Yoga Nidra For Processing Grief, Reclaiming Vitality

Grief and loss are a part of the tapestry of human experience. Yet often it is challenging to lean into loss, and easier to gloss over it. No matter how large or small, grief that is unmet remains in our bodies and can unconsciously consume our energy. During this 35-minute iRest® yoga nidra meditation, I will support you to begin meeting the initial layers of whatever is present, and thus reclaiming a vitality that naturally emerges.

Transcript

Hello everyone.

You know grief and loss are a natural part of a tapestry of life.

We are all touched by it and when grief is unmet or unintegrated,

It remains in our bodies and it also consumes a lot of our energy,

Sometimes unconsciously.

And when we have the time and the space and the practices to begin to lean in to these held experiences,

It often also reveals our inherent vitality in whatever way that might appear.

A glimpse of ease,

Lightness,

Curiosity in the midst of things.

So this practice of I-Rest Yoga Nidra will support you to begin to lean in.

It might take a few moments to find a comfortable place from which to practice.

Just offering your body kind regard at the position that would feel most supportive to you.

And perhaps it's walking while listening today.

And so we'll begin this journey by listening to the sound of the singing bowl and we'll close our journey in the same way.

Just a pure vibration of sound and the simplicity of listening.

Nothing to interpret,

To analyze,

To understand.

And slowly just allowing your body,

Your heart and your mind to settle and to arrive.

No rush or hurry.

And everything happening in its own time and rhythm.

There is already an underlying wisdom here.

And as you listen to my words,

Allowing it to point you to what is most true for you,

Moment to moment.

It might take a few moments to listen in for your heart's intention for this practice.

Is there something that has been lingering at the doors of your guest house?

Something wanting to be felt,

Met or seen though there hasn't been time,

Space?

Maybe it's the intention to open spontaneously to what arises during the practice.

Affirming your heart's intention with the whole body,

Heart,

Mind.

And then really setting it free so we can open with curiosity,

Care,

Compassion.

Moment to moment.

Allowing your attention to open across the environment,

All of the sensory perceptions.

Just feeling and sensing your way.

Thoughts can come and go like waves in the ocean.

The tapestry of sound,

Sight,

Scent,

Taste.

Tactile sensations across the surface of the skin.

Exactly as they are.

And this whole tapestry of experience around you at the same time.

Or perhaps a feeling or a glimpse of an open receptivity.

Just listening and feeling sensing.

And you might begin to notice the supports beneath or behind your body.

The way those supports are rising up to hold you exactly as you are.

You might begin to feel the way your body is leaning into or relinquishing some of its weight.

And equally noticing where there may be tension held.

Taking some moments to allow your attention to descend a little further,

A little lower.

From the supports into the land and the earth beneath your body.

Beneath all bodies everywhere.

Just opening to the felt sense.

Is there a quality of solidity,

Density,

Maybe a stability in the midst of things.

Something else.

And as you drop down and in in this way,

Perhaps there are images that you'd like to bring forward or those that are naturally arising.

The images of the earth itself.

Perhaps there's a recent memory.

The natural landscape that surrounds you from above.

Perhaps those who are with you.

In spirit,

In their physicality.

And the feel of the earth beneath your feet or in your hands.

The varying shades of color.

The scent of the earth itself.

And all of this as an inner resource.

To the degree that it's available.

Noticing how this begins to light up in the body.

Your attention gently opening inside the field of the body.

Sensations,

Vibrations alive in this moment.

And it might be in a specific area of the body.

Heart,

Abdomen,

Lower body,

Face.

It may be a global body feeling.

And you might notice the tones of sensation across the surface and through the interior layers.

Like tight or loose,

Expanded,

Condensed,

Light,

Heavy.

Perhaps the way your body is being breathed,

Your heart beating.

The felt sense of this inner resource.

As a tapestry of sensation,

Image,

Vibration.

And if something else is passing through,

Wanting to be felt,

Seen or heard,

Also honoring this.

And this inner resource is something to which you can return to at any time during this practice or beyond.

For as long as it feels nourishing.

So slowly from the earth and this felt sense beginning to open through the interior layers.

Beneath the surface of the skin more fully.

And opening with that quality of curiosity if it's available.

Like the wonder of a child that's experiencing something for the very first time.

Perhaps warmth of compassion that we naturally feel for a beloved.

Right here illuminating the way to this interior landscape.

So opening to what is most calling your attention.

And can you also feel the aliveness of your body being breathed,

Heart beating,

No efforting,

Doing.

And the aliveness of life living you with a value,

Purpose.

And all the while this underlying ease of being.

This feeling listening receptivity that's not trying to make anything happen.

It gets covered over in the midst of life and planning,

Thinking,

Doing.

And just as effortlessly it's revealed when the tasks fall into the background.

A momentary glimpse.

This eternal underlying ease of being.

And if it's here in the foreground even a glimpse how does it light up in your body?

All right what does it usher forward?

And still the aliveness of your heart's intention,

Felt sense of this inner resource.

And the quality of the element of the earth here now.

And slowly feeling and sensing our way through the energetic body.

Opening across the face and head.

Hollow of the mouth.

Ears.

Eyes as sensation.

Attention gently descending,

Pervading the field.

Almost like a teabag steeping in warm water.

Sensations across neck and throat from the inside.

From the inside of the shoulders.

Length of the arms.

Flowing streams of sensation perhaps.

Tingling,

Vibratory.

Some areas may feel dull or like nothing.

That can be welcome too.

A feeling from the inside of the hands,

Fingers.

Throughout the torso.

From the length of the spinal column.

Opening out in all directions.

Heart to abdomen.

Lower to upper back.

Just feeling your way.

Nothing to do.

Nothing to fix.

To analyze.

To improve.

Underlying restfulness of being.

And opening across the pelvis,

Ceiling to floor.

And the inside of the hips.

Through the length of the legs.

Feet and toes.

Feeling from within.

And opening to the whole global body.

It's still supported,

Held by the supports,

The earth beneath it.

And the body of sensation revealing the wave-like undulations.

Your body being breathed.

Life living you.

Expanding,

Condensing.

Opening and closing.

With every inhalation and exhalation.

This quality of play.

Naturally here.

So resting in this for some moments.

This underlying wave-like play of the breath.

Not just happening without any effort.

Without a breather,

A doer,

A thinker.

And how these changing sensations and vibrations might again unveil the glimpse of underlying easefulness.

The essence of being.

Presence itself.

So you might choose to stay here with what is most alive for you.

Perhaps nourishing the felt sense of your inner resource ground.

Allowing my voice to fall into the background if you like.

Or continuing to follow along.

Just noting any emotions that might be passing through,

Coming and going,

Lingering for a while.

Perhaps even the thoughts,

Beliefs or stories.

Memories.

You might take a moment to see if there is something that is most calling your attention.

Wanting to be felt,

Seen,

Heard.

Perhaps your heartfelt intention is alive and there's something you wish to bring forward now.

It might be something with a degree of discomfort or disease.

A sadness or grief,

Loss that has been held.

And to the degree that it feels okay,

Just seeing what's here now.

There might be a name or a label.

Including that and is it okay to drop into your body,

Feeling the aliveness of sensation,

Where it appears,

How it is.

Scanning and feeling through face,

Heart,

Abdomen,

Shoulders,

Hands,

Hips.

Condensed,

Drawn in or expanded.

Maybe light or heavy.

Maybe a quality of dullness or something more alive.

No right or wrong way.

Just feeling to feel,

Not to fix.

And maybe touching back down to feel the element of the earth again.

Feeling of being held as you are.

A sense of your inner resource.

And you might open again with curiosity,

What's here now?

Is there something familiar?

Another layer of what has already emerged?

Or perhaps is there something different?

A slightly different texture of sensation.

Something that feels less uncomfortable.

A subtle ease,

Space or even lightness.

And if it feels okay,

If the opposite were here,

Just a mild opposite to the original material,

If it were here,

How would it look?

How would it feel?

What would it be?

How does it light up in your body?

And if it's not available,

That's okay too.

But nourishing this for some moments.

Perhaps coming back to the felt rhythm of your body breathing.

Ground of your inner resource.

And if it feels right and available,

You might slowly alternate between the two at your own time and rhythm.

Perhaps one or two more times.

So opening with curiosity.

Compassion.

And as you feel ready,

Can you feel both here at the same time?

All right,

Flavors of both heavy and light.

Discomfort and comfort.

Or whatever is most true for you.

By holding both together,

Feeling and sensing.

Right now nothing to manage,

Nothing to push away or pull in.

And what might you notice now?

Just honoring what feels most true.

And perhaps is there an underlying calm.

Right,

That which is not trying to make anything happen.

Anything more or less.

And as we gently sift through the layers of our experience,

Just a little at a time.

Is there any feeling of ease or a quiet joy?

Right,

Even a glimpse of play.

Wonder for the mystery of life.

And if you'd like,

You might even call forward images,

Memories that support this too.

That this too is a thread of the tapestry.

And how this lights up in the body,

Across the skin and the deepening layers.

And even the coming and going of ease and joy,

Further revealing the unchanging ease and joy of being.

That which exists without condition.

Where momentarily the thoughts,

The stories,

The sense of I still here but softening into the background.

And this includes everything as it is,

Every changing expression,

Texture.

And remains unchanging,

Steady,

Unbroken,

Whole.

So everything exactly as it is.

Everything is welcome,

Resting as you are.

Nothing to do.

And slowly you might feel your attention slightly more gathered or centered within yourself.

You might inquire,

Right,

How is truth moving through me now?

Right,

How is my heart in this moment?

And listening without agenda.

Honoring what is heard and felt.

And how it might inform heartfelt intention,

Commitment now.

And it might be a felt sense,

The beginning glimmer.

I'm just staying with that,

Not forcing.

And in time there might be a word or a phrase.

I just honored in this moment in the present tense,

As your intention to yourself.

And as you feel ready,

Slowly opening back through the realms of the body.

That sensation across torso and limbs,

Face and head.

From the depths of your center,

Opening back to the boundaries,

Slowly beyond.

And feeling the touch of air on your skin,

Sound,

Sight,

Scent and taste.

And equally the continued support of the earth.

The felt sense of your inner resource still alive here.

Right,

Even when it falls into the background.

In time it can be remembered,

Recalled as a support to you.

So you might close this practice in a way that is meaningful to you.

Maybe placing your hands across the body,

Heart and or abdomen elsewhere.

Or in a gesture of your choosing.

Just honoring and bowing to the wisdom and the wholeness within,

Now and always.

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