Hello fellow warriors,
My name is Kalyani,
And today I'm going to ask you to think about your pain.
Where is it,
And what caused it?
Then we will work together to open our minds to a new idea,
A new perspective of that pain.
Instead of looking at our pain today from the physical aspect,
We are going to move into the emotional body and the energetic body.
We will uncover the emotions we are holding onto that are contributing to our chronic pain.
Once we address these emotions,
We will feel a loosening of our pain.
We may see that we are participating in our own suffering.
Once we acknowledge our role,
We have the power to change it.
So find a comfortable position,
Turning off all distractions,
And give yourself permission for this little sliver of time to be completely focused on your breath and on your healing.
Support your head with a pillow.
You may even want to support behind your upper legs with a second pillow to allow your lower back to release even more.
Once you have found a position that is completely comfortable for you,
Begin to observe your breath.
Allow the breath to fall in and fall out with as little effort possible.
In Yoga Nidra,
We use a Sankalpa,
A personal intention for practicing,
So take a few moments to formulate the words of your Sankalpa.
Allow it to be a short,
Positive statement that is easy to remember.
It could be as simple as,
I am pain free and at ease.
We state our desire as if it already exists,
Calling it into our reality now.
Once you've come up with the words for your personal intention,
State it three times silently within,
And really imagine what your life would look like,
And feel like,
If it was already true.
Just for today,
Let's imagine that we can inhale and exhale through different parts of our body,
As if our nostrils were being moved to each part of the body that is mentioned.
Start by gently closing the eyes,
And bring awareness to the space between the eyebrows,
The space referred to as the third eye,
Purifying our thoughts through third eye wisdom,
Not allowing our monkey mind to guide us deeper into the maya,
The illusion of separation.
It is in our own mind that we create all of our suffering.
Begin to use your breath to release all negative thoughts,
And draw in all that we see of the external world through third eye to be purified.
Feel your breath moving in and out of the space between the eyebrows.
Now we will move the breath to different parts of our body,
Starting with our feet.
Imagine the breath is entering the body through the soles of the feet,
And exiting the body through the soles of the feet.
Notice all sensations there.
Feel or imagine that flow of energy in the feet as you breathe.
Now repeat this visualization in your lower legs,
Knees,
Upper legs,
The hips,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
The belly,
And chest.
Awareness of the shoulders,
Upper arms,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Hands,
The neck,
Forehead,
Crown of the head,
Arms,
Legs,
Together,
Front of the body,
Back of the body,
Together.
The whole body together.
The whole body together.
Now allow the breath to be given a clear channel to move through.
From root to crown,
Earth to sky,
Allow the breath to have a clear channel to move through the center of you.
And as you breathe,
Bring extra attention to the breath as it rises up through the heart area.
Giving the breath the encouragement and support it needs to have a clear passage through the heart.
Allow the breath to shake free any negativity as it moves up into the heart area.
Encourage the breath as you would a little child or someone you love.
Encouraging the breath through love to move all the way through you.
As we invite the physical body to soften and melt.
In any experience of physical pain,
There is a sense of hardening that happens.
A means of protection.
We develop armor and shields to protect ourselves from further harm.
And yet the breath knows that its freshness,
Its vitality,
Needs access to the heart in order for healing to occur.
So as you breathe,
And as the mind starts to remember pain,
Can we see it in a different way now?
Can we shift the awareness of the physical pain in the body to a sense of gratitude for the lesson that that pain brought us?
Instead of running away from this pain,
Can we look it in its eyes and really see it for the very first time?
This pain did not arrive because of anything you've done wrong.
There is nothing you could do to change this pain.
And at times this pain has become very loud and all-consuming.
So instead of fighting our pain,
Let's become open and listen.
What is the pain's message for you?
Focus all of your awareness on a part of your body that is holding on to pain,
And envision that pain as a bright red orb of energy.
Do not try to run away from the pain.
If it becomes too much,
Step away for a moment,
Focusing on a part of the body that feels good.
Build up your strength and determination,
And then come back to the edge of pain and ask it to begin to soften.
Not attempting to get rid of the pain completely just yet,
But instead see the edge of pain softening and melting.
Then let's move directly inside the pain,
Taking slow even breaths,
And ask the pain,
What is your message?
Allow your pain to be heard.
Continue to ask until you feel the pain softening,
Where underneath all of the armor,
The hurt and anger lies a tender message,
A message that only pain could carry.
Breathe deeply into your experience,
Softening the edges of pain so that the pain can receive your deep,
Healing breath.
The pain can receive your hope.
No longer condemning this pain,
Give to these memories and experiences ease,
Acceptance,
And love.
Shift away from the anger that pain happened,
To gratitude for the message it brought you.
Allow pain to know it will not be ignored.
Allow pain to know that its teachings are welcomed and will be honored.
Thank pain for the message and allow it to move on now,
Bringing closure to this encounter,
Bringing awareness back to the breath,
And observe the clear channel flowing through you,
Breathing the whole body,
Breathing the whole mind,
Breathing the whole spirit.
Breathing into our joy and pain,
Bringing awareness to them both,
And the need for a deeper level of compassion.
Now imagine an ocean breath moving up and down the body.
Feel like a warm wave is washing over you.
As you inhale,
The wave rises over the body,
Touching the top of the head,
And with the exhalation,
The warm water pulls down over your head,
Face,
Body,
And legs,
Drawing out all resistance,
Drawing out all stress and discomfort.
We'll take a few moments to ride the wave of the breath as we breathe out all of our stress and all of our tension.
Breathe out any negativity that rose to the surface for you,
And breathe out any last drops of pain you may have discovered.
Feel the unity of all of the fellow pain warriors out there across the globe.
Pain and suffering are shared experiences.
Every being in its wholeness experiences pain and sorrow,
But also celebrations and joy.
To be whole is to experience all.
Now begin to see the heart enveloped in a beautiful emerald green light.
Each inhalation brings in more of this beautiful green light.
Filling ourselves first until our heart is overflowing.
Then imagine the entire body filled with this radiant green healing light.
See it expanding larger and larger with each inhalation.
Until that healing light begins to radiate out through all of your pores,
Expanding the boundaries of the body,
Growing larger and lighter.
With the heart enveloped in green light,
You are protected,
Cared for,
You are loved,
Seen in compassion,
And able to give.
You are enough.
This light is a source of constant care surrounding your heart.
It takes care of your pain,
And allows you to take care of others.
By attending to our own pain,
We not only heal our body,
But it ripples out into the world all around you.
You become the example of moving beyond the current challenging circumstances to find joy once more.
And this green light is a source of joy.
The type of joy that would never ask you to stop.
Become more aware now of your physical body and sensations moving around and through you.
Think back to the beginning of this practice,
And repeat your sankalpa three times over.
Think back to the beginning of this practice,
And repeat your sankalpa three times with feeling.
Slowly begin to reawaken your body,
Wiggling fingers and toes,
In your own time and in your own way.
Maybe taking a big stretch as if you're greeting your day for the very first time.
Then rolling to the right side into a ball,
Supporting your head with your arm,
And hugging the knees up and in towards your heart.
Invite your breath to expand into the back of your body,
Cultivating a sense of lightness and openness within.
Then slowly,
When you're ready,
Press the earth away,
Rising back up to a seated position.
Closing your eyes when you have arrived upright,
Not being in a hurry to join the outside world.
The clear channel remains within you.
The green light continues to envelop your heart.
We will end our time together by affirming,
May all beings everywhere be happy and free,
And may I contribute to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
Bring attention to your heart center,
Breathing and acknowledging that green light within and all around.
Congratulating yourself for attending to your own healing.
Silently offering yourself gratitude that you took this time to nurture your mind,
Body and spirit.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide today through this healing journey.
If you find these practices and meditations helpful,
Please share them with your friends.
Until next time,
Namaste.
