Transform Fear To Faith & Flow Water Element Yoga Nidra

In the Creative Cycle, the Water Element is the source of life force and will. When in balance, it manifests in the form of strong willpower and endurance. When imbalanced it manifests as fear, such as fear of making decisions and moving forward. In this Water-themed Yoga Nidra, embody and harness the energy of Water. Transform Fear into Faith & Flow and connect with your intuition, and receive insight from the collective subconscious in this calming practice.

To dive deeper, explore the related course, the Power of the Creative Cycle.

Transcript

Welcome back. In our last exploration, We began our journey through the creative cycle and the five elements, Starting with the element of water. And we continue our journey through water via an ocean-themed yoga nidra, Yogic sleep, Which is a lying down form of meditation, So that you can embody and harness the energy of water and receive insight and inspiration from the collective subconscious, The source, By building trust and cultivating patience in all that you do. The water element is the source of life force and will. When in balance, It manifests in the form of strong willpower and endurance. When imbalanced, It manifests as fear, Which may inhibit growth. For example, Fear of making decisions, Fear of moving forward. This fear can then surface in the form of procrastination or avoidance. Are there things you've been holding yourself back from doing, Despite knowing that they are good for you? Notice if the root of this procrastination or avoidance is fear. Fear of failure, Fear of not being able to live up to your own expectations or the expectations of others, Fear of not being able to fulfill the true potential of what you would like to achieve. Notice if this fear is holding you back. The antidote to fear is to create a holding, A vessel, A safe space that will carry and support you so you can cultivate an unshakable trust in something much greater than yourself. And in this vessel, This safe space, You can practice relaxing into yourself like a wave relaxing into the ocean. And through this essential practice, You can remember and return to your vast, Limitless, Ocean nature, Which is the true nature of your being. To cultivate trust and dissolve fear, We engage in the revolutionary act of rest. Most of us have been thought and told that we rest to work, We rest to produce, We rest so that we can show up better. But what would it be if we could let go of this programming? What if we were resting for no particular outcome, Resting simply to rest? What if we could leave behind the grind culture and these capitalist influences that tell us we must rest to work, Rest to do more, So that we become worthy? Leave this behind and give yourself the permission, Just for a moment, Right now, To settle. Instead, Let's reimagine as a collective, We rest in order to commune, We rest in order to connect, We rest in order to dream, We rest in order to liberate ourselves, We rest in order to be free. Take the next couple of moments to get really comfortable. Feel free to use any props such as blankets, Pillows, Bolsters, Anything you might need to feel supported. Adjust your clothing and remove any distractions from the space that you're in. Once you've cultivated and created a safe space, Let yourself settle into stillness. As you settle into stillness, Close your eyes and draw your awareness to your breath. Without changing your breath, Notice it. Notice the rise and fall of your breath and your belly. Notice the sacred, Natural, Effortless rhythm, Unhurried, Unrestricted. Stay with this rise and fall. Witness its ebb and flow. Watch as your inhale releases into your exhale and your exhale surrenders into your inhale. In Yoga Nidra, We work with a Sankalpa. A Sankalpa is a positive I am statement that is true at the core of who you are. It is your essence simplified into a short positive I am statement. This might be I am peace or I am abundant or maybe I am love. Whatever your I am statement is, For the next couple of breaths, Allow the statement to surface from within the center of your being. And once the statement has formed, Repeat it quietly, Internally to yourself three times. And if no Sankalpa comes to surface, Allow an openness to whatever guidance your inner teacher, Your heart, Has to offer to you. Remain aware of my voice throughout the remainder of the practice. The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now. Draw your awareness to your breath. Follow its natural tide and experience the tide of your breath as if your whole body is breathing. Let crystal clear water flow in and out with each cycle of breath. Feel and see waves of sparkling water washing over you with each inhale and falling away with each exhale. Each inhale peaking like a wave of energy cresting and each exhale gently descending and falling back. Experience the peaks and valleys of your breath like the waves of an ocean. For the next nine breaths, Count each of your exhalations from nine to zero. If you lose track of the counting, It doesn't matter. What matters is that you let your mind rest with each exhale. Let's begin. We now begin to guide the light of mental awareness around your physical body as if your physical body is the vast fertile soil of the earth. And your light of conscious awareness is like little drops of rain descending upon the earth, Moistening, Nourishing and watering the earth. We start at the root of your tongue. That little drops of rain descend there. The tip of your tongue, The inside of your left cheek, The inside of your right cheek, The roof of your mouth, The bottom of your mouth, Your left ear, The lobe of the ear, The shell of the ear, All around, Inside and outside of your ear. Let little droplets of rain descend there. Your right ear, The inside of the ear, The outside, The shell, The lobe of the ear and all around your right ear. Let little drops of rain descend there. The back of your head, The crown of your head, Your forehead, Your right eyebrow, Left eyebrow, The space between your eyebrows, Your right eye, Your left eye, The bridge of your nose, The tip of your nose. Let a little droplet of rain fall there. Your right nostril, Your left nostril, Your right cheek, Your left cheek, The space between your nose and your upper lip, Your upper lip, Your lower lip, The space between your lower lip and your chin and all across your jawline. Let little droplets of rain descend there. The center of your throat, Your right collarbone, Left collarbone, Your right shoulder blade, Left shoulder blade, Your right arm, Elbow, Forearm, Wrist, Center of your palm and all five of the fingers of your right hand, Your thumb, Index finger, Middle finger, Ring finger and your little finger, Your left arm, Elbow, Forearm, Wrist, Center of the palm and all five of the fingers of your left hand, Your thumb, Index finger, Middle finger, Ring finger and your little finger, The center of your heart. Let a droplet of rain descend there. Your right lung, Your left lung, Your navel, Three fingers below your navel, Your right hip, Your left hip, Your inner groin, Your right thigh, Knee, Calf, Shin, Ankle, Heel, The rainbow arch of your right foot, The ball of your right foot and all five of the toes of your right foot, Your big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe and your little toe, Your left thigh, Knee, Calf, Shin, Ankle, Heel, Rainbow arch of the left foot, The ball of your left foot and all five of the toes of your left foot, Your big toe, Your second toe, Your third toe, Fourth toe and your little toe. From head to toe, From toes to head, The vast earth that is your body is now covered with little droplets of rain descending. Now draw your awareness to your breath. As you exhale, Feel heavy like the rain water pouring down to the earth. As you inhale, Feel light as if you are evaporating like these little molecules of water vapor weightlessly up towards the heavens, Towards the sky. Exhaling, Feeling heavy like rain pouring down. Inhaling, Feeling light like vapor evaporating and floating up. Continue to alternate between these extremes, Heaviness and lightness with your breath for the next five breaths. And now wherever you are, Invite both extremes, A feeling that you are both as heavy as water pouring down onto the earth and as light as water vapor evaporating and floating up to the heavens, To the sky. Feel both of these experiences simultaneously in your consciousness and now gently let go of this practice and notice the natural weight, Shape and form of your physical body. Feel held by the earth, Herself. Draw awareness to the center of your heart. Feel and see a shimmering well of light in the center of your heart. As you inhale, Allow this light to gather inwards in this well and as you exhale, Let this light to flow and radiate outwards into the world. Inhale, Gathering light in to the well of your heart. Exhale, Letting this light flow and shine out. Continue to alternate between both of these experiences. Gathering in as you inhale and letting it flow and radiate out with your exhale for the next five breaths. And now wherever you are, Invite both extremes, A feeling that you are both gathering light inwards into the well of your heart and at the same time letting this light flow and radiate outwards at the same time. Feel both of these experiences simultaneously in your consciousness. Now gently let go of this practice and notice the natural texture, Quality and length of your breath. I will now describe images to you. Experience them without attachment and allow these images to wash over you. The vast, Limitless, Dark night sky. You see a meandering path lit by the tiny shimmering stars above you. Someone's footsteps line the trail of this path. You follow the footsteps towards the sound of the ocean. You see the ocean's glimmering waves emerge beyond the horizon. The surface of the ocean is calm. You walk closer and you see a wide stretch of sand. The faint starlight dances off the crest of each wave. Your breath in sync with the rhythmic pulse of the ocean. You approach the edge of the water. With each gentle, Patient step, Little hermit crabs scurry away, Giving you space. You stop and take off your shoes. The ocean water flows over all your toes. A sense of ease washes over you. A conch shell the size of your palm washes up to your feet. You reach down and pick it up, Admiring its beauty. Your fingers trace the sharp edges and the smooth contours of the conch shell. You gently place it against your ear and you close your eyes. From the shell you hear the echoes of some words. These words are your sankalpa. Repeat your sankalpa internally to yourself. Speak it to the deepest layers of your being with meaning and intention. Allow an embodied experience of your heartfelt intention, Your sankalpa, As your lived reality. See it as you are, Here, Now. Now allow your breath to gently become more audible. If you wish to linger longer, Listening to your heartfelt intention, Receiving this heartfelt intention, You are very welcome to linger, To rest, To stay. If, However, You feel you are ready to awaken, Start to notice the edges of your body, The points of contact of your body with the earth holding you. And let your body gently move with the breath, Moving your fingers, Your toes, The edges of you. And let the sound of my voice awaken you to a more everyday state of consciousness. The practice of yoga nidra is now complete. You may gently rise and stretch. And for the rest of today, Here are three prompts you may wish to journal on or to muse over as your day unfolds. The first, What am I afraid of and why? What am I afraid of and why? The second, Do I feel safe? Who, What makes me feel safe? When, Where do I feel safe? Do I feel safe? Who, What makes me feel safe? When, Where do I feel safe? And the last prompt, What would need to happen so that I can feel safe here, Now? Who or what needs to be in my life so that I can begin to trust myself, My circumstances, All the people around me? What would need to happen so that I can feel safe here, Now? Who or what needs to be in my life so that I can begin to trust myself, My circumstances, All the people around me? In the darkest of night, The peak of yin, Of being, A shifting of energies occurs. Just as after the hibernation and cold of winter, Spring emerges. When a seed is watered, It begins to germinate, To sprout and emerge. Water is the mother of wood. In our next conversation, We will explore the wood element and how to move from stress to play and exploration and creativity. I'll see you there.

Reviews

What a wonderful journey this was. Really loved the supportive words and guidance. Thanks! 🙏🏽

Beautiful, gentle meditation. I learned a lot about water element and also drifted soundly off to sleep after some bad dreams in the night. I appreciate your guidance so much 🙏🌻🧡