"When Things Fall Apart" By Pema Chodron. A Reading & Yoga Nidra To Awaken Your Peaceful Warrior

This is one of my most listened to episodes from my Spiritually Fit Yoga podcast recorded on May 31, 2020. The meditation is inspired by a reading from "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron. It begins with a short talk about the current situation followed by a short meditation, reading, then a Yoga Nidra to awaken your peaceful warrior and practice loving kindness. It ends with an invitation to sleep or awaken on your own. No ending bell or music. Peace, Amelia

Reviews

It it is now 06/01/2025. Our country (US) is again (or still is?) experiencing great turmoil. I grieve for this but I cannot remain in this state. These times require compassion and peace and loving kindness to all. Be well.

What a practice. I can’t emphasize enough how meaningful a meditation this is. Thank you for your teaching! 🙏🏼

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I have been practicing daily for many years, but never tried a practice explicitly stated to be yoga nidra before. I am not a fan of guided body scans as I already spend my days doing body scans due to chronic medical conditions, and I believe I put yoga nidra into that category for some reason.

Given the circumstances of my life, I strive to maximize my resilience and compassion for others, while drawing on my warrior training to not become a doormat for others, either.

Today, I needed this practice to remind me of the balance necessary between the two. The last few days - and those ahead for the next few weeks at minimum - have been very stressful on the household. A relationship I have with one member has ways been contentious, but I realized last night that it has actually become emotionally and verbally abusive, and given the relationship this person has to my spouse, I have kept silent to keep the household peace.

I woke up this morning with such tightness in my chest and throat, and none of my usual breath work nor movement practices were helping to shake it loose. This is residual from a very intense interaction last night, and normally I am able to ground this out within a few hours of it happening. Not this time.

The Universe must have set it up for me to see this practice and decide to try it out. It was the title of the book that caught my attention; the yoga nidra was secondary, but I thought perhaps I could see what it was about at the same time.

I could not release my chest or throat, no matter what I tried. Movement, breathing, visualization, drawing up energy - none of it helped. But in the last few minutes of this practice, something small shook loose. It came when I heard those words, "I'm sorry." Sorry for the suffering. Sorry for what I have gone through. Though clearly unrelated to you personally, hearing those words from someone else released some of the tightness. I felt tears forming and my chest loosening a bit. The tars would not fall, even when I gave myself permission and reminded myself I am alone at home in a safe space to let go. The tightness in my chest eased slightly, nut my throat did not. It is not painful as my chest is though. (IT is not medically-related; I do have cardiac issues and know the different signs and sensations to watch for.)

There was a moment of clarity there that I needed. A recognition of certain elements of the situation I often forget. I do not know how the changing circumstances will affect this scenario, nor even what steps to take next. I just know I need to come fully hone to myself and re-locate my core of power and self for me to move forward with purpose and stability, however things work out.

I am hopeful that in less than a year, this situation will be no longer as it is, physically. Were it not for some unanticipated life events, it would have been already. I feel my chest tightening back up again, and I think back to tge words spoken here, and then to a scene in the movie "Good Will Hunting" when the title character finally breaks down in his therapist's office. As one who has sat in both chairs in a therapist's office (whether my own or someone else's), I can appreciate the disconnect between mind-knowing and somatic-knowing. I struggle with the latter, almost always.

Thank you for the moments of peace this talk and practice provided. I know now the release can happen. Hope is still present. I am still myself, and I am strong, with the ability to choose how I react. I believe my decision, put off for years now, has finally rung true - I need to minimize my contact with this person as much as possible. Their issues are their own, and while trained to be so, I am not their therapist and I do not need to try and help if they are unwilling to accept it after nearly two decades of trying. I am not an emotional punching bag anymore. I choose peace. I choose myself. I choose compassion but from a distance. I choose to allow myself to become whole again. I choose to accept that this process will take time and be uneven, and that is both natural and okay. I choose me. I cannot help others if I am not in a place to hold space for them myself. So I choose me, my safety in all aspects, and feel to the depths of my being that I do not exist for the convenience of others or to meet their expectations. I am enough. I am more than enough. I am gloriously imperfect, the perfect me that nobody else can ever become. I shine my light, and let that light burn away anything that may come at me from others out of any negative emotion. Only love shall enter in, and only love shall come from within. I am not a victim. I have been hurt in many ways, over a long time, but I choose to stop allowing myself to be put in that position anymore. I am so much more than that. And as I write these words, my chest is opening slowly, little by little. There is a small smile starting, too. I can. I can. I can.

In a few minutes I will be ready to begin the day's tasks. I thank you so much for sharing this practice. I am adding it to a couple playlists and bookmarking/saving it as well. I see you and the light within you. Be well. Gratitude. 🤲🏻❤🤲🏻