Welcome,
My name is Kristen and today I'll be guiding you through a yoga nidra practice designed to gently ease physical pain and invite comfort back into the body.
I personally live with an autoimmune condition that can sometimes leave me in pain.
I created this yoga nidra as a part of my own practice to help me move from discomfort and into a more neutral and peaceful state.
My hope is that this session can support you in the same way,
Guiding you gently along your journey towards comfort and relief.
Take a moment now to arrive and make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Depending on your body's needs,
Limitations or level of pain today,
I want you to choose a position that feels supportive and allows you to rest with ease.
You may lie on your back or rest on your side.
Replace cushions,
Blankets or bolsters,
Especially around areas of pain or sensitivity,
Or anywhere your body asks for extra support.
If it feels comfortable,
Allow the eyes to close down.
If closing the eyes doesn't feel safe or comfortable today,
You may soften your gaze or cover the eyes gently.
There is no right or wrong way to be here.
This is your practice.
Allow your body to be guided by comfort rather than expectation.
There is nowhere to go and nothing to fix.
This is a practice of allowing.
Begin to bring your awareness to your breath.
There is nothing to change at first.
I just simply want you to notice the natural rhythm of your inhalations and exhalations.
When you're ready,
Gently deepen the breath,
Inhaling slowly through the nose for a count of 4,
And exhaling softly through the mouth for a count of 6.
Allow the exhale to be slightly longer than the inhale,
Signaling safety to your nervous system.
With each inhale,
Imagine you're breathing in comfort and nourishment.
With each long,
Steady exhale,
Imagine releasing tension,
Tightness or discomfort from the body.
Let your breath be smooth and unforced,
Like a gentle wave washing through you,
Easing pain and inviting the body into deeper rest.
So just taking some time now at your own time and pace,
Inhaling through the nose to a count of 4,
And exhaling out of the mouth to a count of 6,
Inviting in comfort to knees on the inhalation,
And releasing tension and pain on the exhalation.
Letting your breath just come to a natural,
Steady rhythm now.
And as you're sinking deeper into stillness in your comfy yoga nidra nest,
And we begin our journey,
I wanted to start off by reading a passage out of the book,
Wherever You Go,
There You Are,
By John Kabat-Zinn.
This passage is on patience with the body.
Patience is not waiting for discomfort to disappear.
It is the gentle willingness to stay present with yourself exactly as you are.
The body has its own rhythm,
Its own timing for healing,
Softening,
And unfolding.
Just as seasons change without force,
Your body moves through its own cycles of contraction and release.
There is no need to rush this moment.
There is no requirement for the body to be different than it is right now.
Patience allows you to rest inside the experience,
Without pushing it away and without clinging to it.
It is a quiet trust that even here,
Especially here,
Something within you knows how to soften.
You are allowed to move slowly.
You are allowed to heal gently.
You are allowed to meet yourself with kindness.
Now from this place of grounded stillness,
I invite you to create your sankalpa for this session.
Sankalpa is just a simple heartfelt intention.
You can think of it as planting a gentle seed in the fertile ground of your subconscious mind,
Where it can quietly grow and support you after this practice ends.
It's important to choose something that feels supportive for your body today,
Trusting the first thing that floats into your consciousness.
But I will also offer some examples now that you may feel called to borrow.
Such as,
With each breath,
I allow healing and relief to flow through me.
I am patient and kind with my body,
Allowing it to restore naturally.
My body knows how to restore itself,
And I trust its wisdom.
So either choosing one that I offered,
Or tuning in to see if one floats to you naturally,
And then repeating your intention silently three times,
Letting it land without effort.
We'll now begin to move awareness through the body.
You don't need to move or visualize perfectly.
Simply notice sensation,
Or possibly in this case for this yoga nidra of easing pain,
Maybe even the absence of a sensation.
Meet your body where it is,
And just allow yourself to move through this rotating awareness of the body.
Bringing awareness now to the top of your head,
Imagining a soft wave of warmth or gentle light moving across the crown of the head,
Flowing down into the forehead and the temples,
Softening around the eyes and allowing the eyes to completely relax and rest in the back of the head,
And all the way down the face,
Softening the jaw and letting the face completely relax,
Feeling the whole right side of your face released and relaxed away,
Allowing any areas of gripping or tightening within the facial muscles to completely soften here.
Now flow your attention down to your head,
Neck and shoulders,
With each breath imagine the muscles loosening,
Shoulders melting away from the ears,
Arms heavy and supported,
Energy flowing all the way down the arms and out of the fingertips,
And again sensing your breath moving into those muscles,
Helping to ease any stiffness,
Tension or pain that might be present.
Now moving to the upper back and the chest,
Just notice the gentle rise and fall of your breath,
Ribs expanding,
Shoulder blades softening,
And imagining a warm gentle light dissolving any tightness here,
Letting your chest feel open and spacious.
Shifting now to your lower back and abdomen,
Feel each vertebrae,
Each abdominal muscle,
With every exhale tension flows away,
The area softens,
Releases,
Rests,
Imagine comfort radiating through your lower back and belly.
Bringing attention now to the hips and pelvis,
Let them feel heavy,
Safe and supported,
Any holding,
Dissolving,
Energy flowing freely down through the legs,
And as we move down the legs,
Through the thighs,
Knees,
Calves,
Ankles,
Feet to the toes,
Picture each part bathed in warm,
Soothing light,
Muscles softening,
Joints releasing,
Tension leaving the body,
Feeling grounded and secure.
Sensing the whole body together now,
From the very top of your head all the way down to your toes,
The front side of the body and the back side of the body,
Together with the right and left side,
And feel the warmth,
The ease and flow of breath moving through every part,
The body resting as one complete,
Supported unit.
Now gently bring awareness to any area of physical pain or discomfort in the body,
There is no need to judge or analyze it,
Just become aware.
And in leaning into this pain,
I want you to notice the qualities of the sensation.
Is the pain sharp or dull?
Heavy or light?
Warm or cool?
Still or moving?
If at any point this feels overwhelming,
You're welcome to shift attention back to the breath or to a neutral part of the body,
But by bringing awareness to the pain without judgment and really just noticing the qualities of the sensation can help to allow it to soften and ease.
Imagine now that you can observe the sensations from a small distance,
Like watching a wave from the shore,
And noticing now if there's also an area nearby that feels neutral,
Calm or even comfortable.
Now allow your awareness to move gently between the painful area and the neutral area without forcing change.
And if it feels appropriate,
Imagine the breath flowing around the pain rather than into it,
Creating space,
Not pressure.
You're not trying to make the pain disappear,
You're just allowing the nervous system to soften its grip.
And by softening the grip,
You are bringing an ease to your whole body,
Mind,
Heart,
And spirit.
And allowing yourself to rest in the space of ease,
Naturally can help to reduce the pain.
So often when we are in pain,
All of our focus goes to that area,
But by shifting our awareness to other parts of the body that feel comfortable or neutral,
It can help to bring everything in balance so that the pain is not as intense.
So again,
Just exploring this for a bit with yourself,
Shifting awareness from areas that feel uncomfortable or painful,
And then balancing them out with areas of the body that feel good,
Balanced,
Or neutral.
Tuning deeper into your breath now to help use it as an additional tool for healing,
Just bringing awareness to the natural breath at the belly,
As you inhale,
The belly gently rises,
And as you exhale,
The belly softly falls,
Imagining the exhale slightly longer than the inhale,
Inviting the body in to rest.
With each exhale,
Silently whisper,
Softening,
Releasing,
Easing.
If it's helpful,
You can imagine the breath as a warm,
Soothing wave moving through the body,
Washing over areas of tension,
And carrying nothing away,
But only bringing gentleness.
Now imagine a gentle,
Supportive healing light,
Perhaps warm,
Golden,
Or any color that feels comforting to you at this time.
This light knows exactly where to go.
It gathers around areas of discomfort or pain or holding.
The light does not push or fix,
It just simply listens.
Imagine the tissues responding in their own time,
Muscles softening,
Joints feeling spacious,
Nerves settling,
Embracing this beautiful healing light.
Even if nothing changes physically,
Notice how your relationship with your body changes.
At times,
Dealing with pain can be all coming down to our perspective.
As you rest in this soothing light,
Notice the calm that arises when you simply allow yourself to be here.
Taking a few moments to bask in the stillness,
This presence,
And the healing space where comfort can gently take precedence over pain.
As we gently move towards the close of this practice,
Just allow the healing and ease you've cultivated to settle deeply.
You can stay here if you have found yourself in a comfortable position where you would like to rest longer.
Please feel free to linger as long as you would like.
I'd like to share a short,
Anonymous passage about patience with the body,
A reminder to meet yourself with tenderness and care.
There is a quiet intelligence within your body,
A rhythm older than thought,
Older than effort.
It does not rush.
It does not force.
It moves like the tide,
Like breath,
Like the slow turning of earth towards light.
Pain asks for tenderness,
Not fixing,
Not fighting,
But a softening of the heart around what is here.
Patience is the hand you place over your own heart.
It is the whisper that says,
I'm here with you.
Even in discomfort,
Even in uncertainty,
There is something steady beneath the surface,
A deeper current of wholeness that's never been broken.
You are allowed to unfold slowly.
You're allowed to heal in your own sacred timing,
And in this moment,
Nothing is required of you except to rest.
And now returning to your sankalpa that you set at the beginning of the session,
Again,
Repeating gently to yourself three times whatever sankalpa arised for you.
Or again,
I will offer three different phrases you may feel called to use with each breath.
I allow healing and relief to flow through me.
I am patient and kind with my body,
Allowing it to restore naturally.
My body knows how to restore itself,
And I trust its wisdom.
And again,
Just gently repeating it three times,
Allowing the words to settle deeply into your mind and your body.
Returning your awareness now to the gentle rhythm of your breath,
Feeling it move through every part of you,
Carrying ease,
Warmth,
And support.
Allowing your body to fully rest here,
Held safe and whole,
Knowing that even as you rest,
Healing and comfort are quietly unfolding.
Beginning to deepen your breath now,
Letting your breath bring some life force back into your body and gently unfolding out of the practice.
Depending on where your pain or injury is in your body,
You may gently feel called to just wiggle your fingers and your toes,
Lightly touching your thighs and your feet,
To each finger point,
Possibly stretching the arms or legs again,
Honoring your body,
Meeting it where it is,
And just bringing your awareness back into the room.
And again,
A gentle reminder that you can simply stay where you are for as long as you want.
If you're ready to move out of the session,
Just softly opening your eyes now,
Carrying the sense of ease,
Calm,
And comfort with you,
And allowing yourself to transition out of the practice in any way that feels comfortable and supportive to your body.
Now,
Taking a moment to just place your hands on your heart,
Wherever you are.
It truly has been my honor guiding you along this yoga ninja journey for easing physical pain.
I am sending you love and light as you continue along your healing path.
Remember you're never alone.
Know that you can return to this practice anytime to help bring comfort and ease when you're experiencing physical pain.
Move gently,
Carrying with you the understanding that your body is always speaking,
Always guiding.
It is not against you.
Feel gratitude for the wisdom within your own body,
And let peace,
Ease,
And comfort flow within every breath.
Namaste.
