Yoga Nidra: Self-Forgiveness

This full Yoga Nidra practice helps you process and transform guilt and shame into forgiveness and self-compassion. Connecting to your divine self in the state of Yoga Nidra gives you access to the potential for deep healing, self-forgiveness, and ultimate transformation. You leave behind the limited self that holds on to the illusions of the visible world and by doing so are able to transform guilt, shame, and resentments and give yourself the gift of forgiveness.

Song by Music of Wisdom

Transcript

Welcome to this Yoganitra practice.

Forgiveness is a practice of feeling and accepting instead of resisting.

It's a change of perspective that frees you of resentment.

This involves complete surrender and release.

It's choosing freedom from judgment and resentment so you can heal,

Grow and transform.

The practice of Yoganitra allows you to connect to your most unbounded self.

That eternal part of you that is now always has been and always will be.

Everything you experience in this lifetime has a purpose for your healing and is the path of your transformation.

Surrendering to your divine self in the state of Yoganitra has potential for deep healing,

Self-forgiveness and ultimate transformation.

You surrender the limited self that holds onto illusions of the visible world and are able to transform guilt,

Shame and resentment to give yourself the gift of forgiveness.

Guilt and shame are not who you are.

It's safe to process and release guilt and shame.

By fully forgiving yourself,

You can offer forgiveness and unconditional love to others.

This is one of the biggest gifts you can give to the world.

Through forgiveness,

Human consciousness transforms into its divine nature.

Lay your body down to rest in a position that is as comfortable as possible and in which you can be still for the duration of the practice.

You may want to place a thin pillow under your head and a pillow under your knees to support your low back if you wish.

Cover yourself with a blanket,

Creating a cozy nest that supports warmth and security.

Bring your awareness to the crown of your head.

Allow your scalp to soften and release.

Feel this release flowing into your forehead,

Temples,

Ears and back of the head.

Notice your ear channels opening and your head sinking into the surface beneath you.

Move into the space between your eyebrows.

Feel this area expanding and opening.

Surrender any tension around your eyes,

Eyebrows and forehead.

Let your eyes soften into the back of their sockets and rest from the external looking of day-lead light.

Notice any expression that you may be carrying on your face and surrender it into neutrality.

Bring your attention to the center of the throat.

Allow it to open and release.

Feel all of the muscles along the front,

Side and back of the neck melt as the weight of the head completely surrenders into the ground.

Move into the center of the chest,

Your sacred heart space.

Feel its gentle pulse.

Let your chest open,

Your collarbones widen and your shoulders and arms sink into the surface you're resting upon.

Feel the space in and around your abdomen,

Allowing it to gently expand in all directions on the inhale and become tender and soft on the exhale.

Notice the back of your rib cage broaden and release.

Bring your awareness into your sacrum.

Notice any tension you may be holding here and give it permission to let go.

Feeling the weight of the pelvis completely surrender into the ground.

Move into your pelvic floor,

The space between your pubic bone and tailbone.

Allow it to soften and release.

Let it expand on the in-breath and let go of any tension it may be holding on the out-breath.

Feel your legs and feet become heavy and rest into the surface beneath you.

Bring your awareness back into the sacred space of your heart.

I invite you to connect with your heart's deepest desire,

Your sankalpa.

This is your sacred vow,

A truth that is destined to unfold from the unmanifest to the manifest.

Using the same sankalpa in your practice over time is an opportunity to realize your full potential and live out your purpose.

Your sankalpa is a short,

Affirming statement made in the present tense starting with the words I am followed by the truth that you are ready to realize in your life.

Some examples might be I am compassionate,

I am accepting,

I am love.

Your sankalpa has the potential for metamorphosis on the deepest levels of your being.

Over time it can transform your life in very profound ways.

To create your sankalpa,

Connect with your heart and let it reveal that which is ready to be born into your life now.

Sit within your heart and listen for your sankalpa.

If nothing is coming to you,

I invite you to use I am forgiving for this practice.

Allow your sankalpa to rise from your heart into your mind.

See it in your mind's eye and repeat it to yourself silently three times with the deep inner knowing that this unrealized truth is manifesting in your life.

The practice of yoga nidra begins now.

Bring your full consciousness into your right hand thumb.

Feel it from the inside with your complete attention.

Feel this level of awareness into all five fingers.

The entire hand.

Feel the entire arm from shoulder to fingertips.

Move into the right side torso,

Hip,

Leg,

Foot and all five toes.

Feel your entire leg from hip to tips of toes.

Spread the light of your presence through the entire right side of the body.

Feel your awareness into the left side of your body bringing your full consciousness into your left hand thumb.

Feel it from the inside with your complete attention.

Feel this level of awareness into all five fingers.

Feel the entire arm from shoulder to fingertips.

Move into the left side torso,

Hip,

Leg,

Foot and all five toes.

Feel your entire leg from hip to tips of toes.

Spread the light of your presence through the entire left side of the body.

Shift into the back of the legs from the soles of your feet to the buttocks.

The sacrum,

The entire back from center to periphery.

Both shoulder blades.

Back of the neck.

Back of the head.

Top of the head.

Feel the entire back body at once.

Bring your full attention to the forehead.

Follow it out to the temples,

Outer ears,

Inner ears,

Center of the brain,

Right hemisphere of the brain,

Left hemisphere of the brain,

The entire brain.

The space behind your forehead.

The space between your eyebrows.

Both eyebrows.

Both eyes.

Feel both cheeks and follow them in to the bridge of your nose.

Both nostrils.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Chin.

Front of the throat.

Collar bones.

Center of the chest.

The entire chest.

Abdomen.

Groin.

Pelvic floor.

Feel your sacrum.

Trace your awareness up the vertebra of your spine and into the brain stem.

Connect into the higher brain centers.

Feel your entire brain and spinal cord.

Sense the nerves leaving the spinal cord and supplying the entire body with feeling,

Sensation and the potential for movement.

Feel your entire nervous system at once in a deeply relaxed body.

Allow your awareness to expand into the entire body,

Noticing,

Sensing and feeling the entire body at once.

Notice that which is having the experience of the body.

Bring your attention to your breath.

Notice it exactly as it is without any attempts to control or change it.

Perceive the experience of being breathed.

Feel the stillness that lies between each breath.

Rest in that quiet space,

Trusting that your body will inhale when it needs to.

Notice the witness that is aware of the body and the act of breathing.

Allow the breath to settle in a part of the body that may have been shunned or disconnected from awareness.

This may be an area of your body that has experienced trauma.

Gently be present with this space that has been cut off or locked up in some way.

Visualize your breath going directly into this space.

Allow your attention to fully saturate this beautiful and valid part of you.

Like every part of the temple that is your body,

This part is sacred.

Give it permission to gently come back online so you may reclaim your wholeness.

Allow the breath to fade from your awareness.

You will now awaken opposite sensations in your emotional body.

Being willing to perceive emotions that you evaluate as negative or positive without that judgment in a completely relaxed state allows for the neutralizing of the charge of the emotion,

Which leads to healing.

As not the emotion you're healing,

Emotions don't need healing.

They need to be felt so you can heal.

Under the emotions that the mind labels as bad that are suppressed,

So much energy is spent keeping repressed emotions at bay.

Being with your emotions,

Truly feeling them is how healing occurs.

When you invite opposite emotions and hold them together at the same time in a completely relaxed body,

Transcendence can occur.

Welcome the emotions that I name and allow them to be saturated with your attention.

If you're not able to access the emotion,

That's okay.

Just notice that it may not be ready to be felt now.

By continuing to participate in this practice,

You're preparing yourself to feel and process at your own pace.

Invite the emotion of resentment into your experience.

You may want to recall a memory that causes resentment,

And once you feel it,

Release the memory and any stories attached to it.

Notice without judgment where you feel resentment in your body.

What is the physical experience of resentment?

Allow yourself to be completely present with the feeling of resentment.

Now invite the experience of forgiveness and connect with a part of you that knows it's possible to forgive.

What does it feel like to forgive and be forgiven?

Notice where you feel it in your body.

Be aware of any images,

Thoughts,

Or other feelings that go along with forgiveness.

Allow the experience to fill you up completely.

Be fully present with forgiveness.

Once again,

Invite resentment to the surface and feel it fully.

In forth forgiveness once again and allow yourself to be fully present with forgiveness.

While in forgiveness,

Invite resentment back in and hold them both together in a completely relaxed body.

Release resentment and forgiveness.

Allow yourself to feel shame without placing any value on it.

Shame tends to hide in the body.

The tendency is not to want to go near it.

Healing occurs by accessing and feeling the shame without the need to judge it or push it away.

Give yourself permission to experience shame.

You may recall a memory that brings up the feeling and once you access it,

Release the memory and any stories you've attached to it.

Notice where in your body shame lives.

Bring awareness to the physical sensations that go along with shame.

Surrender to the feeling.

No judgment,

No aversion.

Be fully present with yourself in the experience of feeling shame.

Give yourself permission to feel self-compassion without any judgment.

You may want to see yourself as a small innocent child.

Once you're in touch with the feeling of compassion,

Release the image and allow the experience to fully emerge in your body.

Give yourself permission to feel deep compassion for yourself.

Notice what compassion feels like right here,

Right now.

Allow shame to rise once again.

Notice it without judgment,

Feeling the sensation of shame in a completely relaxed body.

Then give rise to self-compassion,

Feeling it fully in a relaxed state.

Invite both shame and self-compassion to be present at the same time.

Notice if you can hold them both in your attention together.

Simultaneously experiencing these seeming opposites allows for a neutral state of being that is free from attachment and aversion.

This leads to pure equanimity.

Release the feelings of shame and compassion.

Bring your focus to the creative space behind your closed eyes and forehead.

Allow this space to open up to the internal concentration and creativity of higher consciousness.

I will call out numerous images.

Visualize these images as best you can in this infinite creative space.

A canopy of bright stars shining in the night sky.

A field of daffodils.

Speaking in public in front of a large crowd.

Curling up in bed under a warm,

Cozy blanket.

A small child being admonished by a stressed out caregiver.

Feeling enveloped in a soft,

Loving embrace.

Making a mistake that hurts someone you love.

Being forgiven by someone you've hurt.

Falling down while learning to walk.

The light of the sun shining through a beautiful stained glass window.

A dog excitedly greeting its person returning home after a long absence.

A white dove soaring in the sky.

A damaged chalice,

Its cracks sealed together by pure gold.

The first rays of sunshine after a violent storm.

Release the images.

Remember a time in your life where you made a mistake or did something you regret.

Notice what comes up even if it seems irrelevant.

If nothing comes,

Stay open as you continue with this visualization.

Something may spontaneously arise.

If you observe any feelings related to this incident,

Acknowledge them without assigning them a value and allow them to pass through you.

Release any stories or judgments you've made about yourself relating to this incident.

Visualize yourself at this moment in your life.

From this deep and connected yoga nidra state,

Recognize yourself as a spiritual being having a deeply human experience.

Notice the awareness in you that knows mistakes are part of being human.

They help you learn and grow.

Without mistakes there is no learning and without learning there is no growth.

See the part of you that was unaware and was only doing the best you could at the time.

Visualize yourself shrinking down to a younger age.

It may be an early childhood or adolescence.

Trust the age that comes to you.

See the hurt,

Scared child in you that may have been unconsciously at the helm when this incident occurred.

Look at yourself through the eyes of your highest,

Divine self.

See yourself through the eyes of compassion and love.

Make a firm resolution to release the self-judgment and resentment you have been hanging onto.

Feel the resentment and shame inside you where you noticed it earlier.

Imagine it being surrounded by a beautiful,

Divine,

Golden white light.

See the light growing and expanding in all directions.

See it completely penetrating and engulfing the guilt,

Shame,

Judgment and resentment.

See it all transforming into light.

Visualize wrapping yourself in a soft blanket of brilliant white light.

Allow this light to flow into your body,

Into your mind,

Into your feelings.

Allow this light to penetrate every part of your being.

Skin,

Muscles,

Bones,

Blood,

Organs,

Cells,

Nucleus,

DNA,

Atoms,

Subatomic particles,

And all the space that exists inside you.

Allow this light to pour through you and release any guilt or shame you have carried with you over the years.

Feel the love and compassion this divine light offers you.

Recognize the sacred vibration inside that knows you are forgiving,

The one that has witnessed all the difficult lessons,

The divine awareness that you are always doing the best you can with what is available to you at the time.

This is part of your purpose,

The learning in this lifetime.

Knowledge the inner choice-maker that resolves to surrender the past to be here now,

Serving your sacred transformation.

Feel the light,

Love and healing of divine forgiveness.

I will leave you in this healing space for a little while to connect with the eternal part of you that is guiding your becoming.

Rest in the glorious nature of your own divinity.

Excellent number of rankings ahead.

Fungi only Music Music Music Music Music Bring your awareness back into your heart.

Feel your sankalpa rise back to the surface.

Let it rise into your mind's eye and repeat it silently to yourself three times with firmness and conviction that this divine truth is being realized into your life now.

Become aware of your breath,

The life-giving breath that is with you throughout your entire human experience.

Notice the sensations in your body created by the breath.

Feel the gentle movement of the belly and rib cage.

Slowly start deepening the breath and notice it pushing out against the walls of your body.

Become aware of the surface you are lying upon and the space that surrounds you.

Feel the temperature of the room against your exposed skin.

Notice any sounds or smells in the room.

Slowly start moving your fingers and toes.

Allow the gentle movements to travel into your arms and legs.

When you feel ready,

Bring your knees towards your chest and roll to one side coming into the fetal position.

Take a few breaths here.

Slowly at your own pace,

Come into a comfortable seated position.

Wrap your arms around yourself and gently drop your head.

Feel this loving embrace,

Gently giving yourself a squeeze and reminding yourself of the divinity that lives within you.

Self-forgiveness and self-love is always available to you.

You are worthy.

You are loved.

You are a divine being having a human experience.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Hari Om Tat Sat Hari Om Tat Sat Hari Om Tat Sat Hari Om Tat Sat

Reviews

Thank you this meditation was very helpful. I’ll be back. ☺️

This yoga nidra journey touched me deeply and allowed me to connect with my younger self in a way that felt so compassionate and loving. I feel a subtle shift in the shame and guilt I’ve carried with me for decades and it’s so welcome and needed. Thank you for creating and sharing this powerful yoga nidra ♥️🙏🏻

Thank you so much for this kind and healing practice

That was completely amazing and it was sent to me by someone I do not know. Beautiful !

The most beautiful yoga nidra I’ve ever experienced. Very powerful and much needed. Thank you. I will revisit this one!

Thank you for this powerful Nidra practice. It was so moving. I feel a real shift. Much warmth and gratitude to you 🙏🕊️🌸

This was powerful healing for me thank you so much Vanessa 🙏🏼🫶

Thank you 🙏

I have no words to express how healing this is. I’m so grateful that you created this nidra and shared it here! Blessings to you 🙏💫

Thank you for this deep healing experience. Very profound sensations and deeply healing. Much love to you.

Excellent. deep release 🙏💜

Deep, relaxing, yet powerful and moving. I think I've shifted and released some very deep feelings of resentment and shame, that was barely aware I still held within me. Beautiful imagery helped free me from those experiences. Thank you.

Nice, long nidra practice. The instructor's voice was level and calm. Gentle background music.

Very beautiful and profoundly loving. Thank you 🙏

That was amazing and very powerful. I especially liked how you explained neutralizing the emotions. Thank you so much

Beautiful. Thanks Vanessa, you have a talent for this.

Great. Better than great. Surprisingly powerful. I’ll be repeating & sharing this one.

Beautifull 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A wonderful journey ! Well detailed, pleasant voice. Love this Nidra. Thankyou 🙏💖