My name is Natalie and this yoga nidra practice has been designed to support you as you process and move through times of grief.
Especially if you are going through a big loss right now or if you've had one recently that you're grieving,
Please ensure that you have other resources and other support systems to be there for you as well.
You can let this practice just be one tool in your tool belt of resources.
At times,
Grief can feel like a deep dark ocean within us.
A lonely dark ocean and so heavy.
But when we allow ourselves to move through the grief and even begin to accept that we are carrying it,
Even this acceptance can make it feel a little lighter and a little bit easier to carry.
And so today we'll begin with the sankalpa,
The heart's intention for this practice.
If you have your own words or your own intention that you would prefer to use,
Please feel free to use it as well.
And so the first offering of intention is imagining that you're planting the seed of hope within yourself.
Hope that in time your heart will heal.
You can imagine this intention like a seed of hope in your body.
Maybe even imagining it like a candle in a dark room.
And the second option of a heart's intention is the slow and gradual acceptance that everything around us and within us is impermanent.
A deep understanding that everyone will experience loss.
Life is impermanent,
But this pain and this grief is also impermanent and so it too will pass.
And so these two ideas of intention,
The seeds of hope and healing,
Or the seeds of impermanence and acceptance,
Allow yourself to either form words that resonate around these ideas for you in this moment,
Or you may even just feel what hope and healing feels like in your body,
Or what impermanence and acceptance feels like.
Even allowing images to form in your mind's eye.
We'll take a moment here to let these intentions land.
Now let go of any thoughts.
Place one hand on your heart and place the other hand on your pelvis.
Begin to take some slow,
Deep breaths.
If there's a sound that you need to make,
Make it.
If you need to cry at any point in this practice,
Let yourself cry.
Or if you need to sigh,
Then sigh.
Let yourself feel exactly how you feel in this moment and let yourself be just as you are.
And now finding a comfortable place,
Taking any last movements,
We'll begin the practice.
We'll move through a simple body scan on each side of the body.
So starting with the right side,
Begin to sense your right thumb.
And allow your attention to shift to your first finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
Palm of your right hand,
Back of your hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Right side chest,
Waist,
Right hip,
Knee,
Top of the foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Slowly begin to sense the right side of your body as a whole.
Now moving over to the left side,
Left thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Forearm,
Left shoulder,
Left side chest,
Left side ribs,
Waist,
Left hip,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
And slowly sensing the left side of your body all together.
Now bring your attention to your tailbone.
Slowly moving your attention up your back body,
Sensing into your lower back,
The middle of your back,
Upper back,
The back of your neck,
Back of your head,
Both ears,
On the top of your head,
Forehead,
Both eyebrows,
Both eyes,
Nose,
Sensing the inside of your mouth and your tongue,
Throat,
Chest.
And now begin to sense the movement of your breath in your chest,
Sensing breath around your ribcage,
Down in the space around your belly,
Pelvis.
Allow your breath to be soft,
Natural.
With each breath you take,
Everything within you becomes a little slower,
A little quieter,
In this moment in your body present.
Without changing your breath,
You may imagine your inhales as the word here,
And your exhales as the word now.
Breathing in here,
Breathing out now.
And now begin to sense the parts of your body that feel weighed down or affected by the heaviness of grief.
You may also notice any other emotions present,
Notice how they feel.
And even if you can't name them,
That's okay,
Just feel where they live in your body.
Now imagine the light of hope and acceptance beginning to grow in the space around your chest,
Around your heart space.
Sensing some lightness here as you invite in this hope.
And notice also if other parts of your body feel light.
Tune into those as well.
Maybe in your hands,
Or another part of you that feels at ease and rested right now.
And allow these feelings of lightness to spread.
Allow this healing to take place and to have a felt sense within you.
Allow your thoughts to continue to soften and relax,
Connecting to the silence that lives within you.
And you connect to your feeling body,
Tuning back into the places in your body that feel heavy or stuck,
That feel like grief to you.
And simultaneously at the same time,
Slowly inviting in this hope,
This acceptance,
Inviting in your heart's intention,
And allowing it to have a felt sense that moves and spreads through your body like the warm flame of a candle in a dark room.
Allow yourself to breathe,
Still tuning into these sensations,
But allow your mind to move a little deeper,
Letting the focus dim,
Backing away from the sensations.
And moving a little deeper into your consciousness,
Into your imagination.
And you can begin to form images in your mind's eye of a dark body of water at night,
Imagining that this dark body of water has thousands of sparkling,
Floating candles on the water.
Imagining these little lights in the darkness,
Flickering and sharing their light.
And these little lights on the water,
Almost like stars in the night sky.
See the gentle ripples of the water.
And let this warmth of the glowing flames wash over you and wash through you.
Each little flame like a friend,
Like a companion to support you and to be with you.
And feeling a sense of trust that even in the deepest,
Darkest places,
These little gentle lights live within you too,
Like beacons of hope,
Healing you slowly.
And continue to watch the water and notice that it has a gentle current and these little flames,
These little candles begin to slowly float away into the distance,
Into the darkness.
And from afar,
You sit watching with a calm mind,
With presence,
Watching each candle float onward,
Each light getting smaller,
More subtle,
More distant.
And once every light has disappeared,
Take a moment in this silence,
In this darkness,
Stillness and peace and acceptance for all that has come,
For all that is here,
And for all that will come.
