Namaste.
Are you looking for a moment of brightness amidst the longest night?
Here you'll receive a lot of light guiding you through the longest dark days of the year.
Welcome to Yoganidra,
Non-sleep deep rest.
I'm your guide Marcel.
Together we'll journey through landscapes of profound relaxation,
Aiding in the release of stress,
Insomnia,
Anxiety and depression.
Please find a quiet space where you won't be disturbed.
Lie down comfortably,
Maybe on a bed or a yoga mat with a cushion under your head and a blanket under your knees.
Cover yourself with blankets to feel warm.
Let your legs relax slightly apart and your arms rest by your sides,
Palms facing up.
I recommend using headphones for a more immersive experience,
Helping you deepen your inward focus.
Please dedicate yourself fully to this session.
It's of absolute essence to listen to the entire recording because the ending will guide you out of the experience slowly.
As we begin,
Allow your tongue to rest softly on the upper palate and if possible breathe gently through your nose.
If you're drifting into sleep,
Welcome it because it's what your body needs.
A bell will gently wake you at the end.
Let's start by taking all together.
A four second inhale and a five second exhale.
We are in this together.
Now start to relax each part of your body.
Start with your toes,
Releasing any tension and gradually move upwards,
Releasing all the tension in your toes.
Feel your toes,
Your big toe,
Second toe,
Your third toe,
Fourth toe,
Your little pinky toe.
Feel them,
Feel how they're getting more relaxed.
Start to connect to your feet,
Sole of the feet,
Top of the feet and slowly moving up to your ankles.
How are they feeling?
Relaxing them more and more,
Traveling up further,
Shin bones,
Lower legs,
Coming to your knees,
Arriving at your knees.
How are they feeling today?
Is there any kind of tension in your knees that you can let go of?
Good job.
Let's move on to your thighs,
Big thighs of yours,
Big muscles.
As you're lying down,
Giving them the permission to relax completely.
Moving up further,
Coming to your hips,
Your butt,
Also giving them the permission to just be,
Completely just be.
Let's travel up further to your belly,
Feeling how your belly receives air,
Feeling if there's anything else that's going on in your belly.
Observing,
Not wanting to change it.
Just observe and invite your belly to relax a little bit.
From here,
Coming to your spine,
The very start of your spine and traveling up vertebra by vertebra,
Feeling in how you're going step by step up along the vertebra,
Slowly coming to the start of the ribcage level vertebra,
Traveling up higher,
Connecting as well to your back as you're doing this,
Feeling the length that the vertebrae provide you,
Giving them the permission to be completely relaxed,
Lengthened,
Traveling up higher and higher towards your neck,
Even higher to your head,
Feeling how your body is connected through this vertebra.
And slowly,
Let's get in touch with your face,
Your chin.
How does it feel?
Can you relax it more?
Your tongue,
Is it still resting on the upper palate?
Your mouth,
Is it slightly opened?
Completely relaxed,
Not breathing through it,
But just completely relaxed.
Your eyes,
Are they softly closed?
Your head,
Your forehead,
Can you relax more?
Coming to the very top of your head.
From there,
Let's again,
Gather down to your shoulders,
Feeling how your head is resting softly on your body.
How shoulders are by your sides,
By the sides,
Where the head is,
Next to your head.
Feeling how they can relax even more.
So if you feel like the shoulders are pulled up,
Feel free to be invited to relax them more.
Completely relaxing everything into the mat or the bed or wherever you're lying on.
Traveling down,
Your arms,
Upper arms,
Connecting to your elbow,
Your lower arms,
Your wrists,
Your fingers,
Big thumb,
Pointer finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And finger.
Last but not least,
In deep inhale,
Making your exhale longer,
Completely relaxing into wherever you're lying,
Coming to your heart center.
Integrating all this relaxed feeling and inviting your heart to feel this comfort coming from all the sides of your body,
From your head,
From your legs,
From your arms,
From your shoulders,
From back.
Feeling that the heart is safe in your body and your organs are safe and can relax and rest for this time period.
Feeling how the air is moving effortlessly through your nose,
Into your belly.
Relaxing the rib cage completely.
Feeling like a baby,
A newborn baby.
Just completely feeling cozy,
Completely feeling warmth,
Held by its mother,
Listening to your breath.
From here,
I invite you to visualize yourself in a serene winter landscape.
Still,
Your whole body is warm.
Even this winter landscape,
You're radiating so strongly and so relaxed.
And it's very inviting to you.
The ground is covered with a soft blanket of snow.
The trees gracefully invite in the distance.
There's a gentle glow.
As you walk towards it,
You're hearing the snow under your feet.
The winter air filling your lungs,
Refreshing and cleaning them.
You're approaching a small,
Warmly lit cabin just for you.
You're entering it,
Feeling a rush of warmth enveloping you,
Comforting and gentle.
Inside the cabin,
There's a cozy fireplace.
It crackles softly.
You sit by the fire,
Feeling its warmth,
The warmth that enters deep down into your body,
Into your bones,
Into your heart.
You feel it throughout your body.
Your ears are warm.
Your face is warm.
Your hands are warm.
Your feet are warm.
After a while,
You look out of the window.
The night sky is clear.
Stars everywhere.
The moon casts a gentle light over the snowy landscape,
Peaceful and still.
You feel a sense of deep peace here.
You're safe and warm.
A winter night unfolds outside.
You're cocooned in warmth.
Rest some moments here.
Enjoy quiet beauty of the winter night.
Deep,
Restorative,
Peaceful.
Slowly start to bring your awareness back to your physical surroundings.
Begin to notice the surface beneath you,
Blanket over you.
From there,
Start to wiggle your toes,
Where we started this journey.
Your hands,
Maybe we move your head,
Your shoulders,
Your knees,
Your hips,
Your whole body.
Asking it,
How does your body want to be moved?
How does your being want to be moved right now?
And enjoying every little part of movement that you're doing.
As our winter solstice yuga nidra comes to a close,
Carry the warmth and peace from the cabin that you found within you.
Begin to bring your awareness back to the present moment.
Feel the surface beneath you,
The warmth of your blankets and the gentle rhythm of your breath.
As you slowly awaken,
Carry with you the light and peace you've discovered here.
I appreciate that you take care of yourself.
Know that in this state,
You can start to take care of others.
For example,
Of me,
By liking this recording.
It means that you truly care.
Namaste.
