EcoNidra | A Deep Relaxation For Your Mind And Body

Hello and welcome to your Eko Nidra session.

My name is Maria and I am absolutely honoured to guide you through this session of Eko Nidra today.

This is a deeply relaxing practice that helps us to reconnect with nature and also with our own true nature.

And during this journey we'll also have a chance to sow a seed for our positive change.

I have a couple of elements of nature with me today that I will be partnering with through this session.

The first is a little cactus tree that's just sat right by the side of me and the other one is a twig from an ash tree that came from Savanak Forest a number of years ago.

So if you've brought a nature element with you today then place that somewhere near you and also just noticing a tree through your window as well as the sky outside.

You don't need to be touching your element of nature,

It just needs to be within eye line and near you.

So in a moment we're going to start our journey and this is a triple journey that goes through our senses,

Our body and also a journey through the earth.

And just as a reminder for this session,

If you want to turn off any devices that you may have so you don't get interruptions,

You may also just like to check the volume that you could hear my voice okay and also that it's not too loud or too soft and it's just right for you.

So when you're ready,

Closing your door to the outside world,

I invite you to lie down in the Shavasana position,

Which is also known as the corpse pose and it's lying on your back,

Letting your feet simply fall to the sides.

You may want to have your arms next to your body with the palms facing upwards in an open position if that's comfortable for you and if it isn't then find a comfortable position for you that you're going to be able to remain in for this session.

It's just so you're comfortable and feel secure.

If you haven't already,

You may want to just put a blanket over you as our temperature may drop as we relax.

You may also want to have a thin pillow under your head and maybe also either a rolled towel or a pillow under your knees to support your lower back.

And just have your last few adjustments,

Paying real attention to your shoulders and your neck and maybe just gently turning your head from side to side until you find that nice comfortable position.

When you're ready,

Slowly closing your eyes if that feels comfortable to do so or lowering your gaze so that you're barely seeing through your eyelashes and as you're lying there in the stillness,

Bring your attention to the gentle movement of your breath whilst breathing naturally,

Just noticing the subtle movements within your body,

Perhaps noticing the temperature of the air as you breathe in and how this may change as you exhale,

Noticing the temperature of the air in the room and how the air touches your bare skin on your face and your hands and if this feels differently to the parts of your body that are covered with clothing.

I wonder if you can feel your clothes touching your skin and where you feel this and then let's focus on the sense of sight for just for a moment with your eyelids remaining closed.

I wonder what you can see,

Maybe you could see colours and shapes,

Difference of light and shade,

A flickering of movements or perhaps a stillness.

Then focusing on the sense of hearing,

I wonder if there are any sounds in your space where you are and maybe expanding our hearing to the furthest sound and then bringing it in to the closest sound.

I know you can hear my voice,

My tone,

My rhythm of speech.

I wonder how this lands within your body and the spaces between my words,

The silence.

I wonder how these also land in your body,

Lying on your back and feeling the surface beneath you,

Your bed or couch or mat.

I wonder where you can feel contact with your body,

I wonder where your body is coming into contact with the surface,

The earth,

Your heels of your feet,

Your calves,

Your thighs,

Your buttocks,

Your shoulders,

The back of your head and your arms and from these contact points using our imaginary sense,

Picture roots growing slowly and curiously down into the earth.

I wonder who they'll meet along the way,

Other roots and small creatures living in the soil,

Maybe saying hello to every living force you meet along the way.

I wonder what the temperature is like there and how the life force feels,

Maybe it's resting or preparing for a new season of life and I wonder if there is a heartfelt desire for yourself or the world that you would like to sow as your seed of transformation.

Just giving you a few moments to visualize your wish,

Seeing all the colors,

Shapes and pictures and picturing yourself in this too,

Really standing within this and how this feels right now,

Acknowledging that this seed has been sown and it's already been prepared for its own season of life.

Then slowly let your roots grow back to you,

Coming back through the soils to those contact points until they disappear into your body again.

And now we're going to set up on another journey,

A pilgrimage through the body.

I'll be guiding you through a few points on your body and I invite you to bring your awareness or attention to each point as I name them.

So starting with the point between your eyebrows,

The tip of your nose,

The tip of your nose,

The middle of your upper lip,

The dent in your chin,

The hollow of your throat,

Your right shoulder,

Your right elbow,

The middle of your right wrist,

Your right thumb,

The tip of your index finger,

The tip of your middle finger,

The tip of your ring finger and the tip of your right little finger,

The middle of your right wrist,

Your right elbow,

Your right shoulder,

The hollow of your throat,

Your left shoulder,

Your left elbow,

The middle of your left wrist,

The tip of your thumb,

The tip of your index finger,

The tip of your middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The middle of your left wrist,

Your left elbow,

Your left shoulder,

The hollow of your throat,

The center of your heart,

The right side of your chest,

The center of your heart,

The left side of your chest,

The center of your heart,

Your solar plexus,

Your navel,

Your right hip,

Your right knee,

The muscle of your right calf,

The right ankle,

The heel of your foot,

The arch of your foot,

The top of your foot,

Your right big toe,

Your second toe,

Your third toe,

Your fourth toe and your baby toe,

Your right ankle,

Your right knee,

Your right hip,

Your navel,

Your left hip,

Your left knee,

The muscle of your left calf,

The left ankle,

The heel of your foot,

The arch of your foot,

The top of your foot,

Your left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and your little toe,

Your left ankle,

Your left knee,

Your left hip and your navel,

The center of your heart,

The hollow of your throat,

The dent in your chin,

The tip of your nose and the space between your eyebrows.

Now feeling all of your right hand side of your body together,

Then the left hand side of your body,

Feeling the front of your body and now the back of your body and now feeling all of your body and all of these points at once and just letting yourself sink into this silence and let us set up on yet another journey,

A journey through the earth,

The planet and the landscapes and soundscapes of nature.

Simply allow yourself to be carried by these sounds,

Allow yourself to be taken wherever they want to take you and feel the sensations along the way.

And once again bringing the seed of transformation into your mind,

Picturing it in your mind's eye,

Envisioning where you planted it and then holding it in your heart,

Then gently and slowly coming back to the space where you are,

Feeling the sensations of the journey as you come back to your body,

Sensing the position of your nature being that has accompanied and witnessed your journey.

Then letting this fade,

Just fade away and bringing your attention back to your breath,

Taking a nice deep breath,

Greeting your body again with some slow movements,

Maybe just wriggling your fingers and toes,

Moving your ankles and wrists,

Then taking a nice slow stretch of your body and notice how you feel.

You may want to bring your knees to your chest for a hug,

Rolling from side to side to massage your lower back and when you feel ready to do so,

Open your eyes slowly,

Giving yourself time before you fully come out of this practice.

Then for a last invitation,

I invite you to do a simple act of kindness in the coming hours or days and this act of kindness may be for someone you know,

For your community,

For the earth and let's see what unfolds for you and how this kindness can keep rippling out and touching who it needs to touch today.

This ends our Eko Nidra practice for today.

Thank you for joining me and have a peaceful rest tonight.