Yoga Nidra For Love + Loss

In this Yoga Nidra practice, we explore the direct experience of Grief. Yoga Nidra is a powerful practice for directly experiencing the deeper layers of our consciousness. Moving through the 5 sheaths of self, we awaken to the truth of ourselves as whole and liberated. This particular practice focuses on our personal and collective experience of love and loss.

Transcript

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice for love and loss.

We are going to be exploring the depths of the experience of grief together.

Of that space within us that loves so deeply.

And when we experience separation,

When we experience a split from what we love so much,

We feel into the depths of loss.

We feel into the depths of grief.

I invite you to set yourself up for Yoga Nidra.

The practice is best done laying down in a very comfortable and supported position.

So gather props,

Gather comfort items to you now.

Perhaps a couple of pillows,

A blanket,

And if it's available for you,

An eye pillow or something to place over the eyes.

So laying your bones down onto the earth.

Place a pillow behind your knees.

So be so supportive and loving to your lower back.

And a thin pillow underneath your head.

Wrapping yourself up in that warm cozy blanket.

Simply bringing comfort and warmth to the body of Yoga Nidra.

Our body temperature tends to drop significantly.

So warming yourself now and ensuring that you are very comfortable and well taken care of will help you to sink deeper into the practice.

Find yourself in this comfortable and supported posture.

Moving and shifting your body until you find equal weight on both sides of the body.

Really taking the time to set yourself up for this loving practice.

Moving your body into stillness now.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is done in stillness.

You will follow along with my voice allowing me to be your guide through this practice.

As you begin to experience the deepening layers of consciousness moving internally beginning with the outer most layer of self which is the physical layer.

And then moving into more subtle aspects of self almost like a nesting doll.

So from physical we move into prana into the layer of breath and energy movement.

And then more subtle to that we move into the layer of the mind.

And feel into and gain a direct experience of the mind.

Then we move into the layer of creativity in really where we begin to create from the space of both intuition and deeper knowing deeper connection to ultimately the inner most layer of consciousness of self which is unification with divine.

So beginning to feel your body become very heavy in this posture of Shavasana of rest.

If you haven't yet closing down the eyes starting to turn your focus inward.

Resting your eyes back into the hollow caves in your head.

By feeling into softness in the face releasing any expression.

Any holding in the small muscles of the face.

Smoothing out the forehead.

Relaxing the jaw.

And feeling the back of your head settle even heavier into the pillow below.

Feeling this deep relaxation spread down through the body.

Really sinking into every muscle,

Every bone,

Every joint.

Smoothing down into your chest and your back.

Feeling so heavy,

So relaxed.

The heart settles back onto the spine.

Releasing any need to do.

Any need to express.

Simply being.

Feeling a softness in the hips as your legs and your feet gently turn out.

Small parts of the body now settling into this deep relaxation.

We now begin the practice of Yoga Nidra.

In Yoga Nidra practice we begin by implanting a deep desire for our highest good.

This is our Sen Kalpa.

Very similar to an affirmation in that it begins with the very powerful words I AM.

The difference being that a Sen Kalpa is closely connected with that unification with Source.

With the highest good that is available to you right now.

We locate our Sen Kalpa by connecting in with intuition and in with this deep felt experience of our own divinity.

If you are working with a Sen Kalpa already you can bring this into the practice.

Or you can choose the Sen Kalpa that I am going to offer you that really holds the depth of our exploration today.

Sen Kalpa is I AM love.

So I invite you to repeat this Sen Kalpa or your own to yourself right now three times with deep felt meaning with expansive openness and heartfelt intention.

Repeat your Sen Kalpa now three times.

Now that we have opened the space for inner exploration we begin to look at this beautiful concept of love and loss.

This exploration of grief.

Remembering that to the same degree that love is felt we also experience grief.

When we allow ourselves to feel into the depth of loss we really open ourselves to the possibility of greater and more expansive love.

Grief really is this process of going into the experience both to honor the depth of love and to remember the truth of ourselves as being the source of this very love.

Knowing that truly there is nothing to lose.

We begin by exploring the outermost layer of self Anumayya Kosha.

The layer of consciousness that is our physical body and our senses.

The layer of self that allows us to process the external world and to bring that information into the inner experience.

In this exploration of Anumayya Kosha we will look at where in the body it is that we are holding experiences and the energy of grief.

Grief is accessed and found through five gates,

Five entry points that often show us where grief may be stored in the body.

And unprocessed emotion often is stored in the body.

So our work here today is to locate this energy of grief.

And so the first gate that we explore is the truth that everything we love we will lose.

So I invite you to feel into the body,

Scanning the body with your conscious awareness and locating in the body the remembering the experience of everything we love we will lose.

So where do you feel that in the body and do you hold any memories of loss?

Something that you love that you have lost?

We allow the emotion to come up.

Motion being stored in the body.

When we explore this layer of self we connect very deeply in with our emotionality.

Breathe here.

Now we explore the second gate of grief.

The places that have not known love.

The places within us that have not known love.

Where in your body do you feel this?

Where do you feel unlovable?

Where do you feel you have experienced rejection?

Really locate that experience.

Feel into the qualities of that experience and notice emotion associated with it.

Now moving your attention we explore the third gate of grief.

The sorrows of the world,

Where in your body do you feel the sorrows of the world?

Trust your body,

Trust that your body knows where to guide you.

And also trust your inner knowing that as emotion arises,

As emotion begins to reveal itself,

It absolutely will begin to move and shift.

It may at first feel overwhelming or confusing.

Trusting the natural processes of the body,

Of the layers of consciousness that are designed to help us move energy to experience the flow of life.

Locating now the fourth gate of grief.

What we expected and did not receive.

What we expected and did not receive.

Finding any memories that come to mind,

Any images and where in the body this is located.

Any emotions that are associated with this.

You don't necessarily need to name or label anything here but rather just be with the experience.

Feeling now into the fifth gate of grief,

Which is ancestral grief.

The experience of love and loss that belongs to our lineage.

To the people that came before us and that contributed to our experience in this world.

Do you notice any memories coming to mind?

Any memories that may be yours or somebody else's or perhaps even from a past life?

Finding where in the body this exists and what emotions are associated with it.

We've now moved through the five gates of grief and begun to explore the emotions and the memories that are stored in the body.

Really feeling into the truth that when we love and experience loss,

We often hold on to the grief.

We often hold on to the emotions and the memories that contributed to our experience of loss.

We now move into the second layer of consciousness,

Pranamaya kosha.

This kosha is connected very closely with the breath and the flow of energy.

We gain direct experience with the energy body.

I invite you to start to breathe into the heart space.

Really focusing your in-breath into the heart and your out-breath helping to expand the space of the heart,

The energetic center that fills your entire chest.

Breathing in the energy of compassion,

Of grace,

Of kindness.

Starting to really feel into this energy of total acceptance,

Of divine love.

Feeling your heart space become energized.

Now as you continue to inhale,

I invite you to draw the emotions of all of the grief that has been stored in your body.

Inhale those emotions into the heart space.

As you breathe in,

You gather the energy of grief,

The memories,

The emotions into the heart.

As you inhale,

You bring the energy of grief,

Of loss into the heart space.

As you exhale,

Really fan the flames of the compassion,

The kindness,

The love and acceptance that are already present here.

Gathering the emotions of grief,

The experiences of loss,

Really allowing those energies to move and to be gathered in the heart.

Exhaling to feel into the power of the love,

The compassion,

The kindness,

The grace that exists here in this space.

Continue this process,

Alchemyzing the experiences of grief,

Alchemyzing the energy that has previously been stored in the body.

Now shifting out of the tissues,

Moving into the space of the heart and transmuting,

Transforming,

Being recognized through the lens of love.

As you continue to alchemize these emotions and these experiences,

You notice that your energetic heart begins to grow so big.

You feel so spacious inside,

So open.

What a beautiful feeling filling your entire chest.

There is so much ease,

So much softness.

Feels like you can breathe more deeply.

As you continue this process and you continue to alchemize emotion,

This sense of love and of compassion and openness begins to spread outward in all directions,

Beginning to fill your entire energetic body.

Sensing your energy,

Your auric field pulsating with the energy and the truth of love,

Grace,

Kindness.

Now move into the next layer of self,

Mano Mayakosha,

A layer of the mind,

Where we gain direct experience with the true power of the mind,

Beyond belief,

Beyond thought,

Really into the liberated possibilities of the mind.

We will begin by feeling into the full experience of loss.

Feeling on all layers of experience,

The sensation,

The fullness of loss may help to remember something or someone that you have lost.

Really feeling into the heaviness of this energy,

The turning inward,

The depth of emotion,

Letting it fill your entire body,

The sadness,

The anger,

The hopelessness,

Feeling consumed by this energy of loss.

And now remembering the energy,

The experience of love,

Of love,

Of love may help to bring up the image of somebody that you care for so deeply.

Or remembering the original source of what it is that you lost.

What is it that you loved so much?

What is it that really touched your heart in such a deep way?

Feeling into the liberation of this energy,

The expansiveness,

Knowing that anything is possible with love,

The total acceptance,

Possibility,

Joy,

Fullness of being,

That excited energy of creation when something new is birthed into this world,

Into your experience and there is so much possibility here.

Feeling into the energy of love.

And now we recognize the true power of the mind by holding both the experience of loss and of love at the same time,

Simultaneously.

So remembering,

Feeling into that energy of loss,

Of sadness that comes with no longer being with or experiencing what it is that we love.

And at the very same time,

Experiencing the depth of this love,

Experiencing the fullness of our ability to witness creation,

To be in the energy of possibility.

Holding both of these simultaneously.

Really witnessing the power of the mind.

The power of the mind to create experience.

The power of the mind to hold duality.

To create experience even if we are first feeling into something that is very heavy or constricted,

We can also bring in the energy of expansion.

We can be with this duality.

And now we move into the next layer of self.

Vijnanamayakosha.

This is the creative layer of consciousness.

The more subtle aspect of self that is very much the inroads or the doorway to divine.

It houses our immense creative potential,

Our intuition,

Our true power.

It is the first layer of the causal self of the creator.

In the waking state,

This really is the space of doing,

Of creation,

Of choice making.

It is the wisdom,

The process of integrating knowledge and experience.

And yet,

Just as the moon borrows its light from the sun,

This layer of self borrows its light from source.

So while we are the choice maker,

The creator,

We are borrowing this energy of creation from divine.

And in order to really feel into the truth of this experience,

I invite you to envision now the fullest expression of your love that is possible here in this world,

In this experience,

In this human form.

What is the fullest experience and expression of your love?

Visualize it.

See it so clearly in your mind's eye right now.

Fullest expression of your love.

Now we connect in with the deepest layer of self,

Anandamayakosha.

This is our opportunity to rest back and return to the source of love.

So simply let go of any need to do,

Any need to create.

And just being with the infinite love that is your birthright,

That is your source.

While you are feeling into the fullness of this love,

Consider for a moment the original source of loss,

The original source of separation from this truth of yourself as source,

From this truth of yourself as divine.

When you are born into this human experience,

When you are born into this human form,

There is a separation that occurs.

Imagine for a moment this experience of source,

Of divinity,

Feeling this loss,

Feeling your birth into human form as a sort of separation,

As a sort of loss.

This being,

The origination of grief.

Referring back to when you entered this world in this human form.

Knowing that you were loved so deeply,

So fully,

That divine was willing to allow you to separate from source for a time in order to experience the fullness of this world,

In order to explore,

In order to learn,

In order to expand.

Feel into this truth of your origin as love.

And recognize that the grief and the loss that you experience in this human form really is a direct reflection of this original source of separation.

And anytime you feel the need to return to this love,

It is available for you,

It is here right now,

It is part of you.

You can remember and return to the fullness of the love that you are.

That truly is the journey here.

The path of remembering yourself as the fullest expression of love.

As the truth of yourself as divine.

San Calpa.

San Calpa.

San Calpa.

Remembering now the deepest truth that is available to you now.

The highest desire for expansion,

For self realization.

Either repeating the one that you chose for yourself or the one that has been gifted to you.

I am love.

Recalling now three times to yourself with deep felt meaning,

With conscious attention.

Beginning to deepen your breath.

Bringing your experience back into all layers of consciousness now.

Feeling simultaneously your connection with source,

Your deep creative and intuitive power.

The truth of your mind as able to really hold duality and provide opportunity for liberation.

The movement and flow that is available within the energy body.

And our experience of self and of the external through our physical body.

Breathing into the fullness of all layers of consciousness.

And remembering ourselves as this fullest experience of love.

Recognizing that when we feel loss,

When we feel into these gates of grief of the first being everything we love we will lose.

The second being the places that have not known love.

The third being the sorrows of the world.

The fourth being what we expected and did not receive.

And the fifth being ancestral grief.

All of these gates of grief are opportunities for remembering love.

These places where we begin to explore what it is that we have felt separation from.

And when we truly begin to open to this experience of life happening through us and for us.

Truth is revealed.

Love is felt.

And begins to expand us open more and more.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Ario untatsat.

When you feel ready you can start to feel into your senses.

So begin by feeling the edges of your body and perhaps wiggling your fingers and your toes so gently,

So lovingly beginning to wake up the body.

Perhaps starting to hear sounds in your immediate environment.

Starting to stretch your senses out beyond your physical and energetic body into the space around you.

Perhaps envisioning the space that you are in.

Noticing,

Visualizing the position of your body in space.

When you feel ready you can blink your eyes open.

Coming back into this space with a renewed sense of awareness.

Building the gifts of love,

The lessons of grief.

Reviews

This took me several “listens” to finish…. Well worth it and I’ll listen again another day…. Thank you so much… I found the “gates” especially helpful imaging🙏

thank you thank you thank you

I want to learn what you know so I could do these yoga nidras for others.

Definitely felt a huge energy shift! I will continue to practice in this very loving and gentle guided meditation each day until I have nurtured the feelings of grief that currently remain present and unprocessed. Thank you for such a compassionate guidance through some of the most stickiest of waters that are unpleasant and difficult to travel alone.

A deeply beautiful experience. Thank you for your wise and gentle guidance. Namaste.
🙏🏻

Superbly rich and insightful experience. Beyond anything I could expect. On my top 10 IT ever. Recommend downloading first if possible to avoid wifi issues.

Wow. There are almost no words. Masterful. What a gift. Thank you. 💗💗✨✨✨

So beautiful and helpful for grief—thank you so very much, Caroline 🙏🏻❤️