Yoga Nidra Loving Kindness Practice

This meditation combines Satyananda-style yoga nidra with a traditional form of secular Buddhist loving-kindness practice similar to the work of John Makranski. The result is deep relaxation, stress regulation, and the steady development of a loving state of mind.
This track contains ambient sounds in the background

Transcript

This is a loving kindness yoga nidra recording written and guided by Nick Boutros. To do this practice, Make sure your phone is silenced and that distractions are minimized. Find a comfortable position lying on a mat or cushion on the floor or else sitting upright. Traditionally this practice is done lying on your back in the yoga posture Shavasana, But you can also do it lying on your side or sitting in a traditional upright meditation position or sitting upright in a chair. Whatever position works for you as long as your spine is straight and your body can be relaxed. When you're in your position, Settle your body and get comfortable. Let each movement you make be your signal that you can become more and more quiet. Settling more and more, Letting your body and mind become more and more still. Each movement, Each little settling movement being your signal that you can become more and more still. Letting yourself feel settled, Feel grounded and then having the intention to fully engage in this yoga nidra practice. Maybe even saying to yourself in your mind, I'm going to do loving kindness and yoga nidra. May it be present and aware for this whole practice. Present and aware for this whole practice. And when you're ready to bring your attention to your breath, Letting yourself breathe into your abdomen. Breaths can be normal, But letting the breaths move into your belly, Giving your body the signal that you can relax more and more. Breathing into your belly, Giving your body the signal that you can relax more and more. And then when you're ready, Let yourself be in some experience that feels peaceful and nourishing. Could be that you can imagine yourself in a place that you know, Or an imaginary place, Or some combination. You can just let this be your inner refuge place. Feel yourself here and begin to see the surroundings, The colors, The light, The objects, Anything special that's present. Letting yourself be in this inner refuge and most importantly, Feeling the energy here, The feeling of peace, Comfort and nourishment. At any point during this practice, You can guide yourself back here. Remember, You can come back to this place anytime you'd like in your daily life also. Your inner refuge is always here. It's a part of who you are. Come back here whenever you'd like. And when you're ready to, Bringing your mind to some experience of loving kindness. It could be an experience when you felt unconditionally loved, That someone accepted you for who you are, Was compassionate toward you, Or a situation where you had a sense that someone had your back or was generous or caring toward you. Or it could be an experience where you were unconditionally loving to someone else. Maybe you were loving toward a child, A friend, Or a pet. Could be some experience where you were unconditionally loving, Accepting another person, Compassionate or had someone else's back, Or you were exceptionally generous. Or it could be an experience of spiritual figures, Perhaps saints or the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas or ancestral figures. Some experience where you felt or feel unconditionally loved and accepted by them. Letting yourself be in some experience of loving kindness, Whether you're giving or receiving that loving kindness. Letting yourself rest in that experience for a few moments. Then when you're ready, Touch into the intention for doing this practice right now. Maybe there's a word or a phrase that says to you exactly what your intentions are. Maybe it's to help others or to heal, To simply be more loving or some other intention. Let yourself connect to your intention, Whatever it is. Maybe saying to yourself that word or phrase as if you can speak it deeply into yourself, As if you could spread that intention through every part of your mind. So affirming to yourself that you're conscious and aware right now, Unless your intention is to fall asleep, Affirming the idea that you're going to stay conscious and aware through this whole practice. Saying to yourself, I will stay conscious and aware through this whole practice. Now we'll connect to different parts of the body. Follow as best you can and bring your awareness to each part as I name it. It feels like I'm going too fast. Just go at your own pace. You can be aware of more than one part if you need to. Avoid straining or rushing in any case. Just do this in a way that works for you. Being aware of the parts of the body. Starting with the top of the head, Aware of the top of the head, And now the forehead, The right side of the forehead and the right temple. Now the left side of the forehead and the left temple, And between the eyebrows. Now the right eye, The left eye, The nose, Inside the nose, The right side of the jaw, The left side of the jaw, The mouth, Inside the mouth, Feeling inside the mouth, The throat, The right collarbone, The left collarbone, The center of the chest, The right shoulder, The left shoulder, The right upper arm, The right lower arm, The tips of the right fingers, The center of the chest, The left upper arm, The left lower arm, The tips of the left fingers, The center of the chest, The center of the chest. Now the upper abdomen, The lower abdomen, The right upper leg, The right lower leg and the ankle and the right foot, The tips of the right toes, The left upper leg, The left lower leg, Ankle and foot, The tips of the left toes, The center of the chest, And aware of the front of the abdomen and chest, The whole front of the belly and chest, And aware of your back, The whole back, Back and front of the abdomen and chest together, Aware of back and front of the body, Now aware of the whole right leg, Aware of the whole left leg, Both legs, Aware of both legs together, And the whole right arm, Aware of the whole left arm, Aware of both arms together, Both arms together, Now aware of the face, The whole face, And the whole head, Aware of the whole head, Aware of the head and the body together, Aware of the whole body all together, Whole body all together, Affirming to yourself, I am conscious and aware, Affirming your intention to be present, Be conscious and aware, Letting your body be alert, Sensing the calm, The world around you, Maybe you're aware of the silence around you, Or aware of some sounds around you, Maybe you're aware of the subtle movements of your body, Or maybe aware of the stillness of your body, Aware also of the subtle giving and taking with the world around you, With each breath your body quietly breathes in, The world is giving you breath, With each breath you breathe out, The world is gently taking agreement, Mutuality, Aware of the subtle giving and taking, Quiet mind, Present, Subtle giving and taking of the world around you, Let yourself continue to be aware of the breath, Normal breath, Aware, Let the breath take on the texture or feeling of tenderness, Of kindness, As if you're breathing in loving kind breath with each in-breath, Breathing out loving kind breath with each out-breath, Loving kind breath with each in-breath, Loving kind breath with each out-breath, As you continue to feel the quality of love, Kindness of each breath, Being aware of the breath in your belly, Your attention in your abdomen, Feeling that loving in-and-out breath in your abdomen, As if the breath could soothe, Nourish you inside out. Continuing to feel the breath in your abdomen, Loving and soothing, Breathing in kindness and love, Feeling out kindness, Aware of the breath in your abdomen, Again affirming to yourself your intention to be present, To be conscious and aware, And letting go of the awareness of breath, Aware of your whole body again, Imagine your whole body is bathed in light, Imagine you're in a bright room, That you're resting in the afternoon sun, Keeping still, Changing nothing, Feel this light bathing and permeating your whole body, The whole body surrounded and imbued with light. Now imagine the opposite, The body is resting in a dark room, A room at night or with all the shades drawn so there's no light whatsoever, Resting exactly as you are, Feeling the quality of this peaceful darkness as it surrounds and imbues your whole body, Darkness all around and inside the body. Now returning to the experience of light, Feeling the light surrounding your body, Bright enough that it shines through the body, Body surrounded and imbued with light, Surrounded and imbued with light. And now returning to the experience of darkness, Darkness all around and within, Darkness, And once again light, Experiencing the light around and in the body, Imbued with light, Light surrounded and imbued with light. Finally experience both at the same time, Feeling both the darkness and the light around you and within you, At once completely dark and radiantly light, Feel both at the same time. From this place your mind can return to your earlier experience of loving-kindness, Whether a time you felt loved, Cared for, Accepted or a time you were loving, Caring and accepting of someone else or else the experience of unconditional love from spiritual figures or ancestors. If the experience has become a different memory, A different experience, That's okay too. Just allowing yourself to be in that experience, Feel that loving energy, Whether giving or receiving. Notice that you can make the experience more vivid by recalling the details of it, Noticing the things you see or hear, Most importantly feeling unconditional love and caring, Letting the experience feel more and more clear, More and more clear and present. When you'd like you can even let go of that original experience and just feeling that loving feeling in your body, Your mind and your heart, Just letting it be there, Natural, Allowing it to be there. It may even be as if you could feel those loving feelings surround you, As if you were in a kind of bubble or in a field of loving-kindness or compassion. Let yourself be in that loving experience as if every part of you could be bathed and filled with that sense of kindness, Unconditional acceptance. As you do this, It's possible you may notice thoughts or difficulties that arise. Some people notice feelings of unworthiness, Others notice that when they try to feel love they get lost in thought or distracted. Others find themselves explaining the whole thing intellectually rather than feeling the experience. Noticing whatever is happening for you and whatever is happening, Inviting even those experiences, Those parts of yourself to experience the loving feelings, To be in that field of unconditional acceptance, Even if you're drowsy and falling asleep, Allowing that experience, That part of yourself to be in that field of unconditional acceptance. It would be you invite whatever difficult part to simply be in that love, As if it could relax and join you at the table, So to speak, No matter what arises, Inviting it to be in this unconditionally loving experience. Just continuing to rest in that loving energy, Including even the most difficult parts of yourself. Letting even the most difficult parts of yourself rest in that loving energy, Let alone the most deserving, Allowing it all to be there, Free of any forcefulness, And letting every part of you relax into that loving energy. And even relaxing the trying to be in love and kindness, Letting go of all effort, Even the effort to feel love, Letting go completely, Just floating in the open space of mind, Letting any thoughts or feelings just float by, Undisturbed and undisturbing, All open, Boundless, Loving, Open. And now returning to your place of inner refuge, That experience of a peaceful, Nourishing place from the beginning of this practice, Bring that sense of loving-kindness and openness to this inner refuge experience. Remember you can return to this inner refuge whenever you'd like to in your daily life. All you need to do to come back to it is say to yourself inner refuge, The intention of coming back to it, See this place or experience in your mind. You'll come back to your inner refuge safely, Easily, And effortlessly, And you can know that the loving-kindness will be there too. All you need to do is say to yourself inner refuge, And return to this place. And return also to your intention, A word or phrase that grounds your sense of why you're doing this practice. Affirm this intention again in your body and mind, And knowing that this practice will be ending soon, Find a way to bring that intention out into the world, Knowing you can continue to hold this intention and live by it in your daily life. See this intention deeply in your mind again, Maybe saying those words, That phrase to yourself again, Feeling it deeply. And finally, Being with that sense of loving-kindness again in whatever form it's coming to you now, Maybe spacious or open, That sense of loving or being loved, Experience of being surrounded by light or surrounded by soothing dark, Or both at the same time. And breathing it in now, Breathing in loving-kindness, Breathing out loving-kindness, Connecting that loving-kindness to your breath, Breathing in and out. And aware of that exchange, The world around you, Each breath an exchange of the space that you're in, The space where your body is resting, Aware of your body lying or sitting, Maybe seeing the room or the place where you are, Feeling the solidness of your body where it is, Resting there, Aware of your body breathing bodily breaths as you're resting there. You can be aware of your arms and legs, The physicality of your body, And when you're ready to, Breathing into your body, Reinvigorating your body, Reawakening it, Beginning to move a little, Maybe wiggling your fingers or toes, Observing those movements, Feeling every sensation, Letting yourself feel loving-kindness in each movement, Slowly beginning to move your head and your arms and legs, Feeling sensations and observing, Feeling the loving-kindness in each movement. And finally, When you're ready to, Opening your eyes, This practice is complete.