Yoga Nidra & Light Breathwork - Autumn Crickets

In this Yoga Nidra practice we'll start off by calming down the nervous system with sighs of relief. Then we slide into a soundscape of going through the Koshas of Yoga Nidra. All are infused with nature references and the season of autumn. But you can practice it in any season. We'll focus on letting go and acceptance with gentle guidance and music. The transition is very clear during the autumn as the leaves start to tumble down. Some storytelling and imagery will also be included. The blue shimmering crickets will guide the way. All music is self-composed. I use a keyboard, guitar, mandolin, chimes, and harmonica for this one.

Transcript

Hello, This is Dennis and this is a yoga nidra practice with some light breathing, Some letting go breathing actually. And it's recorded in the autumn, In October, But you can practice this at any time. And it's about letting go, Just like nature does in the season of fall. And the leaves are starting to turn yellow outside my house now. Some of them are still green, But yeah, It's quite beautiful. So start to prepare yourself, Lying down, Grab a few blankets, Pillows, Perhaps cover the eyes with a towel or another blanket. Make yourself as comfortable as you possibly can, A hundred percent comfortable. And if you can't get there right now, That's okay. Maybe you will feel a hundred percent comfortable during or after this practice. And if not, That's okay too. So we're just going to continue with acceptance, Acceptance and letting go. Imagine lying down next to a fireplace in a forest garden, Breathing in the fragrance of the autumn, Jello leaves, Wet ground and soil, Crickets humming softly in the background, Serenading the last breath of the summer before going in to the season of autumn, Of letting go. Take a big breath in from the bottom of the lungs, Expanding the lower ribs through the nose and a big sigh of relief on the exhale. Three more, Dropping the shoulders on the exhale. Going further with nose breathing, Slowing down, Slow rhythmic, Silent nose breathing. With acceptance, We're doing a transition into a new season. Actually it's something that happens all the time, But it becomes very obvious when the leaves start to fall. Maybe there's something that you need to let go of as well. So see this practice as a chance to start again, But to honor what has happened during the season before autumn, In the summer season. Honor everything you've done before. Honor all the positive things you've done before, And it doesn't have to be something huge. And now the days are getting shorter, But the light inside is still glowing. We gotta keep the light inside glowing until more oxygen comes. We harvest our fruits and vegetables. We lit more candle lights. Perhaps we read books and we get warm in front of fireplaces, Keeping that heat that we created in the previous practice, The heat of the summer season. We keep it glowing during the autumn and the winter, And to live according to the seasons is to live according to nature, And that is to live according to home. Nature is not a place to visit, It is home. So release the conscious, Slow nose breathing, If you haven't already. Let the body breathe itself. The crickets are shimmering around you, Keeping you company with our song. As you bring forth your Sankalpa, Your heart's desire. A Sankalpa is the way of your heart, It doesn't need a goal. I'm gonna give you one example that you can use. I let go and I keep my heart's desire glowing. I let go and I keep my heart's desire glowing. You can use this example, Or if you're already working with your own Sankalpa, Use the one that clicks with you, Repeating it three times, Internally. One of the crickets gently comes forward and you feel the cricket's song, Musical notes, Spreading throughout your body, Sending you a shimmering light of music, Going from one point to the next. Starting with your left big toe, Second toe, Third, Fourth, And the fifth. Sole of your left foot, Top of the left foot, Heel, Lower leg, Knee, Upper leg, Right big toe, Second, Third, Fourth, And the fifth. Right sole of the foot, Upper foot, Heel, Lower leg, Knee, Upper leg, Pelvic ball, Abdomen. See if you can soften the abdomen as much as you can. Solar plexus, Lower ribs, Feeling the rising and falling of the breath, The life force inside you, Still glowing. Both of the lungs, Filling up and contracting. Center of the heart, Center of the throat, Left thumb, Second finger, Third, Fourth, And the fifth. Upper hand, Palm of the hand, Wrist, Lower arm, Elbow, Upper arm, Left shoulder, Right thumb, Second finger, Third, Fourth, Fifth. Upper hand, Palm of the hand, Wrist, Lower arm, Elbow, Upper arm, Right shoulder. Face of the spine, Feeling the music of the crickets, Spreading throughout the whole spine, Mid back, Upper back, Back of the head, Feeling how it touches the ground, The support, The support of the soft earth, Soil beneath you, Letting go. Top of the head, Forehead, Softening in between the eyebrows, Around the left eye, Around the right eye, Both eyes, Left ear, Right ear, Both ears. Letting yourself just hear without naming or judging. Hearing whatever the ears are hearing. Sound of my voice, The fireplace, It's just sounds, Airwaves, In the present moment. Left nostril, Right nostril, Both nostrils, Breathing softly, Upper lip, Lower lip, Base of the tongue, Top of the tongue, Left cheek, Right cheek, Shin, Jaw, Softening, The whole body, Softening, Letting go, Let go. Gentle winds, Let it flow, Like the yellow autumn leaves, Falling down, Slowly, Gently, Without any hurry. Nature never hurries, Let the breath of the forest air, Strengthen your body and mind. You are home, Here you feel at home, At ease. You drop out of thinking in straight lines, Structure and logic. Here you can just be, Just as you are, Without any labels, No judgmental thoughts, Coming back to the core of yourself, Flowing freely, Enhancing the life force with the healing code of nature. Shimmering crickets in the forest garden are gathering around you and around an apple tree. Imagine getting up and slowly walking towards the apple tree. You pick up a red, Fresh apple that has landed in the soft dew. You take a bite and you taste the aromas and the sweetness from the fruit. The crickets are starting to climb up the tree and you follow them. You reach the crown of the tree and here you enter a wonderland, Full of red apples, Shimmering crickets humming softly, Beautiful music flooding gently through your veins. The leaves are starting to fall down from the tree and you feel the decay of winter approaching but you feel that that's a part of it. You accept it, Everything needs to change, A chillier sensation, A sensing of letting go spread through your body and mind and then the lingering feeling of the Indian summer returns with some warmth and sunlight in your body and mind. Going back to a colder sensation, The decay of the winter in the body and mind, Returning to the last breath of summer, Some more heat in the body and mind and now both, A colder sensation, The decay of the winter, The last breath of summer, Some more warmth, Going into one sensation, A transition, The in-between state that is actually happening all the time, Bringing you into gratitude of the newness of this moment, Thankfulness of the fruits of the earth, The apples are starting to fall down for insects and birds to feast on, It's all a part of the rhythm of nature, It's all a part of the circle, The crickets have left the tree, You climb down and you stand on the wet grass, Yellow leaves, Orange leaves, Green leaves, Brown leaves are falling all around you, You accept the turning of the season by just observing the changes in your body and mind, You don't have to do anything else, You just need to let the energies, The thoughts, The sensations flow through you and the chirping crickets returns one more time, Creating a half circle around you before returning to their big winter hibernation and as they play their last song, You feel at ease with what is right here, In this golden moment, This shimmering moment, Everything is as it should be, Before you go back into your wooden house, You embrace the turning of the season and you repeat your sankalpa three times inside of you, Returning once again with a few sighs of relief, Inhaling through the nose, Exhaling with a sigh, Again and one more and we're gonna end the session with a poem by John Keats, It's called on the grasshopper and cricket, To celebrate the music of the earth, To honor the season that has come before us and also the seasons in our lives, With this poem we celebrate the beauty of the hot summer as well as in the cold winter, Here in this poem the grasshopper is a symbol of hot summer and cricket a symbol of cold winter, The poetry of earth is never dead, When all the birds are faint with a hot sun and hide in cooling trees, A voice will run from hedge to hedge about the new mown mead, That is the grasshoppers he takes the lead, In summer luxury he has never done with his delights, For when tired out with fun he rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed, The poetry of earth is ceasing never, On a lone winter evening when the frost has rubbed a silence from the stove their shrills, The cricket song in warmth increasing ever and seems to one in drowsiness half lost, The grasshopper among some grassy hills, Moving the fingers and the toes, Stretching out the body, Giving yourself a big hug, Warming yourself with your arms and hands, Flutter the eyes open whenever you're ready, Thank you so much for practicing with me, Welcome back anytime.

Reviews

Thank you for your guidance on a journey of wonder through the seasons.