Yoga Nidra: Journey Through The 5 Elements
Immerse yourself in the serene journey of the 5 Elements Yoga Nidra, an iRest practice that delicately weaves through the elements of water, fire, air, and space. This meditation invites you to explore the sensations of each element, evoking a rich tapestry of feelings that range from sensual and powerful to gentle and connected. Experience the warmth of fire, the gentle touch of air, and the vastness of space, all while embracing both the empowering and contrasting aspects of each element. As you sink deeper into this practice, feel your entire being as a radiant orb of sensation, exhaling and inhaling, radiating peace and wholeness in all directions. This journey nurtures a profound sense of self-acceptance, authenticity, and interconnectedness, leaving you feeling balanced and deeply nourished. Music by Chris Collins
Transcript
So just settling in,
Becoming comfortable,
Allowing the muscles around the eyes to soften.
So if you need to readjust anything to become more of your 5 or 10% more comfortable,
Like any last minute adjustments.
So just beginning to think of a resolve,
Just allowing that to begin floating around and it's important to abide in the understanding that everything you experience works and enhances your understanding of your true self.
This is the essence of this practice,
Yoga Nidra.
And first,
Beginning with the resolve to remain alert,
Aware and present to every experience throughout the entire practice,
Even should sensations of physical discomfort arise.
So accordingly resolve that everything you do supports and enhances your understanding of your true nature.
Just following resolve as your own.
I am awake,
Alert,
Aware and present to every experience during my practice of Yoga Nidra.
Everything I experience supports and deepens my understanding of my true nature.
And then beginning to locate a heartfelt desire.
Heartfelt desire that you feel about yourself,
Someone else or the world around you.
This is a spontaneous desire for health,
Healing or vitality,
For clarity of mind,
For awakening.
So don't hold this desire for the future,
But rather experience it as a present description of your true nature,
Which is always perfect and whole.
So placing your desire in the present tense as an expression of the ultimate truth.
So rather than wishing,
Let's say,
For becoming healthy,
You express health in this moment.
I am health,
I am vitality.
So just taking a few moments to acknowledge the desire as an accomplished statement of truth,
Which you will reaffirm again at the end of the practice.
So just taking a few moments now to affirm this heartfelt desire to yourself,
Putting it in words in the present tense,
And repeating it to yourself three times.
And now moving to body sensing.
So allow the sound of my voice to become a sound of your own voice as we explore the body as radiant sensation.
Bring your attention to your mouth.
Feel and explore sensation inside of the mouth,
The surfaces of the floor,
Ceiling,
And walls of the mouth,
Left and right,
Front and back.
Sense the tongue as a pool of sensation,
The entire mouth as an orb of radiant sensation.
Sensation in the hollow canals of the inner ears,
Tracing the feeling of sensation from inside the ear canals,
Flowing out into the folds and valleys of the external ears,
And the ears as orbs of radiant sensation.
Sensation of air flowing in and out of the nose,
And the nose as an orb of radiant sensation.
The eyes as round orbs of radiant sensation.
Sensation of the eyes radiating back into the head.
The eyes as an orb of radiant sensation.
Sensation inside the head,
Radiating in all directions.
Down into the floor of the cranium,
Out into the front into the eyes and forehead,
Up upward into the crown,
Into the back of the head,
The entire head as an orb of radiant sensation.
Sensation in the back of the head flowing down into the neck,
Throat.
Sensation in the notch at the base of the throat.
Sensation in the left shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the left hand,
Left hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
Right shoulder,
Right armpit,
Right elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the right hand,
Right hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
Simultaneously feeling both shoulders,
Arms and hands as one orb of radiant sensation.
Give up conceptualizing,
Radiant sensation only.
Tracing a line of sensation down from the throat into the chest.
The chest as a radiant orb of sensation that is radiating in all directions simultaneously.
Into the back of the chest,
Front,
Left,
Right,
Above and below.
The abdomen,
An orb of radiant sensation that is radiating in all directions simultaneously.
Into the back of the abdomen,
Front,
Left,
Right,
Above and below.
The pelvis as a radiant orb of sensation that is radiating in all directions simultaneously.
Into the back of the pelvis,
Front,
Left,
Right,
Above and below.
Sensation in the left hip,
Left knee,
Ankle,
Foot,
Ankle,
Knee,
Hip.
Sensation in the right hip,
Right knee,
Ankle,
Foot,
Ankle,
Knee,
Hip.
Simultaneously feeling both hips,
Legs and feet as one orb of radiant sensation.
Give up conceptualizing,
Radiant sensation only.
Radiant sensation radiating in all directions simultaneously.
Legs,
Pelvis,
Abdomen,
Chest,
Throat and neck,
Shoulders and arms,
Neck,
Head,
Feet,
Feet,
Head,
Eyes,
Nose,
Ears,
Mouth,
Toe.
No thinking,
Only sensation radiating in all directions simultaneously.
Feel the entire body as an orb of sensation that is radiating in all directions simultaneously.
Now be aware of the body breathing itself,
Inhaling and exhaling.
Whole body as an orb of radiant sensation,
Inhaling and exhaling.
Feeling only the left side of the body as radiant sensation.
Body breathing itself,
Exhaling,
Inhaling.
Feeling and exploring only the left side of the body as radiant sensation.
Feeling only the right side of the body as radiant sensation.
Body breathing itself,
Exhaling,
Inhaling.
Feeling and exploring only the right side of the body as radiant sensation.
Feeling only the back of the body as radiant sensation.
Body breathing itself,
Exhaling,
Inhaling.
Feeling and exploring only the back of the body as radiant sensation.
Feeling only the front of the body as radiant sensation.
Body breathing itself,
Exhaling,
Inhaling.
Feeling and exploring only the front of the body as radiant sensation.
Feeling only the lower half of the body below the navel as radiant sensation.
Body breathing itself,
Exhaling,
Inhaling.
Feeling and exploring only the lower body as radiant sensation.
Feeling only the upper half of the body above the navel as radiant sensation.
Body breathing itself,
Exhaling,
Inhaling.
Feeling and exploring only the upper body as radiant sensation.
Feeling the entire body simultaneously as one orb of radiant sensation.
No parts.
The body as a global orb of radiant sensation.
Breathing itself,
Exhaling,
Inhaling,
Radiating in all directions simultaneously.
Be aware of sensation in the nose and the sensation of smelling.
Sensations of heaviness and groundedness in the body and the feeling of being safe,
Secure and trusting yourself.
And find opposite feelings.
Feelings of lightness and ungroundedness.
And the feeling of being insecure,
Unsafe and not trusting yourself.
Where in the body do you experience feeling ungrounded,
Insecure,
Unsafe and not trusting?
Now find the sensations of heaviness,
Groundedness and the feeling of being safe,
Secure and trusting yourself.
And go back to their opposites.
Sensations of lightness,
Ungroundedness and the feeling of being insecure,
Unsafe and not trusting yourself.
Now feel all these simultaneously.
Heaviness and lightness.
Groundedness and ungroundedness.
Safe and unsafe.
Secure and insecure.
Trusting and not trusting.
All at the same time.
And experience how this acts on the body-mind.
Water.
Be aware of sensation in the mouth and the sensation of tasting.
Be aware of the experience of wetness in the mouth and the entire body.
And feeling sensual,
Sexual,
Powerful and potent.
And evoke their opposites.
The feeling of dryness and the feeling of being prudish,
Sexually numb,
Powerless,
Impotent and shameful or guilty.
And again,
Experience the feelings of wetness,
Of being sensual,
Sexual,
Powerful and potent.
And sensations of dryness and the experience of being prudish,
Sexually numb,
Powerless,
Impotent and shameful or guilty.
Now feel all these feelings simultaneously.
Wetness and dryness.
Powerful and powerless.
Potent and impotent.
Sensual and prudish.
Sexual and numb.
All at the same time.
And experience how this acts on the body-mind.
Fire.
Be aware of the sensation of seeing through the inner eyes and the images that appear upon the inner screen of the mind.
And experience sensations of warmth or heat around or within your body.
And the feeling of being willful,
Vital,
Capable,
Assertive,
Trusting,
Connected and at ease.
And be aware of opposite sensations of coolness or cold in the body.
And feeling weak,
Incapable,
Confused,
Untrusting,
Invaded,
Disconnected and ill at ease.
Allow these body feelings to manifest.
Don't refuse them.
Let them come.
And sensations of warmth or heat in the body.
And the feeling of being willful,
Vital,
Capable,
Assertive,
Trusting,
Connected and at ease.
And their opposites,
Sensations of coolness or cold in the body.
Feeling weak,
Incapable,
Confused,
Disconnected and ill at ease.
Now feel these opposite sensations and feelings simultaneously.
Vital and weak.
Capable and incapable.
Assertive,
Trusting and invaded and untrusting.
Connected and at ease.
And disconnected and ill at ease.
Experiencing how this acts on the body mind.
Air.
Be aware of the sensation of touch and of sensations upon or inside your skin and the movement of air around and within you.
And experience feelings of love,
Compassion,
Gratitude,
Self-acceptance and connectedness.
And experience their opposites when you feel unloving and unlovable.
Stagnant,
Unacceptable,
Self-hating and alienated.
And then feelings of love,
Compassion,
Gratitude,
Self-acceptance and connectedness.
And feelings of being unloving and unlovable.
Stagnant,
Unacceptable,
Self-hating and alienated.
Experience all these feelings simultaneously.
Sensations,
Movement and stagnation.
Feelings of being loving and unloving.
Self-accepting and self-hating.
Being connected and alienated.
Feel how all these act on the body mind.
Space.
Sensation in the ears and the sensation of hearing and the feeling of space inside and all around the body.
And when you feel authentic,
Honest,
Congruent in your thoughts,
Speech and actions.
And the ability to be visible just as you are.
And feel their opposites.
When you feel a lack of space around or within you.
And when you feel yourself hiding from yourself and others.
When you feel inauthentic,
Dishonest,
Invisible and out of integrity with yourself.
And find their opposites.
When you feel spacious,
Authentic,
Honest and congruent,
Truthful and honest in your communication with yourself and others.
And experience these opposites simultaneously.
Sensations of space and contraction.
Authentic and inauthentic.
Congruent and dishonest.
All of these simultaneously in how this acts on the body mind.
Now locate the feeling of joy somewhere in your body.
You might recall a situation when you felt joyful.
Experiencing once again this feeling of joy in your body.
Then relinquish your memory and simply experience joy residing in your body.
Allow this feeling of joy to evoke an inner smile that begins to pervade your entire body.
Feel this inner smile emanating from your heart center.
Entering into your mouth and lips as a joyful smile.
Into your eyes.
Throughout your chest.
Feel the heart radiating as a joyful inner smile that expands to encompass the entire body.
The entire body caressed by an expressing and joyful heartfelt radiance.
Joy emanating outward into the space all around the body.
Feeling the body and space merging into an orb of joyful radiance.
Radiating joy simultaneously in all directions inwardly and outwardly.
Be aware of every feeling,
Thought,
Or image that is present in your awareness.
Sensing how each of these is a foreground object moving in and against a background of multidimensional spacious awareness.
Sense how each of these objects is foreground.
Surrounded by awareness that caresses and sees each object from every angle.
From behind,
In front,
From the left,
Right,
From below and from above.
Feeling yourself as this awareness that is aware of these foreground movements of feeling,
Thought,
Or imagery.
Noting how the mind becomes involved in these objects by thinking about them or reacting to them.
Or you can be aware of each object as a distinct movement in you.
Each object always pointing back to you as the one who is aware.
Now being aware of being aware.
Be aware of yourself as the background awareness that is aware of every foreground movement,
Feeling,
Thought,
And image.
Each foreground object reorients you to being aware of yourself as aware.
Awareness being aware of awareness.
Don't go into thinking.
Experience yourself as the one who is aware of thinking.
Aware of emotions.
Aware of images.
Awareness being aware and awake.
Awareness knowingly knowing itself.
Awareness that is aware of all objective movements of thinking,
Feeling,
Or imagery.
Awake and aware.
Being the awareness that you are.
Experience how you may feel yourself to be the separate witness of all that is arising.
Allow this experience of yourself as a witness to dissolve until there is only witnessing.
Being awareness in which there is no separate witness.
Only witnessing.
Only awareness being aware.
Living here.
Being awareness.
Multi-dimensional awareness in which everything is born,
Lives and dies.
Feeling yourself as radiant presence,
Open,
Welcoming,
Loving,
Awake,
And aware.
Then allowing your heartfelt desire to now re-emerge and resonate in you.
In the awareness that you are.
Experience this heartfelt desire as a statement and description of the ultimate truth about yourself or another.
Being the awareness that you are.
As you are every morning as the body-mind is waking up.
Being the awareness that you are.
As you are every evening as the body-mind is going to sleep.
Being the awareness that you are in which the body-mind goes to sleep every evening and wakes up in every morning.
Tonight,
Experience your body-mind falling into sleep in you,
In awareness.
And then experience the body-mind re-awakening again tomorrow morning in awareness,
In you.
Experiencing how the body-mind is a movement in you,
Whether it is asleep or awake.
Be the awareness that you are in the midst of waking,
Dreaming,
And even in deep sleep.
In all states and conditions of consciousness,
You are always being awareness.
Now feel the body-mind waking up in you,
In awareness,
And feel it beginning to move.
Coming back to the eyes open,
Alert state of wakefulness.
Feeling yourself as the awareness in which your personality wakes up and moves.
As the body-mind now returns to its mentally alert and wide awake state of living,
Eyes opening,
Mind and body alert and wide awake,
Awake in awareness.
Being awareness is your real nature in all states of consciousness.
This is the realization of Yoganidra.
Thank you for taking the time to practice,
Yoganidra.
It is a service of love we provide for ourself and for all others.
Yoganidra mentors us into the understanding that all is one.
There is no separation anywhere except as a projection of the mind.
We are awareness and all objects are extensions of awareness.
Whenever we are serving ourself,
We are serving all others.
And whenever we are serving another,
We are serving ourself.
And this completes our practice of Yoganidra.
