Grounding Yoga Nidra With Birdsong

This is a gentle grounding/earthy Yoga Nidra with roots visualization, body scan, breath awareness, and a forest walk visualization; as well as some time in the end for a free flow of images.

Set to the sound of birdsong.

I recommend lying down, in a really comfortable position, maybe supporting the back of the knees. Also, cover the eyes with something like an eye pillow.

Enjoy.

Transcript

Welcome to this grounding yoga nidra.

I really recommend that you lie down for this practice and cover your body,

Make yourself comfortable and warm.

Take a position that's most comfortable for you and begin to feel that sense of support beneath you.

Feeling that sense of groundedness already just by lying down.

Feeling textures and temperatures against your skin and start to relax the muscles behind the skin.

Relax your jaw.

Relax all around the eyes,

Forehead.

Allow your tongue to lie flat in your mouth.

Relax the back of your neck and feel your arms become heavier.

Feel your shoulder blades sink down into the surface you're on.

Your pelvis.

And soften all across the belly.

And soften the legs,

Let them be really heavy.

Feel as if your body is beginning to take up more space on that surface.

And feeling that sense of grounded heaviness throughout your body.

And you might like to imagine roots reaching down towards the earth from the whole part of the body that is touching that surface.

So whether it's the back,

The front or the side.

Imagine roots reaching down towards the earth from every point of connection.

Imagine those roots moving into the earth.

Keep travelling down all the way to the centre of the earth.

And start to slow down the breath and begin to take slow breaths through your nose if available.

And visualise that breath travelling all the way down your roots to the centre of the earth.

Notice any sense of grounding that this gives you.

And each time you exhale,

Feel as if your body sinks into that surface a little bit more.

And take in a few more breaths,

Slowing them down,

Down into your roots.

And as you exhale,

Sink into the surface.

Remember that you can move if you need to,

If you want to.

But try and move mindfully and slowly.

And now start to let your breath flow effortlessly.

I'm going to come to our sankalpa.

We're going to set our intention or resolve.

You can set any intention that you like.

I'm going to recommend,

I am safe,

I am totally at ease,

I am fully supported.

And repeat your sankalpa three times.

We'll now come to a phase of rotating the consciousness around the body.

When I name a part of the body,

Just bring your awareness into that place from the inside.

We'll move quite rapidly,

So if you get lost at any point,

Simply rejoin when your awareness comes back to my voice.

Draw your attention to the centre of the chest and into the heart.

Left collarbone.

Left shoulder.

Left upper arm.

Left lower arm.

The base of the thumb.

The whole thumb.

All four fingers.

The whole of the left arm.

And then back to the heart centre.

Right collarbone.

Right shoulder.

Right upper arm.

Right lower arm.

The base of the thumb.

The whole thumb.

All four fingers.

The whole of the right arm.

And now back to the heart centre.

The left chest.

Left waist.

Left hip.

Left knee.

Ankle.

The top of the foot.

The sole of the foot.

All five toes.

The whole left leg.

And then back to the heart centre.

The right chest.

The right waist.

Right hip.

Right knee.

The ankle.

The top of the foot.

The sole of the foot.

All five toes.

And now the whole of the right leg.

Back to the heart centre.

And dropping down to the back of the heart centre.

The left shoulder blade.

Right shoulder blade.

Back of the neck.

The upper spine.

The mid spine.

Lower spine.

Tip of the tailbone.

The whole spine together.

The left back.

The right back.

The whole of the back.

The left buttock.

The right buttock.

Left heel.

Right heel.

And now back to the heart centre.

And moving up to the base of the throat.

The back of the throat.

The root of the tongue.

The whole of the tongue.

The roof of the mouth.

Top lip.

Bottom lip.

Both lips together.

The nose.

Tip of the nose.

Left nostril.

Right nostril.

Both nostrils together.

Left ear.

Right ear.

Both ears together.

Left eye.

Right eye.

Both eyes together.

The top of the head.

The back of the head.

And now the whole of the head.

The whole of the left arm.

The whole of the right arm.

The whole left leg.

The whole right leg.

The whole left side of the body.

The whole right side of the body.

The front of the body.

The back of the body.

And now the whole body together.

Become aware of the whole of your body.

The whole of your being.

Totally at ease.

Totally safe.

And totally relaxed.

And now begin to bring your awareness to your breath.

Allow the breath to move through your body.

Freely.

Just notice that gentle ebb and flow of breath moving through your body.

Feeling the gentle rise and inhale.

And softening on the exhale.

And we're going to begin to count down the breaths.

On each exhale,

Counting backwards,

Starting at 33.

Counting back as you exhale,

32.

And each time the mind wanders,

Each time you lose count,

Let's begin again.

So no judgement.

If you only get to 31 or 30,

Simply starting again at 33.

The aim is to stay focused on the count rather than reaching zero.

Continue to count down the breaths.

Counting down from 33 as you exhale.

And now letting go of the breath.

Let go of the count.

Just come back to that awareness of the breath moving through your body.

The rise and fall of the breath.

I'm going to come to a phase of visualising a forest.

So if you like,

Imagine you're in a forest.

What does it look like?

Is your forest really dense and overgrown?

Does it feel quite sparse?

Maybe you see a deep array of green all around you.

Can you see any sunlight twinkling through the leaves?

Or maybe it's moonlight.

As you begin to look around your forest,

Just notice the variety of plants and trees.

Do you see any flowers?

What can you see there?

What can you hear in your forest?

What sounds are there?

Maybe rustling of what lives in the wind.

Maybe the sounds of birds singing.

Maybe insects.

Maybe even the gentle noise of a stream in the distance.

Any other sounds you can hear in your forest?

And what kind of smells are there?

Can you smell that fresh pine air?

Smell the earth?

The damp?

Whatever smells are there for you?

Can you smell any flowers?

Anything else?

And what does the earth feel like beneath your feet?

Feel that sense of groundedness,

That sense of your feet firmly planted on the earth.

And maybe you like to walk.

What does the earth feel like under your feet?

Is it hard?

Spongy?

Soft?

Is it muddy?

And what does it sound like as you step through the forest,

Explore your forest?

And as you walk,

See your vision become clearer.

It's a beautiful forest all around you.

The sights,

The sounds,

The smells.

What kind of textures are around you?

And what's the temperature of your forest?

Is it warm?

Cool?

Maybe it's damp or raining.

Maybe it's really dry.

And we're going to let go of the forest now.

Let that image slip away and bring your awareness to the dark space behind your closed eyes and just relaxing your eyelids.

Really soften the corners of your eyes.

Just noticing if any images,

Shapes,

Colours may come up for you.

And without any judgement,

Allow any images,

Shapes,

Colours to come or not to come.

Without grasping at anything,

Just be in this space and allow yourself to relax.

Keep coming back to this space behind your closed eyes and settle into that space,

Allowing anything to come that wants to come without any grasping.

And we're going to let go of that space now.

Let go of any images.

And we're going to make a return to our sankalpa.

So repeat whatever you made your sankalpa at the start of the practice.

I'll remind you of my suggestions.

I am safe.

I am totally at ease.

I am fully supported.

As you say the words,

Really believe with conviction what you're saying.

You are supported.

You are safe.

And you are at ease.

I'm going to slowly return now.

If you wish to stay where you are,

Then stay there.

Otherwise,

Make a slow,

Gentle return.

Maybe start to bring a little tiny bit of movement to your fingers,

Perhaps pressing the thumb onto the tip of each finger.

And start to make longer,

Stronger inhalations now.

Maybe wiggle the toes now,

Wiggle the fingers as well.

And do whatever movements that you need to do to bring yourself back.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Reviews

This Yoga Nidra is absolutely lovely 🥰 I really enjoy the bird sounds and the imagery that comes to my mind during the practice. Afterwards, I feel calm, relaxed and at ease. Thank you 🙏 very much.

What a wondeful beginning to my day with your gentle guidance and the birdsong. Thank you!

Very relaxing I enjoyed that so much thank you ⚕️🧘‍♂️

Thank you for your gift of rest & rejuvenation. Perfect for those mornings when you wake still feeling depleted. Now - onward and upward! Much love, grace, and blessings to you! 💖🤍