Embers Within: A Fire-Inspired Yoga Nidra

Welcome beautiful soul.

Welcome to this full yoga nidra around the fire within.

Yoga nidras are effortless.

We simply use our awareness and allow it to be guided through the subtle selves.

So go ahead and find yourself in a place of comfort lying down on your back or on your side even sitting back in a lazy chair.

Just make sure that you are supporting your body.

You can do this with pillows or blankets rolled up.

You can put a blanket on or an eye mask that allows you to block out the light.

But let your body feel into the support beneath it.

So before we go into stillness just take a moment to scan your body allowing your awareness to move across your body to see if there's anything that wants to be moved.

Maybe wiggled or you can knock with a loose fist in an area.

You might even want to use a hand to massage an area just to allow for that sense of effortlessness and support so you can really let go and really tend to the fire within.

When you're ready moving into stillness letting your body soften into the surface beneath you.

I invite you to close your eyes gently and begin to arrive into this moment in your body here and now.

Inviting your awareness across your eyes and all of the muscles around the eyes.

Inviting them to soften back and down.

You don't have to do any work.

Remember this is effortless.

Maybe even allowing your awareness to go to the jaw and the jaw muscles.

Connecting all the way back to to the tongue the back of the tongue and all those muscles braiding around the neck.

Inviting them to relax to let go hand over control for just a little while.

Inviting your muscles the larger muscle groups like the shoulders the hips the glutes the thighs just softening into the support beneath them.

Almost like the release when you sigh.

You could imagine that as physical movement in each of those muscle groups.

And let's just take a few breaths to arrive even more in the present moment.

We're just going to move through a few physiological sighs as a way to find presence in our nervous system.

It's two gentle sips of air in through the nose gentle pause and then opening your mouth and sighing out.

It sounds like this so we'll do it all together and then you can do it at your own pace.

Two gentle sips in through your nose gentle pause and a sigh out and continue with this breath.

Two gentle sips in through the nose a few more arriving into the presence calming the nervous system letting our nervous system know it is safe to be effortless and it is safe to stoke this fire of the flame within.

It's two gentle sips in through the nose opening the mouth and sighing out and on the exhale you can release feel the release feel the support that you're releasing into and one last time inhaling two gentle sips in through the nose opening your mouth and sighing out and releasing that.

In a full yoga nidra we work with a sankalpa.

A sankalpa is your heart's intention.

It's like your true north and for the purpose of this yoga nidra maybe it's also a whispers of your inner fire.

Now the sankalpa is stated in an I am statement that is positive.

So just for a minute spending a moment of awareness on the heart.

That inner flame at the back of the heart and seeing what your heart your flame is calling for.

You might use I am guided by the fire within where I am honoring the whispers of my flame.

You can use anything that comes to you.

We're going to say the sankalpa silently to yourself three separate times on three separate exhales.

We'll start with an inhale together and on the exhale silently say your sankalpa to yourself and we'll do this two more times at your own pace.

Now we'll begin to travel through your body with the warmth of your own awareness.

There's nothing to do here except allow my voice to guide your awareness.

Imagining a soft flame not burning but glowing.

Almost imagining the halo of light from a flame gently touching each part of your body as I bring your awareness to it.

Let's start with the right side of the body.

The right hand that gentle soft halo of glowing around the palm of the right hand.

Tip of the thumb.

Tip of the first finger.

Second finger.

Third finger.

And the little finger.

That halo of warmth glowing across all five fingers of the right hand.

The back of the hand.

The wrist glowing with that halo of light and warmth.

Forearm.

Upper arm.

And the shoulder surrounded by that halo of warmth.

That beautiful glow.

The armpit.

Right ribs.

Right waist.

Right hip and hip crease.

With that halo of glowing.

That warmth and radiance.

And all sides of the right ankle glowing outward like a halo of warmth.

The right heel.

The top of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second toe.

All five toes of the right foot.

Glowing in this halo of warmth and radiance.

And the sole of the foot.

The left hand.

Palm of the left hand glowing in this halo of light and warmth.

The tip of the left thumb.

First finger.

Second finger.

Third finger.

And the left little finger.

All five fingers glowing in this halo of warmth.

Radiance.

The back of the left hand.

And all the sides of the left wrist basking in this halo of light.

Left upper arm.

And shoulder.

Fully embraced by this halo of light.

This warmth and radiance.

The left armpit.

Left ribs.

The left side of the waist.

And the left hip.

Asking in the radiance and the glow.

The hip crease.

Ankle.

Glowing with this halo of light.

The heel of the right foot.

And the top of the left foot.

The left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

And fifth toe.

All five toes of the left foot.

Radiant in this halo of light and warmth.

Back of the head.

Back of the neck.

And both shoulder blades.

Feeling the warmth and radiance from this halo of light and flame.

The sacrum.

Both glutes.

And feeling this warm radiant glow down the backs of the thighs.

Backs of the knees.

The calves.

And the heels.

The forehead.

The center of the forehead.

The mind's eye.

Basking in the halo of radiance and warmth.

Both eyebrows.

Soaking in the warmth and the radiance.

The globes of the eyes.

The eyelids and eyelashes.

The eye sockets and all the muscles behind the eyes.

The cheeks.

Cheekbones.

Both ears.

The folds of both ears.

Both inner ears.

Basking in the radiance and the space between the ears.

The muscle of the mind.

Soaking in the warmth,

The radiance,

The glow.

The tip of the nose.

Both nostrils.

Both lips.

Inside of the cheeks.

The roof of the mouth and the floor of the mouth.

The tip of the tongue.

And the back of the tongue.

Radiant with this soft gentle warm glow.

The jaw.

Both sides of the jaw.

The chin.

The center of the throat.

The center of the chest.

That radiant halo of warmth.

The solar plexus.

The center of the navel.

The lower belly.

And the pelvic bowl.

Radiant with this soft gentle warm glow.

This halo of warmth.

Glowing light.

And the whole body.

Basking in this halo.

This gentle warmth.

This radiance.

Let yourself rest here for just a minute.

Bringing your awareness to the breath.

There's no need to change it.

Just simply witnessing and observing your breath.

Imagining your inhale like a rising flame and your exhale like embers floating effortlessly into the air.

Inhaling expansion possibility and exhaling softening and release.

Breathing in and feeling the spark of your inner world rise and awaken.

And breathing out letting go into the safety of this moment.

Simply ride the rhythm of your breath.

In to expansion.

Rising flame within and out.

Exhaling,

Softening,

Releasing.

Like a rising flame your inhale grows and out the embers float effortlessly into the air.

Just witnessing your breath and imagining.

Might you now bring your awareness into all of the parts of your body where you feel warmth.

Where you feel warmth spreading.

You might even feel heat pulsing.

And might you bring your awareness now to the places in your body where you feel coolness.

You might imagine it being like a gentle breeze against your skin.

Soothing and light.

Where in your body do you feel the coolness?

And you might imagine it being like a gentle breeze against your skin.

Soothing and light.

Where in your body do you feel the coolness?

And you might imagine it being like a gentle breeze against your skin.

Soothing and light.

Where in your body do you feel the coolness?

And might you just for a small moment bring your awareness to both the places that feel warmth and the places that feel cool.

Feeling them both together.

The paradox.

The possibility of holding both warmth and coolness in one body.

Fire and calm together.

This is where the medicine lives.

And releasing that.

Might you imagine a lantern swinging in a midnight forest.

The breath of a fire dragon as it curls smoke into the stars.

Ashes drifting on the wind of old stories released.

A hearth in an ancestral home.

A candle lit with intention.

The glow of a sunrise after a long darkness.

A phoenix in slow motion rising from the golden dust.

Take your time here.

Let the fire express itself.

Let it cleanse.

Let it whisper.

Beginning to return to your body slowly.

Back to the sankalpa you used in the beginning.

It might have been I am guided by the fire within.

Or I am honoring the whispers of my flame.

We will say these silently to ourselves.

Each on the exhale of 3 separate breaths.

Beginning to feel your breath.

Inhaling into your chest and belly.

Opening your mouth and blowing a cool stream of air out your lips.

One more time.

Inhaling through your nose.

Feel the breath entering your body.

Breathing a cool stream of air out through your lips.

Feel your body soft and steady.

Feel the shape of your body.

The weight of your body.

The angles and curves of your body.

Sense the warmth within you.

The fire that you carry.

Begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes.

You might want to roll a bit.

Stretch.

When you are ready,

Roll gently to your side.

When you rise,

Rise with the flame still burning,

Quiet,

Strong and sacred.

Remember,

The fire within you is eternal.

Thank you for tending your fire with me.

May its warmth continue to guide you.

Namaste.