Yoga Nidra For Releasing Anxiety

This half-hour relaxing Yoga Nidra meditation will lead you through Pranayama, setting Sankalpa, full-body scan, rotation of consciousness, rapid image visualization, and guided imagery visualization into your healing garden. It is designed to release anxiety and heal your heart.

Transcript

The practice of yoga nidra is in order to bring us into a deep state of relaxation somewhere between sleep and wake.

Our goal is not to fall asleep unless you're practicing tonight because you are in bed and ready to fall asleep,

That's fine.

But in general in yoga nidra our goal is not to fall asleep but it is to activate the brain waves that become active when we're really,

Really,

Really relaxed.

So those are theta and beta brain waves.

And when we're in that state of relaxation the body is able to heal and repair itself.

The parasympathetic nervous system is active.

And so that's when we're in rest and digest mode.

So this is a very healing practice.

Throughout I will be directing you to come back to your intention and to come back to the sound of my voice.

And there will be prompts to keep you from all the way falling asleep.

So please relax,

Enjoy,

And begin arranging your body in a way that you're comfortable to stay in a position for the next 25 minutes.

Make any final adjustments as you need to,

Placing any pillows underneath your body for support,

Maybe a blanket over your hips.

Take a big inhale breath and a huge exhale breath,

Like sighing out release.

Maybe one more time,

Take a big inhale breath.

And as you exhale allow yourself to sink even deeper into the surface beneath you.

Allow your eyes to close.

And simply begin observing your breath.

Notice how each inhale feels coming in through your nose,

Filling up your chest,

Expanding your lower belly.

And notice how each exhale feels,

Leaving your belly,

Leaving your chest,

And exiting through your nose.

See if you can observe the sound of your breath.

And then gradually begin letting it become deeper,

Taking full and complete inhales and complete and full exhales.

With each inhale,

Trying to expand your belly as much as you can,

Filling all the way up.

And with each exhale,

Emptying yourself all the way out of air,

Pulling your lower belly in,

Being completely empty.

Full and complete inhales,

Full and complete exhales.

Continue focusing on your breath.

And as you do,

See if you can notice the sensation of your heart beating.

See if you can feel your heart beating within your chest.

See if you can hear your heart beating.

Begin listening to your heart,

Asking it for an intention for your practice this evening.

Your intention might be a simple statement.

It might be a simple image of you and your truest,

Highest being,

Completely healed.

If an image has come to your heart,

See if you can pair it with a word to come back to,

That every time you hear that word,

You will envision yourself truly well and totally healed.

Please repeat your intention to yourself,

Your sankalpa,

Three times.

With an inhale,

Begin squeezing your fists into balls,

Balling your fist and squeezing your toes together,

Tensing all of your muscles,

Squeezing your body tight.

And on your exhale,

Sigh out,

Release,

Relax,

And let go.

We'll do this two more times,

Engaging muscles,

Squeezing your fists,

Squeezing your toes,

Engaging your core,

Squeezing your muscles,

Making yourself tense.

Exhale,

Release,

Relax,

Let go.

And once more,

Squeezing everything in,

Holding tight to squeeze,

Creating tension to consciously release it,

Relaxing,

Letting go.

Allow your body to become heavier still and sink even deeper into the surface beneath you,

Even deeper into relaxation.

We'll do a quick body scan.

Bring your awareness into the top of your head and feel it release as you relax.

Feel the very back of your head release as you relax.

Feel any tension wash away from your forehead as you release and you relax.

Feel any tension release from your inner eyes and relax and allow the outer corners of your eyes to relax.

Feel the apples of your cheeks relax,

The bridge of your nose relax,

Your lips relax,

The tongue inside of your mouth relax.

Feel your jaws relax.

Allow your throat to relax.

Feel the back of your neck release any tension and relax.

Feel the tops of your shoulders relax and the backs of your shoulder blades relax.

Feel the center of your chest release as you relax.

Feel the shoulders release beneath you as you relax.

Feel your upper arms release beneath you as you relax.

Let your elbows become heavy and relax.

Feel your forearms release and relax.

Allow your wrists to relax,

The palms of your hands to relax,

And each of your fingers to release as you relax.

Allow your attention to your ribs and relax.

Feel the center of your navel release as you relax.

Feel both hips become heavy,

Weighted,

And relaxed.

The backs of the hips relax.

The backs of the thighs relax.

The tops of the thighs relax.

Feel the knees become heavy and relax.

The calves and the shins release and relax.

Feel your ankles relax.

Your heel bones relax.

The soles of both feet relax.

And all of your toes release beneath you as you relax.

Whole body is relaxed.

Everything is relaxed.

Bringing awareness only to the relaxation that you feel in your body.

And as any other thoughts come to your mind,

Simply acknowledge them and let them go.

Catch and release.

Please repeat your intention to yourself.

Please repeat to yourself,

I am not falling asleep.

And next we'll flow through a series of rapid image visualization.

I will name objects and you'll picture each one going from one to the next without becoming attached to the previous one.

Red desert.

Peacock feather.

A good night's rest.

Full moon.

Your reflection in a mirror.

A foggy morning.

Waiting for results.

The sun shining overhead.

A bouquet of flowers.

Tall tree.

Receiving help from others.

Cool clear water.

A relaxing afternoon.

Laughing with friends.

A warm embrace.

Burning candle.

Temple on a mountain.

Path in the woods.

Vibrant sunset.

Taking a deep breath.

Cat stretching.

A beautiful garden path.

Your favorite song.

The sound of my voice.

Your body where it rests.

Please repeat your intention to yourself.

Please repeat to yourself,

I am not falling asleep.

And please imagine your body being aware only of where it lies.

Allowing yourself to see from an aerial view what it looks like.

Where your body rests in relation to the door in the room.

To the nearest window.

To the sound of my voice.

Picture your body resting.

And as you do,

Know that you have come here this evening for total relaxation and for true healing.

Allow the process of healing to occur by envisioning your body surrounded in white healing light.

Watch as your body becomes filled with bright white healing light.

Sparkling and radiant.

Shining from head to toe.

This white light that envelops your body is divine healing.

Allow it to penetrate into each and every cell,

Restoring balance,

Creating health.

Allow the light to heal your physical body as well as your mind.

Knowing that where this light shines,

Fear is not possible.

Peace is no longer.

Only light.

Allowing your body to bathe in this white light and your mind to stay relaxed.

Allow your spirit to find itself in your secret garden.

This is a garden that only you have the key to.

It is your sacred place of healing where you come to refresh your soul,

To meditate,

To meet with the divine.

Feel yourself unlocking the gate and shutting it behind you.

Simply walking along the path in the middle of the garden.

Observing the place.

Noticing the sensation of air on your skin.

The temperature of the air and any smells that it carries.

Observing the color of the sky and whether it carries any sounds or any birds.

Notice the plants and all of the beautiful colors that surround you here.

Feel the earth beneath your toes knowing that you are home.

As you make your way gently and slowly deeper into your garden,

Allow yourself to feel free here.

To feel welcome here.

This is the place where you remember who you are.

Notice the expression on your face.

How it feels to be in your body in this place.

The lightness of your step.

The easiness of your breath.

And if you've come into this place feeling burdened and weighed down by anything heavy,

Allow yourself to experience it.

To feel the full weight of it.

Maybe you've been resisting grief.

Or you've been struggling under tremendous stress.

Maybe fear and anxiety have taken hold in your mind.

Allow yourself to feel whatever brought you here this evening.

And as you feel it,

Envision it surrounding your body in a dark cloud.

Notice the deep colors of the cloud.

How it makes you feel to look at it as it swirls around you.

The cloud represents everything you've been carrying.

Every negative emotion.

Every heavy burden,

Worry,

And fear.

Let the cloud be here for as long as you need.

Giving it space.

Respecting it.

Trusting that it has served a very good purpose.

And then remember that heart space deep inside of you.

Full of light.

The place which houses your intention.

Remember your intention.

And feel your heart begin filling with white healing light.

And as your heart fills with light,

Think of one person you love.

Think about how wonderful they are.

How much you love how they look when they smile.

How wonderful it is to receive an embrace from this person.

How your love for this person to fill you from your heart outward.

And as you feel every cell of your being become full of love and lighter and lighter,

Notice as the dark cloud around you becomes smaller and smaller.

Notice that the light begins to pour out of your entire body.

Beaming from your face,

From your hands,

From your feet,

From the top of your head.

And watch as all of this beaming light pushes the cloud away until eventually it evaporates.

Check in with yourself here.

See if there is anything else you can surrender.

Anything that you would rather trade for peace,

For light,

And for love.

Take a few more moments in your garden,

Walking around,

Observing,

Feeling,

Allowing yourself to be filled to the brim with all that is wonderful.

Soaking up the beauty of your garden,

Know that you can come back here at any time,

That it is always yours and it is always available to you.

Please repeat your intention to yourself and allow yourself to remember your body where it rests.

Notice that it is still covered in white healing light.

Allow yourself to exit your garden,

Closing the gate behind you.

And allow your spirit to simply be breathed back into your resting body.

Being relaxed,

Simply become aware of the weight of your body on the surface beneath you.

Simply become aware of any textures touching your skin.

Simply becoming aware of the breath and allowing it to deepen,

Expanding your inhales,

Taking more full exhales.

Feeling your beautiful body,

Light and whole.

Know that you can always come back to this place,

That you can choose love over fear,

That you can come back to your intention all throughout your day,

That your heart is your true north,

That you are loved beyond measure,

That you are seen,

You are supported,

You are heard and you are understood,

That you are making a difference,

That your life serves a huge purpose.

Please repeat your intention to yourself.

And please repeat internally to yourself,

Thank you.

And please repeat internally to yourself,

I love you.

And gently bring slight movement back into the body,

Maybe very slowly turning one ear to the side.

And then slowly turning your head so that the other ear comes down to the side,

Giving the back of your head a massage,

Releasing any tension that may have accumulated in your neck.

Maybe squeeze your fists and your toes and release,

Relax and let go.

If you're headed to sleep from here,

Good night.

Otherwise,

Maybe reach your arms across your body to give yourself a gentle squeeze.

Reach your arms all the way above your head and point your toes far away from your fingers and your fingers far away from your toes to elongate your spine.

Maybe have the knees into the chest,

Rolling yourself into a ball.

Finding one side and slowly making your way up to a comfortable seat.

Thank you for allowing me to guide your practice of yoga nidra this evening.

You are loved and I love you.

May God bless you.

Namaste.

Reviews

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Thank you so much. I found this very relaxing and it helped me to let go of stress. Thank you 🙏

So relaxing and had everything I needed. I'll definitely come back to this meditation.

Very helpful in releasing anxiety before a medical procedure. I loved the repeated intention and the healing imagery. Thank you!

Thank you so much.. Amiga! I imagined a hug from you💜❤️💛beautiful voice and amazing Nidra!

I felt very relaxed and ended up falling asleep (which was the goal). I will use this practice again.

Excellent, voice, pace, & beautiful imagery. Please make one like this for Sleep 💤 😴, so many would Love to fall asleep & need beautiful guidance like this in order to sleep in peace.
Much Appreciation 🙏🌍🕊💙