Trust Yourself
by Gary Leake
This Yoga Nidra meditation asks you to do the one thing that so many of us have trouble doing: Trusting Yourself. This sankalpa will help you affirm (or reaffirm) that trust in yourself. You are welcome do do this meditatoin with your own sankalpa as well.
Transcript
Settle in now for the practice of yoga nidra.
And lying on your back with your feet about hip-width apart,
Allow the toes to fall to the sides as they will.
And if you have a bolster or blanket or pillow under the knees to support the low back through this process,
Allowing the arms to fall to the side and not really touch the body,
And kind of open with palms up as if to receive.
If that doesn't feel good to you,
You can turn the palms inward or cross them over the heart.
Whatever feels safe for you.
And having your head resting on a light blanket or some padding,
Allow your chin to tuck ever so slightly in toward the chest.
And just notice your natural breath.
Inhaling and exhaling.
And on the next inhale,
Let's take three deep cleansing breaths together.
And kind of center ourselves and focus.
Inhaling through the nose.
Pausing at the top and sighing out the mouth.
Again like that.
Inhaling fully through the nose.
Feel the lungs expanding.
Pause at the top and sigh it out the mouth.
One more time like that.
Breathing in through the nose.
Fill the lungs up to the collarbones.
Sip in a little more.
Relieving the day's frustrations behind.
Breathe them all in.
Pause at the top and sigh out the mouth.
And if you need to make any last-minute adjustments or be able to get any wiggles out or anything,
Do so now as you explore the stillness of the body.
And as you begin to find stillness,
Begin to pick up on any sounds.
Sounds as far away as you can hear.
And begin to soften the gaze and close the eyes if they haven't already.
Just using the sense of hearing.
Use the sense of hearing to explore the area.
The area outside the room,
Outside the building.
Whatever structure you're in,
Hear sounds as far away as possible.
As you identify a sound,
Don't linger.
Let it go and scan for another sound.
Picking up on a sound,
Acknowledge that sound,
And let it go.
And then as you begin to draw the hearing closer to the body,
Find sounds inside the room.
Acknowledge them,
Let them go,
Then move to the next sound.
Sounds as finite as a piece of lint falling on the carpet.
And as you begin to come in closer contact with the body,
Notice the sounds the body makes.
The sound of the breath,
Deep and full as it returns from the lungs out to the atmosphere.
And then in turn,
Fills the lungs in from the atmosphere.
Maybe a whisper at the back of the throat.
Approximate How does the heart sound?
Breathing and beating your own internal rhythm.
Hear the pulse pumping blood out to the extremities,
Receiving blood back,
Pumping life-giving blood throughout the body.
Visualize that exchange,
The exchange of oxygen with carbon dioxide happening between the lungs and the blood.
Visualize that machinery inside the body as it keeps that rhythm moving.
Begin to hear the sounds of the digestion.
Hear the nourishment being taken in from any food,
Water that you may have had.
Know that these internal systems are all working for you,
Working in perfect harmony.
Become aware of the blanket or covering on top of the body.
Feel the points of contact with the body,
Maybe the toes,
Tops of the thighs,
The points of the hips,
The chest and stomach,
And shoulders and arms and hands.
Just becoming aware.
Know that there's nowhere you need to be,
Nothing you need to do.
Just be here.
And at this time,
We turn our attention to the sankalpa.
The sankalpa is a short,
Positive,
Affirmative statement that you make to yourself,
Reinforcing your life's purpose,
Your goals.
And if you do not have a sankalpa,
Tonight I offer this.
I trust myself completely.
I trust myself completely.
And with the next inhale,
Breathe the words of your sankalpa in,
Feel them in your mind and in your body.
And on the next exhale,
Mentally repeat the words into the universe.
Repeat this practice three times,
Mentally inhaling the words and exhaling the words into the universe.
Repeat them with full force and vigor.
Now let that go.
Begin to bring awareness to the body.
Body parts will now be named.
As a body part is named,
Feel into that body part.
Become fully aware of that body part.
Mentally repeat the name of the body part.
See a glowing light from the body part.
Beginning on the right side of the body,
Moving into the right arm and hand,
Bring full awareness into the right hand thumb,
Mentally repeating right hand thumb.
See glowing light emanating from the right hand thumb.
Bring like this into the index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Emanating light from the palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
Mentally repeating back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side of chest,
Side of waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Emanating light from the sole of the right foot,
Top of foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole right side of the body.
Full awareness in the whole right side of the body.
Emanating light from the whole right side of the body.
Moving to the left side of the body,
Into the left arm and hand,
Bringing full awareness into the left hand thumb,
Mentally repeating left hand thumb.
See light emanating from the left hand thumb.
Continuing like this,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Light emanating from the palm of the hand,
Mentally repeating back of hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side of chest,
Side of waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Emanating light from the sole of the left foot,
Top of foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole left side of the body.
Bringing full awareness to the whole left side of the body.
Emanating light from the whole left side of the body.
Now let the naming of the body parts go and bring full awareness of emanating light from the heels,
Backs of calves,
Backs of thighs,
Buttocks,
Spinal column from tip of tailbone to midbrain,
From midbrain to tip of tailbone,
Spinal column from tip of tailbone to midbrain.
From midbrain to tip of tailbone,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Shoulder blades,
The space between the shoulder blades,
Back of neck,
Back of head,
Crown of head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Bridge of nose,
Nose tip,
Emanating light from the whole nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
The line where the lips meet,
Both lips together,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Gums,
The whole inside of mouth,
Right side of jaw,
Left side of jaw,
Chin,
Throat,
Throat pit,
Emanating light from the throat pit,
Collarbones,
Chest,
The heart center,
Emanating light from the heart center,
Upper abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
The navel center,
Emanating light from the navel center,
Right side of pelvis,
Left side of pelvis,
The pelvic floor,
The whole pelvic region,
Emanating light from the whole pelvic region,
Right leg and foot,
Left leg and foot,
Both legs and feet together,
Right arm and hand,
Left arm and hand,
Both arms and hands together,
Torso,
Neck,
Head,
Torso,
Neck and head together,
Front side of body,
Back side of body,
Right side of body,
Left side of body,
The whole body,
Full awareness of the whole body,
Emanating light from the whole body.
Begin to bring awareness to the natural breath,
Flowing in through the nose and out through the nose.
And on the next inhale,
Begin to count down from 57,
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhaling 56,
Exhaling 56.
Repeat like this until one is reached.
When one is reached,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhaling 56,
Exhaling 56.
And on the next inhale,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
And on the next inhale,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
And on the next inhale,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
And on the next inhale,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
If the count is lost,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57.
Inhaling 56,
Exhaling 56.
And on the next inhale,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
And on the next inhale,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
If one is reached,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
Inhaling 57,
Exhaling 57,
Inhaling 56,
Exhaling 56.
And on the next inhale,
Begin again,
Inhaling 57,
Inhaling 56.
And now,
Letting the count go.
Feel into the body.
Begin to feel the body becoming heavier,
Heavier and heavier,
As if pressing into the surface beneath.
Feel the energy in the body becoming slow and lethargic.
Feel the body from this space of heaviness,
As if everything were moving in slow motion.
Feel the body from this space of heaviness,
As if the amount of energy to move one finger would be overwhelming,
Heaviness.
Hear sounds from a perspective of heaviness,
As if through a concrete wall.
Feel the body from this space of heaviness.
And on the next inhale,
Begin to bring the body into a state of lightness.
Feel heaviness releasing into a state of lightness.
Lightness as if able to float.
Lightness as if filled with energy.
Lightness.
Begin to feel the body becoming lighter and lighter,
Filled with kinetic energy,
Full and vibrant.
Lightness.
Hearing sounds as if they were right next to you.
Lightness.
And on the next inhale,
Begin to move the body into a state of lightness.
Now releasing lightness.
Turn awareness to the back of the closed eyelids,
The movie screen of the mind known as Chittakash.
As images are named,
See them in full color,
Vivid detail.
Acknowledge the image and let it go.
Biting into a ripe watermelon.
Juicing a lemon.
Biting into a ripe orange.
A clown juggling.
A police officer chasing a criminal on foot.
Biting a horse.
A cat bathing.
A light a scope of colors spinning into shapes.
Eating a fresh cooked meal.
A smiling face.
Now releasing these images.
Begin to bring awareness.
Turn to the sankalpa.
The short,
Positive,
Affirming statement.
Breathe the sankalpa in,
On the next inhale.
Feel the words throughout the body.
And exhale them into the universe.
Doing this three times.
Mentally inhaling and exhaling the words of the sankalpa.
Letting the universe know.
Now let this go.
Begin to return to the position of the body in the room.
Begin to hear the sounds again of the body.
The digestion.
Acknowledge the digestion with gratitude for supplying you with the nutrients.
Acknowledge the heart.
Acknowledge it with gratitude.
For providing the life-giving blood.
Acknowledge the lungs.
Acknowledge them with gratitude.
For providing the body with the all-powerful breath.
Acknowledge yourself for taking this time.
Give gratitude.
As it feels good to you,
Begin to wiggle the fingers and toes.
Maybe bring movement into the larger body parts,
The hands,
The feet,
The arms and the legs.
If you feel like giving a stretch overhead,
Feel free to do so now.
If not,
Make your way to one side of the other in your own time into the fetal position.
And receive the gratitude.
Receive the words of the Sankalpa.
And know that you've been practicing Yoga Nidra.
And the practice is now complete.
And as you feel comfortable,
You can move about with your evening.
Thank you for taking the time to practice with me.
4.7 (119)
Recent Reviews
Talia
May 20, 2020
Very nice and effective. Thank you 🙏🏻💕
Maureen
May 20, 2020
So very relaxing- thank you 🙏
Rosemary
May 7, 2020
Thank you 🙏💎🙏