Yoga Nidra In Nature: Retreat To The Hub Of Your Heart

Retreat to the inner core of your Heart, far beyond the outer world of the senses, where you can enjoy the peace, silence and perfect bliss of your own true nature. Now you don't have to board a plane or go very far away in order to enjoy an exotic meditation retreat; just steal some time for yourself, escape to a place where you won't be disturbed for an hour, lie down for yoga nidra and give your self this treat.

Transcript

Namaste.

Prepare yourself for yoga nidra.

Lie down on your back in corpse pose,

Shavasana,

And take this moment to become silent and comfortable.

Withdraw your mind to your inner state of being,

Far beyond the outer world of the senses.

Release your body now and become still.

As the body becomes still,

Your mind becomes silent.

And as your mind becomes silent,

The body becomes still.

Surrender your body to the force of gravity and to the earth beneath you.

Rotate your awareness around the various points of contact where your body meets the floor.

Starting with the back of the head.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Right elbow.

Left elbow.

Right hand.

Left hand.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Right heel.

Left heel.

Feel all these subtle points of contact and the line of gravity between your body and the floor.

Sense the sustained release of the physical body.

Now recall your sankalpa,

Your own personal intention for practicing yoga nidra.

Repeat your sankalpa three times silently.

We will now begin body scan.

Withdraw your mind from the world of the senses and become aware of total and perfect physical relaxation beginning with your right hand.

The right hand thumb.

Second.

Third.

Fourth and fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

The right wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

Right waist.

Thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Right kneecap.

Back of the knee.

Pen.

Calf muscle.

Right ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the right foot.

Top of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth and fifth toe.

The whole right side of the body.

Now perfectly calm and still.

Now your left hand.

The left hand thumb.

Second.

Third.

Fourth and fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Left wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

Left waist.

Thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Left kneecap.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Calf muscle.

Left ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the left foot.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

The whole left side of the body.

Now perfectly calm and still.

Allow your awareness to flow down the front side of the body.

Starting from the top of your head.

Forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The center of the eyebrows.

Feel the pulse beating at the brow center.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right ear.

Left ear.

The nose.

Tip of the nose.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Tongue.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

And the chin.

The throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right chest muscle.

Left chest muscle.

The center of the chest.

The abdomen.

Navel.

Groin.

Right thigh.

Left thigh.

Right shin.

Left shin.

Right ankle.

Left ankle.

Right foot.

Left foot.

Right toes.

Left toes.

The whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Both legs together.

The whole right arm.

Whole left arm.

Both arms together.

The front side of the body.

Back side of the body.

The shoulders.

Neck.

Face.

And head.

The whole body.

The whole body together.

Now feel the subtle points of contact where your body meets the floor.

The back of the head.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Right elbow.

Left elbow.

Right hand.

Left hand.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Right heel.

Left heel.

Feel all these subtle points of contact and the line of gravity between your body and the floor.

Now,

See yourself sitting at the back of a deep and spacious mountain cave.

The depths of the cave are dark,

But the front of the cave is tall and wide,

Opening to a full panoramic view of the eastern horizon.

The area around you is still clad in darkness,

But the first rays of twilight have begun illuminating the night sky.

You quietly sit inside the cave,

When all at once the morning sun rises up from over the horizon,

Sending warm rays of pure light,

Which are now flooding in through the mouth of the cave,

Illuminating every corner and filling your entire being with divine light.

Bring your awareness within the core of the cave.

From the core of the chest to the heart space,

Directly back from the sternum.

Experience the point within the core of the chest where the breath dissolves into inner space.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

And breathe out,

Experiencing the breath dissolve at the same level outside the chest.

Now experience the inner point and the outer point to be one and the same.

Inhale,

Dissolving the breath into the heart space.

And exhale,

Dissolving the breath into the heart space.

Focus your awareness completely on the still point within,

Where the breath dissolves into inner space.

And breathe out,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Now experience the expansiveness of the heart.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the heart space expanding outwards.

And breathe out,

Witnessing the heart space contracting back down to a fine point within the core of the chest.

Inhale,

Expanding outwards.

And exhale,

Contracting back down.

And breathe out,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Withdraw your awareness to the still point at the hub of your heart,

Where the breath expands from and contracts back down to.

Experience the hub of your heart like an island jewel with the breath flowing up and down its shores.

Similar to the motion of the waves rolling up and back down the beach.

The waves add back with the inhalation and then flood forward with the exhalation.

But the center of the island remains still and untouched by the waves of the breath.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Breathe out,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Breathe in,

Experiencing the breath dissolve within the heart space.

Again,

Quickly release all habitually held tension throughout your body and return to the practice of watching the space within the heart expand with the inhalation.

And contract with the exhalation.

Flowing away from and returning back to that point of perfect peace within the innermost core of your heart.

Expansion and contraction.

The breath and inner space flowing together from and back to the heart.

We will now add the practice of so hum.

By witnessing the inhalation flowing in with the sound hum.

And the exhalation flowing out with the sound,

Sa.

Hum flows in.

Continue watching the peaceful ebbing and flooding of the heart space.

Remaining seated in that point of perfect stillness within.

Silently witnessing the natural mantra of the breath hum sa flowing with the breath.

Inhale,

Hum.

And exhale,

Sa.

Focusing on the perfect stillness within the heart.

You may also hear it as so with the inhalation and hum with the exhalation.

Just listen and allow the mantra to flow spontaneously.

As you allow the mind to become perfectly still now.

You can enjoy this experience of deep inner peace.

Deep inner peace and silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

Continue observing the breath,

The heart space,

And the recitation of hum sa with each and every breath.

Five minutes of silence begins now.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

We will now observe five minutes of absolute silence.

Finally,

You are not doing it.

You cannot stop the breath from flowing even if you try.

You cannot stop the experience not of yourself breathing but of yourself being breathed.

You are not breathing.

The breath is breathing you.

Be at one with this life force energy which is breathing through your body.

Release and relax.

Now again recall your intention,

Your sankalpa.

Be sure to use the same exact sankalpa from earlier.

Now silently repeat your sankalpa three times with firm faith and conviction.

Now recall the most pleasant feelings you experienced during this guided yoga nidra session.

Which experiences and learnings do you want to bring with you into both this present moment and the moments soon to follow?

Which feelings,

Sensations and perceptions would you like to experience more of in your interactions with the world and in your way of being?

And what would that allow you to feel more of?

Now bring your awareness back to your body and your immediate physical surroundings.

Take your time.

Very slowly and gently move only a single finger at first.

Then when you are ready,

Begin gracefully moving and stretching your body and open your eyes to end this practice.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Reviews

Relaxing soothing nidra. Thank you