Yoga Nidra For The Spring Equinox: Rebirth

Welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra.

I am Shay,

And I'll be your guide today.

Begin to make your way into your Yoga Nidra nest,

Whatever that nest may look like today for your optimum amount of comfort.

You're welcome to lie on your back,

Your side.

You're even welcome to lay on your belly or lean against a wall.

As we enter into this deep relaxation,

Into this state of awareness,

The body temperature may drop.

So you may like to have a blanket to cover yourself,

Socks for your feet.

And I recommend something light to cover your eyes.

It can be a scarf,

A hand towel,

Anything that's easily accessible.

And just know as you make your way into this nest of comfort,

That you are welcome to adjust as much as you need to gather any additional support and props,

Pillows,

Blankets,

Bolsters.

Just allow yourself to find this supreme level of comfort.

And as the body begins to become still,

To rest in this present moment,

Allow the mind to follow.

Begin to notice the connection between your body and the support beneath you.

Whatever it is that you are resting upon or however you are resting,

Just sense that connection between your body and that surface.

Sense your whole body in this space from crown to toe tips and toe tips to crown.

And with awareness on these points of connection,

Begin to sense that these points grow heavier and heavier with the pull of gravity,

The physical body begins to soften and release down into the support of the earth beneath you.

Sense that the earth is rising up to hold you,

Supporting you,

Comforting you.

Now bringing awareness to your breath,

Just noticing the body breathing.

There's no need to shape or control the breath in any way.

Just notice as the inhale enters through the tip of the nose and the exhale exiting through the tip of the nose.

Now imagine that you are drawing a circle around your body.

And the circle can be made of any substance or any material that you like,

Fire,

Feathers,

Flowers.

Sense the whole body resting in the center of this circle.

Know that this is a circle of protection.

Know that this process of deep relaxation and the state of yoga nidra can bring many different experiences.

These experiences are for you,

But at any time that you would like to exit the experience,

You are welcome to move your body,

To open the eyes if they are closed,

And to stop the recording.

So coming back to your body,

Resting in the center of this circle of protection.

Notice once again,

The body breathing.

This time watching as the belly expands on the inhale and falls on the exhale,

Receiving the inhale and releasing on the exhale.

Now draw your awareness to the sounds around you.

Noticing the ones furthest away,

Allow awareness to move from sound to sound to sound.

Know that these sounds remain outside of that circle of protection.

Then drawing awareness to the sounds within the same room,

Awareness moving from sound to sound to sound.

The sounds remaining outside of the circle.

See yourself resting inside the circle and begin to notice the sound closest to you.

The sound of your own breath.

Let the sound of your own breath take you deeper and deeper into rest inside your internal landscape.

Now drawing awareness to the soles of the feet.

We'll begin to wash the body with the breath on an inhale.

Sense that the breath is moving up through the soles of the feet,

Along the length of the legs,

Over the torso,

Over the head and ending at the crown of the head.

The exhale,

The breath moves back over the head,

Down the length of the torso and legs,

All the way to the soles of the feet.

Inhaling,

The breath washes up the body.

Exhaling,

The breath washes back down the body.

Breath moving from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head and back down to the soles of the feet.

Remembering that we're not controlling the breath.

Awareness is just following the breath.

Allow the breath to wash the body nine more times with awareness resting at the soles of the feet.

Just sense the body breathing once again.

Now imagine starting at the soles of the feet that the body is a large,

Solid,

Snow-capped mountain.

The soles of the feet are the base of the mountain.

The crown of the head,

The snow-capped peak.

See the snow-covered peak.

Sense the crown of the head covered with the snow.

You may even begin to notice the chill from the snow.

The skin may feel cool.

Now sense the turning of seasons,

The coming of spring as your skin begins to warm in the sun.

As the skin begins to warm in the sun,

The snow at the peak of the mountain slowly begins to melt,

Creating rivulets that begin to gently run down over the forehead,

The back of the head.

Rivulets that run over the sides of the head and over the ears,

Along the jaw,

The temples,

The brow.

Rivulets of snow melt over the nose and eyes,

The cheeks,

The lips,

And the chin,

Down the base of the skull,

The back of the neck,

Behind the ears,

Down in and through the sides of the neck and the front of the throat.

Sense this fresh snow melt moving over and through the head,

The face,

The neck,

Cleansing,

Refreshing.

Those rivulets of fresh snow melt become a stream.

They move in and over and through the shoulders,

The upper arms,

Underarms,

Elbows,

Streaming through the lower arms,

The wrists,

The hands,

And into each finger and thumb,

The cool water pooling at the tip of each finger and thumb.

Sense the fresh snow melt moving over and through the shoulders,

The arms,

The hands,

The fingers and thumbs,

Cleansing,

Refreshing.

Those streams of fresh snow melt turn into a cascade as the water moves over and through and down the upper back,

The middle back,

Low back,

The whole length of the spine,

Tailbone to crown,

Crown to tailbone,

Cascading over the chest,

The ribs,

The waist,

Navel,

Low belly,

The hips,

Cascading over the glutes and in and through the groin.

Sense the fresh snow melt moving over and through the front and back body,

The length of the torso,

The length of the spine,

Cleansing,

Refreshing.

Sense those cascades turn to a rush,

A rush of fresh snow melt that makes its way down over the upper legs,

The knees,

The lower legs,

Rushing over the ankles,

The tops of the feet,

The soles of the feet and into each toe,

Cool water pooling at the tip of each toe.

Sense the rush of fresh snow melt moving over and through the legs,

The feet,

The toes,

Cleansing,

Refreshing.

Sense the whole body,

Sense the whole body washed,

Refreshed,

Shed of any heaviness,

Any stagnation.

Sense the body blooming,

Full of lightness,

Warming as the season turns.

Rest in this feeling of rebirth.

Once again,

Begin to sense your whole body,

Your whole body.

Allow the breath to begin deepening,

The senses reawakening.

Notice the points of connection between your body and the support that you are resting upon.

Notice any tastes in the mouth,

Any scent in the air.

Begin to hear the sounds around you and visualize the space that you occupy,

The space that your body occupies,

The room that you are in.

And as the breath continues to deepen,

Continuing to bring yourself back into the present moment and back into your physical body.

As you arrive back,

Allow some spontaneous movement to arise,

Touching thumb tips to fingertips,

Or wiggling the toes,

Gently rubbing the tongue over the teeth,

And maybe rocking the head from side to side.

And just know that there is no need to rush this rebirth back into the present moment.

Feel free to allow yourself to drop back into deep rest,

Even sleep if that is what the body needs.

Or you can gently begin to bring yourself back into the present moment.

And I encourage you to,

Even if you're moving back out into the world,

To keep this quality of rebirth,

Softness,

Ease,

And just begin to see the world in maybe this different light.

And if you like,

You are welcome to journal about your experience.

Draw,

Write,

Paint,

Anything that allows you to just embody this deep rest,

This wisdom that comes from the state of yoga nidra,

From this practice of caring deeply for yourself,

Of nourishment,

Support,

And tending to your rebirth.

This practice is now complete.

Thank you for joining me.