Self-Love Yoga Nidra

A Yoga Nidra to tap into the soft loving energy of the heart and cultivate self-love for body, mind, and soul. Yoga Nidra can help improve self-awareness, self-esteem, and compassion, providing nourishing support for good mental and physical health.

In this practice, a 3-minute introduction is followed by a 25-minute guided Nidra encompassing a body scan, breath awareness, opposite sensations, and visualization.

Music 'A Soothing Caress' by Christopher Lloyd Clarke. Licensed by Enlightened Audio.

Transcript

Hello friends,

This is a yoga nidra for self-love and self-compassion.

Welcome home to yourself and to your body at rest.

So given the human tendency for negativity or negativity bias,

Self-love can feel like a stretch some days.

Many of us are really busy caring for others,

Too busy to give ourselves the love that we need,

We deserve.

Some of us may feel that we're just not lovable,

Not worthy of love.

Or perhaps we just feel a little diminished by society's expectations of us.

The way we look as we age,

Our body shape,

The colour of our skin,

Our belief system.

All these expectations can undermine the way that we feel about ourselves.

But meditation and yoga nidra can really help us cultivate self-love.

And in turn,

Self-love can help us strengthen,

Consolidate our meditation practice.

The more you meditate,

The more self-love you develop.

And the more self-love you feel,

The more you're inclined to meditate.

So what does self-love look like?

Self-love in action is being kind to yourself,

Treating yourself with understanding and forgiveness,

Recognising you're not perfect and being okay with that.

And why does it matter?

Because the more you take care of yourselves,

The more you're able to help others,

And to do so from a place of authenticity.

Research has shown that those who lack self-love and self-compassion are at a higher risk of ill health,

Both physical and mental.

Think about it for a moment,

Who hears the negative self-talk inside your head?

It's your body.

How we think can change the way that we feel.

And this is where meditation and a practice like yoga nidra works its magic.

As when we meditate,

We learn how to let thoughts arise and dissipate without connecting to them.

A really important skill when we consider how dominant our negative thoughts can be.

Finally,

Let us not forget that you show yourself love when you take time to sit and meditate,

Or lie down and practice yoga nidra.

The act of identifying a time and a place to do this is by its very nature a gift from you to you.

So let's get ready for our practice.

Just a few reminders that in our yoga nidra practice we're surfing that serene place between wakefulness and sleep.

There's no right or wrong way to do this.

If your mind is really active,

Don't worry.

When you notice,

Gently guide it back to my voice.

And if you doze off,

That's fine too.

Join us again when you come back from your sleep.

So take a moment to adjust your body and get as comfortable as possible.

And as you settle your body down,

Becoming aware of the connection between your body and where it rests on the floor or the bed or the chair.

Feeling that connection in the back of your head,

Shoulder blades,

The back of the pelvis,

Legs,

Your heels.

How does it feel to lie here,

To sit here?

Are there any final adjustments you can make to feel completely at ease?

Allow your eyes to gently close and let the outside world fade away as you bring your attention inwards.

Allow your attention to turn away from sounds far and near.

Take a deep breath in.

And as you exhale,

Invite your body to release any physical tension or tightness it may be feeling.

Taking another deep breath in,

Filling your lungs as completely as you can.

And as you breathe out,

Allow yourself to let go of thoughts,

Worries,

Burdens or anxieties,

Anything lingering in your mind.

Taking any final movements here and then coming to find stillness.

As you enter this state of deep relaxation,

Take a moment to set your Sankalpa,

A positive,

Life-affirming intention for yourself.

Choosing something,

A positive affirmation,

A heartfelt desire,

Something that aligns with your truest self.

And silently repeat it to yourself three times,

Allowing it to resonate within you.

And if you don't have a Sankalpa,

You can use this time to see if anything arises.

You can rest in silence.

Or you can use a Sankalpa,

I love and value myself,

Just as I am.

I love and value myself,

Just as I am.

This is a powerful mantra to remind yourself that you're perfect,

Just the way you are.

No matter what your past looks like,

Mistakes you may have made,

You are worthy of love,

Including your own.

Now let's take that love and move it around our body.

You might wish to visualise a loving energy,

Warmth,

A favourite colour,

A blessing,

A thank you or even a smile as you move your awareness within and around your body.

We'll begin on the right side,

Allowing your attention to rest at the tip of your right thumb,

Moving it to your index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and little finger.

The palm of your right hand.

The back of the hand.

Your right wrist.

Lower arm.

Right elbow.

Upper arm.

Right shoulder.

Right armpit.

Your right waist.

And the hip.

The thigh.

The kneecap.

The lower leg.

The ankle.

Your right heel.

The sole of your right foot.

And the top of your foot.

Moving your awareness,

That gentle loving awareness,

To the tip of your right big toe.

The second toe.

The third toe.

The fourth toe.

The fourth toe.

And your little toe.

Allow your awareness to drift up to the tip of the thumb on your left hand.

That gentle loving,

Kind awareness.

The light,

The colour,

The energy,

The blessing.

Moving from the tip of your left thumb to your index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and little finger.

Your left palm.

The back of the hand.

The wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Your left shoulder.

Your left shoulder.

And armpit.

Your left waist.

And hip.

Thigh.

And knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Your left heel.

The sole of your left foot.

The top of your foot.

The tip of your left big toe.

And second toe.

And third toe.

Fourth toe.

And little toe.

Allow your awareness to move to the very top of your head now.

And the forehead.

Your right temple and left temple.

Right eyebrow and left eyebrow.

The eyebrow centre.

The right eye.

Left eye.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Right ear.

Left ear.

The tip of your nose.

Your nostrils.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

The front of your neck.

Your right collarbone.

And left collarbone.

Right chest.

And left chest.

Your heart centre.

Allow your attention to rest gently on your heart centre.

Your upper abdomen.

Your navel.

Lower abdomen.

Pelvis.

And buttocks.

Lower back.

Middle back.

Upper back.

The right shoulder blade.

The left shoulder blade.

The whole of your spine.

The back of your head.

And the top of your head.

Your whole right arm.

Your whole left arm.

Your whole right leg.

Your whole left leg.

The front of the body.

And the back of the body.

And the whole body together.

Resting here in gentle awareness.

Gentle loving awareness of the whole of your amazing body.

Allowing your awareness to settle now on the centre of your chest.

Your heart centre.

Noticing the rise and the fall of your chest as you breathe.

Focusing on the area behind your breastbone.

Your heart space.

And in that space,

That infinite space,

Imagine,

Think or feel a bright light.

With every breath in,

That light shines a little brighter.

Illuminating your beautiful heart.

Enlivening your beautiful soul.

With every breath out,

Radiating that love through your body.

And beyond.

Breathing in.

Intensifying the light.

Breathing out.

Radiating that love and light.

Feeling the love,

The light,

The warmth,

The gratitude.

Filling your heart space.

Filling your belly and internal organs.

Filling your lower,

Middle and upper back.

Radiating that love,

That light,

Down the arms,

To your hands.

All the way to your fingertips.

Radiating out that loving breath to your hips and pelvis.

Radiating that loving breath all the way down the legs,

To your feet,

To the tips of your toes.

Radiating that loving breath to fill your head,

Your face,

Your senses.

With love,

With light.

As you breathe out,

Radiating the loving breath from your heart to the whole of your body.

The whole of your body.

Resting here in gentle awareness of the whole of your body.

As it moves softly with your breath.

Becoming aware now of your body resting on the floor.

Limbs heavy.

Muscles relaxed.

Imagine how it would feel for your whole body to be in a state of constriction,

Of tension.

Physically tight,

With little room to move.

Let your whole body explore the sense of tightness.

Tension.

Restriction.

Now imagine your whole body releasing that tension and restriction to feel spacious and unbound.

Let yourself wander between these opposites.

There's no rush.

Moving between the body feeling constricted and spacious.

Feeling tight and feeling relaxed.

How might you feel the sensations of constriction and spaciousness at the same time?

Can you feel these opposites together?

Trying to merge the sensations of constriction and spaciousness within your whole being all at once.

Can you rest deeply between the two?

Neither constricted nor spacious.

Simply resting deeply between the two.

Constricted and spacious.

Drawing your attention back to your heart centre.

Bring to your mind the colour green.

You might think of an object.

A crisp green apple.

An emerald.

A bowl of salad.

Or it may be a green place or space.

A woodland.

A meadow.

A garden.

Allow yourself to be completely focused on and immersed in the colour green.

Inviting the colour to settle around your heart space.

Resting here for a few breaths allowing thoughts and feelings and images of green to come and to go.

Welcoming everything.

Resisting nothing.

Feeling into that space that resides within the heart.

Take your mind to a place where you feel that you can be yourself completely.

No pretence.

No artifice.

Somewhere that you feel completely free to do and to say exactly what is in your heart.

It's maybe a place that you're familiar with already.

Or it may be a place that you dream of.

You may be surrounded by people.

Loving family and friends,

Pets.

Those who accept you just as you are and who love you unconditionally.

Or maybe you're alone.

Enjoying the freedom that comes with solitude.

The opportunity to get to know yourself.

And recognise your needs.

What fills your cup.

And in this place allow yourself to forgive and let go of past hurts.

Replacing them with compassion and understanding.

For others and yourself.

Imagine being able to connect with your inner self.

Listening to the guidance and the wisdom of your heart.

Letting your imagination drift here.

Allowing images,

Thoughts and feelings to arise and then drift away.

And if nothing comes into your mind,

Being comfortable with the darkness.

Welcoming any images,

Thoughts and feelings.

Welcoming silence and darkness.

Allowing whatever is to be.

Now releasing the images,

Feelings,

Shapes,

Colours,

Thoughts.

Resting here for a few breaths.

In the gentle awareness of your body and mind at rest.

Returning to the light that lives within your heart space.

Reconnecting with its bright and loving glow.

Bringing your mind back to your sankalpa.

Repeating it silently to yourself three times.

Or you may use the sankalpa,

I love and value myself just as I am.

Becoming aware of your breath.

Your body resting.

Breathing itself.

Can you hear the sound of your body breathing?

Can you feel the sensation of your body breathing?

Allowing your awareness to move outwards.

Becoming aware of your body.

Resting on the floor,

The bed or the chair.

Becoming aware of the room that you're in.

The walls,

The ceiling,

The floor.

Listening for sounds within the room.

Beyond the room.

Feeling your awareness coming back into your body.

Inviting some gentle movement.

Wiggling fingers and toes.

Circling wrists and ankles.

Maybe stretching the arms overhead.

And if you're lying down when you're ready.

Rolling over to the right side.

Taking a few breaths here.

Integrating your yoga nidra experience.

Into your everyday life.

Coming up to sit or kneel.

Taking your time,

There's no rush.

Taking a deep breath in here.

And a long breath out.

Taking a moment to notice how you're feeling.

A kind and gentle awareness.

Finding gratitude for your body and your breath.

Thanking yourself for taking the time to practice.

I wish you a lovely rest of your day.

Until next time.

Goodbye.

Reviews

Namasté Pen
Thank you

Lovely yoga nidra, thank you x

Beautiful…thank you

I believe this is the second time I have used this meditation, truly enjoyed it-The teacher’s voice and the directions. It just feels like such a nice soul massage! I already had it saved and will continue to use it! Thank you, thank you especially for helping me settle into and stay asleep quickly!

This was lovely. Thank you for this meditation 🙏

So relaxing. Love your gentle guidance. Thank you🙏

Just lovely 🙏🏼

Wonderful

Lovely and calming voice and message. The body scan was faster than many but thorough. I would have liked more pauses with the visualization to allow my mind to settle. Still a very good meditation.

✨💗🙏💗✨

Thank you ❤️

A really nice yoga nidra! Very relaxing. Thank you. Namaste
🌺🙏🌺

Loved it! 🙏🌷💜💕

Such a lovely relaxing Yoga Nidra practice. Namaste 💗

Thank you for a loving, gentle yoga nidra🙏🏻🌟✨🌟💫🌟🙏🏻

Lovely!

Very relaxing

Sweet, lovely voice and instruction. Thank you for this offering.

Amazing 😍🥰

A beautiful meditation so well done. Thank you. ❤️