Begin by finding a comfortable place to lie down on your back.
This practice is all about complete relaxation.
So take a moment to really set yourself up for comfort.
You may want a pillow under your head to support your neck.
A bolster or rolled blanket under your knees.
Perhaps a blanket over your body to keep you warm as your body temperature naturally drops during deep rest.
If you have one,
Maybe an eye pillow or a small towel over your eyes.
Maybe you want socks on your feet or another pillow under your arms.
There's no right or wrong way to practice yoga nidra.
Just make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Giving yourself permission to get really settled.
And if anything doesn't feel quite right,
Adjust it now.
Move the pillow.
Shift your hips.
Wiggle your shoulders until they release.
This is your time.
This is sacred time for deep rest and healing.
You deserve this.
So now settle into your position.
Let your legs relax.
Falling open naturally.
Your feet dropping to the sides.
And let your arms rest alongside your body.
The palms facing up in a gesture of receiving.
Or if you prefer,
Resting your hands on your belly or your heart.
Allow your body to become heavy.
Imagine yourself sinking,
Melting down to the surface beneath you.
Release the weight of your head into the pillow or support.
Let your shoulders drop.
Feel the floor or the mat.
Rising up to meet you.
Supporting you completely.
You don't have to hold yourself up anymore.
You don't have to do anything at all.
Just let go.
Let the Earth hold you.
Let gravity do its work.
Take a deep breath in and let it all go with a sigh.
You are safe.
You are supported.
You are exactly where you need to be.
In yoga nidra.
We set an intention.
A heartfelt intention,
A resolve.
We plant this Sankalpa.
And allow it to grow in the fertile soil.
Soil of Yoganidra.
Today,
Your Sankalpa is about self-compassion and healing.
You might choose one of these or perhaps you have your own.
I am worthy of compassion and forgiveness.
I made myself a kindness.
I forgive myself and allow healing.
Choose one that resonates most deeply with you or allow one to bubble up.
Once you've found one that resonates,
Repeat it to yourself silently three times.
Say it as if it's already true.
Let it sink into your heart.
And now release the words and simply rest.
We now move through the body with gentle awareness.
There's nothing to do here.
Simply sense the different parts of the body,
Bringing your attention to each part as I name it.
Bring your awareness to your right hand.
Right thumb,
Right index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Right shoulder.
Right side of the chest.
Right side of the waist.
Right hip.
Right thigh.
Kneecap.
Shit.
Ankle.
Top of the right foot.
Sole of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
And now the left hand.
Left thumb.
Left index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Left side of the chest,
Left side of the waist.
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Kneecap,
Shin,
Calf,
Left ankle,
Top of the left foot.
Sole of the left foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Bring awareness to the back of your body.
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade.
Right hip,
Left hip.
The entire spine from the tailbone to the base of the skull.
And now the front of your body.
The top of your head.
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow.
The space between the eyebrows.
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek,
Left cheek.
The nose.
Tip of the nose.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
The space between the lips.
Chin,
Jaw.
Throat.
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Center of the chest.
The heart space,
Abdomen,
Navel.
How's that?
The whole body together.
Feel your entire body all at once resting,
Supported.
Ow.
Take a moment to sense yourself as complete.
As whole.
And now bring your attention to your natural breath.
Without changing it,
Simply observe.
Notice the breath entering your nostrils.
Cool air flowing in.
Notice the breath leaving the nostrils.
Warm air flowing out.
The breath is happening by itself.
You don't have to do anything.
And now begin to visualize the breath as a luminous mist,
Perhaps golden or silver or soft white light.
Whatever color feels natural to you.
As you inhale,
See this glowing mist entering through your nostrils.
Flowing down the front of your spine.
Like liquid light pouring slowly down.
From the crown of your head,
Trickling through your neck,
Between your shoulder blades,
Flowing gently down your mid-back.
All the way to the base of your spine,
Pulling there like warm,
Radiant energy.
As you exhale,
Watch this luminous vapor rising back up the back of your spine.
Ascending like smoke or steam.
Lifting from your tailbone,
Floating up through your lower back.
Drifting through your mid-back,
Rising between your shoulders,
Climbing up through your neck.
Demerging at the crown of your head,
Dissolving into space.
Inhaling glowing mist descending down the front of the spine,
Cascading like a gentle waterfall of light.
Exhaling luminous vapor ascending up the back of the spine,
Rising like incense smoke weightless and free.
Each breath traces a complete circle down the front.
Up the back.
Continuous loop of radiant energy flowing through your central channel.
If the image fades or becomes unclear,
Simply invite it back gently.
There is no judgment here.
Continue with this flowing visualization.
Glowing mist descending down the front of the spine.
Luminous vapor ascending up the back of the spine.
Continuous loop of radiant energy.
And now release the images,
Release the colors.
Let the breath simply flow.
Natural,
Easy,
Effortless.
Rest in the simplicity of breathing.
In Yoga Nidra,
We practice welcoming all sensations,
All experiences without resistance.
I will guide you through pairs of opposite sensations.
You don't need to create these sensations intensely.
Just a whisper of each is enough.
Heaviness.
Feel your body becoming heavy,
Sinking into the earth.
Heaviness.
Lightness.
Feel your body becoming light as if you could float.
Lightness.
And now heaviness and lightness together,
Both at once.
And now warmth in the body.
Notice or imagine warmth spreading through your body.
Coolness.
Notice or imagine a pleasant coolness.
Now warm.
And coolness together.
And now,
Tension.
Allow yourself to feel where there might be tightness or holding in your body.
Relaxation.
Feel that tension melting.
Dissolving.
Releasing.
Tension and relaxation together.
Both can exist.
Anxiety.
If there's anxiety present,
Let yourself feel it now.
Notice where it lives in your body.
You're safe to feel this now.
Peace.
Now sense peace.
Calm.
Stillness.
Even just a whisper of it.
Anxiety and peace together.
Both can exist in you at the same time.
You are spacious enough to hold all of these sensations.
Self-judgment.
Notice if there's a critical voice.
Or any harshness towards yourself.
Now self-compassion.
Feel kindness towards yourself.
Warmth,
And acceptance.
And now judgment and compassion together.
Noticing both.
Resisting neither.
You are holding yourself with tenderness,
Even the parts of you that struggle.
And now begin to imagine yourself in a place where you feel completely safe.
This might be a real place or one that you create in your imagination.
Perhaps a warm room with soft light or a peaceful natural setting.
See yourself there,
Resting and peaceful.
And now imagine that a part of you appears.
That part of you that experiences anxiety.
This might appear as a younger version of yourself or as a shape.
A color.
An energy or simply a felt sense.
This part of you that experiences anxiety.
However it appears to you is perfect.
This anxious part of you has been working so hard.
It's just been trying to keep you safe.
It's been scanning for danger,
Preparing for the worst,
And protecting you in the only way that it knows how.
Look at this part of yourself with compassion.
Really see it.
This part of you is tired.
It's been carrying a heavy burden.
It's been afraid for so long.
Imagine approaching this anxious part of yourself with gentleness.
You might imagine kneeling down beside it or standing near it.
We're simply offering your presence.
Say to this anxious part of yourself,
I see you.
I know you've been afraid.
I know that you've been trying so hard to protect me.
Thank you for trying to keep me safe.
And notice how it responds.
It might soften.
It might stay guarded.
Whatever happens is okay.
Simply showing up with compassion.
And now say to this anxious part of you,
You don't have to carry this alone anymore.
I'm here for you now.
I'm big enough to hold this fear with you.
You can rest now.
Imagine this anxious part of yourself beginning to relax just a little.
The burden becoming lighter.
Perhaps you imagine embracing this part of yourself or placing a gentle hand on it.
Or simply sitting together and understanding.
Feel the warmth of your own compassion flowing towards this part of you that has been suffering.
You are offering yourself exactly what you've needed all along.
Someone to witness your fear without judgment.
Someone to say,
You're not alone and it's okay to feel this way.
Rest here in this meeting.
This reunion with yourself.
Take several breaths here.
Breathing in compassion.
And breathing out any residual tension.
And as you rest with this compassionate awareness.
Bring to mind something that you've been holding against yourself.
Some way that your anxiety has affected your life,
That you've judged yourself for.
Don't force anything overwhelming.
Just let something arise.
As this memory or pattern appears,
First acknowledge the pain of it.
Say to yourself,
This was painful.
This was hard.
It makes sense that I struggled.
Breathe with that acknowledgement.
And now begin to consider that at that time you were doing the absolute best that you could.
You didn't choose anxiety.
You were just surviving it.
With the resources you had available to you,
With the understanding that you possessed then,
With the nervous system that you had.
You could not have been any different.
You were exactly who you needed to be to learn what you learned,
To arrive at this moment of readiness to heal.
Take a deep breath,
And as you exhale,
Begin to release.
Say to yourself with as much gentleness as you can,
I forgive you.
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
I forgive you.
I forgive you for struggling when you wanted to be strong.
I forgive you for the times you couldn't show up.
I forgive you for not healing faster.
I forgive you for being afraid.
I forgive you for being human,
Imperfect and limited.
I forgive you.
Let these words pour over you like warm water,
Washing away the layers of self-judgment that you've been carrying.
You don't have to believe this forgiveness completely right now.
You're simply opening the door to it.
You're planting the seeds.
With each exhale,
Imagine releasing a layer of guilt,
Shame,
Or self-criticism.
With each inhale,
Imagine breathing in forgiveness,
Compassion,
And peace.
Continue for several breaths.
Feel yourself becoming lighter.
The burden that you've been carrying beginning to lift.
You are worthy of this forgiveness,
Not because you've earned it,
But because you are human and all humans deserve compassion for their suffering.
Rest deeply in this truth.
And now imagine that the compassion and the forgiveness that you've cultivated begins to radiate outward from your heart center.
See it as warm light or feel it as gentle energy expanding through your whole body.
This compassion is filling your chest,
Your shoulders and arms,
Your belly,
Your legs,
Your feet,
Your throat and head.
Every cell in your body is bathed in self-compassion and forgiveness.
And now imagine this light expanding beyond your body,
Filling the room around you.
You are resting in a field of compassion.
You are held by kindness.
From this place of deep compassion,
You can begin to heal.
Not because you have to be perfect,
But because you've created the safety and gentleness that makes healing possible.
You are planting new seeds,
Seeds of kindness towards yourself that will grow in time.
Trusting this process,
Trusting yourself.
Trusting that healing is already beginning right now in this moment of rest.
Allow yourself to sink even more deeply into relaxation.
Letting go completely.
And now bring back your sankalpa,
Your heartfelt intention.
Repeated silently three times with even more emphasis and feeling than before.
Feel it resonating in your heart.
This intention is now deeply planted within you.
Let it go now,
Trusting that it will unfold in its own time.
We'll now begin our gentle journey back to waking consciousness.
As you prepare to return,
Know that everything that you've experienced here,
All of the peace,
All of the compassion,
All of the awareness remains within you.
Any insights that came to you during this practice,
Or any that may arise in the hours and days to come,
Are yours to keep.
Beginning to deepen your breath now.
Breathing a little more fully.
A little more consciously.
Each breath drawing you closer to the surface.
Begin to bring small movements back into your body.
And taking a moment here with eyes still closed,
Honoring the threshold between rest and waking.
Notice how you feel.
Notice what has shifted.
And notice what you're carrying forward with you.
You Take one final deep nourishing breath in and release with gratitude.
Know that you are worthy of compassion,
You are worthy of forgiveness,
You are worthy of healing,
You are worthy of peace.
Taking with you all that you've discovered here.
The stillness,
The kindness,
The clarity.
These gifts are woven into you now.
They travel with you as you move back into your daily life.
You may return to this place of deep rest whenever you need it.
It is always here.
You are always home.
The practice of yoga nidra has ended.
