Receiving Yoga Nidra For Mothers

This is a Daring to Rest yoga nidra designed to support mothers in receiving their own care and attention. This is the practice of deep rest to replenish a mother from all the ways that she gives in her daily life. Yoga nidra is a meditation practice that brings the student into a deep state of consciousness and allows for deep levels of healing.

Transcript

Welcome,

Rest Sister.

You made it.

You are here.

As mothers,

We are so often holding everything and everyone.

This is a moment for you to be held.

It is time to dare to rest.

If you have a touchstone,

Place it or imagine it in your left hand,

Your feminine side.

Laying down or seated,

Begin to get comfortable.

Rooted.

Feel your whole body rooted to the earth,

However that feels to you.

Let yourself notice what rooted means to your body and mind.

Throughout Yoga Nidra,

You are invited to be as comfortable as possible.

Give yourself the time and attention to move your body mindfully now,

Until you find a position where you feel totally at ease.

Your body comfortable and at ease.

Notice all the sounds.

Sounds in the room,

Distant sounds outside of the room,

Distant sounds outside of the room.

And now notice the sound and movement of your breath.

There is no need to change your breath.

Simply breathe naturally and notice the sound and movement of your breath.

In and out.

In and out.

Your body breathing itself.

Now begin to take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in and exhale with the sound of Letting go of all tension in your body as you exhale.

And now inhale,

Awareness of the abdomen and chest rising,

And then exhale with the sound of Letting go.

Continue this breathing in your own rhythm.

You are letting go of all stress,

Deeply inhaling and exhaling.

You are letting go of all stress,

Deeply inhaling and exhaling.

Now stop and become aware of your whole body.

Your whole body resting.

Letting go.

Be still.

Yoga Nidra is the art of doing nothing.

There is nothing to do but be held by the earth and listen to my voice.

Say to yourself,

I will not fall asleep.

I will remain awake.

If you do fall asleep,

You will still benefit.

There is a part of you that is always awake.

And if you sleep,

Then sleep is what you needed today.

Bring to mind your intention for this practice.

If you are unsure of what intention to use today,

You can try,

I am a rested mother or I am at ease.

First,

Imagine your intention as if it is already happening and then repeat your intention in your mind three times.

Feel your intention moving through your entire body.

Your whole body receiving your intention.

A woman who can receive can thrive.

A woman who can receive can flourish.

This is your opportunity to receive.

Open yourself wide to receiving.

We begin in the body,

Opening all the blocked energy in the body.

Turning on our valve so that we may feel grounded and flow.

Follow my voice as you sense a part of the body.

When I mention Follow my voice as you sense a part of the body.

When I mention a body part,

Allow any blocked energy to release from that area,

Like a valve.

We are releasing blocked energy,

Grounding,

And releasing.

Begin by bringing your attention to the mouth,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Top of the tongue,

Bottom of the tongue,

Roof of the mouth,

Right side of the mouth,

Left side of the mouth.

Left side of the mouth.

The whole mouth.

Attention now at the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Both nostrils,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Space between the eyebrows,

Right forehead,

Left forehead,

Middle of the forehead,

Right ear,

Inside the right ear,

Inside the right ear,

Left ear,

Inside the left ear,

Both ears,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Awareness of both cheeks.

Notice the chin,

The whole front of the face,

Back of the head,

Top of the head,

The whole head,

Neck,

Throat,

Right shoulder,

Left shoulder,

Both shoulders,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms,

Sensing both arms,

Releasing blocked energy.

Bringing your attention now to the right hand,

Right hand,

Left hand,

Both hands,

Both arms,

Both shoulders,

Middle of the chest,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Middle of the chest,

Navel point,

Middle of the pelvis,

Aware of your right hip,

Left hip,

Both hips,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Both knees,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Both ankles,

Right foot,

Left foot,

Both,

Both,

Sensing and releasing blocked energy from both feet,

Both ankles,

Both knees,

Both hips,

Pelvis,

Your reproductive area,

Release blocked energy from your whole reproductive area,

Navel point,

Middle of the chest,

Throat,

And now rest at the space between your eyebrows.

Feel your whole body.

Notice sensation.

Meet whatever you feel with love.

If you find yourself with lots of thoughts,

Release them to the sky and let them lift away.

Now,

Imagine your body is divided into two equal parts.

Begin to breathe up and down the right side of your body,

In and out on the right side of the body,

In your own rhythm.

You are breathing with awareness on the right side of the body.

At the top of the next inhalation,

Breathe up the right side of the body and down the left.

Now stay on the left side of the body and breathe in and out on the right side of the body.

With awareness in and out.

Find your rhythm,

Breathing in and out on the left side of the body.

At the top of the next inhalation,

Move to the front of the body.

Exhale down the front of the body.

You're now breathing in and out,

Up and down the front of the body.

Slow and with awareness.

On the next inhalation,

Move to the back of the body.

Breathe up and down the back of the body.

Breathing the back of the body.

Now breathe the whole body.

With awareness,

Slowly breathe in and out through the whole body,

Your whole body rooted.

With the breath,

The whole body roots itself even deeper.

Let your body determine the rhythm of the breath,

The flow of your inhalations and exhalations,

Your whole body being breathed,

Conscious,

Loose.

Now stop and notice how you feel in the body.

Begin to feel your body getting heavy,

Sinking into the ground,

Your whole body heavy,

Like lead.

And now feel your body light.

With every breath,

The body becomes lighter,

And lighter.

Like a feather,

The body light,

Weightless,

Your heart light,

Glowing.

See your body light as a feather and filled with light.

Radiant.

Notice the area around the base of your spine,

Perineum and vagina,

Filled with red light.

You become aware of a stream nearby.

As you listen to the quiet babbling sound of the water passing by,

You walk closer to the stream.

You feel your feet planted alongside of the stream.

You look down and notice a message in the water.

I trust myself.

Feel this.

And now another message appears.

I feel deeply rooted.

Feel this.

Now another message in the water.

I trust in the goodness of life.

Feel this.

Another message.

I have what I need.

Feel this.

And another.

I am open to possibilities.

Feel this.

Now come to the space between your eyebrows.

Be still.

Let go.

Let yourself be soft.

Feel this.

Experience this.

Be this.

Feel yourself letting go completely.

Soft,

Loose,

And free right now.

Rest here in one minute of silence.

In this deep state of peace,

Let go of all thoughts,

Feelings,

And emotions.

In this deep state of peace,

Your intention can be heard and assimilated.

Repeat your most authentic,

Heartfelt intention now,

Three times.

Be conscious of your intention flowing through your whole body,

Your whole life,

Your whole life in the waking state,

In the dreaming state,

When you sleep.

See your whole self embodying your whole intention.

Slowly now,

You begin to welcome a beautiful council of women.

Feminine energy.

The wise ones,

Guides,

Mentors,

Who support you to be your healthiest self,

Who help you to come home to yourself.

Become aware of their presence.

They are surrounding you.

They are your They are surrounding you.

Blessing you.

Nourishing you.

Notice what it feels like to be held by these wise,

Strong women.

You are being held.

Now,

As the council of women stays or leaves,

Begin to breathe in and out through your heart.

Long,

Slow heart breathing.

If it is helpful,

Imagine your heart with every breath in and every breath out.

See your heart smiling,

And give the smile permission to spread throughout all of your organs,

Cells,

Atoms,

All of you.

On the next breath in through your heart,

Ride your breath like a wave and see where it wants to go in the body.

Wherever it arrives,

See if there is a soul whisper,

An image,

Word,

Or phrase from your soul.

Whatever you receive,

Exhale the soul whisper from your heart.

Just be curious.

Your whisper may make sense,

Or it may not.

You may feel a yes or not.

Just be curious as you begin to wake up Just be curious as you begin to wake up or drift off to sleep.

If you are off to sleep,

You may sleep now.

If you are waking,

Eyes may stay closed a little longer,

But beginning to move your body slowly from any place that feels it wants to move.

Move your body,

Your bones.

Notice all of you as you awaken quietly,

Rhythmically.

I see you,

Body.

I trust you,

Body.

You are my friend.

You may want to roll onto one side now,

Or gently sit up.

Mary Oliver says,

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees for 100 miles miles through the desert,

Repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

Tell me about despair,

Yours,

And I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile,

The world goes on.

Meanwhile,

The sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,

Over the prairies and the deep trees,

The mountains,

And the rivers.

Meanwhile,

The wild geese high in the clean blue air are heading home again.

Whoever you are,

No matter how lonely,

The world offers itself to your imagination,

Calls to you like the wild geese,

Harsh and exciting,

Over and over,

Announcing your place in the family of things.

Now,

Opening your eyes,

Your body awake,

Present,

Still,

Know that you can take this stillness back into your daily life.

The world offers itself to your imagination.

Take a moment now to recall your intention and repeat after me.

Repeat it to yourself.

Feel as if your intention is already happening.

Imagine.

Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Be good to yourself.