Yoga Nidra Moving Through Discomfort

Yoga Nidra allows us to linger in that rich ground between deep rest and self-inquiry. Join me in this practice in order to find somatic ease -- and from there to metabolize the discomfort that comes with challenging emotions and the accompanying sensations. This is a trauma-informed approach that is gentle by nature.

Thank you for tuning in.

Transcript

Welcome to this practice.

Consider this a timeout from the busy,

Noisy world.

A time just for you,

Taking the same time,

Respect,

And attention for yourself as you would for a trusted friend.

Nothing to fix or deny here.

And with a full inhale and a relaxed exhale,

Check what it is that would help you feel most comfortable.

This starts the inward practice of honoring what it is that your body really needs in this moment to feel most at ease.

Stretching,

Readjusting,

A fluid invitation to move or readjust throughout the practice if stillness feels uncomfortable.

But starting now,

However you do feel most comfortable,

Seated,

Lying down,

Adding pillows or blankets,

Your whole self welcome here.

As you consider this,

Perhaps ask yourself what is the antidote to an emotion that has been gnawing at you lately or in this moment.

For example,

If you've been consumed by anxiety,

An intention for this practice could be,

I will feel carefree.

Or if you have been mired in irritation and anger,

Affirm finding some satisfaction and contentment.

And if life is overly demanding and serious,

Consider today I will have fun trying on an alternate reality to set the stage for exploring a new path.

Whatever it is,

Name your own intention for this practice as you plant the seed to free yourself from however it is that you feel stuck.

And once more with a comfortable inhale and a relaxed exhale,

Feel the surface underneath you.

Fully supportive,

No need to hold yourself up.

Opening your senses to the sounds around you,

Allowing the sound to anchor you into this moment.

And now imagine a sound that soothes you.

Imagine you are in your most perfect place right now,

Somewhere safe and beautiful,

Soaking in the colors around you,

The gorgeous lighting,

Marinating in the temperature that feels just right against your skin here,

Welcoming in an intoxicating smell,

Becoming familiar with how and where this daydream in your mind is felt in the body as calm,

Comfort,

And ease.

Your own embodied expression of security and well-being that is always available to you.

Your own inner resource.

Allow the belly to soften to receive a full inhale and perhaps an audible exhale.

Each inhale felt in the belly and chest,

And each exhale that radiates out,

Animating the arms,

The legs,

The neck,

And the head.

A letting in of that thing you want more of in this moment with each inhale,

Followed by a wash of this quality soaking over each part of your body on the exhale.

For example,

Instead of worry,

Inhale carefree and see it permeate every cell and muscle of the body on the exhale.

Or whatever quality is needed for you in this moment,

Let it in.

Then see it as a colored cloud that drifts easily throughout the body.

And now without judgment or trying to change anything,

Joining me as you notice sensations throughout the body,

Starting first at the jaw,

The mouth,

Ears,

Cheeks,

Nose,

The air as it enters and leaves the nostrils,

Sensation at the eyes,

The forehead,

Scalp,

Neck,

The breath at the inner walls of the throat,

The whole neck and head vibrant with sensation,

And now the shoulders,

Arms,

Elbows,

Forearms,

Wrists,

Palms of the hands,

And fingers,

The whole left arm from shoulder to fingers,

The whole right arm from shoulder to fingers,

And where they meet at the torso,

Rise and release with each breath,

Animating the torso at the chest,

The upper back,

The belly,

And the lower back,

The whole torso now purely as sensation,

And where it meets the hips,

Thighs,

Knees,

Forelegs,

Ankles,

Feet,

And toes,

The whole left leg from hip to toes,

The whole right leg from hip to toes,

And noticing the whole body now,

The whole body,

The left side,

Right side,

The front of the body,

The back of the body,

And even the felt sense of the area out beyond the body in all directions,

Seeing yourself as awareness itself,

A place that is ill-defined,

Yet somehow palpable,

Mysterious,

And familiar,

Watching and listening to sensations as messengers in your body,

And locating a feeling now that is most present for you in your body,

Maybe tense or loose,

Cold or warm,

Pain or comfort,

Whatever it is for you,

Placing your full awareness here with a curiosity,

Stripping away labels as if you were feeling this sensation for the first time.

Is there a co-arising color,

Shape,

Or image that defines it?

Now find somewhere in the body that is the opposite of this feeling,

Fully welcoming in the opposite of this feeling.

If you found tension,

Find relaxed,

Whatever it is for you,

And noticing any co-arising colors,

Shapes,

Or images here,

And then taking a moment to slowly move your awareness back and forth between the two before holding both opposites in your awareness at the same time,

And just noticing if things shift or change when considering both opposites together,

And now aware of a challenging or sticky emotion that has consumed a good part of you recently,

One that you may have reflected on earlier in this practice as an intention to find its antidote.

Know that your inner resource place of calm is available to you whenever you need it,

But in as much as you can staying with this challenging emotion for a moment,

And staying present with the sensations that are an expression of this emotion in your body,

Naming these sensations tense,

Trembly,

Rigid,

Restless,

Whatever it is for you,

Describing it in your own words,

And then in a few words what does the sticky or challenging emotion seem to need?

Feeling your way here,

Just watching and listening,

And now call to mind an opposite emotion,

Perhaps one that can unstick you from the all-consuming,

Challenging emotion,

Finding the antidote to the challenging emotion,

And allow the opposite emotion to fully unfold by imagining a scene that conjures up this emotion,

And feeling yourself as a part of this scene.

How does this emotion show up as sensation in your body?

Taking your time here as there may be just a fragrance of it,

An expansion,

A lightness,

A warmth,

Whatever it is for you,

Linger here,

And the invitation now is to hold both emotions and their sensation footprints together in your awareness at the same time,

Perhaps by holding one in your awareness fully,

And then the other,

Before holding them both together,

Not thinking but feeling your way,

A blending of opposites that allow the body to explore the mixing middle ground.

Reflect on how sensations and emotions may shift or change with awareness and with opposites,

Perhaps a new way of being with an uncomfortable sensation or emotion that allows you to pass through it without becoming bound to it,

And maybe noticing some gratitude or power in being able to stay present with what is uncomfortable,

Letting in the quieter voice of gratitude and contentment now,

In this moment of relative security,

Marinate in a moment of gratitude or happiness,

A memory that invites feeling content into the body,

And once again feeling the breath move a light mist of happiness from the belly and chest on the inhale,

And out to the arms,

Legs,

And head with each exhale,

Seeing the body aglow with a sense of well-being,

And perhaps this glow that starts from within and whose borders are blurred out into awareness itself,

A light place that holds you,

Guides you,

Connects you,

And protects you,

A sense of your inner resource place or resting as being that is always available to you,

Gradually now aware of yourself in the room around you,

The surface underneath you,

Noticing if your intention was met in this practice,

Or if there's a new knowing to take with you into your everyday life or your next practice,

Gently stretching,

Readjusting,

Opening and closing your eyes as you see fit,

And taking all the time you need to come to the conclusion of your practice.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

Reviews

Nicely done for me and awareness of my body, than you, I also enjoyed your background music ♥️