Yoga Nidra: Surrender

This yoga nidra practice is all about letting go.

When we can let go and surrender control of trying to make things happen in life,

We allow room for the unknown and we are keeping ourselves open to unlimited possibilities that we can't even imagine yet.

When we let go and give things,

People and experiences space,

There is more room to see what could be.

But the tighter we hang on,

The more we suffocate anything new from emerging.

As we free up space by getting out of our own way,

We will gain more energy and we will be able to plant seeds in our lives so flowers can grow.

We cannot control anything except what we choose to think,

To feel,

To say and to do.

In this yoga nidra practice we will choose to surrender,

To make space and to see what is possible.

The seeds we plant come from our samkalpa,

Our resolve or our intention that we create will begin and end our yoga nidra journey together.

If you are already working with the samkalpa,

Feel free to continue using it and if you'd like to create a new one,

Answer the following questions.

In five years,

What kind of flowers would you like to see blossom in your life?

How would you like to feel in five years in your life?

Think about it.

And see,

Is there anything from this list that makes you feel deeply?

Could you pull something from this list to start creating a samkalpa?

Using the phrase,

I am.

For example,

I am love.

I am abundant.

I am free.

Or maybe I am healthy and strong.

Think about a simple positive sentence that resonates with you and makes your heart sing.

That's how you know it's good for you.

Take a moment now to form your samkalpa.

Now as we start to relax more,

Make sure you are comfortable.

Start your body however you need to so that you can stay and drop your body down without moving so you can actually surrender.

Make sure you're warm and that you are softening the senses by reducing any stimulation.

Close your eyes and start to find stillness.

Inhale deeply for one,

Two,

Three,

And exhale completely.

Again,

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

And exhale,

Relax.

One last time.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

And exhale.

Sink down into the space beneath you.

Feel your whole body sinking down into the space beneath you.

Give yourself permission to relax.

Your muscles relax so your bones can drop down.

Your breathing is calm.

You slowly draw your awareness from the space around your body,

Feeling a warm sensation around your whole body to the space within,

Bringing this awareness to your heart center,

The space in the middle of your chest.

And feel the warmth around you gently move into the space in the middle of your body.

Rest here.

Breathe here.

In this quiet,

Calm space,

You will now repeat your samkalpa to yourself.

Feel your samkalpa like you are planting flowers in a flower pot.

You plant the seeds by repeating your samkalpa three times with a nourishing,

Positive perspective.

And then let it go.

And start to bring your awareness to your breathing.

The breath moves in.

And let your samkalpa go as the breath moves out slowly and deeply.

We will now move through the whole body,

Relaxing the physical body.

Just listen to the sound of my voice and soften each body part as I mention it.

Bring your attention to the left side of the body.

Bring your attention to the left palm.

Feel sensations in the left palm.

Feel your left palm.

Your attention moves to the left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger.

The space between the fingers,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Rib cage,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

The space behind the knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Relax the whole left side of the body,

The whole left side.

Bring your attention now to the right side of the body.

Bring your attention to the right palm.

Feel sensations in the right palm.

Feel your right palm.

Your attention moves to the right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The space between the fingers,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Rib cage,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

The space behind the knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Relax the whole right side of the body,

The whole right side.

Move your attention now to the back of the body,

The back of the body.

Left shoulder,

Right shoulder,

Left shoulder blade,

Right shoulder blade,

The spine,

Left buttock,

Right buttock,

Left hip,

Right hip,

The whole back together.

Relax the whole of the back together.

And move your attention to the front of the body,

The front of the body.

Top of the head,

Forehead,

Left eyebrow,

Right eyebrow,

The center of the eyebrows,

Left eyelid,

Right eyelid,

Left eye,

Right eye,

Left eye socket,

Right eye socket,

Left eye socket,

Left cheek,

Right cheek,

Left ear,

Right ear,

Nose,

Tip of the nose,

Left nostril,

Right nostril,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Teeth,

Tongue,

Jaw,

Throat,

Left collarbone,

Right collarbone,

Left side of the chest,

Right side of the chest,

Center of the chest,

Upper belly,

Lower belly,

The whole belly area,

Relax the whole front body together.

Relax the whole of the left leg,

The whole of the right leg,

Both legs together.

The whole of the left arm,

The whole of the right arm,

Both arms together.

The whole of the back body,

The whole of the front body,

The whole head and face together.

Legs,

Arms,

Back,

Front,

Head together.

The whole body together.

Relax the whole body.

Relax your whole body.

As you float in and out of consciousness,

Bring your attention to your breath.

Feel the air move in and out of your nose,

Just like ocean waves flowing in and flowing out,

Flowing in and flowing out.

Feel the belly and chest rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.

Feel the belly and chest rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax feet and toes.

Relax feet and toes.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax heels and ankles.

Relax heels and ankles.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax shins and calves.

Relax shins and calves.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax knees.

Relax knees.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax your thighs.

Relax your thighs.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax hips and pelvis.

Relax hips and pelvis.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax belly and chest.

Relax belly and chest.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax low back,

Middle back,

Upper back.

Relax low back,

Middle back,

Upper back.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax fingers and hands.

Relax fingers and hands.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax arms and elbows.

Relax arms and elbows.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax shoulders and neck.

Relax shoulders and neck.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax your jaw and your mouth.

Relax jaw and mouth.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax your eyes and forehead.

Relax eyes and forehead.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Relax the back of your head.

Relax back of head.

Inhale and exhale like ocean waves flowing in and flowing out.

Ocean waves flowing in,

Flowing out.

Let go of your breath and bring your attention to the following sensation.

Feel the sensation of lightness in your body.

Your whole body feels lighter and lighter.

Your whole body is light.

Your whole body is relaxed.

You feel lighter and lighter.

Your whole body feels so light.

It feels like a cloud floating overhead.

You feel weightless.

You feel free.

Your whole body feels lighter and lighter.

Your whole body feels weightless.

Bring your awareness to your whole body.

Feel your whole body lying on the floor.

Bring your awareness to the space between your eyebrows.

Rest your attention in the space between your eyebrows.

Let your imagination follow the sound of my voice.

Imagine you are floating above your body.

You see your body below,

Lying down in a resting position,

Practicing yoga nidra.

Now watch your body slowly stand up and walk to the door.

Quietly open the door.

Make your way outside and close the door behind you,

Not making a sound.

See your body walking around outside.

See what you see around you.

Observing everything.

You are in no rush.

You are simply walking outside,

Noticing familiar things and people around you.

Suddenly you find that your body is floating over the blue ocean.

Become aware of the floating feeling in your body as you move over the ocean waves.

In this moment you know you can try to stop this weightless sensation and push back against the waves,

Or you can surrender and allow your body to float and move with the flow of the ocean below.

As you surrender to the flow,

Your body feels light.

Your body floats like the clouds that are floating by in the sky along with you.

You move with ease and grace,

Just like the flow of the gentle breeze around you and the calm ocean below you.

Above you see soft white clouds move past you.

You see the sun reflected in the ocean below you.

Your body feels lighter as you let go of trying to control where you go.

You flow freely.

Pause for a moment and notice the peace that radiates throughout your whole body and mind.

As you continue to float along with the soft white clouds,

You see birds gliding across the sky.

They effortlessly fly across the sky.

You float along with them.

You feel a deep sense of peace as your breath carries you over the ocean waves.

You feel free and calm.

You feel free and calm.

You feel free and calm.

Slowly you begin to make your way back to the outside of your door,

Noticing everything around you.

You open the door,

Step inside,

And quietly close the door.

With this new sense of freedom and peace,

Lie back down in your space of relaxation.

See your peaceful body lying down in stillness.

Rest here in the calm feeling of surrender.

Your breath is flowing as you surrender into the space beneath you.

In this calm space that you have created,

Remember your samkalpa.

Allow your samkalpa to come into focus in the center of your eyebrows.

You can see it,

And you can feel it in your whole body.

Repeat your samkalpa again three times with peace and joy.

And then let it go and let it be.

All is well.

All will be well.

All is well.

The practice of yoga nidra is now over.

Slowly start to come back into this space.

Become aware of your body resting quietly.

Feel your entire body resting quietly.

There is no rush.

Become aware of your body in space,

And become aware of the space around your body.

Listen to the sounds around you and feel the sensations inside your body as you breathe in and out a little deeper now.

When you feel ready,

You can wake up your fingers and toes,

Hands and feet,

Arms and legs,

Just as though you were waking up for the first time today with a fresh perspective.

Take your time.

And if you would like to remind yourself to let go of your tight grasp to outcomes,

If you would like to remind yourself to let go of control so that you can see what might be,

Lift your arms in the air and shake out your arms and hands as fast as you want to or as fast as you can for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

And relax.

Just feeling the sensation in the palms of your hand,

Open,

Ready to receive,

Ready to let go.

Whenever you feel ready,

You can roll over to one side and prepare to carry on with the rest of your day or you can stay on your back and go to sleep.

Thank you for taking time for yourself.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

Om Peace,

Peace,

Peace.

Namaste.