Yoga Nidra To Create An Inner Refuge

This Yoga Nidra is designed to help you create an inner refuge, a place of deep comfort, security, and well-being within yourself. Your inner refuge is a safe haven you can always return to when challenging emotions or limiting beliefs arise. This is a place of your creation that will help you connect with an unshakable sense of well-being within yourself.
The guidance in this track lasts for 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes to bask in this space. Music: Elevated State of Self

Transcript

Namaste,

I'm Rosalie and this is a Yoga Nidra meditation designed to help you connect to and create an inner refuge.

This is a place of deep comfort,

Security and well-being within yourself.

A safe haven you can always return to if any challenging emotions or limiting beliefs might arise.

This is a place of your own creation that will help you connect with an unshakable sense of well-being and safety within yourself.

I have found that this is one of the most powerful tools to help you manage fear during an out-of-body experience.

If you feel fear or otherwise triggered when out-of-body,

Bring yourself back to your inner refuge and connect to the sense of well-being,

Ease and safety that awaits you here.

Now let's begin.

Could you take the next few moments to get completely comfortable?

Could you stretch your legs out and let your feet flop to the sides,

Placing your arms wherever they feel the most comfortable?

And as you nestle in,

You might like to adjust your headphones.

You may like to use an eye mask or an eye pillow on your eyes or simply blink-close the eyes.

You may like a blanket on top of you,

Taking a few moments to make any further adjustments to feel completely at ease.

You might imagine creating a little cocoon for yourself,

A sacred space of warmth and peace,

A space where you can fully let go.

And as you nestle in,

Could you release the weight of your body,

Feeling your body melting into the support beneath you?

Throughout our practice,

Could you try to stay completely still,

But if there's anything that prevents you from fully relaxing,

For example if you need to scratch,

There's no harm in moving,

But then return to stillness.

Let's begin by taking a big inhale through the nose,

Open your mouth side out,

Sinking deeper and deeper.

Another big inhale,

And as you exhale,

Release any tension in the body.

One more big inhale,

Exhale,

Sinking deeper and deeper,

Letting go of all efforts,

Any sense of gripping in the body.

The whole body now sinking deeper and deeper into the support beneath you.

Could you feel all the meeting points between your back body and the surface beneath you?

Could you begin to sense the space around you,

The walls,

The ceiling,

And notice any sounds in your space,

Any sensations on the skin,

Perhaps the softness of your clothes or a blanket,

Perhaps the coolness or warmth of the air around you?

And might you notice the rhythm of your breath,

Body shifting down,

Settling down to deep rest,

Softening the forehead,

The eyes,

The jaw,

The whole body letting go.

And might you soften the muscle of your mind,

Letting go of any sense of effort,

Nothing is required of you here,

No thinking,

No planning,

Just being.

Allow any thoughts to dissolve as you enter the realm of feeling,

Sensing,

And listening.

Could you drop your awareness down into the heart space now,

Just for a few moments resting in the heart space,

Connecting to the wisdom of the heart.

And as you rest at the heart space could you welcome your sankalpa,

Your heartfelt desire.

If you're not working with your own,

You could welcome the sankalpa,

I trust in my inner wisdom and strength,

Or perhaps I am safe,

Supported,

And completely at ease.

Whatever it is for you,

Your own sankalpa,

Or one of these ones,

Could you internally whisper to yourself three times,

And as you do this could you imagine stating this from the heart itself as you water the seed of your sankalpa in your heart.

Now let it go,

We will begin now to rotate our awareness through different parts of the body,

Just allow your attention to glide from one part to the next,

Creating a cascade of relaxation through your whole body.

As your awareness moves,

The body remains completely still,

Beginning at the crown of the head,

Bringing all your awareness to the crown of the head,

Flowing down to the center of your forehead,

Your mind's eye,

Down to both eyes now,

Releasing all the little muscles behind the eyes,

The cheeks,

The temples,

Both ears now,

And inside both ears,

The tip of your nose,

And the flow of air in and out,

The lips,

The tongue,

And all sensations in the mouth,

The roof of your mouth,

Inside the right cheek,

Inside the left cheek,

The jaw completely letting go,

Flowing down to the center of the throat,

Down to the center of the chest,

Your heart space,

Both sides of your chest now,

Both shoulders,

And awareness flowing down the upper arms,

The elbows,

The forearms,

Wrists,

The palms of your hands,

And all ten fingertips,

Now let the energy flow from the fingertips,

Back up the arms,

All the way back to the heart space,

And dropping down now to the upper abdomen,

Sensing the gentle rise and fall of the diaphragm,

Down to the navel center,

The lower belly,

And both hips now,

Dividing your attention between both hips,

Awareness flowing down the thighs,

Front and back,

To the knees,

The lower legs,

The ankles,

The soles of your feet,

The tops of your feet,

And the tips of all ten toes.

Now,

On your next inhale,

Could you imagine breathing in from the tips of your toes,

Energy and breath all the way up to the crown of the head,

And as you exhale,

Energy and breath swirling around you,

All the way back down to the tips of your toes.

Inhaling up to the crown of the head,

Exhale energy and breath swirling around you,

All the way back down to the tips of your toes.

Now let it go.

Could you imagine now your whole body becoming heavy,

So heavy,

Dense like lead,

Sinking deeper and deeper into the support beneath you.

And now lightness,

Invite the feeling of lightness through the whole body,

The body so light you start to float upwards,

As light as a feather,

Floating upwards.

And now heaviness,

Inviting the feeling of heaviness once again,

As the body becomes heavy and dense,

Sinking down deeper and deeper.

Now lightness,

Feel yourself weightless,

Spacious,

Drifting higher and higher,

As light as a feather.

Now could you welcome both of these sensations simultaneously.

Could you welcome heaviness and lightness at the same time,

Feeling light and heavy simultaneously.

Now let it go.

And might you bring your awareness now back to the centre of your forehead,

Your mind's eye,

As we connect to and create your inner refuge.

And just for a few moments,

Connecting to any sensations that may be present at your mind's eye.

As you welcome the mind's eye,

You will begin to explore your inner refuge,

That place deep within you that evokes feelings of safety,

Security and wellbeing.

This could be an imagined place,

A real place,

Or a place from your memory.

Simply ask to see a place that evokes these feelings of wellbeing and safety within yourself.

And notice your surroundings.

You may be in a cozy,

Warm space indoors,

Curled up in a chair with a warm blanket,

Crackling fire in the fireplace.

You may be somewhere in nature,

A beach that holds a special place in your heart,

Or perhaps in the forest,

Walking through the woodland.

What do you see?

Notice any colours,

Any objects,

Any images around you.

Now what can you hear in this place?

Perhaps crackling of a fire,

Or the sound of waves gently lapping on the shore,

Or perhaps water gushing from a waterfall.

Now what sensations do you feel?

Notice any temperatures,

Perhaps the warmth of the sun on your skin,

Or the feeling of cooling water on your skin.

Now could you notice any textures,

Perhaps softness of a blanket around you,

Or the sand beneath you.

Can you immerse yourself in this scene,

Painting a picture in your mind's eye,

Using all your senses.

And now what can you smell and taste?

Perhaps there's a saltiness in the air of the beach,

Or a cool crisp forest air with a smell of moss and grass and pine trees,

Or perhaps there's aromas of your favourite dessert baking in the oven in your warm and cozy space.

You may be here on your own,

Or you may bring in other beings into your inner refuge,

Beings that make you feel deeply loved and supported,

Perhaps pets or any wildlife.

Now could you connect to the feeling tones associated with your inner refuge?

What arises within you when you're in this space?

And as you invite more and more elements into your inner refuge,

Could you allow these feeling tones to become stronger and stronger within you?

Allow all of these good feelings to saturate every cell in every part of your body,

Filling you with a deep sense of well-being,

Of ease,

A sense of being held,

Held by this space deep within you.

Whatever feelings arise,

Could you welcome them with an open heart?

And if these feeling tones are strong,

Could you release all of the visuals,

All of the images,

And simply bask here,

Letting yourself marinate in the feeling tones and in the experience of your inner refuge?

Feeling that deep sense of well-being and connection in your inner refuge.

It's time now to come fully back into your body,

Fully back into your space,

And know that you can return to this place at any time in your waking state,

In an out-of-body experience,

At any point if you ever feel fear or you otherwise feel triggered by something in the external world.

You can always come back to your inner refuge and from that space of security and comfort,

You can move forward with ease,

With confidence,

With strength.

Might you welcome your sankalpa once again,

Internally whispering it to yourself three times,

Perhaps your own,

Or perhaps,

I trust in my own inner wisdom and strength,

Or perhaps,

I am safe,

Supported,

And completely at ease.

Repeat your sankalpa to yourself now and imagine stating it from the heart.

Now,

Could you bring your awareness back to the physical body,

Noticing all the meeting points between your back body and the support beneath you,

Sensing the environment around you,

The walls,

The ceiling above you,

And connecting to the breath in the body.

Let's take a nice big inhale together.

Exhale through the mouth.

Let's do that again.

Big inhale.

Exhale.

One more.

Biggest inhale you've taken all day.

In your own time,

Starting to make little movements with the fingers,

The wrists,

The ankles,

And the toes.

You may like to turn your head from side to side.

You may like to give yourself a really nice big stretch.

Feel free to linger here as long as you wish,

But you may like to turn to one side and curl yourself up into a little ball.

And just pausing here for a moment,

Reconnecting to that sense of your inner refuge,

That place you were resting in just a few moments ago,

And perhaps bringing all the feeling tones from your inner refuge into your waking life,

Carrying a sense of your inner refuge with you throughout your day,

That sense of well-being,

Safety and ease.

And know that the more you combat your inner refuge,

The more you strengthen it within you.

And know that eventually,

With practice,

When you feel triggered by something,

Your inner refuge will automatically arise,

Offering you a space of ease and comfort that you can return to.

And then from that space,

You can move forward with confidence,

You can move forward with confidence,

With strength,

With ease.

Thank you so much for being here.

May you continue to feel this warmth and ease and safety within you throughout your day.

Namaste.