Winter Solstice Yoga Nidra: Rested And Rooted

Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.

My name is Michelle.

This Nidra was recorded to mark the winter solstice in the Celtic wheel of the year.

The time when the sun is at its northernmost point in the sky in the northern hemisphere.

The word solstice actually means sun stands still.

Where the sun appears to rise and set in the same position in the sky for three days before it begins to rise higher and higher each day until the summer solstice.

Winter solstice is a time of retreating inwards,

Hibernating and enjoying peace and renewal.

This Nidra was recorded for the winter solstice but you can listen anytime you're in need of rest and renewal.

So firstly taking some time to gather everything you might need.

Warm socks,

A pillow,

A blanket or duvet,

Perhaps a bolster or some cushions beneath the knees.

You might like to lie on the floor,

On the sofa or in your bed.

Yoga Nidra is a practice of yogic sleep.

It can be practiced at any time of the day.

It's a guided relaxation that might put you on the border between being awake and being asleep.

A place where you can rest deeply and get all kinds of benefits like creativity and stress relief.

There will be some short periods of silence for you to have your own experience and go more deeper into the practice.

There'll be some chimes at the end to help you return to a state of everyday wakefulness.

Although it's called yogic sleep,

The intention isn't to actually fall asleep.

We're hoping to surf the interface between waking and sleeping.

If you do fall asleep,

Then that's perfectly all right.

It might just be that that's what you really need more than anything right now.

If you become uncomfortable and really have to move,

Then go ahead and do so.

Trying to do that with awareness and without too much disturbance.

If you do get the urge to move,

It might just be some resistance to going deeper in the practice.

So just trying to observe any urge to move.

It will probably just pass away.

If anything in the nidra makes you feel uncomfortable and you want to stop,

All you have to do is to move your fingers and toes and open your eyes and you'll come out of the nidra state.

We'll use an intention in this practice,

What we call a sankalpa.

There will be time at the beginning and the end of the nidra to repeat this sankalpa,

This intention,

Perhaps forming an intention around themes of the winter solstice.

An intention in yoga nidra is a wish for something positive in your life or a statement of your values,

How you want to live your life.

If this doesn't resonate with you,

Then you can just spend the time relaxing and breathing.

If you want a sankalpa,

But you don't have one at the moment,

You can spend the time listening inwards for your intention to rise.

Or you might repeat something like,

I welcome in the darkness as a time for reflection and renewal.

This intention is best phrased in the present tense as if it's already happening.

Know that there's no way to do this practice wrong,

There isn't anything to be done,

Just to be here,

Resting the body and mind is more than enough.

Thoughts will come and go,

Just allow that to happen,

But seeing if you can just step back from them and guide your awareness back to the practice and the sound of my voice.

There might be times when you are very aware of the words that I'm saying and other times when my voice is more in the background and that's all perfectly alright.

The first part of the practice is to get really comfortable.

That might mean lying on the back or on the side if you prefer that.

You can also do the practice sitting up.

If you're lying on the back,

I recommend having a pillow beneath the head and a bolster or some cushions beneath the knees to just allow the lower back to settle.

If there are any movements or adjustments that might allow you to be even 1% more comfortable,

I invite you to make them now.

And then inviting stillness to settle in over the body.

The invitation is to close the eyes but if that's not comfortable then just softening and lowering the gaze.

Letting there be a welcome now for any sounds that can be heard.

Sounds from far away,

Outside the space where you are right now.

Sounds from inside the room.

Sounds from within the body,

Perhaps the sound of your own breath.

Welcoming all of the sounds without any labelling or judgement.

Just observing.

Feeling the touch of air upon the skin.

What is the texture and the temperature of the air upon the skin?

And feeling all of the places where the body is held and supported by the earth beneath.

Feeling all of the points of contact between the back or the side of the body and the surface beneath.

And on the exhale now,

Breathing down through those points of contact.

As if you could give away the whole weight of the body into the support of the earth below.

And then coming back to the intention that we set at the beginning of the practice.

Repeating that three times in the mind as if it's already happening.

Or if no intention is present then just simply being in the silence for a moment.

And then gently letting that go.

Next we'll allow our awareness to travel around different parts of the body.

We don't need to move that part or do anything other than invite our awareness to rest there.

As the snitra is for the winter solstice,

Perhaps imagining that the body is like the dark winter night sky,

Vast and deep.

And that we can place little stars of awareness around the body,

Creating a great constellation.

Beginning at the point between the eyebrows and placing a star there.

The point between the collarbones.

A star at the right shoulder.

The right elbow.

The wrist.

The tip of the right hand thumb.

The index finger.

The middle finger.

The ring finger.

And the little finger.

Stars at the wrist.

The elbow.

The right shoulder.

And a star at the base of the throat between the two collarbones.

A star at the left shoulder.

The elbow.

The wrist.

Stars at the tip of each left hand thumb.

The index finger.

The middle finger.

The ring finger.

And the little finger.

The wrist.

The elbow.

The shoulder.

Back to the point between the two collarbones.

Placing a star at the heart centre.

The left side of the chest.

The right side of the chest.

A star at the navel.

The centre of the pelvis.

Star at the right hip.

The knee.

The ankle.

The right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the little toe.

The ankle.

The knee.

The right hip.

And back to the centre of the pelvis.

A star of awareness at the left hip.

The left knee.

The ankle.

The left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the little toe.

Stars at the ankle.

The knee.

The left hip.

And the centre of the pelvis.

Star at the navel.

The heart centre.

The point between the two collarbones.

And the eyebrow centre.

The whole body.

The whole body.

All of the points of awareness twinkling like stars in a great constellation of the whole body.

Inviting now for the awareness to rest upon the breath.

Just observe the natural rhythm of the breath as it moves in and out of the body.

Feeling the in breath and the out breath.

And now noticing the turning points of the breath.

The top of the inhale.

And the little pause at the end of the exhale.

Not trying to change the breath in any way but just noticing.

Having a sense of these four parts of the breath.

The inhale as the breath enters the body.

The little pause between the end of the in breath and the start of the out breath.

The exhale as the air leaves the body.

And that turning point,

That pause at the end of the exhale.

Having a sense that these four parts of each cycle of breath reflect the seasons of the year.

As the breath comes into the body.

The inhale is like the springtime of the breath.

The energy in the plants and the earth is quietly rising.

The point at the top of the inhale like the summertime of the breath.

Full of energy,

Life and abundance.

And the outgoing breath like the autumn time.

Where the trees let go of their leaves,

The body lets go of the breath.

And that pause at the end of the out breath like the wintertime of the breath.

Quietly resting,

Getting ready to bloom again in the springtime.

Having a sense of these four seasons in every cycle of the breath.

And imagining now that with every inhale we could fill the body with light.

So much light that it radiates beyond the boundaries of the body.

And with every exhale,

Gathering up that light into a single point at the navel.

And alternating between these two states with every breath.

Inhaling,

Radiating light from the navel to fill the whole body,

Even beyond the body.

And exhaling,

Gathering the light up to that single tiny point at the navel.

And seeing now if it's possible to hold both those two states in our awareness at the same time.

Feeling full of light,

Radiating and expansive at the same time as gathered in and contained.

And then gently letting that go.

And now as you lie here upon the earth,

Imagine that the earth herself is sleeping at this mid winter time.

The earth herself is resting after the busyness of the summer and then the autumn harvest.

And now imagine all the creatures that are hibernating upon the earth.

Squirrels,

Bears,

Bees,

Hedgehogs,

All snuggled up in their dens and caves,

Taking deep rest.

And now imagine all of the seeds and bulbs beneath the ground,

The roots of the plants and trees all sleeping.

And now imagine that there are little rootlets growing down from your own body into the earth beneath.

Connecting with all the other underground root systems,

Taking nourishment from the earth in the darkness.

Feeling your own roots sleeping in the earth,

Deep and still,

In the quiet darkness of the earth herself.

And now allow your awareness to rest in the space behind the closed eyelids.

Just staying with whatever's there for a moment.

Maybe you see darkness,

Maybe colours or light.

And then letting it go.

Or maybe stay with the soft warm darkness and colours.

If you see images,

Just allowing them to dissolve and observe any new ones arising.

Simply staying with your experience,

Whatever it is right now.

Trying to just observe without any expectation or judging or preference.

Just inviting experiences to unfold and arise.

Letting everything just wash over you.

Letting any images dissolve now and just allowing yourself to just be here in the space.

And then gently bringing to mind the intention that we set at the beginning of the practice.

Just repeating it again three times in the mind as if it's already happening.

Or simply relaxing and just being in the space.

And then gently letting that intention go.

Starting to deepen the breath.

Allowing for a deeper in-breath as we gently start to wake the body back up.

Feeling the touch of the air upon the skin.

Just allowing any sounds that can be heard just to come to the ears without any labelling.

Letting there be a welcome for all of the sounds.

Bringing some movement now to the fingers and the toes.

Perhaps circling the wrists and the ankles.

Taking any movements or stretches that feel needed by the body right now.

Perhaps rolling onto one side.

Taking the time to transition gently back into the rest of the day.

Thanking your time to move into the next activity.

And thanking yourself for this time and space to practice to mark the winter solstice.

This practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.