Yoga Nidra: The Inner Call Of Depth

Welcome to this yoga nidra,

An invitation to retreat into depth and the beauty of the numinous.

Release inside your chosen yoga nidra posture.

Gently allow your eyelids to close like soft petals folding inwards.

Notice the silken space where your eyelids meet a quiet threshold.

Allow any residual tension at the edges of your eyes to soften and drift outwards.

Sense the gentle weight of your eyelids,

A comforting embrace for your eyes.

Turn your gaze inwards and look into the space of your inner being.

Take a breath that feels just right,

A little deeper perhaps,

And as you exhale feel your entire body surrendering,

Sinking into the support of the surface beneath you.

If there are any other subtle movements your body is calling for,

Any final adjustments for greater comfort,

Feel free to make them now.

Perhaps in your shoulders,

Allow them to melt away from your ears as if gravity itself is drawing them down into the supportive surface beneath you.

Perhaps invite a gentle undulation through your spine,

Snaking it a little like a slow fluid wave,

Allowing your vertebrae to find their deepest alignment.

Gently invite your neck to lengthen by tucking your chin in a little.

And allow your pillow to fully cradle the weight of your head.

Feel your surroundings gently embracing you,

A soft cocoon as you become fully immersed in inner stillness.

Allow stillness to infuse every cell of your body like gentle rain revitalising the earth.

Melt into your inner silence.

Let your deep stillness and inner silence like two vast night clouds meet and dissolve into one boundless expanse.

Sankalpa.

Now nestle your awareness into your heart centre in the middle of your chest.

For this yoga nidra stage of sankalpa,

Your innermost wish or heartfelt intention.

Feel how your heart naturally radiates a quiet peace.

Feel its knowing and soft grounding presence.

Visualise this grounding presence deepening as a rich fertile darkness.

Feel it blooming within your chest.

Allow this darkness to expand,

Filling your entire chest cavity and then sinking downwards.

Allow a feeling of deep rest,

Of being held to seep into your muscles,

Softening them and opening the chambers of your heart.

Sink deeper into velvety darkness,

A sacred limitless space.

Pregnant with possibility.

In this deep quiet dark,

Visualise your intentions as tiny seeds resting safely within the rich soil of your being.

Trust that these seeds are already beginning to stir,

Nurtured by the silent wisdom of the cosmos.

Allow yourself to feel the potential for growth,

Even as you rest in profound stillness.

Your sankalpa,

Your heartfelt wish,

Is like planting a seed into this fertile darkness.

It might be very clear to you what it is,

Or perhaps you sense a new aspect wanting to emerge.

Or maybe you just simply feel it.

A natural desire for more depth in your life.

If you have a sankalpa,

Say it inwardly to yourself three times,

Visualise it or just let the desire for depth simmer with potent possibility.

Now we begin a rotation of consciousness.

Let your sensing attention land on each place as it is named.

Let your breath flow freely throughout.

At any time you feel drowsy,

You might lift your chin a little and take a few deep freshening breaths to brighten your mind.

Sense the crown of your head,

Feel into the very top point.

Sense your hairline,

Feel your hair roots release.

Your forehead,

Feel gentle release at your forehead.

Let it smooth out.

Sink into the point between your two eyebrows,

Melt inside the energy here.

Land on the bridge of your nose,

Feel the bone beneath.

The inside of your nose,

Breathe into this space.

Let all the small muscles in your face release.

Move inside your mouth,

Feel its inner landscape.

The moisture inside your mouth.

Tongue lying on the bottom of the mouth,

Let it be heavy.

Tip of tongue.

Teeth and gums,

Let them release into each other.

Root of tongue,

Feel it sink back deeper.

Release the area around your mouth.

Relax into the space just above your top lip.

Let it be an open expanse.

Let the front of your throat be soft,

Like velvet.

Sense your right cheekbone,

Feel its structure.

Sense your left cheekbone,

Feel its structure.

Let your whole jawbone feel soft and released,

Unhinge it.

Move back into your throat,

Feel any vibrations here.

Deepen into the center of your throat as far as you can.

Move over to your right collarbone,

Feel its line.

Right shoulder joint.

Right elbow,

Feel the hinge soften.

Back of right wrist and hand,

Let the bones be loose.

Right hand thumb,

Feel its independent life.

Thumb and fingers of your right hand,

Let them unfurl.

Palm of your right hand,

A gentle pulsating.

The delicate skin on the inside of your right wrist,

Feel its thinness.

The crease of your inside right elbow,

Let the veins here widen.

Move your awareness smoothly over your right bicep.

Feel the muscle release its holding.

Into your armpit,

Let it open.

Into the depth of your right armpit,

Feel the space within.

Deep inside your right shoulder joint,

From front through to back.

Feel the ball socket loosen.

Back over to your right collarbone,

Feel its smooth arch.

Center of your throat,

Return to this deep space.

Left collarbone,

Feel its line.

Left shoulder joint.

Left elbow,

Feel the hinge soften.

Back of left wrist and hand,

Let the bones be loose.

Thumb and fingers of left hand,

Let them unfurl.

Palm of left hand,

Gently pulsating.

The delicate skin on the inside of your left wrist,

Feel its thinness.

The crease of your inside left elbow,

Let the veins here widen.

Smoothly over your left bicep,

Feel the muscle release its holding.

Into the depth of your left armpit,

Feel the space within.

Let it open.

Relax into your left armpit,

Feel the space within.

Left shoulder joint,

From front through to back.

Feel the ball socket loosen.

Back to your left collarbone,

Feel its smooth arc.

Your throat space,

Let it flow like oil.

Flow down into your upper chest,

Feel expansion here with each breath.

The whole of your breastbone,

Feel its solidity soften.

Right ribs,

Let them spread.

Left ribs,

Let them spread.

Stomach,

Soft and at ease.

Like a warm pool.

Navel centre,

Feel gentle peace.

Upper abdomen,

Let go of all holding here.

Pelvis,

Open and spacious,

Feel the wideness.

Base of back,

Strong and stable,

Feel it rooting you.

Now become aware of the entire landscape of your back body.

From the crown of your head to the very tips of your toes.

Feel the back of your body,

Heavy.

Grounding into the deep stable core of the earth below you.

Now feel the front of your body,

Light.

Expanding upwards and outwards into the vast universe above you.

Back body,

Heavy.

Grounding into the earth below you.

Front body,

Light.

Expanding upwards into the vast universe above you.

Back body,

Heavy.

Front body,

Light.

Together.

Back body,

Heavy.

Front body,

Light.

Balanced within.

Back body,

Heavy.

Front body,

Light.

Intertwined.

Become aware of the presence of your breath.

Let the gentle cadence of your breath take you into your inner energy body.

Feel the subtle vibration of the energy field of your inner body.

Perhaps as a slight tingling.

Perhaps as small sensations in your lips,

Hands,

And feet.

Feel your whole body as one unified field of energy.

Let yourself sink deeply into your inner body.

Now move your awareness into the space of Chidakash,

The inner sky behind your forehead.

Picture yourself standing at the edge of a landscape you know well.

One that has offered you much joy and pleasure.

See mountains in the distance.

Hear the clear resonant call of a raven echoing ancient wisdom.

Feel a pull drawing you towards a path.

A conscious turning away from the familiar.

Towards the mountain peaks.

To solitude and a deeper stillness that you now feel as a longing.

As you walk along the path and ascend into higher altitudes,

Your path is undulating,

Rocky in places.

From time to time you notice nature's creatures also preparing to deepen.

A flash of russet fur,

A fox darting into its earth.

A swift movement,

A hare disappearing into a thicket.

A graceful deer pauses,

Its dark eyes meeting yours,

Before it melts into shadows,

Heading for its own sheltered refuge.

You pass an old hawthorn tree,

A silent witness to many seasons,

A reminder of endurance.

Even though the moon is not visible,

You feel its presence,

Its subtle gravitational pull,

Its silent power shaping your inner tides,

Guiding you towards profound introspection.

Feel the firm ground beneath your feet,

The effort of the climb and a growing sense of purpose,

Knowing you are very supported by all of nature.

Finally you arrive at a circular hut on a wide open plain,

Cradled in a vast bowl of protective mountains.

You go inside the hut,

The air is thick with warmth and the palpable presence of your ancestors.

A comforting hum of generations.

Their love surrounds you,

A foundation for the deep dive you are going to make.

You sense the comforting arms of a she-bear around you,

Her fur is thick and warm,

Her breath a gentle rhythm against your back.

She is the guardian of this sacred space,

A testament to the strength that can be drawn from going within.

In the centre of the hut,

A pot-bellied stove radiates deep bone-warming heat.

The crackling fire evokes the primal.

Everything is simple and elemental in here.

Before you,

On a smooth stone,

By the hearth rests a new cloak,

A soul-skin waiting for you.

It is made from the finest naturally dyed wool in a colour that resonates with your soul perfectly,

Deep indigo of twilight or the warm ochre of the earth.

Its colours keep changing until the one you want comes into your mind.

It is lined with the soft down of wild swan feathers,

Unimaginably light,

A symbol of your new grace and freedom.

Before you try it on,

You pause to acknowledge your old soul-skin.

You let it slip from your shoulders,

Feel the gentle release of what you've outgrown.

You notice the texture of the fabric as it falls away,

How lightness replaces its weight,

And you feel the lingering impressions from your journey.

You allow it to fall away with gratitude,

Letting it return to the earth.

You pick up and put on your new soul-skin,

You feel its luxurious softness,

It is a perfect fit,

A true reflection of your deepest self.

You lie down on a soft bed,

Ready,

You feel your mind resting deep inside itself.

You are not just a drop in the ocean,

But the entire ocean within a drop.

Brave,

And you are the ocean.

You are a spark,

And you are the eternal fire.

You are the deep,

Quiet knowing,

At the heart of all things.

The vastness inside you is bigger than all galaxies.

Peace is your natural state.

You feel the edges of your body dissolve into the warmth of the stove,

The embrace of the bear.

You become your new soul-skin.

In the distance,

Wolves are howling outside across the tundra,

Singing to each other and to you a wild chorus of belonging that resonates in your bones.

You are deeply held and loved by your ancestors.

Cradled in this love,

You touch the numinous,

The sacred mystery at the heart of existence.

You feel your oneness with the presence that is always here.

You sink and sink into the beauty of your numinous self and come home.

This Yoga Nidra is now complete.