Yoga Nidra For Letting Go

Enjoy this relaxing yoga Nidra to assist you in letting go of attachments. Following a detailed body scan, find awareness of the breath and experience opposite sensations in the body, before visualizing images and going on a journey to help you release what no longer serves you.

Transcript

Namaste,

This is Melissa.

Welcome to your yoga nidra practice.

In today's practice,

We will be focusing on releasing what no longer serves us.

Take a moment to gather any props,

Pillows or blankets that you might like to use during the practice.

Then allow yourself to find a comfortable position.

Allow your body to get as cozy as possible,

Adjusting the head,

Neck,

Shoulders,

Hips and legs so that you can completely relax into the support beneath you.

Closing down through the eyes if that's comfortable for you or softening the gaze.

Ask yourself if there's anything you can do to make yourself even a tiny bit more comfortable.

Make any final adjustments so that you may allow your body to be completely cozy and at ease so that you may remain still during our yoga nidra practice.

Please know there's no harm in moving.

If you become uncomfortable slowly and mindfully,

Adjust yourself to find comfort again and then settle back into stillness.

All there is to do now is listen.

There's nothing else required,

No effort needed.

There's no wrong way to practice yoga nidra.

You may experience nidra differently every time.

Your experience is unique to you and is exactly what you need today.

You may drift in and out of hearing.

Trust that you will hear what you need and take what is meant for you today.

Begin to notice the breath as your body comes into stillness.

Allow your eyes to softly close and feel the rise of the belly and chest as you inhale and a softening or sinking sensation as you exhale.

Begin to lengthen both the inhale and the exhale with each consecutive breath.

Draw your attention to the places where your body touches the surface that you're lying on.

On each exhale,

Let these points sink a little deeper into the surface,

Releasing any tension in the body,

Backs of the legs,

Hips,

Shoulders,

Arms,

Back of the head.

Notice how you're supported.

Now begin to visualize the room that you're in,

The walls of the room,

The ceiling,

The floor,

And your body relaxed on the surface in the room.

Imagine you could see your own body relaxing in the room as if you were looking in from the outside.

See yourself.

Use your inner vision to see the body still and relaxed,

Only the breath moving the belly.

Begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath,

The gentle ebb and flow as you inhale and exhale.

Notice the pace.

Notice the depth of your breath.

Notice the quality of your breath.

You may continue with your natural breath,

Or perhaps now you begin to count how long it takes you to take a full deep inhale and then try to match the exhale to the same count,

Finding an equal breath,

Maybe extending the count by one or two,

Deepening and slowing down the breath.

Notice how you feel.

Long slow inhale.

Long slow exhale.

Deep and even breaths.

When you're ready,

Allow your breath to return to a natural rhythm for you,

No longer controlling or changing,

Just observing.

In Yoga Nidra,

We practice Sankalpa.

This is our intention or our heart's desire.

In today's nidra,

We will be focusing on letting go of what no longer serves us.

So perhaps for today,

Your Sankalpa will be,

I let go of what does not serve me.

If you have your own Sankalpa,

Please feel free to use that instead.

At this time,

Please repeat your Sankalpa three times silently or repeat after me,

Stating it firmly as though you believe it to be true.

I let go of what does not serve me.

Begin to allow your attention now to float through your body following the guidance of my voice.

Imagine your attention fluidly moving from one point to the next,

Creating a stream of awareness flowing through your body.

As attention moves,

The body remains in stillness,

Welcoming sensations just as they are without needing to change them or make anything different.

Begin by drawing your attention to the tip of your tongue,

The root of the tongue,

Roof of the mouth,

The teeth,

Lips,

Top lip and bottom lip,

Space between the lips,

Tip of the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril.

Feel the air flowing in and out of the nostrils,

Bridge of the nose,

Eyebrows,

Eyelids,

Space between the eyes,

Forehead,

Temples,

Ears,

Right ear and left ear,

Ears listening,

Jaw,

Throat,

Collarbones,

Sternum,

Center of the chest,

Ribcage expanding and relaxing,

Right side chest,

Right shoulder,

Right underarm,

Right elbow,

Forearm and wrist,

Palm of the right hand,

Right hand thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third and fourth,

All five fingers together,

The whole right hand,

The whole right arm,

Right side chest,

Right shoulder,

Center of the chest,

Left side chest,

Left shoulder,

Left underarm,

Left elbow,

Forearm and wrist,

Palm of the left hand,

Left hand thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third and fourth,

All five fingers together,

The whole left hand,

The whole left arm,

Left side chest,

Center of the chest,

Abdomen,

Navel,

Hip bones left and right,

The whole front of the pelvis,

Right hip joint,

Deep within the hip joint,

Right upper thigh,

Right knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of right foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth and fifth,

All five toes together,

Giving time now for attention to drift back to the pelvis,

The whole front of the pelvis,

Left hip joint,

Deep within the hip joint,

Left upper thigh,

Left knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth and fifth,

All five toes together,

Soles of the feet,

Right sole and left sole,

Heels,

Back of the lower legs,

Back of the knees,

Back of the upper thighs,

Buttocks,

Whole back of the pelvis,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

The spine,

The entire spine,

Top to bottom,

Bottom to top,

The spine,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Crown of the head,

Forehead,

The whole body now,

Sensing the whole body,

Whole body as a unified field of sensation,

Sensing the whole body as one,

Attention returning to the breath now,

The natural breath in and out without forcing or controlling it,

Just sensing,

Feeling,

Reinforced easy breath,

Observe your natural breath,

Natural breath in the body,

Sensing the ebb and the flow,

The rise and the fall,

Imagine that you are breathing in through the soles of your feet,

Breath flowing all the way through your body to the crown of your head,

Then breath releasing from the crown of the head and flowing all the way back out through the soles of the feet,

No effort required,

Simply observing the breath in flowing up the body,

The breath out releasing,

Letting go,

Expanding,

Releasing,

Breath in,

Letting go,

As you breathe in,

Say silently to yourself,

Breath in,

As you breathe out,

Say silently to yourself,

Letting go,

Breath in,

Letting go,

Now starting to count your breath backwards from 27 towards zero like this,

27 breath in,

27 letting go,

26 breath in,

26 letting go,

And continue on on your own,

Don't worry if you lose count,

Simply begin again back at 27,

Gently guiding your attention back to counting down the breath,

There's plenty of time,

Nowhere to go,

Nothing else to do,

No need to finish,

Just becoming absorbed in the process of witnessing an easy natural breath,

Breath in,

Letting go,

At your own pace,

If your mind wanders,

Gently draw it back to the process of counting down,

Breath in,

Letting go,

If you lose your spot,

Simply begin again at 27,

Now you're ready to go,

Begin to notice the temperature of your body now,

Notice the sensation of heat creeping into your body,

Feel heat begin to radiate from your core outwards,

Feeling so hot now,

Your body becoming uncomfortably hot,

Notice where you feel heat in your body,

So hot now that you are almost sweating,

Your skin hot to the touch,

Your face flushed,

So very hot,

Now releasing the sensation of heat,

Completely let it go,

Let go of the sensation of heat in the body,

Notice that you can release the sensation of heat from your body anytime you need,

Now manifesting the sensation of cold in your body,

Cold creeps into your body,

Coldness seeping in through the skin,

Cooling your body from the surface and moving inwards,

Coldness seeping deep within your body right down to the bones,

Your body becoming so very cold,

So cold your body may actually shiver,

Your skin ice cold,

So very,

Very cold,

Now releasing the sensation of cold,

Completely let it go,

Let go of the sensation of cold in the body,

Notice that you can release the sensation of cold from your body anytime you need,

Now inviting back the sensation of heat,

Feel the heat returning to your body,

The heat radiating from your core outwards,

Heating your body back up,

Feeling heat throughout your body,

Then inviting back the sensation of cold,

Cold creeping back in,

Replacing the sensation of heat,

Feel the cold overtaking the heat,

Then going back and forth between hot and cold,

Cold and hot,

Feel each sensation fully before inviting the opposite sensation back,

Hot,

Cold,

Cold,

Hot,

Fire,

Ice,

Ice,

Ice,

Ice,

Ice and fire,

Then noticing if you can feel both hot and cold at the same time,

Notice how it feels to be both hot and cold at once,

Now releasing both sensations,

Let go of both hot and cold,

Completely let them both go,

Allow your body to return to its natural comfortable temperature,

Notice that you can release the sensation of hot and cold from your body easily,

Letting go of hot and cold,

Your body returning to comfort,

Manifesting now the feeling of competition,

Remember a time when you were competing for something,

Perhaps a job,

A sporting event or something else,

Something that you very much wanted to win,

Wanted to beat others at,

Remember what it felt like to be competitive,

Feel how the emotion of competition manifests physically in your body,

Feel competition in your gut,

Notice how competition feels in your body,

Now releasing the emotion of competition,

Completely let it go,

Let go of competition completely and notice that you can release the emotion of competition from your body anytime you need,

Now conjuring the feeling of cooperation,

Remembering a time you were part of a team,

Working towards a common goal,

You wanted the entire team to succeed and would do whatever was needed to help others so you would all succeed together,

Remember what it feels like to be cooperative,

Feel how cooperation manifests physically in your body,

Feel cooperation in your heart,

Notice how cooperation feels in your body,

Now releasing the emotion of cooperation,

Completely let it go,

Let go of cooperation completely,

Notice that you can release the emotion of cooperation from your body easily,

Now inviting back the feeling of competition,

Feel competition in your body fully,

Remembering how competition feels in your body,

Then inviting back the feeling of cooperation,

Feel cooperation in your body fully,

Remembering how cooperation feels in your body,

Now going back and forth between competition and cooperation,

Feeling each fully competitive,

Cooperative,

Competitive,

Cooperative,

Back and forth at your own pace,

Then noticing if you can feel both competition and cooperation together,

Feeling competitive and cooperative at the same time,

Now releasing both emotions,

Both sensations,

Let go of both competition and cooperation,

Completely let them both go,

Allow your body to return back to neutral,

No longer competitive or cooperative,

Simply allowing your body to just be,

Draw your attention to the space behind your eyelids,

Allow the attention to rest lightly here,

Notice any lightness or darkness beyond the eyelids,

Imagine before you a transparent screen as though you are at the movie theater,

The screen is as high and as wide as the eyes can see,

Concentrate on this mind screen and become aware of any phenomenon that manifests within it,

Colors,

Patterns,

Light,

Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind,

Continue your awareness of this space without becoming involved,

Practice detached awareness,

If any subtle images make themselves known,

Simply notice them without directing them,

If thoughts occur,

Let them come and go but continue watching the dark space with detached awareness,

Listen to the various scenes and objects that I will describe and try to experience each vision on as many levels as possible,

Noticing any emotions or feelings that arise and any other sensations you experience,

If you have difficulty visualizing,

Just think about the scene or object and notice what arises for you,

Bring to mind melting snow,

Snow melting,

Setting sun,

Sun setting,

Steam rising,

Steam rising and fading away,

Autumn leaves,

Leaves falling from the tree,

Burning candle,

Candle burning and melting away,

Babbling brook,

Water flowing away in a babbling brook,

See yourself seated next to the babbling brook,

Feel the cool ground beneath you,

Smell the dampness in the air mixed with wildflowers,

Listen to the birds chirping in the distance,

Feel the warm sun on your face,

It's a perfect warm fall day,

The sound of the babbling brook is calling to you,

You rise and begin to slowly walk towards the water,

The sound of the running water is soothing to you,

As you gaze into the water,

You see beautiful colored pebbles under the water,

All of the different colors are intriguing,

You crouch down by the edge and tentatively reach towards the water,

As your fingertips touch the flowing water,

You notice that the brook is pleasantly warm,

You decide to wade into the shallow water and enjoy the relaxing feeling of the warm water flowing over your feet,

You slowly and mindfully begin to wander through the brook,

Feeling all of the smooth and colorful pebbles under your feet,

After wandering a little ways,

You notice one pebble that stands out to you,

You move towards where you see this pebble,

As you come near the pebble,

You bend down to pick it up,

You turn the pebble over and over in your fingers examining it,

Noticing the color of the pebble,

Noticing how it feels in your fingers,

This is now your pebble,

It's perfect for you,

You notice an inviting looking meadow off to the side of the brook,

You make your way over to the meadow and climb back out of the brook with your perfect pebble in hand,

You take a seat in the meadow feeling the warm sun shining down on you,

Feeling it drying your damp feet and hands,

You hold your pebble in your hands and close your eyes turning your face up to the warm sun,

Turning your pebble over and over in your hands feeling how smooth and perfect it is,

As you sit here you find quiet and stillness,

Your mind simply focusing on your perfect pebble,

You feel a sense of calm,

You feel at peace,

You sit in stillness for a few moments now enjoying this perfect moment just for you.

After some time and stillness you once again notice your body sitting in the meadow,

You notice that you have something in your hands,

You slowly open your eyes and gaze down at what is in your palms,

Your perfect pebble has changed,

It has transformed into a brightly coloured fallen autumn leaf,

This leaf represents what no longer serves you,

You rise and return to the babbling brook,

Reaching down to the brook you gently place your leaf on the surface of the flowing water,

Letting go,

You watch as the leaf floats away,

Letting go of what no longer serves you,

Releasing it completely,

As it floats out of sight you feel light,

Peaceful and calm,

At ease with all that is,

Abiding here in this state of peace,

Resting back into awareness,

Spacious awareness,

Resting deeply,

Peaceful awareness.

Bring your sankalpa back to mind,

Repeat your sankalpa three times with conviction or repeat after me,

I let go of what does not serve me.

Feel your sankalpa in every fibre of your being,

Let the felt sense of your sankalpa radiate throughout your body,

Notice any emotional tones present,

Notice any sensations,

Notice any residual effects of our nidra practice,

Slowly you begin to become aware of your body,

Feel your body,

Become aware of its existence,

Become aware of all of the contact points between your body and the surface,

Your head,

Arms,

Hands and back,

Become aware of your hips touching down,

Your legs and where your feet contact the surface,

Gently draw your attention back to your breath,

Notice the breath,

Unforced and easy breath,

Witnessing natural breath in the body,

Then begin to deepen the breath,

Taking a deep breath in through the nose and exhale through the mouth and again in through the nose and out through the mouth,

Slowly waking the body a little more with each inhale breath.

When you're ready,

Start to bring movement back to the body a little at a time,

Fingers,

Toes,

Gentle movements of the head and the neck,

Perhaps on an inhale taking a big stretch,

However feels right to your body,

Allowing for any wiggles or movements that feel good.

When you're ready,

Walking the feet in so the knees are bent,

Taking any movement here that you'd like,

Perhaps rocking them side to side or hugging them into your chest,

Then in your own time,

Find your way onto your favorite side,

Using the bottom arm as a pillow and pause there for a few moments,

Allowing yourself to come fully back into this moment.

When you're ready,

Fluttering the eyes open and using your hands to help press you up to a seated posture of your choice.

Once you've come to seated bringing palms together in front of the chest,

Softly closing your eyes,

Taking a few breaths here,

Just noticing how you feel.

Thank you for practicing yoga nidra with me.

Namaste.

Reviews

Wonderful! Love this Nidra. Beautiful visualisation. Thankyou 🙏🌻

Very nice! 🙏🏻💐