Blessing Yourself: A Yoga Nidra Journey

This yoga nidra inspired meditation is a celebration of the sacredness of you. It is an invitation into self-love and a reclaiming of your inherent enoughness, as we celebrate the divine essence within each one of us. The practice includes a long relaxation followed by the rotation of awareness using the visualization of soft white light. We'll explore opposite emotions, including feelings of isolation/connection and feeling not enough/enough, to create a balanced state within. We'll end with a visualization of receiving divine blessings and being celebrated for the wonder and miracle that you already are. May this practice serve as a conscious act of love from you to yourself.
With thanks to Chris Collins at indie music box for the heavenly background music.

Transcript

Welcome to the practice of blessing yourself,

A yoga nidra journey.

My name is Miranda and I am deeply grateful to be here,

Opening the space for you to receive the love and affirmation you most need in this present moment.

This is a practice of receiving and all you need do is be here just as you are.

It is an invitation to celebrate and to return to the divine blueprint within,

That pure essence which is at the core of your human existence.

Sometimes life takes us through dark places and our experiences in this world can build up inner beliefs about our worth,

Our lovability,

Even our inherent goodness.

But no matter what your mind tells you or you feel that the world shows you,

There is an inextinguishable divinity within each of us.

This yoga nidra practice is a celebration of the sacredness of you and if that's far from how you feel right now,

Know that that is okay.

Just showing up here is the shift you're looking for.

There is nothing for you to do but lie back and receive the divine goodness which is you.

So we'll begin by setting up the space in a way that feels good for you.

You might want to grab a blanket,

An eye mask,

Some pillows or a bolster to support the body as we move into a deep state of rest.

Typically yoga nidra is received in shavasana,

A yogic pose lying on the back with the arms and legs resting a little way from the body and palms facing the sky.

In this way our body becomes an offering into the surrender of the practice and it reduces external stimulation to help us to drop into an expanded state of awareness.

But sometimes lying on the side or sitting in a reclined position can be an easier access point to yoga nidra at those times when we might be feeling a bit more vulnerable or maybe lying on your back feels good but with hands on the heart or the belly.

So check in with your body as we move towards the practice.

Choose a position that brings you into the deepest level of safety and comfort.

How are you feeling in this moment and what can you do to support your body into letting go?

Once you're in place we'll relax deeper into the body through breath and gentle movement.

If you've chosen to lie on your side today you might want to sit up for a few moments to give yourself a full range of motion or if movement doesn't feel good right now you can use your imagination or just sink deeper into your own breath.

Begin by sensing into the hands and the feet.

Becoming aware that these parts of your body are filled with vibrant life,

Blood coursing through the hands and the feet,

Energy moving.

As you feel and sense this inner aliveness begin to wiggle fingers and toes,

Gently present the feelings this soft and subtle movement can bring.

Begin to become aware of the surface that you're lying on,

The feeling and sense of the earth beneath you,

Gravity pulling you down.

Begin to allow breath to deepen,

Softening the chest and inviting breath to come deeper into the belly.

As you slow your breath begin to let exhales fall out of the mouth,

Allowing each exhale to be a surrendered release,

Becoming deeply aware of your body as you breathe.

You might like to place your palms over your eyes and take a few deep breaths here,

Feeling the sense of safety that comes with that sheltered darkness.

You might like to massage around the face,

Moving around the temples and the jawbone to the chin,

Around the cheeks and the eyes,

Massaging over the forehead.

Hold your palms still over the temples,

Take another deep breath here.

As you breathe in,

Drag your hands back behind the ears,

Down the neck and rest at your heart.

If that feels good you can try that again,

Holding the palms at the temples and taking a deep breath and on the next inhale dragging the hands behind the ears,

Down the neck.

As you rest with your hands on your chest,

Drop into the sense of your heart beating,

Your lungs breathing,

Your body in this moment.

Now bring your right hand to the top of the left shoulder and slowly and consciously drag it across the body to the right hip,

Doing that movement a few times,

Slowly and consciously.

The right hand on the left shoulder,

Dragging across the body to the right hip,

Offering an opening to the heart space.

And now release that hand back to your side and take the left hand to the top of the right shoulder and move your hand across the body in the opposite direction,

Towards the left hip.

Right shoulder to left hip,

Slowly and gently,

Inviting a softening across the chest.

And now bring the hands back to the heart,

Holding here for a few breaths.

With our hands on our hearts,

We'll call in our sankalpa,

Our hearts prayer.

If you already have a sankalpa you can call it into your awareness now,

But if you are new to sankalpa,

It is a deep intention for our life,

Arising more from the essence of the heart than the mind.

It's a prayer for yourself which you want to bring into reality now.

That might be something like,

I am loved,

I am enough or I am whole,

Perhaps I belong.

Take a few moments with your hands on your heart,

Resting your awareness in the chest.

Softly listen for anything that arises and allow it to form as a present tense statement,

As if you are already experiencing this truth.

If nothing comes forth right now,

That is perfectly okay.

Forming a sankalpa can take time,

So for this practice I invite you to use,

I am loved,

I am enough,

I am whole or I belong.

Whichever resonates the most for you.

And now as you lie in rest,

Repeat your sankalpa slowly and lovingly,

As an offering to yourself,

Three times.

We'll come back to it again at the end of our practice.

So now settle yourself back into the position you've chosen for Yoga Nidra,

Taking any last-minute wiggles,

Getting yourself as comfortable as you can.

Now as we move into the practice of Yoga Nidra,

We'll move through different layers of our being.

The physical body,

The energy body,

The mental and emotional body,

The creative,

Wise,

Intuitive body and into the radiant union of the bliss body.

We'll begin with a rotation of awareness through the physical body.

We'll bring a soft white light energy into each body part,

Allowing it to be filled with light.

Bring your awareness into your right hand,

Feeling and sensing into the hand,

Feeling the skin on the outside of the hand,

The fingernails,

The bones of the hand.

Maybe you can feel its vibration and we'll begin to imagine a soft white light energy forming in the space of the thumb.

Imagine white light filling the thumb,

Spreading to the second finger,

The third finger,

The fourth finger and the fifth finger.

Soft white light energy floods the hand,

The palm and the back of the hand,

The whole right hand glowing with white light,

Rising up through the forearm to the elbow,

Through the upper arm to the shoulder.

Soft white light filling the whole right arm.

It fills into the right side of the chest,

Filling the right lung and the ribcage.

It falls softly into the right side of the belly,

Inhabiting the right side of the pelvis.

White light and awareness in the space of the hip and down the right leg,

From the thigh to the knee,

From the lower leg to the ankle,

Filling into the foot,

Through the heel and the sole,

The top of the foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

White light in the whole right foot,

In the whole right leg,

The whole right side of the body.

Come now into the left hand,

White light filling the left hand thumb,

The second finger,

The third finger,

The fourth finger and the fifth finger,

The palm and the back of the hand and the wrist.

The whole left hand glowing with white light,

Spreading up the forearm to the elbow,

The upper arm to the shoulder,

The whole left arm glowing with white light and now the left hand side of the chest,

Through the left lung and the ribcage,

Falling softly into the left hand side of the belly,

Inhabiting the left side of the pelvis.

Soft white light energy through the left leg,

From the thigh to the knee,

From the calf to the ankle and into the foot,

Through the heel and the sole of the foot,

The top of the foot,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

The whole left foot glowing with white light,

The whole left leg,

The whole left side of the body glowing with soft white light and now it comes into the back of the body,

Balancing across the right side and the left,

Beginning in the right heel and the left heel,

The right calf and the left calf,

The back of the right knee,

The back of the left knee,

The back of the right thigh,

The back of the left thigh,

The right buttock and the left buttock,

The back of the pelvis,

The right shoulder blade and the left shoulder blade,

The whole right side of the back,

The whole left side of the back,

Soft white light undulating through the spine,

Rising through the neck and into the back of the head,

Soft white light and the whole back body,

The whole back body and now soft white light at the crown and the forehead,

Into the right temple and the left temple,

The right eyebrow and the left eyebrow,

Soft white light clearing the centre of the eyebrows,

The right eye and the left eye,

The right eye socket and the left eye socket,

The right cheek and the left cheek,

The right nostril and the left nostril,

The whole nose,

The right ear and the left ear,

The right side of the jaw and the left side of the jaw,

White light in the teeth,

White light in the tongue,

White light in the whole mouth,

The whole face and head glows with soft white light,

It enters the throat,

Clearing the throat chakra,

Coming down into the chest and entering the heart,

Soft white light clearing the heart chakra,

Energising the heart,

Balancing the heart,

Soft white light down into the solar plexus,

Clearing this energy centre,

Descending into the sacral,

The womb space,

Soft white light glowing through the belly and the pelvis,

Unsettling into the base of the body at the pelvic floor,

Soft white light clears the root chakra,

Gently and softly,

Soft white light through the whole of the body,

Soft white light gently balances the whole body and from this glowing wholeness begin to notice your breath,

The soft and natural easy breath,

An effortless flow of breath,

Lying in peaceful stillness,

Focusing your awareness on your breath,

As you breathe in begin to notice how the soft white light energy expands,

Moving beyond the physical body into the space around you,

Soft white light energy glowing all around you,

Breath enters,

Breath exits,

Let the light form into a cocoon all around you,

Move out with the light,

Feeling and sensing into the space just above you,

Back through the body into the space beneath you,

Back into the body,

Awareness goes to the left side of the body with the light,

Space to the left of the body,

It comes back through the body and out into the right side,

Space on the right side of you and awareness comes back to center and now expanding awareness in all directions,

Filling the space all around you,

Filling the cocoon full of light,

Awareness filling the whole cocoon,

Resting here,

An expanded awareness and now awareness comes back into the physical body,

Sensing and feeling into the physicality of the body and we'll move through pairs of opposites,

Exploring the polarities of our human existence through the mental emotional body,

As we explore each opposite we allow for the full spectrum of our feelings and we bring ourselves into a state of balance,

If you need to rest into the heart space at any time,

Feel free to come back and rest in the heart,

We'll begin with heaviness and lightness,

Beginning to imagine that the body is feeling very heavy,

Sensing into the density of the body,

Bones grounded into earth,

The body is heavy and now heaviness lifts and you begin to experience the body as light,

The whole body light,

Lifting towards the sky,

The whole body is light,

Feeling space in every cell,

Allowing yourself to fully feel the body as light and now come back and rest in the space of the heart,

Awareness inhabiting the chest and begin to feel what it feels like to be isolated,

How does it feel in the body when you feel alone,

How does loneliness feel in your body,

Allowing sensations to move through and now releasing loneliness and beginning to feel what it feels like in your body when you feel connected,

How does the sense of connection and belonging feel to your body,

How does it feel in your body to be connected,

Allowing yourself to fully feel the sensations of connection in your body and now letting that go and coming back to the space of the heart,

The heart center as an anchoring point,

A resting place and now how does it feel when you believe that you're not enough,

What does not enoughness feel like in your body,

Allowing sensations to arise,

Allowing yourself to fully feel that sensation of not enoughness and now how does it feel in the body to be enough,

To be enough in every moment and every breath,

How does pure enoughness feel in the body,

Allow yourself to fully feel the sensations of being enough and now come into the space of the heart,

Anchoring here into balance,

Bring awareness up to the third eye,

Resting in the dark space of consciousness just behind the eyes,

Begin to see a rose archway forming in front of you,

An archway bedecked in roses of all hues,

As you step through you feel the scent of the roses through your whole body and it washes through you in a wave of relaxation,

So as you pass through into a vast wildflower meadow you feel completely safe and grounded and relaxed,

In this meadow you feel an instant sense of love,

All around you there are people and beings who have gathered here just to honor you,

Faces of loved ones,

Of old friends,

Even people that you think you don't know,

Their faces wreathed in smiles and in love for you,

You feel the joy in the air as you step through,

The feeling of celebration that you have come to be received,

A pathway forms in the crowd and ahead of you you see a circular dais with items resting upon it and you feel the call to walk onwards because you know that these items were placed here just for you,

As you step through the crowd you feel yourself immersed in love and belonging knowing yourself radiantly received,

As you step up onto the dais you see first a floral crown,

Take it in your hands and feel the flowers and inhale their sweet scent,

You watch as it lifts up onto your head and you feel a relaxing and settling of the body,

A sense of grounding into your space,

Take a deep breath,

Feeling at home,

The next item is a small clay jar and as you unstopper the lid,

The scent of roses wafts into the air,

It is a small bottle of rose oil you take a few drops on one fingertip,

Gently anointing your heart and your brow,

Holding yourself in love,

Love enfolds your whole universe,

A final item appears,

A glowing crystal,

You see the color,

Feel its vibration in alignment with you,

Your greatest happiness and well-being,

Your soul's highest potential feel and sense into the crystal now,

You take it in your hand and place it at the base of your spine where it is absorbed,

The crystal sends an energetic pulse up and down the spine,

Cleansing and clearing your energy body,

Creating space for something new,

Your crown opens and you receive a beam of divine light,

This divine light pours through the whole body,

Filling the heart and pulsing out into the whole universe,

The floral crown lifts,

Expands,

Encompassing everything around you,

Perfectly honored,

Perfectly whole,

You sense that this love and these blessings have been received by everyone around you and here in this sacred honoring of all,

A choir of angels sings you your sankalpa three times and with this you are called back into this moment and this time,

Back into your body awareness coming back into your body,

Feel yourself re-entering the body and the present time,

Bringing back all of that love and those blessings into your body,

Your life,

Feeling and sensing the energy of the body and its physical structure,

Skin,

Muscles,

Bone,

Sense your heart beating in your chest,

Lungs moving as breath breathes,

Take your thumb and rub it against your fingers,

Sensing and feeling into the body as you move,

Allow sounds to filter into your awareness first receiving the whole soundscape and then beginning to identify individual sounds,

Become aware of any smells in your space,

Move your tongue around the back of your teeth,

Maybe swallowing,

Become aware of the feeling sense of the body,

Maybe a blanket covering you,

Your clothes,

The surface beneath you,

Anchoring yourself back into your body,

Your space,

This moment and maybe you want to start moving the body a little bit,

Perhaps moving the hands across the heart,

Moving your hands over your face,

Smoothing behind the ears,

Perhaps you want to take your arms and give yourself a little hug,

When you feel ready you can rise to your seat,

Placing your hands across your heart and offering yourself a moment of tenderness and gratitude that you've shown up for yourself in this way,

You might want to take some time after this practice to integrate your experience sitting with any emotions that arise,

Maybe journaling,

Maybe there's an action that you feel called to take to spread this love on to others or to anchor it into your life in some way,

Spend a few moments as you come out of the practice in reflection,

Really honoring yourself for taking this time to really receive yourself in love,

As you complete this practice know that you are so deeply loved,

Loved since the dawn of time,

Wishing you every blessing,

Hariam Tadum

Reviews

Gentle clear guidance. Such a beautiful message to be able to embody. Thank you!

Lovely and loving practice. I particularly loved the 3 gifts at the end. Many thanks and many Blessings 💞

Very beautiful, and so healing. I was awake in the middle of the night and feeling anxious. Such a blessing to be guided to your yoga nidra. Thank you so very much for the gift of this transforming practice, Miranda!