Yoga Nidra For Confidence & Clarity

Yoga Nidra guided meditation to help practice radical rest. This is a gentle, guided practice that activates a deeply restorative calm state to the body, more restful than sleep to us. It includes a guided body scan and an experiential exercise at the end facilitating connection with your deepest inner wisdom, with your highest self.

Transcript

Thank you for joining me.

It is an absolute honor to guide you in this practice.

Getting settled however you feel comfortable.

You may be seated or lying down.

Really just making sure your comfort is the focus.

I'm forever a fan of all the extra pillows and blankets one can possibly manage.

They just help our body feel a little bit more cradled,

Cocooned and safe.

Our body still craves those things it did when we were teeny tiny.

I think it's real,

Real happy when we can tap back into it.

So how can you create a little bit of a nourishing,

Loving environment for that purest version of you that is so unapologetically you,

Completely unattached from all that the world has wanted of you instead?

Begin to take a few deeper breaths.

If that feels right,

You may also choose to just check in with your breath and observe it and let it be how it is.

The more we've been through trauma and we've all been through immense trauma this year,

The more that we need that much extra little help to get us to that deeper state of rest.

Relax.

I am safe.

And part of when we try to focus on our breath,

At times that can actually be a really anxiety provoking thing or it can be really triggering,

Almost like you're watching it,

So therefore performance anxiety kind of a thing.

So if that doesn't happen for you,

Amazing,

Great.

If it does,

I just want to honor that and see if we can make space for that part of us that just gets a little uncomfortable anytime we're having to turn inward and do anything different.

You don't have to do anything different.

Your only job for the next little while here is literally just to be present to any ability that you're able to,

Preferably with a non-judgmental open receiving energy.

If you haven't already done so,

You may gently shut your eyes or simply soften your gaze.

Whatever cues you need to start to tune in more to the world within and tune out the outside world.

Maybe we need to ease our way into the quiet inside.

It's okay to peek under the hood a few times before we go all the way in.

When we're not used to moving towards that thing that's poking at us on the inside,

It sure puts up a hell of a fight when we start to move towards it.

So I just want to name that too.

This protective,

Loving energy,

God bless it,

It just wants to keep us alive and really doesn't care.

It doesn't see all these greater possibilities and visions.

It's literally just hell-bent on surviving this one organism in space.

And it will always choose safety first.

So,

You know,

Overestimate risk at all costs.

Or else we wouldn't have survived this long.

Begin to picture in your mind's eye where you are in this room.

Zoom out and imagine the sky and all the other lives in the houses or wherever you are,

Where life is out there.

It's illusion that we are all separate.

It's important to remember our connection to everything and everyone,

Whether we like it or not,

Right?

Become aware of any sounds that you can hear outside of your room you're in.

Or if you're outside,

What do you hear?

Maybe further off in the distance.

Being curious long enough to maybe hear those sounds that we really don't take the time to slow down enough to hear.

Maybe the sound of our own breath.

And then as you continue to take in the sounds around you,

Bring it a little bit closer in.

What are sounds in your immediate space?

Imagine the sounds of all of your body,

Wisdom inside,

Digesting,

Transforming,

All the things that our body is doing effortlessly and without our direction in our body.

It's just a miracle.

Bring your awareness to wherever your body connects with the earth beneath you,

Or maybe a chair.

Connect with the whole backside of your body,

Being aware of sensations there.

And then the whole front side of your body,

Our right side,

And our left.

Bring energy into our heart space.

Each breath in,

It grows more vibrant,

Like a burning sun glowing out of your chest.

Each breath calling more and more of you into the present moment,

Reminding you that you are safe,

That it is safe to come out and share you.

You are safe.

Again,

Check in with our breathing.

Begin to observe perhaps some areas of the body that move or maybe barely move with each breath.

See if you can listen and tune in to not just those initial first sensations or movements we're most familiar with with our breath,

But where else does it want to move?

Where else can we allow it to move?

Continuing to connect in with our heart space,

I'll ask you to bring to mind an intention,

Our heart's true desire,

Something that you hope to get out of this practice today.

Maybe it's just rest,

Maybe peace,

Maybe you're just flooded,

Overwhelmed,

Whatever it may be.

See if you can find a bit of stillness in your heart to allow that intention to bubble on up and give voice and honor it and welcome it and thank it for sharing with you.

It's beauty.

Bring our awareness to the crown of our head,

Finding softness and ease,

Melting down our scalp,

Giving ourselves permission to untense,

Unclench,

And release all those parts of us that hold so much attention.

Tension.

Bring your awareness to your forehead and finding softness here,

An easing of burden,

A releasing.

Be aware of your right eye socket and your left and welcome softness here.

How can we soften our gaze as we soften our hearts?

Bring an awareness to your right cheek and your left,

Right cheekbone and jaw and left.

Bring awareness to the entirety of your nose,

The tip of your nose,

Right nostril and left.

Beware of the space between your nostrils and your upper lip and the sensations that shift as you breathe in and out of that space.

Bring awareness to your lips,

The inside of your lips,

The inside of your cheeks,

The roof of your mouth,

Your tongue,

The front of your teeth and the backside.

Again,

Being aware of our chin,

The base of our skull.

We hold so much tension here.

See if you can just allow an easing or release to happen in this space.

Perhaps even imagine someone holding your head in their hands like cradling it and just allowing that part of us that is holding ourselves so harshly to just ease.

Where can we find more ease?

Bring awareness to your right shoulder,

Right upper arm,

Right elbow,

Right forearm,

Right wrist,

Right palm,

Right back of the hand,

The tip of your right thumb,

Tip of your left thumb,

Second finger,

Tip of your third finger on your right hand,

Your fourth finger and your pinky finger on your right hand.

Bring awareness to the entirety of your right hand,

Right wrist,

Right forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm and shoulder.

Become aware of your collarbones,

Finding an openness,

A softening here to keep our heart nice and beautifully open.

And then going to our left shoulder and then down to our left upper arm,

Left elbow,

Left forearm,

Left wrist,

Left palm,

Left back of your hand,

Tip of your left thumb,

Your left pointer finger,

The tip of your left middle finger,

Ring finger and pinky,

The entirety of your left hand,

Left wrist,

Left forearm,

Left elbow,

Your upper arm and shoulders.

Now becoming aware of both arms and hands and fingers in their entirety at the same time.

Bring awareness to the back of your neck,

Find a softening and a releasing here.

Let it wrap around to the front of your neck,

Down our shoulders,

Easing these tension holding spaces as we bring awareness to them.

Bring awareness to your right shoulder blade and your left,

Your upper back,

Mid back and low back,

Right side waist and your left,

Right chest,

Left chest,

The entirety of your chest and heart space together.

Bring awareness to your diaphragm and belly,

Our right hip and then our left.

Bring awareness to the entirety of our pelvic bowl.

Continuing on down the right leg to the right upper leg,

Quadriceps and hamstrings,

Right knee,

Right shin and calf,

Ankle,

Right heel,

The sole of your right foot,

The top of your right foot,

The tip of your right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth,

Your entire foot,

Your entire right leg and foot.

Being aware of this in its entirety,

Coming back through the right hip over to the left,

Coming back down left leg,

Becoming aware of our quadriceps and our hamstrings,

Our knee,

Our left shin and our left calf,

Ankle,

Left foot,

Left heel,

Left bottom of our foot,

Top of our foot,

Left big toe,

Left second toe,

Left third toe,

Left fourth toe,

Left fifth,

Our entire left foot,

Our entire left leg,

Both legs and feet together.

Bring awareness to the entire right side of the body,

The entire left side of our body,

Our torso and our extremities.

Become aware now of our entire body as one unit altogether.

And also become aware that you're the one there behind those eyes observing all of this.

There is a you unchanged behind all of this that's observing.

This isn't a matter of belief,

It's a matter of experience.

You deserve to trust your experience.

Your experience does not lie to you.

Again,

Tuning in with our breath,

Perhaps observing if it's shifted its pattern at all from earlier in our process.

See if it wants to deepen or lengthen in any way.

And as you're ready with each breath,

I'll have you start counting backwards from 17.

So breathing in 17,

Breathing out 17,

Breathing in 16 and out 16,

Continuing to count down in your own mind with each breath.

Remembering that if you ever lose count,

You can always start back at 17 and start counting down again.

I will leave you for some moments of silence to continue counting and tuning in with your breath.

And I will return in a few minutes.

Begin to let the counting dissolve.

Allowing your body just to breathe itself.

And observing the body breathing itself and noticing that you're the one behind those eyes observing all of this.

Now I'd invite at the end of our practice here.

I want to invite you into the heart space.

And I want you to imagine in your heart space that there's a secret special chamber room sanctuary,

Whatever you want to call it.

But essentially it's a special room hidden on the inside where you can sit down with your highest self.

That version of you untouched by anything this world has told us about ourselves.

That potential,

That first breath,

Newborn version of you.

I want you just to welcome and begin to picture a space in your head.

And remember that we get to be in charge of this.

And so we get to have it look however we want.

And we get to use supernatural powers if need be to keep it safe and hidden and protected from the outside.

And so as,

As you bring yourself into this heart space.

I want you to see if you can just come in there and be still.

Come in and have a seat.

Whatever makes sense in the environment you're picturing.

And I want you to invite in your highest self in whatever form it wants to show up to you as.

Maybe totally something that surprises you or makes you laugh or is just just try to go with it.

Whatever shows up.

And I want you to spend some time just listening and receiving from this part of you.

What do I need to hear from my highest self today?

Seeing if we can let go of any expectations,

Or trying to control it,

And see if we can just listen to the wisdom that wants to come forth.

I trust the wisdom of me.

I trust the wisdom of me.

I trust the wisdom of me.

I trust my own damn wisdom.

You trust your wisdom.

Your gut is not wrong.

Again,

Bringing our awareness to our heart center and our heart space,

And just tuning into a feeling of wonder,

Ah,

Reverence.

For this space and this ability to tune into this very deep part of ourselves and how important it is to make this a priority to take this time.

So just to really fill up with an immense gratitude towards yourself for taking this time to engage in this nourishing,

Nourishing activity.

And hopefully this is one step closer to you building a deeper,

Truer relationship with you and all parts of you.

Namaste beautiful.