully let go.

And in this place of stillness and quiet,

Start to give thanks for all the things you have in your life,

All the things that you're grateful for.

Breathe in this sense of deep,

Deep gratitude,

Lighting up your whole body with a sense of abundance and gratitude.

Give thanks for your body,

Your breath,

This life,

This moment.

Now give some time to think about what you might like to experience more of in your life,

What you would like to feel more of in your life.

Your San Calpa.

Similar to a resolution,

Your San Calpa is a heartfelt desire,

An intention or vow you make to yourself.

Take some time now to listen within to what your own unique San Calpa is.

Let it rise up to you.

Let it make itself known to you.

And create a short statement in the present tense,

Starting with the words,

I am,

To encapsulate this,

Your own unique San Calpa.

And take a moment to really feel it.

What does it feel like to have this quality?

And feel it in every cell of your body.

Whatever your own unique San Calpa,

Create this positive statement in the present tense,

Starting with the words,

I am,

And repeat it to yourself silently and wholeheartedly three times.

And in your stillness,

Your place of peace,

In repeating your San Calpa,

You are planting a seed in your consciousness,

A seed of intention,

Of resolve,

Your heartfelt desire.

And know that in planting the seed,

Its fruition will naturally happen.

The tiniest of roots will appear and grow,

Settling and nestling in before shoots arrive and flourish.

With patience and nourishment,

The seed of your San Calpa,

Your heartfelt desire will bear fruit.

And if nothing comes today,

Maybe just stay with your feelings of gratitude,

Knowing this is enough.

You are enough,

Just the way you are.

Now bringing your attention back to your body,

Lying here in stillness and at peace.

Imagine a glorious morning just before dawn.

One of those beautifully quiet mornings where it seems the whole world is peacefully asleep and resting.

The only sounds you can hear are the beginning of the morning chorus,

Heart-lifting melodies of birds singing to greet the day.

Then slowly,

Ever so slowly,

The light of the dawn starts to appear on the horizon.

A magical array of colours starts to appear in the sky.

Pastel blues,

Pinks and golden hues,

Heralding the arrival of a majestic ball of orange sunshine that begins to rise up slowly from the edge of the earth to light up the world and take away the darkness of the night.

Slowly,

With its steadfast light,

Start to feel the sun's rays begin to illuminate from deep within you,

Its radiance and shine lighting up your whole body.

Now feel where this originates inside your body.

Perhaps it's your belly or your heart centre or perhaps your third eye.

Remember no judgement,

No expectation.

Just fully trust the process and fully trust where you feel the source of this golden light to be inside your body,

Your inner resource,

Your centre of wellbeing,

The place that has always been and the place that will always be,

Your sanctuary within,

Your home within yourself.

Now breathe into it.

Inhale and fill your body with this feeling of wellbeing.

Every muscle,

Every bone,

Every cell and tissue,

Feel it be replenished with wellbeing,

Vitality,

Wholeness and as you exhale just let everything go.

Everything that's no longer serving you,

Just let it go.

Completely surrender and let go.

Continue breathing wellbeing into your body in your own time with your own breath,

Allowing yourself to be breathed.

Now let go of your focus and just let your breath be a natural easy breath.

Your body knows perfectly exactly how to breathe.

Imagine the golden twinkling rays of this morning sun warming your cells and your bones,

Your muscles and your skin,

Your entire body with its gentle nourishing warmth.

And notice one ray of sparkling sunlight,

A pure golden light and it lands gently on your right hand thumb,

The very tip of your thumb,

Restoring and renewing with its light.

And then on your first finger,

Second finger,

Third finger and little finger,

Your thumb and fingers together,

Sparkling anew.

And now a drop of this warm golden light lands softly in the palm of your hand,

On the back of your hand,

On your right wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

The right side of your torso,

The right side of your waist,

Right hip,

Front of your thigh and the back of your thigh,

Your knee and the space at the back of the knee,

Your shin and your calf,

Right ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

The very tip of your right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and little toe,

All your toes together.

See the sparkling golden light of the morning sun illuminate the whole of the right side of your body,

The whole of the right side of your body.

Now bring your attention to your left hand and see the sparkling dancing light land ever so gently on the very tip of your left hand thumb.

Then on your first finger,

Second finger,

Third finger and little finger,

All these exquisite golden lights illuminating the tips of your thumb and fingers together and then notice shimmering golden light land softly in the palm of your hand,

Dancing onto the back of your hand,

Left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

The left side of your torso,

The left side of your waist,

Your left hip,

Front of your thigh and the back of your thigh,

Knee and the space at the back of the knee,

Your shin and calf,

Left ankle,

Heel,

The sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

The very tip of your left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and little toe,

All your toes together,

Sparkling twinkling golden light illuminating the whole of the left side of your body,

The whole of the left side of your body.

Now take your attention to the crown of your head and feel sparkles of warm brilliant light softly tip the crown of your head,

Your forehead becoming soft and spacious as the light gently flows down from the crown of your head,

A beautiful soothing sensation.

Notice now how drops of this golden light twinkle as they land on your right eyebrow,

Your left eyebrow,

Around your right eye,

Your left eye,

All along your right ear,

Your left ear,

Your right cheek,

Left cheek,

Your nose and the very tip of your nose,

Your upper lip,

Your lower lip,

Both lips together,

Your jaw,

Your teeth and your tongue,

Your chin and your throat.

See droplets of sparkling glimmering light illuminate all along your right collarbone,

Your left collarbone,

The right side of your chest and left side of your chest,

Your right groin,

Left groin,

The pelvic floor.

And now see sparkles of your golden light softly land on the whole of your right leg,

Lighting up your entire leg with its radiance and light,

The whole of your left leg,

Both legs at the same time,

Both legs together.

Now see them light up the whole of your right arm,

The whole of your left arm,

Both arms at the same time,

Both arms together,

The whole of your back,

Dancing shimmering sparkles of light,

Landing ever so softly on your glutes,

Your spine,

Your shoulder blades and neck,

The whole of your front,

Now illuminated with golden light,

Your chest,

Your belly and abdomen,

The whole of your back and front together,

Lit up now with the majestic sunlight of the dawn,

The whole body together,

Shining and translucent,

Radiant and renewed,

Inside,

Outside,

To the left,

The right,

The back,

The front,

Every cell,

Every muscle,

Bone and fascia,

Your whole body lighting up with golden sparkling light,

Being touched and healed with this purest of light from the morning sun,

Giving the promise of a new day,

Your whole body,

Your wonderful whole body,

Being nourished,

Renewed and cleansed by this light.

Rest now,

Welcoming your body into rest,

Welcoming your body home.

Lying here on the ground or in your bed,

Feeling your body completely lit up by the morning sun,

Like springtime after winter,

Your body completely at ease.

And notice how this ease might give way to effortlessness and a feeling of floating.

Become aware of a sense of floating in your body.

Feel your body become light,

As light as a feather,

Completely weightless,

Light and weightless,

As you have a sense of floating.

And now feel your body grounding down,

Deep onto the earth.

Sense the heaviness of your head,

Your bones on the ground.

Be aware of a feeling of grounding down onto the softness of the earth beneath you,

Holding and supporting you.

And feel these opposites of a sense of floating and then a sense of grounding down,

Of grounding down and then floating.

And maybe with your breath,

Go from state to state,

Perhaps on your inhale you feel as light as a feather and on your exhale you have a beautiful sense of grounding deep down onto the earth.

Now what might it feel like to invite both sensations to be felt together at the same time?

Hold these sensations together in your mind's eye,

Floating and grounding down together,

Grounding down and floating together.

Going back to your breath now,

Take a deep breath into your belly,

Feeling your belly rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale.

Inhale belly rises,

Exhale belly falls.

Inhale belly rises,

Exhale belly falls.

Continue in your own time and with your own breath.

Begin to notice the contact of your body with the ground.

Feel where the limbs meet and are supported by the ground.

Notice the spaces between your body and the ground and become aware of the places where air meets skin and those places where you're comforted and covered by clothing or your blankets.

Just be aware of your body lying on the ground or on your bed.

Just observe.

Now imagine your body as the earth itself,

A rich fertile soil.

Feeling the sun's warm golden rays on your body,

Plant the seeds of your Sancalpa deep into this soil,

Into your consciousness and see them start to take root.

Your seeds of your deepest intention beginning to come into existence,

Opening up to the most natural of processes,

Life bringing forth life.

And as nature is showing us now with the beautiful daffodils and crocuses that are pushing up from the winter's earth with a rainbow of glorious colours,

Aided by the radiance of the sun,

The abundance and promise of spring begins.

Lighting up the earth and our bodies from the hibernation of winter,

The rising sun of the dawn,

Chasing all the shadows away,

Bringing light and vitae and vitality to everything.

Your body now illuminated by the sparkling radiance of the sun shining light,

Giving you energy and abundance.

Rested,

Restored,

Renewed.

Take a moment now to really feel grateful in being alive.

Be grateful for your body in this existence.

For having the experience of living this life in this body.

For having the opportunity to love and to help and serve one another.

To choose light over darkness.

To trust in life's process.

To trust that the sun will rise,

Dawn will come,

Spring will blossom.

And be grateful for the invitation that life offers you.

A rich and abundant invitation to live your very best life in each and every precious moment.

Now return to your experience of yourself in this moment,

Here and now,

And notice how it feels to melt the boundaries of being,

Merging into an interconnected whole,

Into a state of pure grace.

Feel that you are now the observer of all that is unfolding within you.

That you are pure awareness in a state of grace.

Feel a moment of complete surrender.

Witness yourself lying here in bliss,

Pure awareness,

Like the air,

Everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Resting in the freedom of simply being.

May today there be peace within.

May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.

May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content with yourself just the way you are.

Returning to your sankalpa,

Your heartfelt desire,

Your deepest intention.

Repeat it silently and wholeheartedly to yourself three times.

And embody your intention,

Your heartfelt desire.

Feel it rise up from your inner resource,

From your home within yourself.

Up and into every cell of your being,

Radiating and shimmering like the sun's rays,

Radiating out to the world and recognise what a wonderful feeling it is to feel this quality,

A full embodiment of this quality,

Knowing that the seeds of your sankalpa are now planted deep within your soul.

And remember you can always return to this feeling whenever you want through your awareness to breath.

Drawing your attention back to your breath again,

Notice it flowing through your nose with ease,

Softly,

Rhythmically,

Naturally.

Feel you are floating back to everyday awareness.

Feel you are rising up to the surface of everyday awareness.

Take another long inhale through your nose,

Filling your whole body with beautiful fresh air and exhaling just sigh it out and let it go.

Allow an awareness of your whole body as you come back into this space.

Feel your clothes and the blankets that cover you.

Notice the sensation of your whole body on the ground at ease and at complete rest.

Keeping your eyes closed,

Start to imagine the external space around you and slowly,

With no rush,

Drift back into this space and invite the effects of this practice to stay with you as you return back into your body,

Into this space.

Maybe gently start to give movement in your fingers and toes,

Waking up your body as you return to this space.

And when you feel fully awake,

Gently blink open your eyes,

Roll to the right and just stay on your side for a few moments.

There's no rush.

Take all the time you need.

Use your left hand to slowly push the floor away from you to come to a seated position.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

May the peace which passes all understanding keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and presence of love.

Thank you for joining this practice.

Stay grateful.

Namaste.

Reviews

That was so nice. Sometimes I wake up too early and can't get back to sleep. So I get up and meditate. These Nidra practices feel like getting extra rest.
Spring is here. Grateful I found your practices. Thank you. ☮️💖🙏🖖🪷🕉

I loved this -Thank you 🙏🏼❣️

Beautiful practice. Thank you and many Blessings 🪴🕊

Thank you 🙏🏻