Yoga Nidra To Cultivate Inner Resource & Safety

Yoga Nidra is referred to as "yogic sleep" and is a deeply restorative practice that guides you into conscious relaxation. This particular offering is for Inner Resource and Safety. It is a practice designed to cultivate a deep sense of grounding, emotional resilience, and inner peace. This form of guided meditation can help individuals access their inner strengths and feel safe and supported in their own being. Benefits of Yoga Nidra: stress reduction, sense of safety, parasympathetic nervous system rejuvenation, improved emotional resilience, improved focus, better sleep, and enhanced self awareness and others.

Transcript

Welcome everyone,

I am Lisa,

I'm so glad you're here with us.

This is going to be a yoga nidra practice for your whole body,

Mind and soul.

This will be like a deep tissue massage for your inner world,

Specifically your nervous system.

I am so grateful to be here in community with you,

Sharing yoga nidra,

Taking time to collectively slow down and to bathe in soft stillness.

This is going to be a yoga nidra to develop and strengthen inner resource.

This practice is one that I have found has provided me with a profound sense of peace,

A sense of calm,

And it continues to build the muscle of resiliency deep inside through all of life's challenges.

I've learned this from my mentor,

Allie Boothroyd,

Quiet,

Still,

Begin softening into sacred stillness,

Undisturbed,

Like hibernation.

This is a perfect time to begin listening to the sounds around and within you.

Start to become aware of your senses.

Begin to rest back and down,

Surrendering into pure awareness,

Silence and stillness.

Take these next few minutes to find yourself either in a supported shavasana.

If you want,

You can flip to your side if that's more comfortable.

Or you can even lie prone on your belly.

Whatever feels right,

Let your body tell you what you need.

Take a moment to get as cozy as you need.

Fiddle with pillows or bolsters.

Really wiggle in.

Take your time here.

It's worth the effort.

Snuggle in.

Is there something you can do to be just even a speck more cozy?

Make any adjustments.

Nestle into your cocoon of comfort.

Begin to embrace stillness,

Surrendering towards relaxing.

Begin to notice the stillness.

Invite into your experience the deep medicine of rest.

Feeling the ground beneath you,

Mother Earth supporting you,

Knowing you are peace and all your answers are inside of you in the stillness of your being.

Feeling the truth of your heart.

Begin to sense deep down into the earth supporting you.

Feel the gentleness of Mother Earth holding you softly,

Tenderly.

Let yourself rest back.

Allow your mind to begin to soften,

To release as if both hemispheres of the mind are taught and they begin now to soften like muscles loosening.

Feeling your mind soften,

Flow with the natural rhythm of your breath,

Allowing your mind to become receptive now to listen.

To let go of doing and thinking,

Allowing yourself to soften into being and feeling,

Falling into your own heart and resting here,

Mind dissolving,

Resting and relaxing back and down,

Settling even deeper,

Becoming heavy,

Receptive,

Listening,

Sensing deeply,

Allowing all of you to rest all of the layers of you.

Arriving here,

Now embracing restorative restfulness,

Feeling your whole body beginning to rest,

Embracing the state of rest,

Allowing the jaw to fall open,

The belly to soften,

The tongue to melt,

Resting the body,

Letting go of all effort in the face,

Resting the mind,

Releasing tension from the eyes,

Cheeks,

Jaw.

Let all the intricate muscles in the eyes soften.

Feel the weight of your body as it becomes heavier and heavier,

Melting into the earth,

Resting back and down,

Letting your head soften,

Neck,

Back,

Legs,

Tension melting away from your whole body,

Releasing your shoulders,

Hips,

Legs,

Releasing even more tension,

Inviting effortless ripples of relaxation within your nervous system throughout the whole body to cascade down,

Reaching throughout the whole body,

Attention scanning gently,

Flowing effortlessly through the whole body,

Allowing the whole body to restore,

Welcoming billions of cells resting,

Whole body resting deeply in relaxation.

You might welcome the intention now,

Creating a sankalpa,

My strength comes from within,

I am safe to be here,

I am safe being me,

Or create your own sankalpa or intention,

Your own heart's vow.

Take this moment to bow at the altar of your heart,

Asking your heart its intention,

And recite this three times quietly to your whole being.

Welcome,

Call it in now,

Welcoming attention to scan through the body,

The feeling of being held within the cocoon of rest you've created,

Cradled by mother earth beneath you.

Begin now to welcome a deepening of awareness towards each area of your body.

Welcome the peace within the stillness of wakeful sleep,

Bringing all the attention to the sensations within the body.

Begin to allow your attention now to flow through the body,

Effortlessly,

With no ambition,

Following the guidance of my voice,

Nothing to do but welcoming the ease of slowing down,

Settling in to a quiet rest.

Let your attention fluidly begin to travel from one point to the next,

A soft stream of awareness flowing through the body as attention moves.

The body remains in stillness,

Welcoming sensation,

Just as they are,

Without any need to change or make anything different,

Starting with the mouth,

Feeling all the sensations within the mouth,

Noticing any taste left on your tongue.

Notice the roof of your mouth,

The back of your mouth,

The tip of the tongue,

The root of your tongue,

Inside the right cheek,

Inside the left cheek,

Upper teeth and gums,

Lower teeth and gums,

The space between the upper and lower teeth,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The space between the lips,

The tip of the nose,

Inside the right nostril,

Inside the left nostril,

The flow of air in through the nose,

The softness of the right cheek,

The softness of the left cheek,

The right eye,

Eyelid,

Temple,

The space between the eyebrows,

The left eye,

Sensations of both the eyes,

Globes of glistening sensation,

Bringing attention to any residual tension in the eyes,

The eyebrows,

The forehead,

Melting away,

Attention to the ears,

Right ear folds,

The valleys of the outer ear,

The touch of air on the earlobe,

The left ear,

The folds and valleys of the outer ear,

The touch of air on the head,

The back of the neck,

The whole face and head along with the whole neck,

Right collarbone,

Upper arm,

Center of the palm,

Right fingers,

Whole hand,

The thumb,

The index finger,

The middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The space around the fingers.

Give time for attention to come back to the base of the neck,

Left collarbone,

Upper arm,

Wrist,

Center of the palm,

All the fingers,

The index finger,

The middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The space around all the fingers.

Give time for attention to come back to the base of your neck,

The front of the chest and the heart space,

The ribs,

The navel center,

Lower belly,

The whole pelvic bowl,

Sensations in the whole pelvic bowl,

Sensing the gentle movement of the breath in your whole torso,

Feeling the sensation of your right hip,

Lower leg,

Feel your whole right foot,

All the toes,

The space around the toes.

Letting attention draw you to the left hip,

Feel the whole left foot,

All the toes,

The space around the toes.

Bringing all your awareness to the left palm.

Inhale now into the left palm and draw the breath up the left arm and let it pull in the heart center.

And as you're ready,

Exhale down and out of the right arm,

Out of the palm of the right hand.

And when you're ready,

Breathe into the right palm and up into the heart center,

Exhaling again through the left arm and out the left palm.

Taking your time now to continue this rhythm.

Breathing in through the left palm,

Inhaling up into the heart center,

Holding it in the heart center and exhaling out,

Back out of the right arm,

Out of the palm and back in.

Moving your own energy,

Circulating through the right side,

Through the heart,

Through the left side and back.

Filling your heart with precious prana.

Taking your time in to the heart,

Energizing and enervating this precious chakra.

Giving yourself a circulation of your own love.

Give yourself one more cycle in and through.

Letting go of that visual whenever you're ready.

Gently,

Let your breath come back to its own organic flow and take a moment here to notice what you've created in your own body.

Notice what's happening.

Bringing all your awareness to your whole body.

Bring all your awareness to the left hemisphere of your body.

Shift your awareness to the whole right hemisphere of the body.

Bring all your awareness to the back of your body and all your awareness to the front of your body.

Feeling heaviness throughout the entire body.

Letting yourself sink even deeper.

Letting yourself feel very heavy.

Melting into the earth.

And now feeling very light.

Sense yourself floating,

Feeling lightness.

Bring all your awareness to the sensation of feeling gravity again holding you.

Stabilized to the earth.

Heavy.

Melting into the floor.

Gravity holding you.

Sensing yourself now light again.

Floating above the floor.

Light.

Precious and free.

Airy and translucent.

Become aware of the front of the body.

The air in your skin.

Become aware of the back of your body.

Feeling the earth beneath you.

The touch points.

Safe and held.

Feeling both hemispheres.

The right side of the body.

With a breath feeling the whole left side of the body.

With a breath like a wave into the left side of your body.

With a breath and a wave into the right side of the body.

The wave of breath into the left side of the body.

And bringing awareness now with a breath into the right side of the body.

And breathing into the whole body.

Becoming aware of your whole body in peace.

In stillness.

In the perfection of you.

Begin to invite an imaginary place or a peaceful memory to surface where you feel relaxed.

At home.

At ease.

Completely safe to be yourself.

Take your time.

Allow it to come naturally.

Perhaps a forest.

A beach.

A field of wildflowers.

A favorite room or a favorite pet that fills you with love and warmth when you think of them.

The presence of a special person in your life.

Just let the image or the feeling arise naturally.

You might include wildlife that you find comforting or favorite things.

Meaningful symbols.

Smells of favorite flowers or foods or peaceful feelings from some experience you've had before.

Having a true sense of well-being and where you've been when that occurred.

Your inner refuge is completely unique to you.

Invite all of your five senses to experience this place.

Look around.

Take a moment to really see.

Inhaling where you are.

Grounding down into where you are.

Feel it.

Notice the sensations or the images.

There may be sounds like birdsong or seagulls or the tide.

Notice images.

Notice the surroundings.

Sounds.

Smells.

Tastes.

Colors.

Shapes that are present.

Sense feelings of security,

Ease,

And well-being.

As you imagine your inner refuge,

Notice in your body if and where you feel these sensory experiences and any accompanying feelings like warmth,

Peace,

Relaxation,

Now that you're connected with your inner refuge.

Allow yourself to rest deeply in the peaceful feelings you were able to create.

Stay here for a few more moments.

Surrender into this moment.

Enjoying where you are.

Savoring this safe moment of peace inside of you.

Feel it growing.

Take time to bask in your inner refuge.

See it growing into a powerful and effective tool that you can use at a moment's notice.

Experiencing feelings of safety and security within you that are always available to you at any time you need them in your practice of yoga nidra or also in your life in general.

Remember that this place resides within you and you can always return to your inner refuge anytime.

Anytime you want or need to feel peaceful and at ease,

Safe and cozy.

Sense yourself as pure awareness.

Pure awareness.

Lying in peace-filled stillness.

Welcome all the aromas and sensations to arise effortlessly that are in your mind and body through these visuals and yoga nidra,

Relaxing the mind,

Restoring the body,

Calming mental tension.

Softening stress.

Bring your attention into your body deeply.

Take a moment to recite your sankalpa,

Your intention,

One more time,

Three times mentally.

Silently to yourself from your heart to your heart.

Become aware of your breath,

Aware of your body deeply relaxed.

Sensing your natural breath flowing in and flowing out with no effort.

Savor this rejuvenating state.

Allow the soothing,

Calming balm of relaxation to fill your awareness for a few more moments.

Take time to linger in the deeply restorative cocoon.

Noticing your natural breath.

No need to change anything.

Bask in the nature of who you truly are.

Imagine yourself as pure presence.

The magic,

The medicine and the miracle that you are,

Always have been and always will be.

Take a long,

Deep breath in.

Inhaling deeply into the nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth.

Let your body melt into the surface of the earth.

Sensing the earth beneath your body,

The room around you.

Take another deep breath and start to awaken your body.

Very gently and slowly.

Perhaps nodding your head.

Maybe begin to flutter your eyes open.

No rush.

Take your time.

Reawakening from the fertile darkness.

Welcome yourself back.

Take a moment to honor yourself for giving yourself the gift of becoming living stillness.

Giving yourself powerful nervous system healing.

Deep rest.

Whole body rejuvenation.

Restoration.

Quiet stillness.

Peace.

Reestablishing deep,

Abiding inner peace,

Equanimity and balance.

Thank you so much for sharing this yoga nidra with us tonight and music,

Meditation.

Please take pieces of this with you as you leave,

If you choose.

Offering yourself tender moments throughout the rest of the evening or the week.

Offering yourself peace.

Take your time coming back up.