One With Nature Yoga Nidra

Welcome to this nature yoga nidra.

The practice of yoga nidra is that of conscious sleep,

Where the body is guided out of its constant state of awareness of stress of rushing of panic or dilemma.

Into a state of subtlety,

Similar to that of sleep.

The body set at ease,

The awareness of the mind can be guided to explore a depth of consciousness,

Not normally accessible in the waking state.

In yoga nidra,

The state of restful ease and awareness can be a beautiful vehicle to explore and illuminate the sources of so many of our waking thoughts.

By withdrawing the physical senses from the outside world,

You can allow for a deep inner healing and fulfillment of deeper levels of who you are.

Gently shifting the mind from a state of feeling the effects of the outside world to a state of creation and freedom.

Freedom in alignment to unconditional love and choice,

Investing time and potential.

Please begin to move towards a comfortable position.

You'll want to remove any tight fitting clothing,

Allowing the body to feel free,

But also secure.

As you'll be in this position for the next 35 minutes,

It's important to take the time now to adjust as needed.

Perhaps you'll bring a pillow under your head,

A bolster or pillow under your knees,

A blanket over top of your body.

The body will want to feel secure and safe.

It's also common for the body to cool,

So covering yourself ahead of time will allow you to remain warm and undisturbed.

Resolve to remain completely still during the entire practice.

I invite you to follow my voice.

You may drift in and out,

And even have periods where you don't hear me directly,

But know that you can always come back to my voice.

If you fall asleep,

Please know that this is fine.

If you notice you fall asleep,

Gently guide the awareness back to my voice.

The invitation for this practice is to remain in a state of conscious awareness by focusing the awareness of the body,

While the body remains relaxed.

The subtle layers of the body can be held gently to release any hidden tension,

Beginning to relax the body deeply,

Feeling the body against the floor,

Inviting all of the awareness into the space between your body and the floor,

Relaxing even deeper.

See if you can become one with the floor,

Where you are no longer separate.

It's just you and the surface.

Become aware of the sounds,

Sounds inside the room,

Sounds outside the room.

What is the furthest sound that you can hear?

Eventually inviting the awareness of sound back towards your body,

Filtering in towards the breath,

Being aware of the breath without changing it.

The movement of time that often seems so concrete,

Stretches and becomes more fluid as you turn your attention inwards,

Releasing any strong focus.

Let your attention expand to sense the rich totality of this very moment.

Every sound,

Loud or quiet,

The texture of the air or the temperature or the fabric on your skin,

The smells of the room around you,

And the dark release of your eyelids over your eyes.

It is now time to form your sankalpa or your intention.

This intention should be precise,

Simple and clear.

The I am statement,

Something that exists already,

Not something that you should achieve.

To hold this intention for the practice,

Try not to overthink it.

Rather,

Find something positive that exists inside of you,

Something that resonates.

Some examples may be,

I am whole,

I'm healing,

I'm expanding,

I'm evolving,

I am love,

I am calm.

Once you have your sankalpa stated internally three times.

First,

We move into Anamaya Kosha,

The physical body.

Remaining aware,

Keeping the focus on my voice movement is not necessary.

As we go through the rotation of consciousness,

Bringing your internal awareness to each part I mentioned,

We will begin with the attention on the right hand thumb,

Right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of the right hand,

Back of the hand,

Right wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder,

Right hip,

Right waist,

Right hip,

Right thigh,

Kneecap,

Right calf,

Ankle,

The heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Bringing the attention to the left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Back of the hand,

The left wrist,

The lower arm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The left shoulder,

The armpit,

The left ribs,

Left hip,

Left thigh,

The left knee,

Left calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Inviting the awareness to bring the right shoulder blade into focus,

Feeling the left shoulder blade,

The right upper back,

The left upper back,

The right middle back,

The left middle back,

The right buttock,

The left buttock,

The spine,

The whole of the back body together,

Moving the awareness up the neck,

In the back of the head,

To the top of the head,

The forehead,

And both sides of the head,

Bringing the awareness to the right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right eye,

The left eye,

Right ear,

The left ear,

Right cheek,

The nose,

Tip of the nose,

The right nostril,

The left nostril,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

Chin,

The jaw,

The throat,

Collarbone,

Left collarbone,

And right collarbone,

The middle of the chest,

Heart center,

The navel,

Abdomen,

The lower abdomen,

The groin area,

And the tailbone,

The whole of the back body,

The whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

Feeling both legs together,

Feeling the whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

Feeling both arms together,

Feeling the whole of the back body,

The whole of the front body,

The abdomen,

The chest,

And the whole of the front body,

And the back body together,

Feeling the whole of the head,

The whole body together,

The whole body together,

The whole body together,

Gently guiding attention towards the brain,

The nasal passage between the nose and throat,

The tongue,

The teeth,

The palate,

Right eardrum,

The left eardrum,

Or the throat,

Next down to the lungs,

Where the air passes through into the right lung,

And the left lung,

Feeling the heart pumping blood through your body,

Feeling the stomach,

The liver,

The right kidney,

And the left kidney,

And feeling the intestines and the reproductive organs of the body,

Feeling the entire physical body together.

We can now guide our attention to the breath,

Where we begin to feel the sensation of pranamaya kosha,

The body in which our vital life force flows,

Bringing the attention towards the breath without changing it,

Noticing the breath as it travels through the abdomen and up the throat,

Without changing the breath,

Keep noticing the breath moving from the abdomen to the throat,

Noticing how the breath moves in the body and how the body moves with the breath,

Can you feel the gentle rise and fall of your abdomen,

And the gentle expansion,

Contraction of your ribs,

Beginning to guide the inner awareness to the palms of both hands,

Creating space to include the awareness of both hands,

Noticing how the breath feels in the palms of the hands,

What sort of feeling do you have in your hands when you breathe in and out,

Allowing the subtle energy to flow in the body,

Becoming more acutely aware of the movement of each breath,

In and out of your hands,

Beginning to guide the attention towards the soles of the feet,

Noticing how the breath feels in the soles of the feet,

What sort of feeling do you have in your feet when you breathe in and out,

Allowing the subtle energy to flow in the body,

Becoming more acutely aware of the movement of each breath,

In and out of the feet,

Beginning to guide the attention to the centre of the chest and heart area,

Noticing how the breath feels in the heart,

What sort of feeling do you have in your heart when you breathe in and out,

Noticing the subtle energy allowing it to flow in the body,

Becoming more acutely aware of the movement of each breath,

In and out of the heart,

Allowing space in the heart on the inhale and allowing the heart to relax into that space on the exhale,

Continuing to feel the breath in the heart,

Breathing as if it were a lung,

Creating space on the inhale and relaxing into that new space on the exhale.

Bringing the awareness a layer deeper,

Bringing into focus the Manamaya Kosha,

Or the mental and emotional body,

Landing into the seat of the inner witness,

Allowing the following sensations to be witnessed,

But not following the story of that sensation,

Just being with it,

Remembering that you are safe,

Feeling the sensation of pain in the body,

Pain,

Pain,

Allowing only the experiences of pain in the body that are ready to be witnessed,

Anywhere in the body that is storing pain,

The memory of pain allowing to flow,

The sensation of pain alive and awake,

Knowing that you are safe here to experience any emotions that arise,

Releasing the sensation of pain,

Resting back into the stillness of the body,

The neutrality and sense of safety invited back into the body.

Once you feel this neutral state,

Inviting the sensation of pleasure,

Pleasure,

Pleasure,

Pleasure being allowed to move inside the body,

However it feels ready to do so,

Any kind of pleasure that the body is ready to witness,

Moving throughout the body,

More and more pleasure awakening inside the body,

The sensation of pleasure alive and awake in the body,

Knowing that you are safe to experience any emotions that arise,

Releasing the sensation of pleasure and resting back into the stillness and neutrality and sense of safety in the body,

Feeling the sensation of warmth in the body,

Fire burning deep inside of you,

Allowing the body to gently warm and soothe any tension hidden in the body,

Feeling the warmth flowing through the body,

Feeling the sensation of cold in the body,

Like an ice cube against the skin,

Or a cool wind against your face,

Allowing the body to gently cool,

Calming the nervous system,

Now feeling the sensations of a hot and cold simultaneously in the body,

Breathing into the sensations of hot and cold at the same time,

Inviting back the sense of neutrality in the body,

Releasing all sensations and allowing the body to relax deeper into stillness,

Gently releasing any remaining sensory experiences,

The breath and the emotional body,

We bring into awareness the jnanamaya kosha,

Or the wisdom body,

The gateway to our inner spirit and essence in the body,

Returning the attention to our inner awareness and experience deeper than that of sensation,

To the feeling of instinct and wisdom,

The doorway to a higher vision,

Seeing and knowledge,

A doorway of spontaneous creation and manifestation,

Letting the doorway open as the mind becomes more expanded in three,

Opening to new possibility in two,

And visualizing the images as they come up,

A burning candle,

An endless desert,

Torrential rain,

Snow capped mountains,

Birds flying at sunset,

Clouds drifting across above a church,

Stars at night,

Full moon,

Wind from the sea,

Waves breaking,

A weeping willow tree,

A tall palm tree,

The rising sun,

The setting sun,

Pink flower,

Lush green leaves,

Lush green leaves,

Lush green leaves,

Connecting to the deep inner wisdom as we embark on a new journey each day,

Each day the mind observes so much of the world around us,

Tapping into this highest form of vision.

Today,

We create a world,

All of our own making.

Today we're blessed by a picturesque landscape of a lush green forest.

Imagine walking through this forest,

Feeling the serenity and tranquility in the air around you,

The light gently caressing your skin,

Feeling the forest mist whispering past you as you walk between the towering trees,

Noticing the subtle silence of the forest,

Noticing what sounds come into your perception when there's no one else around,

Bringing into your awareness the smell of the forest,

The freshness and purity of the air around you,

The smell of fresh moss and flowers permeating your nostrils,

The vivid greenscape and plentiful life occupying your vision.

As you walk along your path,

A tall,

Powerful tree comes into view,

An ancient tree,

A thousand-year-old tree,

The wisdom of a millennia of the forest contained in the tree,

All occurrences in the forest witnessed by this ancestral tree.

The ancient tree humbly welcomes you to its base.

As you approach the tree,

You notice the strength and security of the bark,

Strong and full of wisdom.

As you gently lay your hand on the bark and close your eyes,

You can feel your own heartbeat in your chest.

And as you loosen your focus on your own heartbeat,

You notice that you can feel the heartbeat of the tree in your hand,

The frequency of the tree,

The forest,

And all of nature.

As the frequency flows through your hand,

Up your arm,

And into your whole body,

You can feel your own heartbeat becoming synchronized with the tree's heartbeat and the frequency of the whole natural world.

A harsh line of your body and that of the tree begins to fade away as you begin to become one with the tree,

No longer separate objects in this world.

The tree's branches become your branches.

The tree's roots become your roots.

You can feel how your branches stretch up into the sky and how the roots extend deep into the earth,

Providing nourishment from the light in the sky and enrichment from the rich earth below.

The rich totality and wholeness of your existence is yours to observe and explore,

The warm sun shining from above and the supportive and nourishing earth beneath you,

All merging into an existence free from desire,

Pain,

And form,

Full of limitless potential.

As you begin to merge into the field of unbound awareness,

You begin to see into the Anandamaya kosha,

Or the bliss body.

Her polarity no longer exists,

Feeling complete integration with the universe and an emerging bliss arising within the deepest core of the self,

Remaining there,

The deep inner spring of light.

You realize that even a thousand-year-old tree was once a seed.

By dissolving the mental picture of the tree,

You become aware of what is before all physical life in matter and in space,

Moving deeper into the blissful sheath of Anandamaya kosha as we rest silently into the place before all matter and space.

This is the place that the seed of the sankalpa is planted,

In the deepest garden of your being,

Tuning into your truth,

A seed that you are ready to grow within the garden of your self.

Gently recalling the I Am statement,

A feeling of knowing,

Recalling your sankalpa and repeating it three times,

Mentally and energetically,

With the sankalpa firmly planted in the bliss body,

The center of our being.

We invite back the experience of time,

Your body right now in this moment in time.

Imagine hovering over top of your body and seeing its form laying on the ground,

Seeing the shape of your body,

The color of your clothing,

And the placement of any props,

Everything perfect,

Just as it needs to be,

Allowing the layers of the body to gently come back into form,

Allowing the wisdom and knowledge deep in the body to become planted,

Allowing the emotions and sensations in the body to become planted,

Allowing the breath and life force moving through the body,

And finally allowing the physical form of the body,

Just the way it is,

To take form,

Bringing the awareness completely into the present moment,

Noticing any new sensations in the body,

However small or subtle,

Noticing the smell of the room,

The taste on the inside of your mouth,

Consciously deepening the wind of your breath to touch the entire body awake.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

If you feel called to remain in the lying position,

That is totally fine.

Gently letting the awareness and life flow outwards into the arms and legs.

Whenever you feel ready,

Gently inviting small movements,

Starting at the fingertips and toes,

Working towards the wrists and ankles.

If a stretch would feel good for the body,

Inviting that in gently as well.

When the body feels awake and you feel ready,

Gently coming on to either side of the body,

Supporting the head and neck,

Finally arising to a seated posture,

Keeping the attention inwards and the eyes closed,

If that feels available to you.

We will finish with a short seated meditation.

The mind is drawn to reflecting on our experience,

Gently focusing back to the attention of the gentle flow of the breath,

The breath bringing life into the body on the inhale and allowing the body to relax and release into that space on the exhale.

Keeping the awareness on the breath,

We will sit silently for a few moments and I'll be here to bring you back in just a few minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you everyone.

Namaste.