Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra to help you move through discomfort.
Settle in a comfortable position,
Seated or lying back.
Arrange your body so that you feel completely supported for going into a deep state of self-inquiry.
Now allow your senses to be wide open.
For a moment,
Focus all your attention on the colors you see before you or behind closed eyelids.
Now focus on the sounds you hear near and far.
Are there any smells in the air or any tastes in your mouth?
Notice the feeling of air on your skin and the feeling of the space within and around your body.
Now sense the earth beneath you that is embracing the weight of your body.
In Yoga Nidra,
Intend to allow each perception to come to you,
Feeling yourself open and receptive,
Without thinking about how to do this,
Simply allowing perceptions to arise naturally just as they are.
When we get stuck in a reactive state,
Yoga Nidra can help us learn to recognize when we have become identified or fused with a thought or emotion or an experience,
And we can learn to recognize how a larger awareness is always here.
Awareness is an ever-present background of expansive presence in which every sensation,
Breath,
Emotion or feeling,
Thought,
Image,
And experience is arising,
Unfolding,
Passing through,
And away.
During Yoga Nidra,
Feel yourself,
Moment by moment,
Being invited to open and sense your way back into spacious presence,
Feeling your way into this spacious,
Present awareness itself.
You may find that in Yoga Nidra you encounter feelings of comfort or discomfort,
And when you encounter such a thing,
Know that you are learning how to meet and greet and welcome it in,
To be with it,
To simply be.
While you may be first inclined to avoid it or refuse its entry,
Or try to change it or make it different,
The deeper you move into Yoga Nidra,
You are learning how to welcome it in as a messenger that helps to reveal your unchanging,
Unwavering presence itself.
Even in the most difficult moments,
We come to recognize that we can connect to an underlying peace and silence that brings us home to an authentic way of being.
And now,
Take a comfortable breath in,
And for a moment,
Hold at the top of the inhale,
Let a bit of tension build,
And exhale out the mouth.
Take another breath in,
Hold at the top gently,
And exhale out the mouth.
And one more deeper breath in,
Gently hold until there is a natural urge to release the breath out.
Then,
Sigh the breath out with sound,
As we enter a quieter state of being,
Imagine or sense an inner landscape that invites a feeling of safety,
Protection,
And peace.
A place,
Perhaps in nature,
Like a forest or by a stream.
Or on a beach,
Or maybe in a cozy room.
Let this inner landscape come alive with all your senses,
Colors,
Shapes,
Sounds,
Smells.
And ask yourself,
What else is needed to invite a deeper sense of felt safety?
Is it an animal,
Perhaps a power animal,
A loved one,
A wise one?
Is it an element of nature,
Like a plant or tree,
Or perhaps a magical object?
Or connection with higher guidance?
Or anything else that can be invited in to deepen your sense of safety and well-being?
Notice what comes to you.
Let a sense of protection and peace echo through your whole being,
And let the echo settle you more deeply into your ground of being,
Which can never be touched by any outside forces.
Know you are held safely here.
Know that you can call forth this inner sanctuary if any disturbances arise,
Whether internal,
Be it images,
Emotions,
Memories,
Or be it external distractions like sounds or commotion.
Let your inner sanctuary reconnect you to the ground of your own being.
Know you can return here at a moment's notice.
Now allow my voice to be your guide as we move through your body,
Exploring sensation.
Feel your attention awaken sensation in each area of the body that is mentioned.
This deepens relaxation of the body-mind.
Invite your awareness to remain present and conscious.
Sense and feel all ten toes,
Soles of feet,
Ankles,
Lower legs,
Knees,
Thighs,
Both hips,
And toes.
Sense both legs as radiant sensation.
Sense and feel all ten fingers,
Palms of hands,
Wrists,
Lower arms,
Elbows,
Upper arms,
Both shoulders.
Sense both arms as radiant sensation.
Sense and feel pelvis,
Abdomen,
Chest,
Upper back,
Lower back.
Sense your whole torso as a radiant sensation.
Sense and feel neck,
Mouth,
Tongue,
Jaw,
Ears,
Right eye,
Left eye.
Both eyes as orbs of radiant sensation.
Forehead,
Scalp,
Whole head as an orb of luminous sensation.
Sense and feel your head,
Arms,
Torso,
Legs,
Whole body as radiant sensation,
Radiating out into the space around you.
Your attention now sinks into a subtler layer of your being,
That of your breath and energy body.
Without needing to direct or manipulate the breath,
We can simply observe it as effortless movement.
Simply watch the ease of in-and-out flow without interfering with its depth,
Strength,
Or pace.
Let go of any tendency to want to push or pull on the breath Release any need for control of the breath and witness how the breath happens in its own time with ease and no effort.
Now invite your attention to an area of your body that feels dense or constricted or in discomfort.
Notice the pure sensation in this area while letting the story about why or how it may be there fade into the background.
Guide your breath into it gently while making space for and around it.
Be with the sensation as you breathe with it.
Not trying to make it go away,
Just let the sensation be there.
Notice and feel the sensation of contraction,
Density,
Or discomfort.
Let it be fully felt,
Fully experienced.
Be with it without a need to change anything.
Continue to breathe with it as you shine the light of your awareness on the contraction or discomfort,
Letting it be just as it is.
And notice the space around it.
Expand the light of your attention as though zooming out into the space around it while staying present and curious to all that you are feeling.
Allow more space for what's there without resisting what you are feeling.
Let the space be open,
Soft,
And spacious,
Allowing for the discomfort or contraction to just be there while letting the light of your awareness expand into the space around it.
Breathe with it.
Observe what you are aware of.
If the sensation changes on its own,
Give it space to loosen,
To move,
To lighten,
And simply follow it with ease,
Curiosity,
And patience.
If you find yourself becoming distracted or moving into avoidance,
Invite an openness to what you're feeling,
Staying connected to your body and deepening your breath.
Keep observing with the light of your awareness.
Allow the body to resolve it on its own.
All that is needed is your acknowledgement and presence,
Letting go of any tendency to control or manipulate or needing it to be any different.
Sense and trust that your own body's intelligence knows how to resolve it.
Whether the sensation has shifted or not,
Know that the body's wisdom will take care of its resolution spontaneously and effortlessly in its own time.
Allow for the space to expand further and further outward,
Sensing the boundaries between the discomfort and the space around it beginning to dissolve into each other,
The light of your awareness expanding into spaciousness.
Now drop below whatever is happening into silence,
Silence expanding everywhere.
Rest here in being.
Now bring your attention back to the rising and falling of your belly with your breath.
Allow yourself to move back into your waking state of awareness.
Slowly stretch and wiggle your body.
Ease back into your day or evening.
As you shift your attention back to returning to your day,
Take a moment to offer gratitude for this time you generously gave yourself to move through discomfort and for taking the time to learn how to meet,
Greet,
And welcome what arises within you,
All the while anchoring into a deeper presence alive in you.
This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
We come in peace.
We go in peace.
