Yoga Nidra For Healing Darkness

The practice of Yoga Nidra offers the possibility to know our darkness and the potential of darkness as part of our lives as much as light is. It's a gentle and systematic guided relaxation to enter into the liminal space between sleep consciousness and wakefulness. Nidra translates as sleep consciousness. The light of our own consciousness shines the way as we discover and learn about the potential of deep rest and dreaming. There is so much mystery in the world of dreaming and all of the mystery is steeped in meaning. This practice creates a safe space to rest deeply, to wake up feeling refreshed and to touch a deep sense of inner peace.

Transcript

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra for healing darkness.

Get comfortable.

Use the next silent minute to ease into a resting position for your whole body.

I invite you to place something over the eyes to bring more darkness into your experience.

This can be an eye pillow,

Clothing,

Towel,

Something soft.

Do nothing else other than adjust and settle your body comfortably.

Take two exhales out the mouth.

Feel free and safe to invite the sound of a sigh to encourage settling and release.

This Yoga Nidra has begun.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

Drop the mind down into the heart.

Take attention deeply into the space of the heart,

Within the center of the chest,

Behind the breastbone.

Welcome the voice of the heart as you create or connect with your sankalpa,

A statement of intention that honors your heart's deepest longing.

Let this wish bubble up from within the heart.

Be specific and clear in your words as you honor this wish.

This sankalpa can be as simple as a three-word statement that begins with,

I feel,

Or I am,

Or I welcome,

Etc.

Listen deeply as you say this statement three times once it's ready.

Pause after each statement for a full breath to feel the resonance.

Gently let go of the words and allow them to settle in the body and come to rest just where they need to be.

Feel your whole body supported by the earth.

Take a moment to connect with the layers of support beneath your body,

Beginning with what is immediately below you,

And drop down layer by layer until you arrive at the surface of the earth.

The surface of the earth,

Cool,

Dark,

Rich,

Quiet,

And vibrant with life energy.

Let go into this earth energy and know that the whole planet earth is below you in this moment,

Supporting you.

Draw a protective circle around your body made of whatever material,

Color,

Energy that will bring you the greatest feeling of security and safety.

You are safe within your circle.

With your imagination,

Welcome the cool,

Quiet darkness of night within your body.

Darkness of night above and below your body.

Darkness of night to the left and the right sides of your body.

Above your head and beyond your feet.

Whole body held in stillness by the dark,

Quiet serenity of night.

Guide the light of your awareness around the body in a body scan.

Into each point place a small,

Bright,

Twinkling star.

Place the star at the space between the eyebrows.

Place a bright,

Twinkling star at the base of the throat between the collarbones.

Place the star into the right shoulder and down the right arm,

Right elbow,

Right wrist.

The tips of the fingers,

Each with a twinkling star.

The right thumb,

Right index finger,

Right middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger.

Draw awareness back up the arm and place stars in the wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder.

Place another star into the base of the throat.

And a star into the left shoulder and down the left arm,

Left elbow,

Left wrist.

The tips of the left fingers,

The thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger.

Place a second star into the left wrist,

Left elbow,

Left shoulder.

And place another star into the base of the throat.

With the light of your awareness,

Set a beautiful,

Twinkling star into the center of the heart space,

The left lung,

The center of the heart space,

The right lung in the center of the heart space.

Place a twinkling,

Bright star into the heart of the belly.

And place a small,

Sparkling star into the heart of the pelvis,

The right hip joint,

Right knee,

Right ankle.

The big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Right ankle,

Right knee,

Right hip.

Another star into the heart of the pelvis.

And a star into the left hip.

Place a star into the left knee and ankle.

Stars on the tips of the toes,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Left ankle,

Left knee,

Left hip.

Place a star again into the heart of the pelvis.

And place a twinkling,

Bright star into the heart of the belly.

A star into the center of the heart space.

Another star into the base of the throat.

And place a second star into the space between the eyebrows.

Place a star upon the left eye.

And a star upon the right eye.

Place a small,

Bright star on the tip of the nose.

And place a star in the center of the mouth.

Place a small,

Bright and twinkling star into the right ear and the left ear.

And place a star of light into the very center of your brain.

See your whole body as a constellation of beautiful,

Twinkling,

Bright stars within a night sky.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

Draw awareness to your body breathing you.

Sense the movement of breath in the body and notice where you sense this.

Just notice.

Observe your body breathing.

We will now trace the pathway of the breath.

Feel breath at the place just before it enters the body.

Notice sensation here.

The place where we give and receive breath from.

Just outside the nose.

Notice sensation on the upper lip and the edges of the nostrils.

This threshold place connecting the outer world with your inner world.

Breath,

Light and energy just about to enter the body and just having been let go.

Feel breath inside the nose.

Within the right and the left channels of the bridge of the nose.

Notice what you feel.

Notice what qualities you sense within the nose.

Sensations of the air moving upwards and downwards within the nose.

Feel breath at the turning point where breath changes directions from upwards to downwards on the inhale.

Feel breath in this threshold place where the direction of flow changes.

Inside the body,

Quiet and dark.

Be here feeling the subtle sensation of breath at this turning point.

Feel breath in the throat.

Feel the two directions of breath and how they are different.

Feel the ease in the flow of breath within the throat.

Feel your breath in the upper chest as breath just enters the lungs from the throat.

Notice where this is inside your body.

Notice sensation.

Feel breath as it enters into the lungs,

Both the right and the left lung,

Receiving and letting go of breath continuously.

Feel breath reach the outer realms of the lungs,

Towards the side ribs,

The armpits and the diaphragm.

Feel your diaphragm engaged as it stretches downwards with the inhale and softly moves upwards with the exhale.

Feel how the diaphragm invites breath to reach towards the belly.

Feel the outermost edge of breath.

Breath at its deepest point within the body just before it transitions back out of the body again.

How deep in your body does your breath go?

The outermost edge,

The deepest point in the body where the breath reaches.

Quiet and dark.

What other qualities reside in this place within your body?

Gently let that go.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

Awaken your mind and bring to your mind an emotion that has been present in your life which you associate to be dark.

An emotion of the recent past and use your mind to name that emotion.

Remember that you are safe within your circle of protection.

Take awareness to the home of that dark emotion or to the source of where it is within your body.

Be there,

Open and welcoming to whatever arises as part of your experience.

Use the mind to connect with the opposite of that dark emotion.

Name what would be the opposite of that emotion.

Take your awareness to the home or the source of that opposite emotion within your body.

Be there,

Open and welcoming to whatever arises.

Notice feelings and sensations as a part of your experience.

Hold awareness in both places together.

Simultaneously,

Without thinking,

Feel into both separate centers or sources of each emotion.

Notice both the dark emotion from your recent past and the opposite of that emotion.

Sense feelings and sensations as they arise and sense the connection within your body between these two emotions.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

Awaken your imagination.

Recall a time in your life where you experienced the darkest night.

This could be in nature or it could be a psychological dark night or a spiritually dark night.

Be in that same darkness with your imagination.

Use imagination to create that same space around your body,

Within your body,

And remember the safety and support of that circle protecting you.

Allow your inner eyes to adjust and notice the subtle.

Notice that there is not just darkness around you and become aware of whatever else you see and feel.

Simply be the witness.

Clarity slowly arising as your focus adjusts and widens within this darkest night.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

Trust and allow your body to dissolve into this darkness.

Trust that it is perfectly safe to do this.

You are safe within your circle and the earth is supporting you.

This darkness is full of potential and love.

Allow yourself to dissolve into open,

Loving awareness.

Vast with potential.

Infinite and vibrant with possibility and love.

Feel the joy in simply being vastly connected to all and surrounded by love,

Held by love as loving awareness.

One minute.

Rest here simply being.

You are here right now.

Become aware that you are aware.

And you are both the creator and the witness to this experience.

Rest here in your true nature.

Two minutes.

Gently come back to your breath.

As you feel your body breathing again,

Sense and remember what is below your body supporting you and recall the circle of protection around you.

Take your awareness into the space of the heart.

And with the voice of the heart,

Say your sankalpa again three times.

Listen with quiet reverence.

Place as much importance on hearing the words as hearing the silence before,

Between and after each word.

Allow the words to let go upon an exhale.

And allow your body to guide you in some very small movement towards awakening.

Trust in the wisdom of your body to guide you.

And notice how this feels.

Moving very slowly,

Follow the guidance of your body in a process towards awakening.

Make the process comfortable by keeping things slow and easy.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Thank you for your practice today.