Yoga Nidra For Sadness

We all have to weather internal storms in life. This Yoga Nidra meditation is for times of deep sorrow and sadness. Give yourself this time to step into your darkness to remember who you are and begin to alight and shift the perspective deep within your ever-loving heart. Transmute the pain of your heart into the joy of your soul.

Transcript

Welcome,

My name is Elka,

Thank you for listening to Restful Medicine.

I started writing,

Recording,

And sharing these meditations for you,

Because the practice of yoga nidra has been one of the most effective tools in my life.

You see,

Dear listener,

I am a person who struggles with sadness and depression.

Although there have been a few dark times in my life,

Years of personal growth and transformation has taken shape,

Thanks to the gifts of a spiritual practice,

Gratitude,

Yoga and yoga nidra,

And daily meditation.

These practices have recalibrated my lonely,

Sad heart,

And has taught me to see that in my times of darkness,

There has always been a light,

A divine light,

To guide me out of the storm and welcome me into the sun.

So as we begin this time together,

May this nidra ease some of your suffering.

Remember dear one,

This is a process of learning and unlearning,

And it takes time.

Gently inside your mind,

Gently whisper,

I honor myself and my history.

I give myself this time to grow and to mend.

I acknowledge my hurt,

And I remember who I am and my ability to transform.

During this yoga nidra practice,

Allow yourself to let the rain of sadness shower down on you,

So much so that the love of 10,

000 ancestors and every drop soaks through you.

Feel this love so deeply that it floods you,

Flooding deep inside the marrow of your bones,

Calcifying each bone with the strength for all that you need on this journey.

The nidra requires stillness,

So if you haven't already,

Lay down or find a seat somewhere where you can become still or quiet.

Press pause if you need to.

With this practice,

If you feel the need to move,

Do so,

Making a small adjustment to your comfort and returning back to stillness as best as you can.

It should also be noted that some people can become distressed by meditation and mindfulness,

Therefore this might not be appropriate for everyone.

This meditation is not a treatment for any disorder and it is not a substitute for professional care.

Notice the thought that you are thinking right now,

And then gently guide yourself to what you can experience.

Maybe this is a sound nearby or off in the distance,

Perhaps noticing the taste inside your mouth,

Sensing any aromas or smells in the air.

What can you sense?

And then what can you feel or notice in this moment?

And then watch and observe again as another thought moves in,

And also how you are able to direct yourself back to what you can experience,

Feeling the breath inside the nose,

Tracing the breath from the nose inside the lungs,

Maybe feeling the airflow or even temperature of the air you are breathing.

Sense the feeling of your chest gently rising and falling.

Notice what you can feel and sense here,

Oscillating each time you notice a thought and guiding yourself back to what you can experience or how you experience the breath.

We sometimes get caught up in the idea that we have to be completely focused throughout the entire duration of a meditation,

But that is not true.

The practice is to simply return back to your experience as much as you can.

Your mind will wander throughout this recording and that is okay.

Each time you notice this,

Notice what you can do to draw yourself back into what you can sense and feel.

When we focus on internal sensations such as the breath,

A smell,

Feeling of temperature,

We begin to engage the insular cortex in the brain.

The insular cortex is responsible for our sensory processing and also the autonomic nervous system response.

Tuning inwards prompts a calming response inside the brain and inside the body.

So as you observe the feeling of the movement of breath,

The chest rising on the inhalation,

Gently subsiding on the exhalation,

Your brain begins to signal feelings of groundedness,

Of safety,

And the thoughts begin to slow down.

We can also reduce our emotional reactivity as well.

So if all that you are able to experience today is the feeling of the rise and fall of your chest,

Know that that is okay and you're receiving many benefits of this practice.

Try as best as you can to stay here throughout this recording.

And if at any point anything feels too much,

Return back to what was working for you or draw your focus back into the sensations of breath,

Oscillating between thoughts and feelings as best as you can.

You're building resiliency each time you do this,

Training your responses and rewiring passageways.

You're building resiliency each time you do this.

You're learning to trust yourself and also be in a loving relationship with yourself.

So continue as best as you can.

Let's add a sensory touchstone for our practice today.

Design your first finger and thumb together on both hands,

With a gentle touch,

Move your awareness to your fingers until you can sense the touch of your fingerprints or maybe the warmth of your fingers,

Even sensing the pressure of the fingers touching.

Maybe wrap the fingers together,

Sensing and feeling the grooves of your fingerprints ever so gently.

Begin to separate the thumb and finger with only the slightest gap in between so that you could barely sense the fingerprints.

Feel your fingers barely touching and the tiny space in between them.

You may even sense a connection between them,

Like a current of energy or like a magnet drawing them closer together or farther apart.

Notice what you can feel here,

Maybe even sensing the connective energy between your fingers.

Now bring the thumb and finger together again so that they lightly touch,

Sensing the grooves in your fingerprints again.

If this is all you do throughout this practice today,

Then that is enough for you.

Again,

If at any point in this meditation you feel like you need to react,

Gently guide yourself back here to the feelings of your finger and thumb touching or sensing how the breath moves in and out.

In Yoga Nidra we practice what is called a rotation of consciousness.

I will name some parts of your body and as I name each part,

Notice what you can feel or create a mental image or name the word associated with this body part.

If you miss any part of this,

Don't worry,

It's okay.

Keep continuing as fast as you can.

You can think of the rotation of consciousness as rewiring connections between the brain,

The mind and the body.

As we move throughout this rotation,

You might imagine that you are lovingly mending all the layers of your being from the physical to the mental and emotional.

So let's try it right now.

Become aware of the feelings and sensations at the top of your head.

Feel the top of your head and all of its sensations.

Now watch and observe the feelings in the right side of your head and now feeling the right eye,

Cheek,

Noticing your right ear and now the nose and even the air and temperature inside your right nostril.

Feel the right side of your mouth and move to the feelings inside your right shoulder.

Feel the sensations as they move down the arm and now inside your right hand.

Feel your right hand,

Thumb and finger joined,

Gently touching.

And now take your awareness to the feelings of the right side of your chest,

Gently breathing.

And now feel the right waist,

Hip,

Leg,

Ankle and the sole of your right foot.

And now watch and feel your whole right side light up with sensations,

Sensing your whole right side,

Your whole right side awake and alive with sensations and your awareness.

Become aware of the feelings at the top of your head again,

Feeling all the way back up the very top of your head or the space just above.

Notice what's alive with sensations here and then notice what you can sense and feel as you move your awareness to the left side of your head.

And now feeling left eye,

Cheek,

Ear and travel to the nose and watch and observe feeling the air move through the left nostril.

Feel the left side of your mouth and travel down to the sensations inside your left shoulder,

Down the left arm and into the left hand.

Feel your thumb and finger gently touching,

Even sensing the fingerprints here.

And now could you welcome the feelings of the left side of your chest,

Gently breathing,

Sensing the waist,

Left hip,

Leg,

Ankle and the sole of your left foot.

And what can you sense and feel through the whole left side of your body,

Lining up the whole left side with your awareness,

Feeling all the sensations on the left side.

And now observe and sense and feel the whole body as one vibrant sensation,

Being present with the whole body and all of the sensations you can sense here.

And watch and feel back over to the right side.

Feel the right side breathing,

Air and temperature,

Space and matter,

The whole right side.

And watch and feel as you move awareness over to the left side,

Space and matter,

Breath and movement,

Sensing the whole left side.

And then welcome yourself back into the center,

Deep inside the center.

And in the center,

Allow any emotion in,

Anything that you need to feel in this moment.

Feelings and sensations are unique to us and happen in the moment.

So don't try to force it or control it.

No dialogue or replaying a story.

Simply let whatever it is that you need to feel be present.

In the center,

You are held,

You are seen,

You are heard.

Safe place in the center.

Allow your feelings to fill this container and even spill over if they need to.

Sometimes our feelings are clear and present and strong.

Other times our feelings may wander in and out,

Shift,

Hide or change.

No matter what you are experiencing now,

Try as best as you can to remain with it.

Hold space for it.

There is a light within us all.

There is one inside you,

Travel deep into the cave of your heart,

The Guha,

Resonate within its glow.

Sit with your darkness.

Allow the darkness to shift your perspective to a light and open your heart,

Renew your hope.

And each time darkness reigns,

Choose to continue the path to the heart,

To the light within the heart.

Allow this place to be seen,

To be heard,

To be felt.

Become the witness of your internal suffering from this deep source of compassion,

Of love.

Notice how your suffering changes as you gaze within with a loving support.

Observe how everything shifts and eases each time you perceive it from this place of wisdom.

Make space for the outpouring of sadness you feel.

Remember yourself as a deep river of love.

Rest in your true nature and from the space where we all began.

And within this feeling,

Could you invite now this mantra in your heart,

Repeating it three times quietly here within the space?

I am transmuting this pain of my heart into the joy of my soul.

And imagine now a dark sky above you,

Heavy with rain clouds.

Thunder and lightning.

Watch and feel as the thunderstorm of your emotions are released from the sky.

Feel the rain pouring down on you like a cascade of love from the heavens.

Rain soaking through your clothes,

Your skin,

Cleansing and washing through your layers of tissues,

Muscles,

And flooding deep inside your bones.

Feeling all parts of you with a deep resource of love.

Love as wide,

As fast,

And as strong as the heavens.

See the clouds gathering and holding space for you.

Let the love and the rain fill you.

And now could you begin to see and to imagine the dark skies beginning to open,

Clearing.

Watch and observe as dark clouds fade,

Turning into white,

Pillowy,

Soft,

Fluffy clouds in the sky full of blue.

See and feel an immense,

Bright sun fill you with joy.

Feel the touch of warmth on your face.

Feel your skin dry and the sun heat up your bones,

Radiating warmth into your soul.

Feel the sun's glory filling you with happiness and gratitude for all that you share.

The sun is here to guide you,

To warm you,

To light your path from your eternal storm.

Feel yourself warmed in the sun's embrace.

See yourself opening like a flower,

Blooming in the daylight of your love.

Feel your heart with gratitude and draw up the corners of your mouth.

Feel your smile light up your heart.

Feel this warmth radiating within you,

Feeling yourself patient,

Loving,

And kind.

You are powerful,

Dear one.

You are strong as the troubling winds and as bright as the sun.

Feel your warmth,

Your love.

See your inner divine light and allow it to shine.

Winds will always come and go,

But the sun always rises and chooses to shine every day.

Feel down to your fingertips again,

Noticing thumb and first finger gently touching,

The grooves of your fingerprints,

The warmth and the pressure.

Now watch and feel the movement of the breath,

Just rising on every inhalation filling,

Letting go,

Gently falling on the exhalation.

Feel yourself grounded and resting,

Noticing and feeling all parts of you now that are touching the surface beneath you,

And also become aware of the air and space around you.

Feeling yourself awake and alert,

Also calm and peaceful,

Whole,

Here in this space.

Let her eyes open when you are ready.

Be even placing the hands over your heart or heart center.

May the long time sun shine upon you,

All love surround you and the pure light within you guide your way on.

Thank you so very much for practicing with me today.

I honor you.

Reviews

Thank you. Just thank you 💜 So warm, kind, & gentle & the most I could manage today. Far too unwell & depressed to focus, your soothing voice & encouragement to return to the sensation of the fingertips touching took me out of my head to allow me some peace. Thank you 🙏

Soothing, comforting voice and guidance. Thank you 💚

Elke. Your beautiful mediation was just what I needed to hear today. It helped me immensely. So grateful 🙏

Thank you. This meditation helped my feel less sad and alone

Thank you for guiding this wonderful practice and sharing your experience, and for those important words that sadness and dark moments are part of our lives.

Thank you for this soothing and helpful meditation.

Beautiful. 🤍Thank you so much, this was so needed. 🙏

I related right away to the beginning, being a soul who has dealt with great sadness. Still not sure how to comfort that or find meaning in it though.

Wonderful Elke, thank you! The part when you're just letting the mindstream be was so powerful. Great guidance, voice and pace!

Beautiful in every way. So calming for my soul. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thanks for sharing Elke, it touched me deeply and being touched is precious. Thanks for the love and the compassion.
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