Yoga Nidra — Releasing The Old, Welcoming The New

This yoga nidra was originally recorded at my 2023 End-of-Year Release ceremony. It includes energy healing to help us release the old and welcome the new, not only from one year to the next, but also from the old world to the new world, from an old version of self to a new one, or as support whenever you find yourself on the precipice of change.

Transcript

Setting up your space,

Making it really cozy,

Maybe some pillows or a pillow underneath your knees,

Behind your head,

An eye mask or eye pillow,

Blanket covering your body so every inch of you can be warm and cozy and held.

And taking a couple deep breaths to bring yourself into that space.

Bringing yourself into the space,

Inhaling through the nose,

Exhaling out the mouth.

Just allow yourself to visually imagine drawing a circle around yourself,

Disconnecting from whatever you were doing before and anything you have to do after.

Just allowing yourself to drop into this now moment.

Finding your attention at the center of your heart and just noticing what feels like it's ready to release.

It's ready to be offered back to spirit,

Offered back to the universe.

Anything that feels like it is an untruth that you have been carrying that maybe even isn't yours.

Maybe it's not even a story or a belief or a memo about yourself that even came from you.

Maybe it's something that you adopted from a family of origin or from out in the world.

Something or someone that told you not to be who you are in your fullest expression.

Just notice where that lives in your body and we're just getting it primed here for release.

Finding where it's located in the body can help us gather it and offer it back to spirit.

Just allow your attention to graze over those places that are painful or difficult or hard.

Those things that you have been carrying,

Those messages,

Those memories,

Those experiences that aren't serving you.

And just notice how they may even be sharp or painful in your body.

And then notice the opposite of that.

Notice where it's light or easeful.

Notice all the things that you are quote-unquote caring that aren't challenging.

Your life purpose,

Your life mission,

The blueprint of who you are.

Notice how easeful that feels in the body.

And just play with the idea of is it possible that those things that we are carrying that are not us or that came from somewhere else are actually harder to carry than the beautiful easeful experience of who we are authentically and organically.

And is it possible for us to let go of those things that are heavy and hard and come back into a more easeful place.

And so with that the practice of Yoga Nidra begins.

Calling in first here our Sankalpa,

Our intention,

The energy that we want to embody and become.

It's like a study that we are communing with and learning from.

What do you want to live more into?

And if you've been working with a Sankalpa already,

It's fine to use that one,

But also play with the idea that a new one may be ready for you before you're aware that you're ready for it.

And just allow spirit to answer that question.

So I'll give you a moment here just to commune with that and find your Sankalpa.

Just asking what is it that I'm ready for next?

And when you have it,

Even if it's not quite defined in a word yet,

Just hold the feeling that you're ready for.

Just hold the feeling of it and repeat it three times.

And then feeling that energy of that Sankalpa,

That word,

Arrive in your body and feel it first populate in the right hand thumb.

The full energy of that Sankalpa,

The full energy of that intention,

Let it light up your right hand thumb.

And then as I continue to guide you to different parts of the body,

Let that Sankalpa move and shift into different parts of the body.

So moving from the right hand thumb to the right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of the right hand,

Back of the right hand,

The right hand wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

The right shoulder,

Underarm,

The right side of the ribs,

The right waist,

The right thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Top of the right foot,

Bottom of the right foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Feeling the whole of the right side of the body lit up lit up with your Sankalpa.

The whole right side.

All of your awareness in the right side of the body.

And then crossing the midline of the body,

Bringing your attention into the left hand thumb,

Left index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

The palm of the left hand,

Back of the left hand,

Left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

The left underarm,

Left rib cage,

Waist,

Left thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Top of the left foot,

Bottom of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Feel the whole left side.

The whole left side full of your Sankalpa.

Moving to the back of the body now.

Bottom of the right foot.

Bottom of the left foot.

Bottom of both feet together.

The right heel,

The left heel,

Both heels together.

The right ankle,

The left ankle,

Both ankles together.

The right calf,

The left calf,

Both calves together.

Back of the right knee,

Back of the left knee,

Both knees together.

Back of the right thigh,

Back of the left thigh,

Back of both thighs together.

The right seat,

The left seat,

The whole seat together.

The lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head.

Feeling the entire back lit up with your conscious awareness,

The energy of your Sankalpa.

Top of the head,

Forehead,

Middle of the brow,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

Both eyebrows together.

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

Both eyelids together.

The right eyeball,

The left eyeball,

Both eyeballs together.

Top of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

The right nostril,

The left nostril,

Both nostrils together.

Feeling the whole nose,

The top lip,

The bottom lip,

Both lips together.

The roof of the mouth,

The bottom of the mouth,

The tongue,

The whole mouth together.

The right jaw,

The left jaw,

Both jaws together.

The chin,

Front of the throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Both collarbones together.

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Both sides together.

The upper belly,

Lower belly,

The pelvic bowl,

The right hip,

Left hip,

Both hips together.

The right thigh,

The left thigh,

Both thighs together.

The right knee,

The left knee,

Both knees together.

The right shin,

The left shin,

Both shins together.

The right ankle,

Left ankle,

Both ankles together.

Top of the right foot,

Top of the left foot,

Both feet together.

Bottom of the right foot,

Bottom of the left foot,

Both feet together.

Feel the whole of the right side of the body,

The whole of the left side of the body,

Feeling both sides of the body together.

From the feet to the ankles,

Fingertips to the shoulders,

The whole torso,

The neck and the head,

The whole body full of your conscious awareness,

Full of the energy of your Sankalpa,

The energy that you are leaning into,

Or whatever threshold you find yourself at.

Bring in your attention to your breath.

Just witness it,

Notice it without strain.

Watch your breath,

The inhale and the exhale.

Without labor or force,

Just notice it as if you're witnessing being breathed.

Notice the rise and fall of the chest,

Almost as if you're standing outside of yourself,

Watching your body.

And perhaps even with your conscious awareness,

Noticing where in your body you're holding heaviness,

Or tightness,

Or pain,

Or shame,

Or difficulty.

And then by opposite of that,

Where you're showing or caring,

Or holding energy that's light and easeful and joyful,

The essence of who you are here to be.

And then we'll move through a few rounds of what's called Pairs of Opposites.

I will call out a feeling,

A word,

An experience,

And you'll feel that to the fullest experience of it in your body with witness consciousness.

So you aren't becoming the thing or allowing yourself to be taken off in a story about the word,

Or the feeling,

Or the experience,

But just allowing yourself to witness the energy of that word,

Or experience,

Or emotion in your body.

So first we'll call in the energy of challenge.

What does that energy of challenge feel like in your body?

Just notice where it shows up,

What the vibration of it feels like,

And then releasing that and bringing in the energy of ease,

The experience of ease.

Just notice if your breath changes,

The way you're holding your body changes,

And then releasing that,

Coming back to a neutral energy at the center of the heart,

And then calling in the energy of grief.

What does the energy of grief feel like in your body?

And then releasing that and calling in the energy of joy.

What does the energy of joy feel like in your body?

And then letting that go,

Coming back to the neutrality at the center of the heart,

And then calling in the energy of endings.

What do endings feel like in your body?

And then releasing that,

And calling in the energy of beginnings.

What does the energy of beginnings feel like in your body?

And then releasing that,

And again coming back to the neutrality at the center of the heart,

Taking in a deep breath through the nose,

And exhaling out the mouth,

Just allowing yourself to shake off that experience,

And find yourself now looking down in your mind's eye at your feet,

And finding yourself in a place in nature,

Looking down at your feet and noticing what is beneath your feet.

Is it grass,

Soil,

Sand,

Water?

Notice where you are,

And look up around and notice the landscape.

Maybe it's a place you are familiar with.

Maybe it's a brand new place.

Maybe it's a hybrid of the two,

And seeing in front of you a path that appears that's different enough in landscape that it is obvious this is the path to follow.

And begin walking down this path,

And you find that you come across a creek in front of you that separates the landscape,

That separates the path,

And you notice a bridge.

You find that bridge and cross over it.

Off in the distance,

You begin to hear music,

Laughter,

And joy as if there is a community or a town nearby,

And you're walking towards that town out of curiosity.

Who are these people?

What is this place?

And there's a joyfulness to it,

A lightfulness and ease,

And you notice that where you're walking to,

This community,

It is an expression of the new world,

The new earth,

With you fully enveloped in your sankalpa.

And you walk into this community with excitement to see what's here,

To see what you and others are going to create and develop.

Just allow yourself to walk along and notice what you notice.

What is the energy of this place?

What are the people like,

The animals,

Nature,

The essence of the ancestors nearby?

Just taking in the experience of this place.

And as you walk a little further,

You notice that there is a bonfire in an open square in the center of this place,

And many of the people in the community here are gathered around this fire welcoming you.

And as they welcome you,

They let you know they have been waiting for you.

And they ask you for that heaviness,

That hardness,

That thing that you noticed in your body that you were carrying,

That was difficult or painful or not yours,

Or a belief or a story that came from somewhere else that you have been carrying.

Just pause for a moment and notice where that thing is in your body.

Call it up again,

Gathering it all together,

And imagine lifting it out of your body now and placing it into the fire.

And if it's heavy and hard and difficult,

Too much for you to lift on your own,

Then ask your guides for help or ask the people in the community here standing around the fire to help you.

Maybe it's as large as a grand piano.

Maybe it's a giant boulder.

Maybe it feels like it's the whole of who you are.

Just allow it to loosen and disconnect from your being,

From your physical body,

And allow it to be lifted out of you easily and placed into the fire.

And as you let go of it,

If tears or grief come,

Just let that happen.

But also knowing that you're safe and held and that you belong and you clasp hands with the other people around the circle.

Feeling that sense of reunification with community,

With spirit,

With self.

A sense of belonging coming in that's reminding you that you always belonged.

And the idea of separation or not being enough to be included in community and friendship,

Laughter and joy,

Was not ever true.

It was just an idea.

Just feeling that sense of belonging and community strengthened as you stand here,

Hands clasped,

Joined with your neighbors.

Watching this old ancient idea,

This boulder,

This part of you that wasn't you,

But you've been caring thinking it was.

Watching it burn in front of you.

Watching it be purified and released and sent back to spirit.

In the element of air and ether.

Hear the crackle of the fire and letting any last dust or debris still remaining in your body be burned away.

Let go of so you have space to receive what is yours.

What is you?

The path,

The essence,

The energy of your organic and authentic self.

The true essence of your spirit.

The vibration that only you can pulse out on the earth.

It's why you came here.

To emit this frequency so that the color of the rainbow,

The diversity of who we are,

Can be expressed here on earth.

And the vibration of the whole can be lifted to a more heart-centered world that is in balance with the lower and the upper world,

The earth and the heavens,

The lower body and the upper body bridging together at the heart.

And as you release this and let this go,

You notice that this beautiful community of people comes to stand behind you at your back and they place their hands on the back of your heart,

The back of your shoulders.

And they say,

We have you now.

We support you.

You belong.

We want to see you living in your highest vibration.

We want you to know it's safe to let this grief and this pain go.

You are loved,

Honored,

Witnessed,

Cherished and celebrated.

And you feel the energy of their love and allow it to enter into your body,

Filling up that space that exists now that you've removed and released all of that heaviness.

Let it fill you up with a beautiful,

Divine white and gold light,

With the outside edge of emerald green for healing the color of the heart chakra.

And just let that pulse vibrate,

Allowing yourself to receive this love,

This belonging,

This reflection and witness and grace and belonging.

If there's anything more you'd like to ask for support around or anything else you feel like you need to release,

Go ahead and do that now.

And offering gratitude now for these beautiful beings that before this moment you didn't know.

You didn't know they existed.

And you recognize that these people are the family that you choose.

The individuals that you've connected with over time,

That you have met and witnessed and experienced along the way.

People that have had a profound effect on you and that you've affected maybe in ways you didn't even know.

And placing your hands in a prayer position,

Bowing to them in gratitude,

Thanking them for this experience.

And looking down at your feet,

You notice you're standing on the bridge again.

And you walk down the other side back where you came from,

Walking back along the path.

Walking back along the path to where you started.

Walking your spirit back into your body.

And repeating your sankalpa again here three times.

And then calling your spirit all the way back into your body.

Feeling it arrive as if it's sitting down.

Laying down back into your body.

Feeling the surface beneath you.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

And with your breath calling your spirit all the way back into your body now.

Beginning to move your hands and feet.

Maybe bending your knees,

Putting your feet on the ground.

And rolling to one side.

Just allow yourself to rest in a peace of this moment.

Feeling gratitude for this release,

This connection.

And sitting up whenever you feel ready.

And opening your eyes when you're ready to come back.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Sat Nam.

Reviews

Incredible I met my guides and had a major release perfect for new moon.

Beautiful, thankyou 🫶🏻

Thank you forcl this skilled guidance, I recently had surgery and am on the healing path. This script couldn't be more perfect to propel me through this. So much gratitude 🙏

The most amazing journey that I’ve been reaching for to allow release of what did not feel pure to my existence.

That was great. I appreciated your description of the opposites. Thank you 😊

Wow—-a world of love and joy, gentle harmony where it’s safe. No need for defensive armor. How beautiful. Thank you. 🙏🏽

A lovely practice. Deep and soothing. Many blessings and thanks! 🤍

This meditation helped me release some old patterns and thoughts stored in my body. Highly recommeded!

Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻That was brilliant. Loved taking the energy of my sankalpa throughout the rotation of consciousness. And the visualzation felt like a merging of imagination and reality in expansive bliss🙏🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🙏🏻