Yoga Nidra For Letting Go

A Yoga Nidra for finding sleep when something is weighing heavy on you. A restful way to release all that is no longer useful. Find peace and release as you return to yourself through this soothing practice.

Transcript

We all feel heavy sometimes.

A sense that things are a bit too much.

A little more than we feel we can handle.

This practice is designed to support you in those moments when life feels overwhelming,

Overbearing or just exhausting.

Give yourself permission to rest fully.

And if you need to wake up again after your yoga nidra,

Set yourself a timer for about 25 minutes time.

Find a comfortable position for your body,

Wherever you find yourself.

Close your eyes and offer yourself some wiggle room,

A moment or two to settle.

Notice how your breath changes as your body shifts and comes closer to stillness.

You may find yourself drifting a little and losing track of my voice.

And that is absolutely fine.

Sleep and rest come in waves and you can trust them.

You can rest assured that you are receiving the most important aspect of this practice and all the nourishment you need.

Feel the surface beneath you.

Feel all the points where your body connects with it.

Take a couple of breaths to explore that connection,

Sensing and visualising the pattern that your body is tracing when you are chosen resting place.

Notice if it is possible to lean ever so slightly more into those spots,

To offer a little more of your weight to them.

Remembering how the world around you rises up to support you whenever you need it.

Allow yourself to soften and drop ever more into your body,

Into this surface,

Into the earth.

Now turn your attention to your breathing,

Noticing any subtle shifts that occur as you sink and trust.

Follow the ebb and flow of your breath with relaxed,

Benevolent attention.

From this settled place set an intention or a sankalpa for your yoga nidra practice.

Ask yourself,

What am I ready to release?

Is there something right now that is weighing heavier on your soul than is bearable?

Which of the leaves on the tree of your life,

Energetic,

Emotional,

Habitual,

Have changed colour and hang ready to fall and be composted?

What are you ready to turn over to the magic of sleep for transformation?

When you have it,

Frame your intention in your mind in the present tense in a way that makes sense to you.

Repeat it to yourself three times,

Making it feel more and more true with every repetition,

Then let it go.

We are cyclical creatures and our letting go,

Our surrendering,

Our release can be an exquisite process if we allow it to be.

A process that is every bit as glorious and necessary as our growth and our blooming.

And if we don't let go of that which weighs us down,

We can't make space for future delight.

Notice if the heaviness you feel is centred in a particular spot on your body,

It might be in several spots.

The invitation is to pour a little more attention into those places,

Allowing yourself to feel more heaviness,

More weight.

That which challenges us also makes us stronger and our obstacles can also be our greatest teachers.

As you feel the weight,

Take a few breaths to honour this challenge for all it has taught you,

To thank it for all the ways it has supported your growth.

Honouring this moment of overwhelm for all the blessings it brings,

Even if they aren't obvious right now.

Honouring your body and nervous system for doing their best to take care of you.

And honouring yourself for taking a moment to rest and be with what's real in your life right now.

And if outright gratitude doesn't feel authentic or accessible right now,

Perhaps honour your own perseverance,

Your resilience,

Your continued existence in the face of so many challenges.

Breathing in thanks for all there is to be grateful for in this moment.

And then gently,

Slowly,

Deliciously,

Begin spreading the weight out through your body.

Allow it to shift into shoulders,

Shoulder blades,

Upper arms,

Held in the hollow of your bones,

The crooks of your elbows,

The tender skin of your inner forearms.

Your wrists,

Palms,

Fingers and thumbs sharing the weight.

The backs of your hands,

Spreading it out like butter over warm bread.

And with your relaxed internal gaze,

Notice what changes during this process.

Continue to spread awareness,

Sharing the weight of your troubles down the body into the cauldron of your belly,

The bowl of your pelvis,

The strength of the muscles around your hips.

Let it soak into the lengths of your thighs to be absorbed by knees,

Kneecaps,

Shin bones,

Calves,

Ankles,

The pads of your feet.

Arches of the feet,

Tops of the feet,

All the way to the tips of your toes.

Spread it up into your neck,

Your face,

Your scalp,

Whole body sharing this weight,

Whole body supportive and strong.

Whole body offering a safe container for everything that feels like too much.

Breathe into this feeling for a moment.

And then,

Very gently,

Remind yourself that you have held onto this for long enough.

Remind yourself that you are fully deserving of rest.

That nothing in nature is fruitful,

Vibrant or blooming all year round.

All of creation needs rest,

Release and repose.

And that includes you.

You are of this earth,

Her rules apply to you too.

Humans are cyclical beings,

More in tune with the seasons than we care to remember sometimes.

See your body as a great tree,

Tall and wide,

Shaped by the winds of the storms it has weathered.

Feel your leaves ready,

Golden at the tips of your branches,

Aching to fall to the earth.

In a moment,

I'll ask you to take five deep inhales and five releasing exhales.

Let each exhale begin to release some of this heaviness down into whatever is supporting you,

Into the earth.

Into Mother Earth,

You can hold anything you give her,

You can bear all that feels too heavy and turn it into blessed new life.

Give her your golden leaves with every exhale,

Letting each breath be a deeper release.

Each exhale dropping more of that which is heavy,

Each exhale shedding another layer.

Begin now counting back from five to zero and releasing all that is ready to drop.

Take five deep inhales and five releasing exhales.

Take five deep inhales and five releasing exhales.

From this dropped place,

Feel into the spaces between you and your chosen mattress,

The areas under your body where air can circulate.

Even if they are just the tiniest pockets.

Notice the curves of your spine,

The undulations of your limbs,

The parts of your body that hold themselves and breathe into those spaces.

Allow your body to expand into them,

Feeling also into the expanse of space between you and the ceiling,

Expanding up and down at the same time.

Notice your body floating between the two,

Space above the crown of your head and space below your feet,

Space to both sides of you.

Notice the space without and the space within,

The expanses of wild territory inside your body as well as the microscopic pockets of space.

Notice if the act of putting down what is heavy has made you feel more spacious and know that if nothing has changed for you,

That is also absolutely fine.

This healing journey has no fixed destination and we must meet ourselves exactly as we are on the path.

Find the spaciousness within,

Such as it is,

And resist any urge to fill it right now.

No need to do anything but luxuriate in it,

Just as it is.

Returning to a sense,

A deeply felt memory,

A primal ancestral sensation that your body holds always,

Of your enduring wells of strength and resilience.

Know,

Deeply know,

That they are always there,

Even when they feel hard to access,

They are still there.

You have survived up until this point,

Even thrived I'm certain,

Sometimes.

You have weathered innumerable storms and here you still stand.

There is so much strength and power and genius in you,

Even right here,

Even right now,

At rest.

And it is safe to do just that.

Safe to float and to rest.

Safe to just be.

Safe to let go.