LISTENING•FOR•THE•VOICE
Retreat
Welcome, I am so delighted you're here
Pratyahara - a Sanskrit word meaning withdrawal of the senses.
A retreat INTO Self
Inside these 4 restorative yoga practices, you will be drawn into the inner senses through cueing, long holds and breath. Releasing the need for sight by providing practices that are nourishing for your body, mind and spirit, is the pathway toward awakening our innate wisdom. Your body has the opportunity to speak without comparison. It is given the space to be felt, heard and loved.
Yoga Nidra
What is it?
I teach Yoga Nidra as a spiritual practice of awakening to our true self - the highest self and collective consciousness.
Becoming connected to our spiritual self, begins the awakening of the inner voice that lies within.
Curious about Yoga Nidra? Watch this video
Sankalpa - Heart Vow
A Sankalpa is the truth of your divine essence and entire being.
It is a commitment between yourself and the eternal truth of wholeness and a compass back to the unified experience of consciousness.
A SEED OF TRANSFORMATION
This succinct and powerful statement is dropped into the absorbent nature of the Alpha brain during the practice of Yoga Nidra. It's a tool to uproot limiting beliefs and restructure subconscious programming. I
t is said in the form of “I AM” and said with the conviction of knowing you are already there.
When we restructure the internal, the external follows.
RETREAT FAQ VIDEOS
The Playlist
These practices are paired so beautifully with the following playlist. You can find this playlist on Spotify.
The Practice
Disclaimer:
By taking part in these practice(s), you are hereby releasing Melanie Dawn and Melanie Dawn Yoga & Wellness of any liability for injury or suffering that may occur during the practice. Please be mindful of your limitations and understanding of the practice of yoga. This is meant for uninjured bodies and those that have had experience with restorative shapes. You should never experience pain inside of this practice. Please be an advocate for your body and health.
The Props
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Pillow(s)
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Blanket
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Bolster
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Blocks
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Eye Mask
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Yoga Mat
Comfort and support is the goal for this practice.
The idea of seeking sensation is put aside for the pursuit of restorative stillness.
Awaken
Welcome, rare one!
I'm so glad we're here together
Have you heard it?
The voice that has all your answers.
Of course, you have...but,
Have you been able to understand it? To trust it?
We've been schooled out of our inner voice and aligned with our mind and moved away from our hearts.
The Rediscovery
Learning Through The Senses
Welcome!!
Inside this video, I tell you a little more about who I am and how I first heard my inner voice
Practice One - The Body
In this week, we will explore the relationship with our BODY.
This may seem like a strange idea or concept but, there are so many of us that are simply living and breathing in a body we overlook and create distractions from. We'll dive into a meditative journey that reunites the highest self/your inner knowing with the language of your body.
Our body is our first form of translation to the energy that we are emitting and receiving. It holds our stories in a way that is recognizable to the eyes of the heart. Through our own understanding of how our physical body feels and responds we will begin to innately deepen our connection back to self.
There is no right or wrong, and, no perfect time for this reunion to take place. I ask that you trust the timing of the Universe and, to release control on what this will look, sound and feel like. There is even the potential to awaken and experience repressed/stored emotions. This experience is normal, remember that you are safe where you are and that this is creating a container of space to safely express what needs to come. If it is something that is not manageable alone, find a trusted person to reach out to.
Take the seat of the CURIOUS CHILD
Witness what comes without judgment or expectation. We trust that we receive what we need at all times. Releasing control is crucial to channel away from the mind and ego and tap into the universal flow of the collective consciousness
We have been strengthening our minds at the cost of our wisdom. The mind approaches everything with an expectation and anticipation of an outcome. It has controlled your world for the majority of your life. When we take the seat of witness, we finally can begin to understand the minds relationship to self. You can see how it shows up in your life (we perceive these things through a positive and negative lens) and where it is keeping you from your truth.
Let’s begin your journey :)
xx
Mel
Use this practice for 1 week as often as possible
Practice Two - The Senses
When you connect with your inner knowing it will come in the form of CLAIRSENSE
There are 5 main clair’s and we’ll explore them through the meditative journey with your intuitive body.
The cool thing about clair’s is how they are linked to your external 5 senses with the addition of the 6th sense - the knowing.
During this training you’ll be given the opportunity and space to explore each sense and see where your power lands. This may be easy or frustrating to start, there really is no right or wrong on this journey.
If you perceive that you are struggling, try to let go of any expectation you have for yourself and for the program. Use this time as a creative playground to immerse yourself in the inner realm, free of any logic and analytics that are caging the mind.
You will definitely feel silly, like you’re making things up at first. The more you speak to it, write it down, get really intimate with it, you will see that it is more than just made up and that is actually the manner in which you are experiencing consciousness.
By grounding yourself into your breath and releasing tension from the body, you are creating the perfect platform to experience clairsense. To uncover the unique voice of your intuition in this moment. You may find that your clairsense is fluid and the wisdom comes to you through more than one channel, this is completely normal and will continue to strengthen the more time you spend in this state.
Let’s explore the senses.
The Clair's - Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Clairsentience, Clairalience, Clairgustance, Claircognizance
xx
Mel
Use this practice for 1 week as often as possible
Practice Three - The Knowing
Connection to SPIRIT
When we begin to have a connection with spirit that is more accurate and reliable, it is possible that an inner battle may form.
It could look like - How is this accurate? How do I know this? There’s no way this can be true.
Those are some of the thoughts you may have when first experimenting with your connection. We have been very conditioned throughout our whole lives as humans to lean on outside sources to prove accuracy and to look for answers. What we are attempting to do in these practices, is to de-condition the mind that it must seek outside information in order to be valid. Your internal compass is very accurate and very reliable once you begin to understand it’s language and how you can use it.
Another bonus of connecting to source in this way is the creative downloads and spontaneous solutions that arise while in this state. When we are functioning from our beta brain (the one that is awake and doing, our brain state for most of the day) we are only able to draw from what we already know.
If you are struggling with a solution for a problem and have been for some time, you may find that the solution comes when you release the idea that YOU have to find the answer.
This comes from achieving the brain state of Alpha, the brain state known as the hynogogic state. It is a transitory state that naturally occurs between sleeping and waking so we have two very beautiful opportunities to access this state when falling asleep and when coming out of sleep.
The brain at this time has slowed down and is able to reach further out into consciousness through this connection. Inspiration and shifts in perspective are also symptoms of a daily practice of connecting with source.
No matter what your experience is, know and trust that it is perfectly and exactly right for you. Your experience will evolve shift and remain fluid for the course of your connection to source, it is not ours to own or control. We simply show up, create space for it to arrive and honor what we experience. As always, there is no better than, less than, right or wrong.
When I can’t distinguish if I see, hear, feel it, I consider it a knowing.
xx
Mel
Use this practice for 1 week as often as possible
Practice Four - Bringing it Together
No message is a message, FEEL INTO IT
When there is expectation, there is fear. Release any and all expectations and trust that what comes will come quicker and more readily when it is not forced.
We all have our own experiences with connecting to source and these experiences may change over time or often.
Source does not respond to what we hold as expectation. It is spontaneous and innate. It is the wisdom from a connection to higher consciousness when we make space to listen.
Some may have spirit guides that they use to access the collective and others may not know who or what it is that is guiding them but, have a feeling that it is truth.
I could give you so many examples of this “knowing” without knowing, but, I am sure you have had many experiences of your own. In this practice, go back in time and allow yourself to recreate an experience with someone or something that you wish you knew about ahead of time.
We will track time backwards, as we explore in vivid detail, any intuitive insights you may have overlooked or logically talked yourself out of.
In this teaching, you already know the outcome and this may feel like you are swaying the wisdom.
Try to remain unattached and observant, see what comes to you. Perhaps, there was guidance that may have helped. This will help to attune you to how source communicates.
As always, even though this is our last practice together, if your connection to source has yet to be found, know that there is suffering in want and resistance that comes with suffering. Be open and accepting that when the time is right, you will know and the voice will come to you in its very own unique way.
Remembering throughout this journey, that comparison kills source. We must be in total reverence of consciousness, no matter how it comes.
It is a gift, a treasure.
In gratitude, we open to receive more.
xx
Mel
Use this practice for 1 week as often as possible
Bonus Yoga Nidra
Being consistently called into the brain state of ALPHA, which can be accessed during Yoga Nidra, has been the most influential practice to increasing awareness and reliability of my intuition. It offers a place where you are free to explore the whole self and to process and release any emotions that could potentially block or influence your intuition.
If you are committed to developing a relationship with your intuition that is trustworthy and sound, this practice will definitely serve you in this way.
This is a spiritual awakening of self. A liberation of the mind and ego and reunion with the collective consciousness which exists within and without us.
It works with uncovering and uprooting limiting beliefs which may be impacting your life in ways you are unconscious to. A limiting belief is a belief we have established through our perception of an experience that was meant to keep us safe.
As we grow, do our work and evolve, the limiting belief stays, creating a conflict within us that we are most often unaware of.
Although you may logically know that this belief is not true, we are only within the conscious mind less than 10% of our day. The rest of the time we are operating from our subconscious, which is where our limiting belief is stored.
Common limiting beliefs are:
I'm not worthy
I'm stupid
I'm a screw up
I'm not safe
I'm not valued
No matter who you are, we all have a negative thought pattern that we must become conscious of to see any change in our external reality.
In Yoga Nidra, we use a powerful tool called the Sankapla. This is the truth of your heart. It is the remembering of wholeness. If you are working with a Sankalpa, you will do this for a very long time. It will be the same truth statement said in present time, every time you practice.
I am worthy
I am safe
I am valued
The statement should be short and powerful. I have found in my practice with clients and with students that most of us align with those three.