Yoga Nidra: Deep Healing

In this Yoga Nidra pracitce, you are invited to create an intention for healing on any level: physical, emotional, mental or for a relationship or situation. The practice includes a long body scan and the exploration of opposites: comfortable/uncomfortable, anger/calm and wounded/healed.

Transcript

Welcome to your practice.

Make sure that you're comfortable to begin.

Bring yourself into a position that you'll be able to lie in for the duration of the practice,

Without any distraction from physical discomfort.

If it's comfortable for you to lie in Shavasana,

Come to lying on your back with your feet spread a little wider than hip distance apart,

And with your arms at your sides,

With the palms facing upwards.

Take any support you need for your comfort.

A blanket under your knees,

Or a pillow under your head.

And if Shavasana isn't comfortable for you to lie in for a long time,

Then find another position to rest in,

Using as much support as you need.

See if you can make yourself so comfortable that you could even forget that your body's there at all as you practice.

And before we begin,

Let's do some tension and release exercises to encourage relaxation in the muscles.

Start by engaging all the muscles in your feet.

Squeeze the toes in towards the soles of the feet.

Engage the feet as tightly as you can,

And now let them relax.

Release the muscles in the feet.

Now engage the muscles in the legs.

Engage the calf muscles,

The muscles around the knees,

The thighs.

Squeeze the legs as tightly as you can,

And relax them.

Feel the leg muscles relaxing.

Now the hips.

Engage the hips and the buttocks.

Draw the abdominal muscles in.

Engage the pelvic floor,

And release.

And the hands.

Squeeze the fingers and thumbs together.

Engage the muscles in the arms and around the elbows as tightly as you can,

And release them.

Feel the arms and the hands relaxing completely.

Draw your shoulders up towards your ears.

Squeeze the shoulders tightly up to the ears,

And relax the shoulders.

Relax the shoulder blades.

Relax the neck.

And now the face.

Engage all of the muscles in the face.

Draw the eyes and the mouth in towards the nose.

Squeeze the whole of the face together as tightly as you can,

And release.

Relax the face.

Relax the jaw.

Now let's do the whole of the body together.

Engage all of the muscles of the body.

The feet,

The leg,

The abdomen,

The arms,

The shoulders,

The face,

As tightly as you can,

And release.

We'll do that two more times.

Engage all of the muscles of the body,

Squeezing every part of the body as tightly as you can,

And release.

And again,

Engage all of the muscles,

And relax completely.

Feel the whole of the body relaxing completely.

As your body continues to relax into the surface beneath you,

Bring your awareness to your breath.

Watch the flow of the breath.

Feel the gentle rising and falling of the chest and the abdomen as you breathe in and out.

And now feel into your body,

And if there are any areas that still feel tight or uncomfortable,

Send a breath into those places.

As you breathe in,

See the breath flowing into a tight or uncomfortable area,

And as you breathe out,

Feel the exhalation carrying that tension or discomfort away.

Take some more breaths like this.

Breathe into an uncomfortable area,

And feel that area releasing and relaxing with the exhalation.

Now bring your awareness to the space behind your closed eyes,

And watch what's happening behind your eyes.

Observe any shapes,

Patterns,

Colours,

Or darkness,

Without thinking about it too much or analysing what's there.

Simply witness whatever is happening,

And now move your awareness to your skin,

And feel the sensation of the air against your skin,

And your clothing or blanket against your skin.

Feel the air on the insides of the nostrils,

And the insides of the ears.

Feel the sensation of the air on the insides of the ears,

And with the awareness inside the ears,

Notice any sounds that are present in your environment,

Without thinking about what the sounds are,

Or where they're coming from.

Just observe that the sounds are there,

And know that the sounds will not disturb you as you practice,

But will only help you to relax more deeply.

And take a moment now to acknowledge that this is your time for your deep relaxation and healing,

And there is no way to get this practice wrong.

You can follow my voice for as long as it serves you,

But you're also free to drift away and ignore me.

And if you fall asleep,

That just means that your body is in need of sleep right now.

So knowing that you can't get this wrong,

Make the gentle intention to welcome all of the healing benefits that this practice has to offer you,

And to welcome whatever arises.

Knowing that the practice is bringing you exactly what you need right now.

Now invite a feeling to arise of complete safety and well-being.

You might like to remember a time when you felt safe,

Secure,

And well,

Or you might like to imagine a situation that has all of the conditions you would need to feel safe,

Well,

And secure.

Welcome this feeling of absolute safety.

Feel it intensifying inside your body.

Safety,

Security,

Absolute well-being.

This is your inner resource.

And you can return to this feeling at any time during the practice if you need to.

Safety,

Security,

Well-being.

And if you have an intention for healing that you would like to bring into this practice,

Bring that intention into your awareness now.

Perhaps for physical healing,

Emotional healing,

Healing of the mind,

Or for healing a relationship or situation in your life.

See that aspect that you wish to heal as already healed,

Healthy and whole.

And if you don't have a specific thing,

You might like to create a vision of your healthiest self.

See yourself flowing through life healthy and well,

Free from obstacles.

See anything you wish to heal in its healed state,

Whole,

Healthy,

And at peace.

Now we'll begin the rotation of consciousness around the body.

Allow the awareness to move from body part to body part,

As each one is named.

We'll begin at the thumb of the right hand.

Bring your awareness to the right hand thumb.

The right index finger.

The right middle finger.

The ring finger.

And the little finger.

The palm of the right hand.

The back of the right hand.

The right wrist.

The right forearm.

The right elbow.

The upper arm.

The right shoulder.

The right side of the chest.

The right waist.

The right hip.

The right thigh.

The right knee.

The lower leg.

The ankle.

The right heel.

The sole of the right foot.

The top of the right foot.

And the right toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Now move to the left hand thumb.

The left index finger.

The left middle finger.

The ring finger.

The little finger.

The palm of the left hand.

The back of the hand.

The left wrist.

The forearm.

The elbow.

The upper arm.

The left shoulder.

The left side of the chest.

The left waist.

The left hip.

The left thigh.

The knee.

The lower leg.

The left ankle.

The left heel.

The sole of the left foot.

The top of the left foot.

And the left toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Bring the awareness to the right toes.

And the left toes.

The right heel.

And the left heel.

The right buttock.

The left buttock.

The whole of the spine.

The right shoulder blade.

The left shoulder blade.

The back of the head.

The top of the head.

The forehead.

The right eyebrow.

The left eyebrow.

The eyebrow centre.

The right eye.

The left eye.

The right ear.

The left ear.

The right cheek.

The left cheek.

The nose.

The tip of the nose.

The upper lip.

The lower lip.

The chin.

The jaw.

The right collarbone.

The left collarbone.

The right side of the chest.

The left side of the chest.

The navel.

The lower abdomen.

The right hip.

The left hip.

The right knee.

The left knee.

The right ankle.

The left ankle.

The right toe.

The left toe.

And the whole of the right leg.

Become aware of the whole of the right leg.

And the whole of the left leg.

The whole of the right arm.

And the whole of the left arm.

The whole of the right side of the body.

The whole of the left side of the body.

Now move to the top of the head.

The space between the eyebrows.

The space between the collarbones.

The right shoulder.

The right elbow.

The right wrist.

The right thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

The right wrist.

The right elbow.

The right shoulder.

The space between the collarbones.

The left shoulder.

The left elbow.

The left wrist.

The left thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

The left wrist.

The left elbow.

The left shoulder.

The space between the collarbones.

The centre of the chest.

The left side of the chest.

The centre of the chest.

The right side of the chest.

The centre of the chest.

The navel.

The lower abdomen.

The right hip.

The right knee.

The right ankle.

The right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The right ankle.

The right knee.

The right hip.

The lower abdomen.

The left hip.

The left knee.

The left ankle.

The left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The left ankle.

The left knee.

The left hip.

The lower abdomen.

The navel.

The centre of the chest.

The space between the collarbones.

The eyebrow centre.

The top of the head.

And the whole of the body.

Awareness on the whole of the body.

The whole of the body.

Now bring the awareness to the breath.

Follow the flow of the breath as it enters through the nostrils.

Travels down the back of the throat.

Down the windpipe.

Into the lungs.

And follow the breath back out of the lungs.

Up the windpipe.

Up the back of the throat.

And out of the nostrils.

Now see a golden healing light entering the body with the breath.

See the golden light illuminating the insides of the nostrils.

The back of the throat.

The windpipe.

And the lungs.

See the lungs filling with healing golden light.

With every breath,

See the lungs bathed in healing golden light.

And now see that light spreading into the heart and the ribs.

See the whole of the chest area illuminated with healing golden light.

Breathe the golden light into the internal organs.

Into the stomach.

The liver.

The gallbladder.

The small intestine.

And the large intestine.

The pancreas.

And the spleen.

The kidney.

The bladder.

The reproductive organs.

See the whole of the abdomen illuminated with golden light.

The chest and the abdomen filled with golden light.

Breathe the light into the legs.

And into the feet.

Into the arms.

And the hands.

Breathe into the head.

The face.

And the brain.

See the brain illuminated with healing golden light.

See the whole of the body filled with golden light.

With every breath,

Feel the healing golden light filling the whole of the body.

Send your awareness into your body and observe any places that feel uncomfortable.

Feel the feeling of discomfort inside the body.

Intensify the feeling.

Bring your awareness to any feelings of discomfort.

Feelings of discomfort.

Feel it vividly.

The feeling of discomfort.

And now observe any places that feel comfortable.

Feel the feeling of comfort inside the body.

The feeling of comfort.

Intensify the feeling of comfort.

And are you able to experience both of those at the same time?

Are you able to experience comfort and discomfort in the body together?

Comfort and discomfort together.

Now invite to arise the feeling of anger.

Recall the feeling of anger.

You might like to recall something that makes you feel very angry.

Or you may be able to invite a feeling of anger to arise by itself.

Where do you feel anger inside your body?

Experience the sensations that arise with the feeling of anger.

Experience them fully.

The feeling of anger.

The feeling of anger.

And now invite the feeling of calm to arise.

Perhaps by recalling something that makes you feel very calm and peaceful.

Or by welcoming a feeling of calmness to arise by itself.

What do you experience inside your body as you welcome the feeling of calm?

Feel calmness intensifying within the body.

The feeling of calmness.

The feeling of calmness.

And are you able to experience both of those together?

Can you feel the sensations that arise inside the body with the feeling of anger?

And with the feeling of calmness at the same time?

Can you experience anger and calmness together?

Anger and calm together.

And now invite to arise the feeling of being wounded.

You might like to recall a physical wound or illness.

An emotional wound.

Or a wounded situation or relationship.

Perhaps something that is affecting your life or that has affected your life in the past.

Or you might prefer to welcome a general feeling of being wounded.

Feel the sensations that arise in your body with the sense of being wounded.

Intensify the feeling.

The feeling of being wounded.

The feeling of being wounded.

And now welcome the feeling of being healed.

Invite the feeling of healed to arise in your body.

And feel the sensations that arise with that sense of being healed.

You may like to recall something from the past that has healed completely.

Or simply welcome a complete feeling of healing to arise by itself.

The feeling of healed.

The feeling of healed.

And are you able to experience both of those at the same time?

Are you able to feel the feelings of being wounded and being healed together?

Can you simultaneously feel the physical sensations that arise with the feeling of being wounded?

And the feeling of being healed.

Can you feel wounded and healed together?

Wounded and healed together.

See yourself walking along a pathway through a forest.

Tall green trees tower above you.

Plants,

Flowers and animals surround you.

You know that the pathway is leading you to a special place.

You wind between the trees and eventually find yourself approaching a small clearing.

In the centre of the clearing,

A pool of water glistens in the sunlight.

You kneel beside the pool.

The water is pure and clear.

You take some water into your hand and as you drink the water,

You feel it cleansing and purifying you on every level.

Washing away all that no longer serves your greatest well-being,

You step into the pool and feel the pure water cleansing and refreshing the whole of your body.

Bathing in the clear water,

You free yourself of that which you no longer need to carry with you.

You step out of the pool and sit in the warm sunlight,

Refreshed and renewed.

As the rays of sunlight warm your body,

You enter into deep meditation.

If you made an intention for healing at the beginning of the practice,

Recall that intention now.

See any aspect of your life that you wish to heal completely healed and whole.

See that situation 100% at peace.

Or if you prefer,

You might like to envision your healthiest self.

See yourself completely healthy and whole,

Moving through life with ease,

Doing everything that you wish to do,

Free from obstacles.

And now recall again your feeling of absolute safety and well-being.

Welcome the feeling of safety and security as it arises inside your body.

Safety,

Security,

Well-being.

This is your feeling that you have cultivated,

And you can return to it at any time if you need it.

Safety,

Security,

Absolute well-being.

Slowly turn your awareness back outwards,

And observe any sounds that you can hear in your environment.

Allow your awareness to jump from sound to sound,

Without getting too involved in any one sound,

Or where it's coming from.

Just witness that the sounds are there.

And now bring your awareness to the sensation of the air against your skin,

Of your clothing against your skin,

Your blanket against your skin.

Can you picture your body,

Lying peaceful and still,

Deeply rested?

Begin to deepen your breathing as you prepare to end the practice.

Slowly start to reawaken your body.

Make some small movements with your fingers and toes,

With your wrists and ankles,

And give yourself a long stretch in any way that feels comfortable for you.

Take your time,

There's no rush.

When you feel ready,

Gently blink your eyes back open,

And slowly make your way back up to sitting.

This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.

Reviews

Nice relaxing long yoga nidra, with a forest visualisation. I drifted off. Thank you x