Summer Theme - Blue Dragonfly - Yoga Nidra

In this Yoga Nidra practice we'll start off by calming down the nervous system with guided gentle breathing. Then we slide into a soundscape of going through the Koshas of Yoga Nidra. All are infused with nature references and the season of summer. But you can practice it in any season. We'll focus on the intensity and fire element of the summer and cool it down with gentle guidance and music. The idea is to find balance, tranquility in the midst of a intense period in life. Some storytelling and imagery will also be included. The blue dragon fly will guide the way. All music is self-composed. I use a keyboard, guitar, mandolin, chimes, and harmonica for this one.

Music and field recordings (nature sounds) by me, Dennis Hollström.

Transcript

Hello, I'm Dennis, And this is a Yoga Nidra practice with some light breath work. This one is called the Blue Dragonfly. It is recorded in the summer, So it's quite infused by the summer season. You can do it at any time. So start to lie down as comfortable as you possibly can. You might want to grab some pillows and blankets, A blanket to cover the eyes. Take your time to make yourself 100% comfortable. Make a little nest for yourself. And start to breathe slowly, In and out, Through the nose. Slow nose breathing, Slowing down the whole system. Simplicity, We want to embrace simplicity with this type of breathing. So the breath is slow, Rhythmic, Low. So even if you breathe gently, Try to deepen the breath within your next inhale. See if you can expand the lower ribs. If it's not possible at this moment, Just turn to yourself with acceptance. Then you might deepen the breath as we go along. So we're going to take a big breath in now, And then extend the exhale, A super long exhale. So breathing in, And a really, Really slow exhale through the nose again, As long as you can. And then breathing in again. A slight activation on the inhale, And a really long, Prolonged exhale. And breathing from the lower part of the lungs, Expanding those lower ribs, Inhaling once again. Open up the ribcage on the inhale, And then a super long exhale. Wonderful. And then slowing down the breath again, Going in to your natural breath. And here, We just observe the breath, Letting the body breathe itself. So going in to this with trust. As you observe the breath, You anchor yourself in the moment, In the newness of each moment. Relaxing the shoulders, Away from the ears, Complete relaxation in the jaw, Complete relaxation as much as possible, Around the eyes and the brain. Stepping in to just feeling, Feeling whatever it is you're feeling, With an open awareness as much as possible. Staying humble towards yourself, Staying gentle, Not forcing anything, Just letting things take its natural course. And with this journey, We go back in to that natural course, In to balance and simplicity, In the midst of the summer, There's a lot of things going on in nature, In the forest, All the bugs, Flowers, All the leaves, Are returning in the summer season. People might step out a little bit more, Sometimes it can feel like a lot, And sometimes you can get lost in this, You might not even noticing that there's plenty going on. So we need to rest, Step back, Get perspective, Before we move on again, In to the blossoms of the summer season. Imagine walking in, In to a green, Lush forest. You step in to a forest grove. You lie down, In the soft grass, In the forest grove, A sense of stillness, A sense of ease. You continue to let the body breathe itself, You let it take its natural course, Just like day and night flowing in to each other, Just like the seasons are flowing in to each other. And with this natural course, You connect with your sankalpa, Your heart's desire, With a sentence, Perhaps a few words, That will summarize and connect you, Connect your heart to the moment. Some attention of what you want to bring in to your life, Right now. It's not a wish, It's something that you already have. If you don't have a sankalpa, Right now, You can use this one, I trust my natural course in life. Repeating a sankalpa, Three times, Mentally, Beside you, There's dragonflies, Flying around you in different colors, Blue, Purple, Yellow, Red, Glowing. A blue dragonfly comes near you and land on your solar plexus, Between your lower ribs. You feel that the summer intensity is softening a little bit, An awareness, And from the blue dragonfly, There's a blue point of light, Going from one point to the next, Spreading awareness throughout the body. And you just simply bring some attention to the different body parts, That this blue point of awareness is approaching. This blue point of awareness is spreading down to the abdomen, Relaxing the belly, Continuing to let the body breathe itself. Feel how the body takes care of you, By simply just observing it. You might feel how the belly expands a little bit, As you breathe in, And going back as you exhale. Let nature take care of you, And rest your senses for a while. Moving further, To the left hip, Inside the left hip, The left upper leg, Knee, Lower leg, Ankle, Heel, Sole of the foot, Center of the sole, The top of the foot, Left big toe, Second, Third, Fourth, Pinky toe, Going back to the abdomen, The right hip, Right upper leg, Knee, Lower leg, Ankle, Heel, Sole of the foot, Center of the sole, Top of the foot, Right big toe, Second, Third, Fourth, And the pinky toe, Going back towards the belly again, The pelvic bowl, The base of the spine, Connecting to the roots beneath you, Feeling how the roots of the trees beside you are supporting you, Sending you strength, Going back and forth between you and the roots of the trees. Feel how this vital energy is spreading from the lower part of the spine, Up towards the middle of the spine, The mid-back, Up towards the upper part of the spine, Upper back, Shoulder blades, Left shoulder, Upper arm, Elbow, Lower arm, Palm of the hand, Center of the palm, Top of the hand, Wrist, Left thumb, Second finger, Third, Fourth, Pinky finger, Going up towards the center of the chest, Sternum, Right shoulder, Upper arm, Elbow, Lower arm, Wrist, Palm of the hand, Center of the palm, Top of the hand, Right thumb, Second finger, Third, Fourth, And the pinky finger, Back again to the center of the chest, Center of the heart, Center of the throat, The jaw, Chin, Left cheek, Right cheek, Upper lip, Lower lip, Upper teeth, Lower teeth, Top of the tongue, Base of the tongue, Left eye, The right eye, Left nostril, Right nostril, Both nostrils, Just observing the breath, Between the eyebrows, Left temple, Right temple, Forehead, Connecting to the crown of the head, An open awareness, Spreading throughout the whole body, Left ear, Right ear, Both ears, Listening closely, Inwards, Listening closely to the center of the heart, And here just continuing to observe however it feels, Inside your heart, Let the heart blossom, Just letting it happen, Going back to feeling the newness of each moment, Anchor the breath to each moment, But also letting go on the exhale, As it changes constantly, From moment to moment, Resting in the beauty of the blossoms, And the green leaves, The animals, The connection to stillness, The gentleness, And let this gentleness take root in the body, Feel all the places where a natural gentleness is taking root, How does it feel, And where can you feel it, And now welcome a feeling of tightness in the body, Feel all the places where a tightness occurs, And where can you feel it, How does it feel, Return to gentleness, To all the places where gentleness occurs, And then welcome tightness again, Perhaps you can feel both of the sensations at the same time, Perhaps feeling that this is the way the body and nature works, Going back and forth between forces and gentleness, Like heat and cold, Day and night, Going back to feeling a tightness again in the body, Just like the power of the summer season, Feeling how the body and the mind is tightening up, Where can you feel it, How does it feel, And now feel how the mind and the body is opening up again, Like a flower, Watering the flower, Sprouting like the leaves, An open awareness in the body and the mind, Notice how it feels to give yourself this kind of space, Going back and forth in your own pace between these sensations of opening up and closing up and closing down, And once again, Distressed in both of the sensations, Feeling them simultaneously blending into each other, Resting in the forest grove, The blue dragonfly is lifting from your solar plexus, Flies up and land between the eyebrows, It makes you turn inwards even more into a memory, Perhaps a certain occasion or a fantasy, Or a fantasy, A safe haven where you feel completely safe, Visualize this safe haven and let yourself rest here for a while, The blue dragonfly lifts once again and flies into the forest, Into the deep forest, And you start to follow it, And you find a little path, And this path was not made of any other human, It was just there, And it feels natural for you to walk on this path, It's your own path, And the dragonfly flies among the trees, Green lush trees, And the sun is peeking through the trees in that light and deep forest of stillness, The path feels completely right for you, And you feel how the shadows from the trees and the sun is giving you a balance of warmth and breeze, The path leads you up to a hill full of green trees, The blue dragonfly lands on the top of the hill and you walk slowly towards it, You're now above the trees, Above the forest, And you feel the heat of the sun, The intensity of the light, But with the energy and the balance from the roots of the trees, It doesn't overwhelm you, It gives you energy, The blue dragonfly flies back into the forest, And you sit here alone, Grounded in light and energy, You let the light of the sun shine through you, Feeling gratitude for the existence of the sun going up each day, You feel like you're becoming one with the light of the sun, A sense of power is increasing inside, A sense of gratitude, And you feel like your whole body is one point of light, Becoming one with the light of the sun, And in the moment you connect to your sankalpa once again, Your own are the example, I trust my natural course in life, Repeating the sankalpa three times, Slowly we return, Observing the presence of the body, The presence of the breath, Taking one big breath in, And then a faster exhale, Again, A sigh of relief on the exhale, Stretching out the body, Rubbing the palms together, And put them over your face, Covering the eyes, Massaging your forehead and the crown of the head, Flutter the eyes open slowly whenever you're ready, Continue to enjoy each moment, Accepting however it feels, Thanks for practicing with me, And welcome back, Anytime.

Reviews

Thank you for creating such a nature inspired healing space. You have a way of engendering such a sense of trust it feels safe enough to let go and truly relax. Thank you for the peace.

Lovely, perfectly paced and music was really soothing

A lovely friendly and gentle practice. Thank you Dennis

Nice, calming. So centering that time just flew. Thank you