Yoga Nidra Nature Visualization 2 - Elements Of Nature

To prepare for this extended yoga nidra practice,

Settle onto your back.

Make any adjustments you need to find a place of easy stillness.

A place where your body can remain motionless until the end of practice.

You can place something under the knees or head.

Palms should be turned up with nothing touching the fingertips.

Allow the abdomen to be loose.

Check that the head and spine are in a straight line.

Lengthen the back of the neck by tucking the chin slightly under.

Before we move into the practice,

You will need to choose a sankalpa.

This is an affirmation or a resolve for the practice today.

It should be something positive you would like to see happen in your life.

Turn this affirmation into a phrase such as,

I am in radiant health,

Or I am achieving my potential.

Picture it clearly in your mind.

The image will be powerfully imprinted in your subconscious as you move deeply into the practice.

You will have the opportunity to reflect on your sankalpa at the beginning and at the end of this practice.

Begin now to let the weight of the body settle back.

The collarbones and the shoulders releasing.

Opening the chest to breathe.

Simply observe the breath moving in and out of the body.

Notice the gentle rise and fall of the belly.

Chest expanding on the in-breath,

Softening on the out-breath.

Notice the quality of the breath.

Cool as it enters the body and warm as it leaves.

Then you can taste the breath as it moves,

Like a liquid,

Past the base of the tongue.

And finally,

Listen to the sound of your breath as it moves deep into the chest,

Like a gentle wind in a cave.

Move your awareness now to the toes.

Begin to notice the warm sensation as your blood brings oxygen,

Nutrients,

And prana to the feet.

Let the toes begin to soften.

Allow this feeling to spread through the soles and arches of the feet,

To the heels and ankles,

The shins and calves.

Allow the knees to open and relax.

The synovial fluid in the joints moving freely.

Hamstrings and thighs releasing.

The whole of both legs from the toes to the hip sockets,

Relaxed and resting on the earth.

Now bring your awareness to the tips of the fingers.

Again,

Notice the sensation of your blood circulating through the palms of the hands,

The backs of the hands,

And the wrists.

Forearms and elbows soft.

The upper arms relaxed.

The whole of both arms resting on the earth.

Move your awareness to the back of the hips.

The full weight of your hips and pelvis releasing.

Soften the spine in the low back,

The mid-back,

The upper back between the shoulder blades.

The whole length of the spine and head sinking back.

With each exhalation,

The lower belly softens even more.

Solar plexus and mid-belly open.

And deep inside your chest,

Feel the muscles around your heart begin to melt.

Let this feeling spread through the whole of the chest and shoulders.

The throat opening and soft,

And inside,

Release the root of the tongue.

And now the jaw,

The ears and temples relaxing.

The lips and cheeks softening.

And inside your face,

Feel the sinuses opening to the breath.

Release the eyelids and the muscles around the eyes.

The eyes are resting back in their place.

And feel the space between the eyebrows begin to soften.

The feeling spreading to the forehead and to the crown of the head.

The full weight of the head resting back onto the earth.

And now imagine the whole body sinking back,

Falling into a deep feather bed mattress,

Completely relaxed.

Now picture the sankalpa or affirmation you chose for today's practice.

Your affirmation will have more power if you picture it from a place of gratitude.

Continue in this place of gratitude as you now repeat to yourself the words of the affirmation three times.

Again,

Feel a deep sense of gratitude knowing that it is already accomplished.

Now be in this place of deep relaxation as we practice the rotation of consciousness in the body.

Simply bring the awareness to each part of the body as you hear it described.

Notice any sensations as you go.

If you become distracted or notice the mind wandering,

Simply return to the practice.

We will begin with the right hand thumb.

Bring your complete awareness to your right hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Right ring finger.

Pinky finger.

Palm of the right hand.

Back of the hand.

The wrist.

The right forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

The right shoulder.

The right armpit.

The right chest.

Right waist.

The hip.

And the thigh of your right leg.

The knee.

The shin.

The ankle.

The heel.

Sole of the right foot.

Top of the foot.

Big toe.

Second toe.

Middle toe.

Right fourth toe.

Little toe.

Move your awareness to the left side of your body.

The left hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

The left ring finger.

Pinky finger.

The palm of the left hand.

Back of the hand.

The wrist.

The left forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

The left shoulder.

Armpit.

The left chest.

Left waist.

The hip.

And the thigh of your left leg.

Knee.

Shin.

Ankle.

The left heel.

Sole of the left foot.

Top of the foot.

The left big toe.

Second toe.

Middle toe.

Left fourth toe.

Little toe.

Now all of the toes on both feet.

Both feet together.

Both ankles.

Both shins and calves.

The knees.

The thighs and hamstrings.

The buttocks.

Hips.

Both sides of the waist.

The ribcage.

The shoulders.

The upper arms.

The elbows.

The forearms.

The front and back of the hands.

The fingers on both hands.

Now the throat and the back of the neck.

The jaw.

The ears and the temples.

Both lips.

The cheeks.

The bridge of the nose.

Eyebrow center.

Both eyebrows and the whole of the forehead.

The whole scalp and crown of the head.

Now just the back of the body.

The back of the head.

The back of the neck.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Right side of the back.

Left side of the back.

The whole length of the spine.

Right hip.

Left hip.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Back of the right leg.

Back of the left leg.

Heel of the right foot.

Heel of the left foot.

Say to yourself,

I am awake.

I am practicing yoga nidra.

And bring your awareness to the front of the body.

Begin with the crown of your head.

The forehead.

The right temple.

Left temple.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Eyebrow center.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Both eyebrows together.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Bridge of the nose.

Right cheek.

The left cheek.

Both cheeks together.

The upper lip.

The lower lip.

Both lips together.

The chin.

The whole jaw.

The throat.

Right shoulder.

Left shoulder.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right arm.

Left arm.

Both arms together.

Right chest.

Left chest.

The breastbone as the center of the chest.

The whole chest together.

The upper abdomen.

The lower abdomen.

The whole abdomen together.

The right groin.

The left groin.

The right leg.

The left leg.

Now both legs together.

The whole front body together.

The whole front body together.

The whole back body together.

The whole back body together.

Now the whole body together.

From the crown of your head,

Move your awareness inside to the area of the brain.

Notice any sensations there.

Notice the inside of your sinuses.

The area behind the eyebrows and the bridge of the nose.

Deep inside your inner ears.

The soft palate on the roof of your mouth.

The root of the tongue.

The inside of the throat.

Bring your awareness to the inside of your chest.

The heart and lungs.

Imagine that you can feel the bones inside your fingers.

In the hands,

The wrists,

The forearms,

The elbows.

The upper arms and shoulder sockets.

Sense the inside of your upper abdomen and imagine that you can feel the organs there.

And the lower abdomen.

Bring your awareness to the hips and bones inside the hips.

Bones of your thighs,

The knees,

And the kneecaps.

The lower legs and the inside of your feet.

Feel the inside of your toes.

Be aware of the whole body inside.

Remain awake.

Come back to the breath.

The breath is more open now.

Moving freely in and out of the body.

Just you and the breath.

Notice the breath moving freely through the nostrils and in the sinuses.

Now we will count the breaths backwards starting with the number 57.

As you count to yourself,

Allow yourself to relax into the natural rhythm of the breath.

If the mind wanders,

Simply start again with the number 57.

Stay focused on the breathing and on the counting.

Let's begin.

Breathing in,

57.

Breathing out,

57.

Breathing in,

56.

Breathing out,

56.

Breathing in,

55.

Breathing out,

55.

In,

54.

Out,

54.

Continue counting.

Keep full awareness on the counting and the breath.

Stay focused on the breathing.

Now stop continuing to count and return your awareness to normal breathing.

It's not important if you finish counting down to zero.

Just return to the natural breath.

Enjoy the sensation of the breath entering and leaving the body.

And take a moment to fully experience the stillness between each breath cycle.

Come back to an awareness of your body lying in this room.

Begin to experience the sensation of gravity.

Like a thick warm blanket covering the whole body.

Imagine now that the body is becoming heavy.

Feel the weight of the body as it sinks towards the floor.

Now feel the weight of your head sinking back.

The weight of your right hand.

The left hand.

The weight of both arms and shoulders.

Be aware of the whole back heavy against the floor.

The hips and the buttocks are heavy.

The right leg is heavy.

The left leg is heavy.

Feel the weight of the right foot and the left foot.

The muscles of the face,

The lips,

And the cheeks.

And the eyes sinking back into their sockets.

Now feel the weight of the whole body.

The whole body is heavy.

Every cell is heavy.

Now relax that feeling.

The whole body is becoming light.

Almost weightless.

You are so light that you're barely touching the floor.

Like a feather ready to float away.

The head is light.

The right hand is light.

The left hand is light.

Now both arms and shoulders are light.

Feel the whole of your back lightly touching the floor,

Almost floating.

The groin and the buttocks are light.

The right thigh,

Knee,

And calf are light.

Now feel lightness in the left thigh,

Knee,

And calf.

The right foot and the left foot are light.

Now experience the sensation of heat in the body.

Imagine that heat radiates from deep inside your body like a furnace.

The whole body sweltering in the heat.

Feel the blazing heat of the desert sun against your skin.

Intensify the feeling of heat.

Make it as vivid as possible.

Change that feeling to cold.

Experience the sensation of overwhelming cold.

Feel a cold arctic wind permeating the marrow of your bones.

Feel cold in your arms,

In your legs.

Feel the coldness down your back,

Intensifying the experience of cold.

Begin to withdraw your mind and concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyes,

Your third eye center.

Imagine before you a transparent screen through which you can see infinite space,

A space that extends as far as the eye can see.

Concentrate on this dark space and become aware of any phenomena that manifests within it.

Whatever you see is the manifesting of your mind.

Continue your awareness of this space but do not become involved.

Practice detached awareness only.

Keep your mind focused there and visualize each image as you hear it.

Allow the image to be as it first appears in your mind.

Don't judge.

Simply allow the following images to unfold.

A calm moonlit lake.

A dog running.

A mountain range on the horizon.

A field of wildflowers.

A warm campfire.

The Milky Way.

A red carnation.

A white carnation.

A snow-capped mountain.

A tall redwood.

The full moon.

A golden pyramid.

A spider on its web.

Autumn leaves.

A ballerina.

The setting sun.

A wide river.

A ship on the ocean.

Deer in the meadow.

The moon in a clear sky.

A deep well.

Storm clouds moving across the sky.

Waves washing in and out on the beach.

Keep your awareness at the eyebrow center.

A palm tree on a remote beach.

A waterfall in the forest.

A flock of geese in formation.

A cold mountain lake.

A summer breeze.

A sleeping lion.

An orange.

A dove.

A Greek temple.

Dark clouds.

A sand dune in the desert.

Heavy rain.

Rolling waves on the ocean.

A bird in flight.

A forest path.

A snowstorm.

The setting sun.

A mountain meadow.

The full moon.

Waves at the beach.

Blue water.

A cloudless sky.

A small temple in the woods.

Yellow flowers in a field.

A grove of trees on a hilltop.

A deserted beach.

A deserted beach.

Now see yourself walking on a deserted beach.

And feel the soft sand under your feet.

The sky is clear all the way to the horizon.

You find a place to lie down in the sand.

You feel your body relaxing back into the warm sand.

Letting everything go.

The sun warming your skin.

A gentle breeze blowing against your skin.

You hear sounds of the ocean.

You are content.

Completely alive in this moment.

Completely aware of how you feel.

Knowing everything is as it should be.

Now return your awareness to your breath.

Be aware of the sensation of the breath moving slowly in and out of the body.

Moving in through the nostrils.

The nasal passages.

And deep into the body.

Imagine now that the whole body is breathing.

Your legs are breathing.

Your arms are breathing.

The energy of the breath radiating out of the chest and permeating your entire being.

And stay here.

Resting deeply.

Breathing.

Now as you allow your breath to return to normal once again,

Visualize your sankalpa or affirmation.

Return to a feeling of deep gratitude as you repeat your affirmation to yourself three times.

Bring your awareness back to this room and be aware of yourself lying here on this mat.

In your mind's eye,

Picture the floor beneath you.

The walls and the ceiling above.

Notice any sounds in the room.

And outside the room.

Now allow the breath to deepen.

Draw the breath deep into the body.

Down to the toes and out through the fingertips.

Up to the crown of the head.

Begin making small movements in the fingers and toes.

The head gently rocking from side to side.

Maybe adding some gentle movements in the hips and shoulders.

Take as much time as you need.

Take another breath in and stretch the arms overhead.

Breathing into the stretch.

And when you're ready,

Roll to your right side cradling your head in your right arm.

Gently and mindfully come up to a seating position.

Bring your hands to your heart center.

Gently open your eyes.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Namaste.