A Yoganidra,
Guided by me,
Simone McKay.
This is an ode to the Great Mother,
With a poem by Linda Reuter.
But first,
Welcome and settle in.
Welcome to this practice of Yoganidra.
Always get settled so you are sublimely comfortable.
Now close your eyes.
And quiet your mind.
Feel your whole body soften and release.
And breathe in fully.
And exhale with a deep sigh.
Inhale again.
Let go even more.
Feel a sense of comfort,
Safety,
And peace begin to wash over you.
And the Great Mother said,
Come and give me all that you are.
I am not afraid of your strength and darkness,
Of your fear and pain.
Give me your tears.
They will be my rushing rivers and roaring oceans.
Give me your rage,
It will erupt into my molten volcanoes and rolling thunder.
Give me your tired spirit.
I will lay it to rest in my soft meadows.
Give me your hopes and dreams.
I will plant a field of sunflowers and arch rainbows in the sky.
You are not too much for me.
My arms and heart welcome your true fullness.
There is room in my world for all of you.
All that you are.
I will cradle you in the boughs of my ancient redwoods and the valleys of my gentle rolling hills.
My soft winds will sing you lullabies and soothe your burdened heart.
Release your deep pain.
You are not alone and you have never been alone.
As we now enter a quieter state of being,
Take a moment and tune in to your inner sense of calm and peace.
Welcome into an inner sanctuary,
An inner landscape or place that invokes a feeling of calm,
Peace,
Ease and safety,
Where you feel fully protected.
Perhaps this includes inviting the sense of being in nature or elements of nature.
Maybe wise and benevolent beings there to support you.
A beloved pet or power animal or wise sage or ancient tree or anything that bestows blessings upon you.
Let your imagination run free.
Now bring your intention into your awareness.
Or if you have an area of stress in your life,
Ask how you want to be in that situation and make that your intention.
If you're unclear,
Then just see what appears in your awareness.
If it's clear in words,
Then repeat it three times,
Letting it echo through your being.
It can also be an image or felt sense.
If nothing arises,
Trust that your heart and soul knows best and will guide the way.
Now bring your body into your awareness.
Recognize it has been a trusted vehicle,
Creating accomplishments to the best of its ability.
And now it's time for your body to rest fully.
And as we enter the next phase of Yoga Nidra,
Come into stillness and remain motionless.
If you do need to move,
Do it mindfully.
Then return back to stillness.
Stay in touch with the sound of my voice.
Allow your body to respond to my words directly and non-mentally.
And allow yourself to let go of all thoughts,
Worry,
And tension.
Shift from thinking and doing to feeling and being.
Come more deeply inside the walls of your body.
And feel the weighing down of the contact points into the earth.
Feel you are residing inside your legs.
And residing inside your arms.
Inhabiting your torso and chest and back.
Filling your head with your felt-sense attention.
And now draw your breath all the way through your toes,
All the way up to the top of your head.
And on the next breath out,
Follow it back down to the toes.
Do this for several breaths.
Drawing breath up from toes to crown.
And back down from top of head to toes.
Then next breath in,
Breathe into the tops of the ankles.
Traveling up through the body to the top of the head.
And exhaling back down to tops of ankles.
Several cycles of breath from tops of ankles to top of head.
And back down from top of head to ankles.
Then next breath in,
Traveling up from knees to top of head.
Then out-breath down to your knees.
Then next breath in,
Traveling up from the perineum to the top of the head.
And then out-breath down to your perineum.
Several breaths.
And down.
Next breath in,
Traveling up from the navel center to top of head.
Then out-breath down to your navel center.
Next breath in,
Traveling up from the solar plexus to top of head.
Then out-breath down to your solar plexus.
Up.
And down.
Next breath in,
Filling lungs and heart space expansively.
And exhale all the breath out.
And out.
Next breath,
Filling the space from throat to top of head.
And exhale all the way out.
Now breathe into belly.
Inhaling all the way to the eyebrow center.
And then exhale all the way out.
Merge into space and stillness at the third eye center.
In Yoga Nidra,
You enter the subconscious field of prana.
Filling the field of energy.
Drop into the boundless field extending everywhere.
Now bring your attention to the canals of your nose,
And where they join the root of your nostrils.
Sense the cyclical rhythms of breath in the nose.
Sense the cyclical rhythms of breath expanding and contracting at the heart space.
And feeling these rhythms travel through your body as rivers of energy.
The circle of breath connecting us with the circle of life.
This cyclical rhythm allowing for a reconnection with all that moves and nourishes life.
The in and out flow of breath connecting us with the cycles of the coming and going of day and night.
Remembering that our bodies are expressions of the cycles of nature herself.
The movement of breath reflected in the ebb and flow of ocean tides.
The breath as an expression of the dawning of a new day and the easing into night.
Sensing the flow of breath.
The in-breath opening into the day.
The out-breath descending into the night.
The expanding opening energy of the in-breath.
The calming grounding energy of the out-breath.
Noticing the movement of day into night and night into day.
This rhythm that moves in cycles.
The rhythm of life.
And let yourself be more relaxed and peaceful with each breath,
Knowing how it connects you deeply with the rhythms of life.
Simply being in this flow calls us home,
To a place where we are held and nourished,
Where we can trust and let go.
Letting go into being an openness of awareness.
An openness of awareness that contains all the comings and goings.
An openness of awaring presence.
This is the state of awareness that is Yoga Nidra.
And now we will include the quantum breath while we follow each breath with conscious curiosity.
This time inhale through the nose,
Feeling the lungs naturally,
Abdomen rising.
Then with the outgoing breath,
Slightly contract the back of the throat,
Creating the ocean sound.
Abdomen may activate slightly.
Inhale in-breath,
Abdomen rising.
And exhaling with the ocean sound,
Slowing the passage of breath.
Breathe in normally.
Breathe out with the ocean sound.
Breathing in your body's own natural rhythm,
Without any strain or effort.
Breathing with Ujjayi on the out-breath.
Now let go of the ocean breath and be aware of the fields or flows of sensation throughout your body,
In the mouth,
Face,
Scalp,
Neck,
Throat,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Knees,
Toes,
Toes,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
Torso,
Pelvis,
Legs,
Feet,
Toes,
Toes,
Feet,
Toes,
Toes,
Toes,
Feet.
Alert to the body as a field of radiant sensation.
Now bring attention to an emotion that is present in your body,
Or one that you are working with in your life.
Or recall a memory that invites a particular emotion into your body,
And welcoming the emotion as sensation into your body.
Invite this emotion to unfold fully as sensation in your body.
And if no emotion is present,
There is no need to make anything happen.
Simply welcome whatever is present.
And if an emotion is present,
Where are you feeling it in your body,
Allowing it to blossom fully while welcoming thoughts,
Images,
Or memories that co-arise with this emotion.
And then,
If it is helpful,
Allow an opposite emotion to emerge,
Perhaps recalling a memory that invites this opposite emotion into your body.
If an opposite emotion is present,
Where do you experience it in your body?
Take your time,
And welcome this opposite of emotion.
And be aware of all that is now present in your awareness.
Feeling yourself as the one who is aware of everything that is now present.
Feeling what is present,
Then experiencing yourself as the field of awareness in which everything is arising.
Be aware of all that is now present in your awareness.
Feeling yourself as the one who is aware of everything that is now present.
Sensing what is present,
Then experiencing yourself as the field of awareness in which everything is arising.
And the Great Mother said,
Come and give me all that you are.
I am not afraid of your strength and darkness,
Of your fear and pain.
Give me your tears.
They will be my rushing rivers and roaring oceans.
Give me your rage,
It will erupt into my molten volcanoes and rolling thunder.
Give me your tired spirit,
I will lay it to rest in my soft meadows.
Give me your hopes and dreams,
I will plant a field of sunflowers and arch rainbows in the sky.
You are not too much for me.
My arms and heart welcome your true fullness.
There is room in my world for all of you,
All that you are.
I will cradle you in the boughs of my ancient redwoods and the valleys of my gentle rolling hills.
My soft winds will sing you lullabies and soothe your burdened heart.
Release your deep pain.
You are not alone,
And you have never been alone.
Now call in your Sankalpa,
Be it through words,
An image,
Or a felt sense.
Let it echo through you.
Let yourself rise,
As though from ocean depth to the surface of your awareness,
Becoming attentive to your surroundings.
Feeling air on your skin,
Sounds in the distance and nearby.
Now if called to move,
Gradually release out of the position you find yourself in.
Perhaps bend your knees,
Pull them closer to your chest,
Then rock sideways gently.
In your own time,
Turn onto your side and curl up in a fetal position.
Or if you're seated,
Perhaps it's time to stretch out,
But continue to stay connected to this deep inner experience.
As you become aware of your body,
Bring a deep sense of peace and contentment with you as you shift back to your eyes open state of consciousness.
Even if it's time for sleep,
Then drift off now,
Or return fully back to being awake.
Fully replenished,
Fully grounded,
Back in your body,
Feet on the earth,
Connected to your breath.
Notice how relaxed the body is,
How soft the breath is.
Know this is a space you can easily return to again and again.
And this practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Om Shanti.
We come in loving peace,
We go in loving peace.
All my relation.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
