Yoga Nidra: Gentle Integration

Welcome to Yoga Nidra, the ancient art of wise rest. Here, you are invited to surrender to the inherent wisdom of your sweetly resting body whilst remaining quietly awake. Over the course of 32 minutes, accompanied by soft music, you shall undertake a journey of gentle exploration and integration. I invite you to trust whatever unfolds. Enjoy!

Transcript

Namaste.

Welcome to Yoga Nidra.

My name is Shelley.

Thank you for setting aside time and space for deep rest.

In Nidra,

We practice the yoga of non-doing.

The yoga of simply being here just as you are.

The yoga of resting as whole presence.

Nothing to do save let go and drift along with the sound of my voice.

Please begin by finding a sweet place of support to lie down and cozy in.

Bringing in any props for ease.

Maybe a cushion behind the head,

A cushion behind the knees,

A blanket for warmth,

And anything else that might help you create a sweet soft envelope for your being.

And once you've settled in,

Nestled in,

Cozied in,

Making any micro shifts for the utmost comfort,

The utmost ease,

Adjusting feet,

Legs,

Hips,

Shoulders,

Neck,

Head,

And then taking a big breath in through the nose all the way in.

And on the exhale open mouth sighing it out,

Surrendering into stillness.

Resting in stillness.

Gently softening the muscles of the face.

Releasing any pattern of tension or holding.

Softening all the little muscles around the eyes,

The cheeks,

The mouth.

Gently loosening the lower jaw.

Softening and opening the ears.

And then seeing if you can release some of the micro muscles of the scalp all over the skull.

Allowing the whole skull to loosen and widen.

Softening the throat,

Softening the chest,

Softening the belly.

And then gently bringing awareness to the breath.

Where is the already happening breath making itself known in your body.

And gently watching the inhale and the exhale.

Breath moving in,

Breath moving out.

Just allowing awareness to synchronize with the breath.

And now for a three-part breath just a few times.

Beginning by taking a big inhale into the belly and letting all the air out.

Breath into the belly,

Breath moving out.

On the next inhale breath first into the belly,

Then into the chest.

And then allowing both regions to release at once.

Breath into belly,

Then into chest.

Exhaling both at once.

On the next inhale breath first into belly,

Then chest.

Then up into the collarbones towards the throat.

And then allowing all three regions to exhale at once.

Inhale belly,

Then chest.

Then up towards the throat.

Exhale letting all of them go.

And one more time.

Inhale belly,

Inhale chest.

Up towards the throat.

Exhale letting all the air move out.

And returning to the natural breath.

Resting,

Breathing,

Being breathed.

Natural ebb and flow.

And in this space of gentle rest and breath it's time to call in your sankalpa.

Your intention to realize,

To know what is already true.

What is already here as a North Star of your well-being.

A clear statement of intention beginning with I am.

It may be as simple as I am whole,

At peace,

Resting deeply.

Listening to what is true for you and then speaking your sankalpa inwardly three times.

And now for a gentle journey through the body,

Honoring each region of the body with the light of your own awareness.

Gathering awareness to the tip of the tongue,

The inner left cheek,

Roof of the mouth,

The inner right cheek,

The floor of the mouth,

The underside of the tongue,

The root of the tongue,

Center of the throat,

Center of the chest,

Center of the belly,

Center of the pelvis,

The pelvic floor at the base of the spine between the legs,

The pelvic floor opening down to the earth and beyond,

The tip of the tailbone,

The center of the sacrum,

Small of the back,

Space behind the heart,

Back of the neck,

Back of the skull,

Crown of the head,

The crown of the head at the top of the skull opening up to the sky and beyond,

The space between the eyebrows,

The inner mind's eye,

Both physical eyes,

The sensation of both eyes,

Both nostrils,

Both ears,

Outside the skull and deep within,

Both jaws,

Both lips,

The pit of the throat,

Left collarbone,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow,

Left wrist,

The whole left hand and all of the fingers,

The whole left hand,

Arm,

And shoulder together as one,

Pit of the throat,

Right collarbone,

Right shoulder,

Right elbow,

Right wrist,

The whole right hand with all of the fingers,

The whole right hand,

Arm,

And shoulder together as one,

Pit of the throat,

Both armpits,

Both sides of the waist,

Both hips,

The pubic bone,

The left hip joint,

Left knee,

Left ankle,

The whole left foot and all of the toes,

Whole left foot,

Leg,

And hip together as one,

The pubic bone,

The right hip joint,

Right knee,

Right ankle,

The whole right foot and all of the toes,

The whole right foot,

Leg,

And hip together as one,

The pubic bone,

The navel center,

The hudda or navel center at the very core of the trunk,

From the navel center,

Widening awareness to welcome both whole legs,

Both whole legs,

The left and the right,

The right and the left together,

Now widening awareness to include both whole arms,

Both whole arms,

The left and the right,

The right and the left together,

And widening awareness to include the whole head,

The fifth limb of the body,

Whole head,

Up and down and all around,

And then widening awareness to include all five limbs of the body at once,

Starting at the head,

Circling clockwise,

Head,

Arm,

Leg,

Leg,

Arm,

Back to the head,

And then circling the other way,

Head,

Arm,

Leg,

Leg,

Arm,

Back to the head,

Welcoming the whole body,

Including the central trunk on the round,

All the way around,

Front and back,

Side to side,

From every angle,

In every plane,

Whole body resting here with all of its magical parts integrated,

Resting as one,

Whole body buoyant,

Whole body resting within that whole presence,

Bringing awareness to the inner eye,

The inner eye and the space between the eyebrows,

And noticing the quality of presence here,

Resting here in the inner eye while welcoming the right hemisphere of the brain,

The right hemisphere of the brain nestled up in the right quadrant of the skull,

Above the right eye,

The whole right hemisphere of the brain,

Front to back,

Nestled high in the skull,

And noticing the quality of presence here in the right hemisphere of the brain,

And gently returning to the mind's eye,

While welcoming the whole left side of the body,

The whole left side of the body,

From the left eye down,

Out to the tips of the fingers and the tips of the toes,

The whole left side of the body,

And resting in the inner mind's eye,

Welcoming together the right hemisphere of the brain and the left side of the body,

The right hemisphere governs the left side of the body,

They're interconnected and crossing over from one side to the other at the inner eye,

Welcoming both at once,

Right hemisphere,

Left side of the body,

And gently bringing awareness back to the inner eye,

And welcoming the left hemisphere of the brain,

The left hemisphere of the brain nestled in the upper left quadrant of the skull,

Above the left eye,

The whole left hemisphere of the brain,

And noticing the quality of presence here in the left hemisphere of the brain,

And gently returning to the mind's eye,

To now welcome the whole right side of the body,

The whole right side of the body,

From the right eye down,

Out to the tips of the fingers and the tips of the toes,

The whole right side of the body,

And returning to the inner eye,

Welcoming the left hemisphere of the brain and the right side of the body together as one,

The whole left hemisphere of the brain,

Which governs the right side of the body,

Interconnected and crossing over from one side to the other at the inner eye,

And bringing awareness back to the inner eye,

To start to gently shift back and forth,

So shifting to awareness of the right hemisphere of the brain with the left side of the body together,

And then gently shifting awareness to the left hemisphere of the brain and the right side of the body together,

Shifting again right hemisphere,

Left side of the body,

And again left hemisphere of the brain and the right side of the body,

And now widening awareness to include both hemispheres of the brain at once,

The right and the left,

The left and the right,

And welcoming awareness of both sides of the body at once,

The left and the right,

The right and the left,

Both hemispheres and both sides of the body together,

Integrated,

Joined,

Crossing at the space between the eyebrows,

The inner eye,

And then gently shifting awareness to the crown of the head,

The crown of the head at the very top of the skull.

Here is the place of the deep bridge between the two brain hemispheres at the very top of the body,

The corpus callosum,

The bridge of interconnection between the two hemispheres of the brain,

And now expanding awareness to include the interconnecting bridge at the crown of the head,

The whole of the two hemispheres,

Both sides of the body and all of the limbs,

Deeply interconnected,

Deeply integrated,

The whole unified presence of your being,

Whole presence resting here,

Radiant,

Alive,

Spacious,

Integrated,

And then again resting as awareness in the inner eye.

As you rest in the inner eye,

Might you welcome the element of moon.

Element of moon could be a full moon,

A dark moon,

A crescent moon facing either side,

Or a crescent moon on the horizon,

An eclipsed moon,

A moon from out in space,

A moon covered by clouds,

A blood moon.

Noticing which version of moon responds to your invitation to be with you here,

And as you rest in the inner eye with moon,

Noticing the quality of presence in this space of reflection,

Reflected intelligence,

Cerebral intelligence,

And then gently shifting awareness down to the navel center,

The the center of the belly,

And welcoming here the element of Sun,

A full whole Sun in daytime,

A rising Sun in the morning,

A setting Sun in the evening,

An eclipsed Sun,

A Sun from out in space,

A Sun partially covered by clouds.

What version of Sun responds to your invitation to be with you here,

And in this navel center right the gut intelligence,

Solar fire intelligence,

Noticing the quality of presence here,

And then gently shifting awareness to your heart space in the center of the chest,

And here in the heart space welcoming the element of star,

And then noticing what version of star comes to be with you here,

One bright star or one shy star,

A couple of stars,

Maybe a whole constellation of stars,

Or the whole Milky Way,

Or the whole universe of stars.

What version of star appears with you here in the heart space,

And noticing the quality of presence resting here with star in the heart intelligence,

The heart brain,

The intelligence of universal or unconditional love,

And widening awareness to welcome your whole presence resting here,

Whole self resting,

And within this wholeness inviting the element of Earth,

First noticing where Earth appears in this whole constellation of you resting here,

Where does Earth show up,

And then noticing what version of Earth has answered your call,

Responded to your invitation,

Is it a whole Earth from out in space,

Some image of Earth you've seen,

An eclipsed Earth,

A partly lit Earth,

Earth covered by clouds,

Or maybe it's some specific place on Earth,

A place you've been,

Or a place you've not yet been,

Noticing what version of Earth responds to your invitation to be with you here,

And as you rest here in your whole presence,

Your whole cosmic presence including Earth,

Noticing the quality of presence resting here,

Whole self resting,

Whole self universal presence,

Whole self spacious,

Buoyant,

Radiant,

And as you are resting,

Might you once again call in your Sankalpa,

Inviting the light of your Sankalpa to come and be with you here,

Perhaps again in words,

Or perhaps without words,

Resounding,

Radiating,

Vibrating,

The truth,

The whole truth of your Sankalpa,

Resting in truth,

Resting as spacious awareness,

Abiding in the goodness of your own deep presence,

And ever so gently,

If you feel ready,

Beginning to bring awareness back to your physical body resting here,

Resting supported,

Resting spacious,

And then opening peripheral awareness to sense the support beneath you,

And the contact your body has with the deep support,

And widening peripheral awareness to sense the space,

The air around you,

And sensing contact with the air,

And then perhaps beginning to notice any ambient sounds,

Near or far,

Inside or out,

And then as you're ready,

Just starting to find some small movement,

Wiggling fingers or toes,

Maybe a stretch,

Taking your time as you slowly come back in,

And find your way back to the world of the external senses,

Taking your time,

And you may choose to keep resting here for a while,

Or you might be ready to shift,

Listening to your body.

Thank you for joining me here in this space of rest.

May you continue to honor the sweet and deep goodness of your natural presence as you move on with your morning,

Your day,

Your afternoon,

Your night.

My name is Shelley,

And I am grateful.

Namaste.

Reviews

I don’t believe I have ever done a have nidra with such a thorough rotation of consciousness. The pacing is great and there is also breath work.

Thank you so much for a deeply restful practice Shelly ☀️ 🌙 🌟 🌍🙏🏻.

Love this!

Very beautiful and peaceful..thank you

Excellent yoga Nidra and I really enjoyed the unique body scan that brought me deep within my body and grounded me very well! Thank you so much and I will revisit this one. Namaste. 🙏🕉️🙏

Wonderful💐

Thank you for offering this experience - my words aren’t big enough to hold it and share what it meant and what it was like for me. Thank you! 🙏🏻😊✨🧡🌍

Excellent! Thank you 🙏🤩

Thankyou ☺️
🙏🏿🥀🐦

Your varied yoga nigtra was appreciated.

I’ve done a lot of nidras on IT and this one is exceptional! My absolute favorite. Thank you so much for this gift!🙏

Original fresh and deeply relaxing

Beautiful- thank you so much.💜🙏

I love this version of yoga Nidra and the variation in breathing 🙏❤️.

Very calming. Beautiful voice and pace. Thank you 🙏🏻✨

One of the better nidras I've tried. Experienced ultimate peace and relaxation.

So nice. 😊 Thank you 🙏

❤️

Thank you for this yoga nidra experience 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻I really liked the very gentle integration each time🙏🏻🌟✨🌟💫🌟🙏🏻

Beautiful yoga nidra! Thank you!