Yoga Nidra | Journey To Your Inner Temple

Namaste friend,

Welcome.

If you hadn't had a chance to practice with me just yet,

My name is Christine.

Thank you for choosing to be here.

It is time to begin the process of letting go.

It is time to lean into the healing powers of deep rest.

This is a guided meditative experience designed to effortlessly guide you into progressive states of relaxation,

Slowing down the brainwaves,

Guiding the body into a state of deep sleep while parts of the mind remain awake and aware.

You may find yourself experiencing varied states of consciousness throughout this experience,

But might you trust in the intelligence of your body,

That same intelligence that makes us fractals by nature?

Might you trust this intelligence knows what is most needed in this moment,

And allow your experience to unfold just as it is?

Believing,

The benefits of your yoga nidra practice will be received in all states of consciousness.

Welcome to your yoga nidra practice for journeying to your inner temple.

This is the holy refuge within,

The cave where the light of your inner lantern is sustained,

Lighting the way toward consciousness.

Your inner temple holds the symbolic keys to support you in making choices which are connected to your deep soul's calling and blueprint.

From this still point within,

You have access to your soul song,

To your endless creative energy,

To miraculous and spontaneous healing,

To the answers you seek,

To the love and beauty of life itself.

In this practice,

I will be your humble and loving guide,

Leading you deep within,

Into the realms of your inner temple,

Where you can access and cultivate your own greater than imagined possibilities with ease and grace.

The practice of yoga nidra is traditionally done lying down on the back in shavasana,

But you might choose a supported reclined position,

Or a side-lying position,

Or even a prone position on the belly.

Might you choose a position in which you can fully relax.

You might use the support of pillows and blankets to allow the spine to rest in a neutral position.

And then take the next few moments to build your sacred space,

Cocooning yourself in comfort,

Support,

Warmth,

Coziness,

And safety.

And then perhaps covering the eyes as you begin to draw your gaze inward.

With each exhalation,

Feel your body sinking,

Softening,

Naturally conforming to the landscape of support beneath you.

Gently lengthening on the inhalation,

And exhaling to soften around the brow,

The temples,

And eyes.

And again,

Gently lengthening on the inhalation.

Lengthening and softening around the jaw,

And relaxing the tongue.

And another gentle encouragement on the inhalation.

Exhaling to relax the shoulders,

Soften the shoulders,

Feel the whole body melting.

Releasing.

Continuing this way for a few moments longer.

Letting go.

Relax back,

Knowing that whatever you may be carrying with you is held in this sacred space.

All of you is welcome here.

Give yourself permission to rest deeply.

There is nothing you need to do.

You are encouraged to remain awake and aware.

Let my voice be your anchor.

The practice of yoga nidra begins now.

Could you begin by taking three deep breaths.

Inhaling to fill the belly,

Ribcage,

And upper chest.

Exhaling and emptying your lungs with a deep sigh out.

And again.

Slow deep breath in,

Filling the lungs.

Exhaling an audible sigh out.

Taking one more slow deep breath in.

Perhaps pausing at the top of the inhalation.

Holding the breath as long as feels comfortable.

And then let it out with a sigh.

Communicating to the nervous system that you are shifting toward relaxation.

Toward the rest and digest response of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Be aware of your breath.

Each time you exhale,

Feel a wave of relaxation sweep from the crown of your head.

Down to the tips of your toes.

And down to the tips of your fingers.

And let go.

Exhaling a wave of relaxation sweeping downward.

Continuing this way for a few more moments.

And then welcome awareness to drop into your heart center.

Feel the warmth here.

Start to journey deeper inward as you begin opening and attuning to what is present here in your heart.

Might there be intuitive wisdom or insight.

Longing to be cared for,

Seen,

Or expressed.

It is time to call forth your sankalpa.

Your dream seed.

You might even ask your heart if there is a yearning,

A deep wish for this lifetime.

Or even for this specific moment in time.

What seed do you wish to plant?

Your heart knows what it needs.

Trust whatever comes to you.

And then might you germinate your dream seed in the present tense with a positive affirmation.

If your sankalpa remains unclear,

You may choose to rest in emptiness.

In the potential of no sankalpa.

Being open to what may arise.

Or you might also try on the following.

I am connected to the power of my own inner healer,

Visionary,

And guide.

I am connected to the power of my own inner healer,

Visionary,

And guide.

If you are choosing to work with a sankalpa,

Silently affirming it three times now.

The seed has been planted.

Feel your sankalpa nourished by the enthusiasm of what can and will be.

Feel your dream seed in its entirety as if it's already happening.

And then just let it go.

We will begin a rotation of conscious awareness throughout the physical pathways of the body.

You might imagine a little island of awareness at each point in the body as I name it.

Allowing your attention to move from point to point.

Resolve to remain awake,

But know you may come in and out of conscious awareness of my voice.

Allow your experience to be as it is and trust that you will receive exactly what you need from it.

Become aware of your right hand.

Now draw your awareness to your right hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

The palm of the hand.

The back of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Right shoulder.

Armpit.

Right side of the body.

Waist.

Hip.

The right thigh.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the right foot.

Top of the foot.

The big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the little toe.

Become aware of your left hand.

Your left hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

Palm of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Left shoulder.

Armpit.

Left side of the body.

And hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Little toe.

Awareness migrating to the back of your body.

Become aware of the back of your neck.

The cervical spine.

The right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

The right glutes.

Left glutes.

The spine gently curving through your back.

And the whole of the back together.

Awareness soaking towards the front of your body.

The front of the throat.

The forehead.

Center of the brow.

Both eyebrows.

Temples.

Cheekbones.

Both eyelids and the eyelashes.

Both eyes.

Warm and radiant with sensation.

Both eyes resting back and down.

And sensing both ears listening.

Feel the outer folds and valleys of the ears.

And deep into the inner ears.

Both ears listening.

Open and receptive to vibrations rippling through the air.

Sense the airflow at the tip of the nostrils.

The tip of the nose.

Both nostril flares.

And the bridge of the nose.

Both nostrils.

Both nostrils.

Both nostrils.

And the tip of the tongue.

All the way to the root of the tongue.

Feel the teeth and the gums.

Inside the right cheek.

Inside the left cheek.

The upper lip.

The lower lip.

The lower lip.

The tip of the chin.

And the entire lower jaw.

Now could you feel the whole of the right leg.

And the whole of the left leg.

Now feeling both legs together.

Both legs together.

Feeling the whole right arm.

And the whole left arm.

And both arms together.

Feeling both arms together.

And feel the whole back side of the body.

And the whole front side of the body.

And the whole torso.

Could you divide your attention equally throughout the entire body now?

The whole torso.

Both arms.

Both legs.

The whole physical body.

From head to toes.

The whole body is a luminous field of vibrating energy.

Sensing trillions of cells vibrating.

Breathing together.

Dancing the sacred rhythms of inward and outward.

Remaining awake and aware.

Feel your whole physical body resting on the earth.

Completely still and relaxed.

Softening.

And sinking deeper.

Welcoming awareness to rest at your heart center.

Heart center.

Begin to sense or imagine you can breathe in through the heart center and out through the heart center.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

On your next inhalation,

Silently repeating the mantra SOH.

As you exhale,

Hum.

Inhaling,

SOH.

Exhaling,

Hum.

SOH,

Hum.

I am that.

Inhale,

SOH.

Exhale,

Hum.

I am that.

Continuing with the mantra SOH,

Hum.

As you continue to breathe and rest,

I will pull you back when it's time.

And then letting that go.

Sense the black vastness behind closed eyes.

Awareness migrating to the clearing between the brows.

The third eye.

The third eye.

One of the portals to the liminal.

With your mind's eye,

Notice the forest.

Notice the trees around you.

The sound of birds singing.

The scent of soil and fresh mountain air.

The feeling of the earth beneath your feet as you walk.

And see a path ahead of you.

Walk along this path.

Notice the path opening up just ahead of you.

There is a clearing.

Make your way toward this clearing.

As you arrive,

Begin to see a building surrounded by a lush garden.

This place feels familiar to you.

Like you've been here before.

You begin to realize that this is your very own inner temple.

Take a moment to walk around and notice what you see.

Now,

Begin to slowly walk towards the front door.

Notice the color of the door.

And any symbols on the door.

Before you even have a chance to knock,

Someone familiar who unconditionally loves you greets you.

They embrace you and whisper into your ear what took you so long.

We've been waiting for you.

They guide you inside.

As you're entering,

Take a moment to look around.

Notice the smells,

The sights,

The sounds of your personal temple.

Breathe in with gratitude and remembrance as you begin making your way toward the center of the temple.

At the center of the temple,

You see before you a treasure chest.

This is your chest and it's personalized just for you.

Notice its details.

What is it made of?

What colors do you see?

Notice any engravings or symbols decorating it.

Now go ahead and open the chest.

Inside awaits a special message and a gift for you.

Read the message.

Receive it with trust and confidence.

Now pick up your gift and receive it with your whole being.

This gift is yours to carry back out with you into waking reality.

Then close the chest with gratitude.

Walk back to the door and embrace your familiar greeter who whispers again in your ear.

Come back anytime and often.

Then walk out the door.

Back out through the surrounding gardens.

Back to the dirt path.

All the way back through the forest.

Slowly returning to the physical space where your body is resting so deeply.

Mind resting so deeply.

Whole being resting so deeply.

Resting here in the vastness of the ever-present now.

Slowly,

Slowly awareness coming to rest once again in your sacred heart center.

Feeling as though you could breathe in and out through your heart center.

It is time to once again call forth your sankalpa.

Silently affirming it to yourself three times.

Perhaps you are reaffirming I am connected to the power of my own inner healer visionary and guide.

Calling your sankalpa back in with unknowingness from deep within you.

And then just let it go.

Feel peace radiating out from your energy field.

Rippling out into the space around you.

Now begin to become aware of the rising and falling of the breath of the diaphragm.

Noticing the breath inside the ribcage.

Inside the chest as you slowly deepen the breath.

Feel the flow of breath inside the nostrils.

When you are ready,

Take a slow deep breath in through the nose.

And exhale softly and slowly through the mouth.

Let's take a couple more of those slow deep breaths in.

Fill the lungs.

Exhale softly and slowly through the mouth.

Taking one more.

The practice is complete.

Slowly feel yourself beginning to rise to the surface of awareness.

In your mind's eye you might see your body resting on the earth.

And then noticing the parts of your body that are touching the floor.

Noticing the back of your head and your upper back.

Your elbows and hands.

Buttocks,

Calves,

Heels.

And then beginning to sense your environment.

Noticing the sounds around you.

The quality of air gently touching your face.

The sensation of clothing or blankets on your skin.

Noticing any fresh air.

Noticing any fragrances in the air.

And then gradually in your own time inviting in small gestures into the fingers and the toes.

Moving really slowly as if you are waking from a deeply restful sleep.

Take your time savoring the liminal.

Noticing there is no rush.

And continue to stay in this deep inner experience as long as you'd like.

As you're bringing attention back to the body notice how relaxed the body is.

Notice how soft the breath is.

How silent the mind is.

How quiet the heartbeat is.

Be still and be grateful.

Know that you can easily return to your inner temple again and again to receive guidance,

Inspiration,

Insight,

The answers to all the questions that you seek.

If you have a journal you might choose to free write about your journey today.

What message did you receive?

And what gift did you bring back with you?

What details stand out as you reflect on your experience?

Noticing any symbols,

Anything significant to you.

Thank you again so very much for choosing to be here.

May we all reveal the treasure that shines from within.

Take such good care.

Thanks again.