Yoga Nidra For Anxiety : Meeting Emotions As Messengers

It can seem counterintuitive, but one of the most effective ways of addressing anxiety is to welcome it in with curiosity. This gentle yoga nidra practice cultivates a sense of inner ease through intention-setting, body sensing, and breath sensing. You're invited to meet emotions as sensations and come into conversation with them – uncovering their underlying message. The meditation ends with an exploration of gratitude as we rest in the stillness and space created through this practice of Presence.

Image Credit : Calvin Mano

Transcript

So as we move into the meditation, Take time to find a comfortable position. That might be lying down on a bed or a couch, Seated, Or even standing. Just checking in with yourself to see what would most serve you in this moment. If you have blankets or props, Using those to create a nest for yourself, What would be really kind? Your eyes can be open or closed. Just notice if there's anything you could do to help you settle even a little bit more. Noticing this position that you've chosen for your body and the room around you. And then feeling into the physical body, How it contacts the support beneath you, The temperature and density of that surface, The temperature and density of that surface. What does it feel like? And then with the next few exhales, You might experiment with giving more and more of your weight to that support, Letting yourself be held. And as you rest here, Notice the pulse of life that animates your body, Perhaps sensing the movement of your breath, The beat of your heart, Some underlying vibration or energy, Connecting to the feeling of life living through you. And letting the senses open, Ears receptive to sounds around you. No need to reach out for sound, Simply letting vibration come to you, Whole body open to sound. And whether your eyes are closed or softly open, Noticing light and shadow, Awakening your internal vision, Seeing with the whole body, Open to the sense of air and aroma at your nose, Open to the sense of air and aroma at your nose, Any residue of taste in the mouth. Resting here, You might notice what brings you to this meditation, Maybe an intention to connect with yourself, To pause and listen. And perhaps there is an intention to explore a particular emotion, Maybe one that's been more challenging, It could be a sense of anxiety, Sadness, Loneliness. And if it's a particularly strong emotion, For this practice, You might decide to dial it back a bit, Perhaps meeting uncertainty rather than anxiety, Or a sense of disappointment rather than grief. In this way, We're building our capacity to meet what's present. So just noticing at the beginning of practice, What brings you here? And then you might take a moment to explore what feels to you like an inner sanctuary, Whatever allows you to connect with a sense of ease and safety, A sense of okayness, Or simply being. And it might be helpful to bring in images or memories, People or places that nourish feelings of being secure and connected. Maybe for you, It's a place in nature, Real or imagined, A mountaintop, Body of water, Or perhaps it's an image of a beloved person or pet, A loved one that evokes these feelings of ease and comfort throughout your whole body. Using all the senses, Welcoming sights, Sounds and smells of being in this environment that supports you to feel deeply at rest and at ease. As you explore this scene, Notice how the body responds. How and where do you feel the sense of okayness in the body, The sense of ground or peace? What does it really feel like? Maybe there's a softening, A spaciousness, A warmth, Or something else. Meeting these feelings of peace and wellbeing as your inner ease, One that you can return to anytime. In this practice or in any other time in your life, Knowing that you can return to this anchor, To this unshakable resource that's always here, Ever-present. And then you might bring your attention to the heart space, The center of your center, Noticing any underlying shimmering or aliveness naturally reverberating from the heart. Sensing into what is most important to you, Fundamentally more important than anything else. Asking your heart to remind you, What is it that you hold dear? Letting this step forward into the light of your attention. And there may be no words here. It might be a felt sense in the heart, An image, Just noticing how it reveals itself as sensation. As we move into the layer of the physical body, Noticing what sensations are present, Letting your attention wander through the body. Then you might join me in bringing attention to the mouth, Sensations of the jaw, Inside walls of the cheeks, And the tongue, And the ears, And the nose, The space around the tongue, And the ears, Tracing lines of sensation from the mouth into the ears, Left and right, The inner canals and soft outer folds of both ears, Welcoming the cheeks and cheekbones, The eyes, Feeling into the left eye, Right eye, Back behind and all around the eyes, The ears, Center of the head, And crown, And back of the head, Feeling the whole head as sensation, Following a stream of sensation from the head down into the neck and throat, Meeting sensations of the shoulders, Noticing if there's any tension or tightness at the shoulders, And if there is, Just exploring tension as sensation, Nothing to fix or change or even label, Simply feeling the shoulders with curiosity, Pure sensation, Letting attention stream down the left arm, Pooling in the left palm, Back of the hand and fingers, Going beyond the image or structure of the hand, Feeling it as pure sensation, Tingling or vibration, And then attention crossing the midline, Feeling the whole right arm, Right hand, Attention resting in the right palm, And back of the hand and fingers, Feeling your way, What is the direct experience of this area we call hand? Feeling both hands, Both arms at the same time, Welcoming the torso, The ribs, How they encircle the lungs and the heart, Feeling the whole torso left and right, Front and back, Deep inside and out to the periphery, Sensing how the belly moves with the breath, And then attention crossing the midline, Welcoming sensation of the low back, Low belly, And the bowl of the pelvis, Attention streaming down the long bones of the legs, Tracing your way down to the foot and toes, Sensing the whole left leg, Welcoming the right leg, Peeling off the label of leg, What does it actually feel like? Traveling down into the foot and toes, Feeling the whole right leg as sensation, Welcoming the feet, Legs, Pelvis and torso, Arms and hands, Shoulders and neck, The head and face, Eyes, Nose, Ears and mouth, Broadening your attention to take in the whole body, Deep in its center and out to its periphery, How the boundary of the body might feel porous and permeable, Body feeling dissolving into space feeling, Space feeling dissolving into body feeling, And can you feel how the breath is part of this dance? Inhale, Body expanding, Exhale, Body condensing, And feeling the flow of sensation at the tip of the nostrils, How the inhale touches the inside walls of the throat, Chest and abdomen gently rising, And each exhale, Breath moving up and out, Warming the throat and nostrils, Nothing to change, Body breathing itself, Naturally, Rhythmically, In-breath nourishing well-being, Out-breath nourishing well-being, And as you rest here, Notice if there is an emotional tone of the body, Knowing that your inner ease is always here to return to at any time, If there is an emotion that's present or one that you'd like to invite in, Noticing where it comes alive as sensation in the body, It might be in the chest or the belly, The face, Or somewhere else, Simply feeling this emotion as sensation, How would you describe it? Does it have a size or shape? Maybe a color or a texture, Maybe a color or a texture, Maybe a color or a texture, There might be a preference for it to be here or not be here, Welcoming that too, See if you can take away the label, The name of the emotion, And simply stay with the energy, Simply stay with the energy, Just the feeling, The sensation that's present, Can you allow it to be here to whatever degree that feels right, It may change or it may stay the same, And if it's helpful, You might inquire, What is it that it needs? What is it that it's wanting? Is there an action that it's wanting me to take or not take? Is there some message that it's wanting to deliver? There doesn't have to be, Simply meeting whatever's here with curiosity and kindness, Noticing any thoughts that are here, Co-arising, Thoughts coming and going, Setting them free to be here, Maybe touching back into that feeling of being held by the support beneath you or the feeling of your inner ease, That sense of peace and ease just as you are, You might invite in a sense of gratitude, Bringing to mind something that you're grateful for, Maybe a person or an experience, Maybe gratitude for your body, Your mind and your heart, Meeting whatever feelings of thankfulness are here as sensation in the body, Letting it come alive as a felt sense, Maybe feelings in the chest or the belly, An internal smile, Letting this gratitude or contentment permeate the body, Notice how sensations of the breath and the body, Emotions and thoughts, Even these feelings of gratitude, How they're constantly changing, Arising and dissolving and how there's something else too that's unchanging, That's ever-present, Timeless and unbounded, Abiding as awareness, Open, Spacious, Still, Awareness in which everything is welcome, Awareness in which everything is welcome just as it is and from this place of wholeness, You might revisit any messages from the heart, Remembering what is most important to you, Who you are when you're at your best, And one last time, Connecting to your inner ease of being, Knowing that even though this practice is coming to a conclusion, That it will be going with you, Staying here as long as you like, Setting your body free to move, As you bring this feeling of ease with you, Acknowledging your practice, Honoring this gift of listening and offering gratitude to yourself for taking this time to inquire within, Closing this practice with a round of breath together, Breathing in and breathing out.

Reviews

One of the most nourishing and supportive practices I've done in a while! Thank you so much, Julie 💛