Yoga Nidra: Inner Joy And Earth Harmony
In this soothing Yoga Nidra meditation, you will be guided to connect deeply with a sense of inner joy. The journey begins with a gentle smile, spreading warmth from within the body outward, and extends into the vastness of the natural world. Visualize standing on a magical shoreline, tracing the contours of an island, and feeling the joy flow along the shores of the entire globe. As the meditation progresses, this inner joy radiates, blessing both the body and the Earth. Imagine the glistening waves and wide open skies sharing this joy with all beings, human and non-human, across the planet and beyond. The meditation culminates in a wish for universal happiness, invoking the mantra "Loka samastah sukhino bhavantu," meaning "May all beings be happy through all spaces, dimensions, and time." Rest in the peaceful presence of this boundless grace, feeling connected to the living cosmos and the timeless flow of joy and harmony. Music by Chris Collins
Transcript
And welcoming you to this practice of Selma Nidra.
This is a nature Nidra.
So let yourself make any necessary adjustments so you're supremely comfortable and can reduce any movement as we enter into deeper relaxation.
Your comfort is essential for cultivating and insoling a deep sense of trust and letting go.
So tune in to whether you need to cover yourself up as you drop more deeply into a relaxed state,
Perhaps covering your eyes with a sarong or an eye pillow.
This aids the inward moving focus and fully settling into a position that feels just right.
And allow your attention to turn inward.
Allow all expression to fade from your face.
Tiny muscles around the eyes and mouth,
Cheeks softening,
Sliding down toward the floor.
Softening the jaw,
Letting the tongue rest in the mouth.
As your face lets go,
Notice how your whole body responds.
As you soften into the surface beneath you,
Let your whole body drop into the embrace of the earth.
Know you are welcome here,
In this space,
On this land,
Fully welcome.
And whatever arises within,
Be it sensation,
Feelings,
Emotions,
Images,
Thoughts,
Desires,
Or if any distractions arise from outside,
Allow it all to be here with a sense of welcoming,
An invitation to move you more deeply within.
Knowing all along that you are held here with care,
Entering the state of awareness that is Yoga Nidra.
So we'll take another full breath in together,
And whatever sound emerges,
Whether it's a sigh or a hum,
Just let it go fully.
And again,
Invite an inhale,
And releasing with sound.
Perhaps it's a deep sigh,
And one more deep breath.
Letting go even more.
Feeling yourself beginning to enter a deeper level of inner stillness.
As we enter this Yoga Nidra,
Simply allow your body to respond non-mentally and directly to my words,
Without any interference from the mind.
Now shift from thinking and doing to feeling and being.
Sense the earth rising up to embrace the weight of your body.
Sense the connecting points of your own body with the body of the earth.
Feel your own body fusing with the body of the earth,
Your body and the earth's body becoming one unified body of land.
Now allow us to plant in the heart of the land of the body a seed of intention that is your Sankalpa.
This is a way of being that is born of your heart.
Allow for an intention to arise that might take the form in words,
That are stated several times in the present tense,
Or it could be an image or a felt sense that is an expression of your heartfelt mission or desire,
And let it echo in your body as though it were already so.
If words cannot be formulated in this moment,
Or nothing further arises,
Then simply trust in the deeper,
Intuitive guidance of your own soul's wisdom that already knows the way,
Letting go of any struggle or effort to make anything happen.
Allow your body to find deep rest.
In the rich soils of your body,
And for seeds to grow,
Fresh,
Nourishing waters begin to flow.
Your attention comes to rest on the point between the eyebrows where a spring of pure waters gurgles forth from the intelligence of the earth,
Gaia,
And bubbles down to the hollow between the collarbones.
Here the waters trickle in until they overflow,
And a stream of aqua-clear waters flows down to the right shoulder,
Picking up any impurities along the way,
Flowing into the right elbow,
Into the wrist,
And then whirlpooling in the palm of the hand,
Then brimming over into each finger.
The waters flow back up to the palm,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Bubbling over the hollow between the collarbones.
Sense throughout the whole right arm,
Like little rivers,
The capillaries,
Veins,
And arteries cleansed of any impurities,
Outgrown habits,
And patterns that no longer serve.
Letting them drain out the fingertips.
Then the stream of aqua-clear waters flows down to the left shoulder,
Picking up any impurities along the way,
Flowing into the left elbow,
Into the wrist,
Then whirlpooling in the palm of the hand,
And brimming over into each finger.
The waters flow back up to the palm,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Bubbling over the hollow between the collarbones.
Sense throughout the whole left arm,
Like little rivers,
The capillaries,
Veins,
Arteries cleansed of any impurities,
Outgrown habits,
And patterns that no longer serve.
Letting them drain out the fingertips.
The waters cascade down the central channel,
Orbiting at the heart,
Then continuing to circulate at the navel.
Then the waters pool in the right hip,
Overflowing down the right leg into the knee,
Ankle,
Pooling in the sole of the foot,
Which in turn flows into each toe.
As the toes fill up,
The aqua-clear waters return to the whirlpool in the sole of the foot,
Filling to the ankle,
Knee,
Hip.
Sense the whole right leg radiating,
Washed clear of all outworn patterns and habits.
The current flows across the mound of the pelvis,
Gathering as a whirlpool in the left hip,
Streaming down the left leg to the knee,
Ankle,
Pooling in the sole of the foot,
And pouring into all the toes,
Which in turn whirls in the left sole,
Up to the ankle,
Knee,
Hip.
Sense the whole left leg,
As luminous sensation,
Washed clear of all outworn patterns and habits.
The waters circulate through the pelvis,
And like a gentle tidal wave swelling up the river valley of the spine,
Wash out into the Earth's vast oceans.
Sense the land of your body vibrating with radiant sensation,
As the network of little rivulets run clear.
Sense the land of your body as one global field of sensation,
Vibrating with clarity and radiance.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Follow and feel the entire passage of breath as it moves in and out.
With the next inhale,
Breathe in through the nose,
Fill the lungs naturally,
And as you exhale,
Gently contract the back of the throat,
Creating an ocean sound.
Inhale normally,
Exhale with ocean sound.
In your own rhythm,
Inhaling normally,
Exhaling with ocean sound,
Without strain or struggle,
Slowing the passage of breath.
Be absorbed in the sound and sensation of the exhaling breath as though riding ocean waves to shore.
This time as you inhale,
Pause for a moment at the top of the inhalation,
Before exhaling with the ocean breath.
And again for the next several breaths,
Inhale fully,
Pause at the top of the inhalation,
Then exhale with ocean sound.
Now on the next breath,
Allow the breath to naturally pause at the top of the inhale and at the bottom of the exhale.
Inhaling fully,
Pause at the top.
When a gentle urge arises,
Exhale and allow the breath to gradually terminate at the bottom.
With the pause at the bottom,
And continuing for the next several breaths.
Now allow attention to be drawn in with the breath up to the eyebrow center.
As you exhale with the ocean breath,
Allow attention to softly rest at the eyebrow center.
Continuing a few more waves of breath in this way,
Maintaining focus in the eyebrow center.
As you become more relaxed,
The breath naturally becomes soft,
Gentle,
And finding your own natural rhythm of breath.
Breathing normally,
As you melt into the field of silence,
Merging like a drop into the ocean of beingness.
Here all doing stops.
And now see before your mind's eye,
Or if visualization does not come easily,
Simply sense what this journey evokes.
Your feet,
Embedded like a tree,
Standing on the shoreline of an emerald island,
Dense with lush green jungle behind you.
Your toes,
Like roots,
Lightly grip the soft sands as you sense the waves roll and foam onto shore.
You hear the rhythmic crash of each wave as though holding a drumbeat to your own breath and heart's rhythm.
The earth's own breath,
As a warm breeze,
Touching your arms,
And like fluttering leaves on a tree,
Wafts through your hair.
The fireball in the sky,
Bright in the crisp blue sky,
Kisses your skin with its nurturing warmth.
A cloud passes over the great fireball in the sky,
Momentarily kicking up stronger and cooler gusts of wind.
The glistening waves stretching to the horizon momentarily lose their glitter as the sun disappears behind the passing cloud,
Casting a shade across the landscape.
But moments later,
As change is inevitable,
The sun's rays and warmth emerge anew,
Touching your face once more as the cloud continues to drift across the vast blue sky.
You settle into the sands and continue to gaze out at the glistening waters that stretch into the endless horizon.
Just like the passing cloud temporarily covers the warmth of the sun,
A feeling of longing arises within you.
If it's helpful,
Bring up a memory that stirs this feeling of longing.
You find yourself curious,
And allow this feeling of longing to be fully felt.
Feel into longing,
Longing,
Longing.
If nothing in particular arises,
Just allow whatever is present to be here.
Then your attention returns to the breathtaking view of the sky and sea.
A feeling of contentment arises.
If it's helpful,
Bring a memory to mind that now invites a feeling of contentment.
Allow this feeling of contentment to blossom and to be fully felt.
Feel into contentment,
Contentment,
Contentment.
Just allow whatever is present to be here.
Now notice that just like the wide open sky that can allow for the clouds to pass and the winds to gust,
So can you be present to and hold equally the longing and contentment arising within you.
Feeling both the longing and contentment.
You are like the wide open,
Spacious sky,
Untouched by the passing of rainstorms,
Clouds,
Rainbows,
Birds,
Airplanes flying through it.
The sky simply allows without judgment,
Completely untouched,
Yet retains a capacity to hold it all.
Just as you too can hold every lived experience arising within you.
Just in this knowing,
This remembering that you are like the wide open,
Vast sky that holds all that passes through it,
Yet remains untouched by the coming and going of it all.
From this remembering,
A spark of joy grows in your heart.
An inner smile is felt and it spreads from your heart center into all your organs,
Throughout the torso.
Sensing every organ smiling.
Heart.
Smiling.
Lungs.
Smiling.
Stomach.
Liver.
Smiling pancreas.
Small and large intestines.
Smiling kidneys.
All the organs smiling.
Whole torso smiling.
This inner smile spreads and moves into your arms.
Legs smiling.
Head.
A little smile appearing on your lips.
The whole body smiling from the inside out.
Sense the inner joy spreading out into the space around you.
Spreading along the magical shoreline of this island you stand on.
Tracing the shorelines of the entire globe.
Inner smiling joy blessing your body as much as the land.
The glistening rhythmic waves.
The wide open skies.
Blessing all the humans and non-humans alike who inhabit it and beyond.
Spreading across the entire earth.
Smiling for the earth.
Spreading it into the far reaches of the living cosmos across all spaces,
Dimensions,
And time.
Loka Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu.
May all beings be happy through all spaces,
Dimensions,
And time.
Rest in the presence of this.
You have entered the domain of grace.
In these fertile soils of awareness,
Invite your intention,
Your Sankalpa back in.
This way of being that is born of your heart.
Allow for your Sankalpa to take form through words that are stated several times in the present tense,
Or an image or felt sense that is an expression of your heartfelt mission or desire and let it echo through the body as though it were already so.
Or simply trust in the deeper intuitive guidance of your own soul's wisdom that already knows the way.
Slowly become aware of the gentle rise and fall of your belly with the in and out flow of breath.
When there is a natural urge to rise to the surface of awareness,
Allow yourself to drift without effort,
Without pull,
A natural rising back into eye's open state of consciousness.
As your consciousness rises,
Keep a tendril of your awareness connected to the deep knowing of our inter-beingness with all living things,
And to your own body's wisdom that knows it is part of this endless rhythm of life,
An ancient knowing to be remembered.
You share the same life force as all the elements and beings of nature across all spaces and time.
Know you are now fully recharged by the touch of this nature,
Nidra.
Now sense your own body resting on the earth's body.
Become aware of the sensation of air touching your skin,
The sensation of the in and out flow of your breath,
The ebb and flow of the oceanic breath tides.
Take a moment to revisit your sankalpa one more time,
Either stating it in the present tense with words or tuning into the felt sense or simply trusting the deeper guidance of your heart's wisdom.
And when you're ready to invite some movement back into the body,
Begin to stretch with generosity,
With luscious ease and movement,
And invite whatever brings delight,
Whatever place or person or creature or plant or smell or song or sound or feeling that brings delight,
Welcome it in.
Welcome it in with generous warmth and love.
And if you find yourself at the end of your day,
Then allow yourself to drift off into the night.
And if you have the day ahead of you,
Then begin to stretch,
Wriggle and yawn,
Sensing yourself rested,
Grounded and open,
Beginning to shift and coming back fully in your body,
In the space,
Anchoring to your breath.
Notice the sounds around you,
Sensing the temperature of air on your skin and the earth herself holding you.
And then slowly rolling off to one side,
And in your own time,
Bring yourself gently back to a seat.
The Soma Nidra,
This nature Nidra,
Is now coming to a close.
Om Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti.
