Welcome to this Yoga Nidra meditation for grief,
A practice of gentle holding and care.
Please begin by settling into a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
Get cozy and comfy with pillows and blankets,
Allowing your body to feel supported.
If it feels comfortable,
Softly close your eyes or lower your gaze.
As you settle here,
Become aware of your body breathing.
A gentle inhale and exhale,
Body breathing.
As your body rests,
Let your awareness take in the space you are in,
The ceiling.
Can you imagine seeing yourself in the space,
Resting here?
Then once again,
Become aware of the experience of your body breathing,
Feeling the support that is underneath you and taking a moment to cultivate even 1% more comfort as you rest in the support held here.
This practice is an invitation to be with what is,
To care for grief.
Gentle care.
We begin by choosing an intention,
A desire,
An expression of what you need.
Perhaps that I allow myself to feel held with gentle care.
I am supported in my grief just as I am.
Create an intention and whisper it within three times.
Come aware of your body breathing.
Feel the natural rhythm of your breath flowing in and out.
Let your breath become your anchor.
Something steady within the waves of experience that flow through you.
Let your breath be an anchor.
Inhaling,
Exhaling,
Steady and constant.
As your body rests,
As your breath flows,
Anchoring to your breath,
That it might hold what is within you like a wave on the ocean.
That you are not this wave,
You are the vast ocean through which the wave moves.
As your body rests,
Let's move awareness through your body.
Imagining you can breathe into the each space in turn.
Beginning at your forehead,
Breathe into the space of your forehead,
The space of your mouth,
Of your throat,
And the notch at the base of your throat.
Breathe into your right hand,
Right arm,
Shoulder,
Right side waist.
Awareness fills the right side of your body.
Breath flows through the right side of your body.
Bring awareness to your forehead.
Breathe into the space of your forehead,
Your throat,
The notch at the base of your throat.
Side waist.
Awareness fills the left side of your body.
Breath flows left side of your body.
Awareness to the top of your head,
To your face,
The front of your neck,
The front of your torso,
The front of your arms,
Tops of your hands,
Pelvis,
The front of your legs,
The tops of your feet,
And the tips of your toes.
Awareness fills the front side of your body.
Breath flows through the front of your body.
Awareness to the soles of your feet.
Awareness to your heels,
Back of your torso,
Back of your head.
Awareness fills your whole back body.
Now,
Awareness fills your whole body.
Simultaneously fills your whole body.
Breath flows simultaneously through your whole body.
As your body rests,
As your breath flows,
Please bring your awareness to the space of your heart.
Can you imagine breathing into the space of your heart?
In,
Filling the space of your heart.
Awareness taking in what is present here.
Notice what is present,
Simply taking in what is present here.
Perhaps it is grief,
Perhaps it is sadness,
Loneliness.
Notice what is present here.
Breathe into what is present here.
Meeting it with your breath.
Allowing it for a few precious moments.
Allowing it to be here with your loving attention and care.
Meeting what is here with softness.
Not pushing it away,
Not wrestling.
Simply allowing,
Breath flowing.
Holding what is here with your kind attention and care.
Breath flowing.
Letting what is here be like a wave in the ocean.
Your breath gently rocking what is here.
You are the vast ocean that holds it.
You are not this wave.
Breath flowing,
A gentle rocking of the wave.
As you breathe into the space of your heart,
As you feel this gentle rocking of the wave,
Offering yourself this kindness.
It's okay to feel this.
I am here with you.
Feel these words or simply rest in the feeling of being here with you.
Being held with care.
Now please bring your awareness to a place in nature that you love.
A place you know or a place you create.
A place that feels nourishing,
Supportive and peaceful.
As you bring awareness to this place that you love and take in the colors,
The sounds,
As if you were here in this moment.
Allowing yourself to rest in this place in nature that you love.
And as you do so,
To imagine taking the feeling in your heart and if it feels okay for you,
To imagine placing this in your hands.
To hold that which you have been feeling in your hands.
Holding it with great care.
And if this doesn't feel right for you,
Simply being present with what is in your heart,
To feeling it here,
The weight of it,
The shape of it.
And to notice as you hold space for it,
As you perhaps hold your breath,
As you hold it in your hands,
And perhaps you would like to place it on the earth.
But you do not have to carry this alone.
You could place it on the earth if this feels right.
And as you breathe with that which you feel or hold or see in front of you,
Let your breath flow through you.
Let your breath give space to take in this which is within or before you.
And to allow,
With what makes sense for you,
To trust what arises and that perhaps you choose to plant this grief or sadness.
Perhaps you choose to plant it in the earth beneath the tree.
Trust the wisdom of grief,
Your inner wisdom to guide you.
Perhaps you choose to release it into the sky to be carried by a bird or the wind.
And perhaps it's another releasing or planting.
Trust what arises,
Let your inner wisdom and the deep wisdom of grief guide you.
As this feels complete,
However it has unfolded for you,
As this feels complete,
Please notice now the space where this grief or sadness or loneliness,
Notice the space where it was.
And if it is in your hands still,
Or if it is in your heart still,
Notice the space around it.
And let your awareness take in the space.
And as your awareness takes in the space,
Invite something to arise within the space.
There might be something that grows or arises or whispers to you within this space.
Or perhaps breathing into the spaciousness feels best.
Honor what is arising,
Unfolding within you.
Trust this,
Your inner wisdom,
The deep wisdom of grief guiding you.
And breathe into the space or to what has arisen,
Grown here.
Receive this.
Breathe with this.
Allow yourself to breathe with,
To take in all that is unfolding,
Arising.
And let your gaze move out to this beautiful place in nature you love to take in the peacefulness,
The beauty,
The colors and shapes.
To take it all in with one more breath.
And then to allow your awareness return to the experience of your body breathing.
To feel the effortless flow of breath through your body.
The steady,
Constant support within.
Anchor to the flow of your breath.
Let your awareness take in the support underneath your body.
To feel the sensation of this support.
Let your awareness flow out to the space you are in.
For a few precious moments,
Rest here.
Body breathing effortless.
Body resting effortless.
Support within you,
Support around you.
Simply rest,
Body breathing.
Resting here for as long as you choose.
Gently in your own time,
In your own way,
Returning when you feel ready.
Body breathing,
Held in care.
Namaste.
