Yoga Nidra For Grief

Prepare for the practice of yoga nidra by lying on your back in shavasana.

If this is not comfortable,

Put a pillow under your head.

Or if your back hurts,

Bend your knees or put a pillow or blanket underneath the knees.

Lying on the side if you are pregnant,

Considering sitting in a chair or on the floor with your back to the wall.

You might want a blanket because the body temperature tends to drop in yoga nidra.

Also put a blanket in any area that is sensitive.

Try to be aligned,

Symmetrical from feet to head.

Feel your spine aligned.

In shavasana,

Arms away from the sides,

Palms up or down.

If anything on you is tight like glasses or a wristwatch,

You can take it off.

Eyes should be closed to avoid visual distraction.

Grief is one of the heart's natural responses to loss.

When we grieve,

We allow ourselves to feel the truth of our pain.

By our willingness to mourn,

We slowly acknowledge,

Integrate and accept the truth of our losses.

Sometimes the best way to let go is to grieve.

It takes courage to grieve,

To honour the pain that we carry.

Grief is an emotion in response to many things.

Death of a loved one,

A loss of a part of us,

Perhaps a failure of a business,

A cherished project,

The end of a relationship.

All of these types of grief are valid and need to be mourned.

There are many ways to grieve.

We can grieve in tears or in meditative silence,

In prayer or in song.

In touching the pain of recent and long-held griefs,

We come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability,

With helplessness and hopelessness.

These are the storm clouds of the heart.

Most traditional societies offer ritual and communal support to help people move through grief and loss.

This yoga nidra is here to provide that.

We need to respect our tears.

Without a wise way to grieve,

We can only soldier on,

Armoured and unfeeling.

But our hearts cannot learn and grow from the sorrows of the past that way.

Making sure that you are comfortable in your lie-down position,

Imagine roots sprouting out of the soles of your feet and going into the soil down,

Down into the earth's core,

Past rocks,

Crystals,

Deep into the molten core of the planet grounding you to the earth.

Inhale deeply as you feel that grounding connection.

Exhale and release the pain,

Release the raw emotion,

The pain,

The aching loss.

Inhale and bring in white luminescent energy through the crown of your head,

Through what is known as your crown chakra and on the out-breath.

Think of the word,

Release.

Say the word as you slowly let out your breath.

Inhale and think of white luminescent energy filling every cell in your body and leaving your body shining and sparkling as it fills with source energy.

Exhale and again think of the word,

Release.

Out and we release.

Release sadness,

Release the pain,

Release grief.

With the inhale comes that healing energy.

Healing our tired and emotional bodies.

Healing the gaping wounds of our heart.

Healing the raw emotion and feeling of loss.

With the exhale comes relief.

Listen in all directions for sounds.

Be aware of distant sounds,

Sounds outside of the room,

Sounds inside of the room,

Sounds of the body.

Become aware of the sound of your breath.

In yoga nidra it is best if the body remains still.

If you become uncomfortable you may move but come back to stillness as soon as you can.

Say to yourself mentally,

I will remain still for yoga nidra.

It's time for the sankalpa.

A sankalpa is a short positive statement in the present or future tense.

It is a resolve,

Intention,

Affirmation.

Repeat the sankalpa three times with the exact same wording and full attention.

If you don't have a sankalpa yet,

Use the resolve,

I will find the right sankalpa for me.

All grieving takes time.

I give it the time it needs.

Tears are your body's release valve for grief,

Sadness,

Stress,

Anxiety and frustration.

Tears are a way to purge,

Paint up emotions so they don't lodge in my body as stress symptoms such as fatigue or pain.

Like the ocean,

Tears are salt water.

Protectively they lubricate your eyes,

Remove irritants,

Reduce stress hormones and they contain antibodies that fight pathogenic microbes.

Crying stimulates the production of endorphins,

Our body's natural painkiller and feel-good hormones.

For this body scan,

A body part will be named and when it is named,

Imagine a tear touching the body part.

If this visualization is difficult,

Then there is also the option of repeating the name or bringing awareness to the body part.

Place a tear on the right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Right palm,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The right kneecap,

The right lower leg,

The right ankle,

The right heel,

The right instep,

The right sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Bring awareness to the left side of the body and place a tear on the left thumb,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Left palm,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left waist,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The left kneecap,

The left lower leg,

The left ankle,

The left heel,

Left instep,

The left sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Left fifth toe,

Staying awake.

Bring awareness to the top of the head and place a tear on the head,

Both sides of the head,

Right temple,

Left temple,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

Eyebrow centre,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The top of the nose,

The right nostril,

The left nostril,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

Teeth,

Tongue,

Jaw,

Front of the neck,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

The hollow between the collarbones,

Right chest,

Left chest,

Centre of chest,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

Pelvis,

Buttocks,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

The whole spine,

Back of the head,

Top of the head.

Place tears up and down the whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together.

Place tears up and down the whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

Both legs together,

Both arms and legs together.

Place tears on the whole front of the body.

Place tears on the whole back of the body.

Place tears on the front and back together.

The whole body together.

The whole body together.

The whole body together.

Now let go of the tears and let go of the body rotation and come back to natural breathing.

To meditate on grief,

Begin by sensing the breath,

Feeling the breathing in the lungs.

Imagine your hands are on the lungs,

Holding them gently as if the body was vulnerable and in need of comfort.

Continue to breathe and bring to your mind any grief,

Loss or pain.

Let the story,

The images,

The feelings come naturally.

Hold them gently.

Take the time necessary.

Let the feelings come layer by layer.

Bring your hands a bit away from the chest and your imagination and imagine turning the palms up and raising the hands over the forehead,

Allowing the arms to be supported by the floor.

Keep breathing softly and compassionately.

Let whatever feelings are there come as they will.

Touch them gently.

Make space for any images that arise.

Allow the whole story.

Breathe and hold it all with tenderness and compassion.

Take a deep inhale and exhale softly and slowly a healing sound.

Just an S.

And you can do that one more time.

Visualize any grief,

Loss,

Sadness,

Depression,

Constriction or imbalance.

Leaving the body as a gray substance moving out of the body into the earth to be transformed.

Breathe normally,

Imagining your palms moving again to cover your lungs.

We store grief in our lungs.

Smile to the lungs and the large intestines,

The places where we hold these emotions.

Be grateful for their vital work in respiration and elimination.

Keep smiling and visualize breathing in a white healing light.

Now notice any coolness in the body.

Notice any coolness at the exposed skin.

Find any place of the body that is cool.

Spread the coolness across the entire body.

Let the body be cool.

Experience the body as coolness.

Now let go of the coolness and come to the opposite experience of warmth.

Notice any warmth in the body.

Notice any warmth under the clothing or blanket.

Notice any place where the body is warm.

Spread the warmth across the entire body.

Let the body be warm.

Experience the warmth across the body.

Let the body be warm.

Now let go of the warmth.

Feel all the points of contact between the body and the ground.

Feel the weight of the body.

The body is heavy.

The head is heavy.

The shoulders are heavy.

The arms are heavy.

The back is heavy.

The legs are heavy.

The body is so heavy that it feels like it's made of stone.

The body is so heavy that it feels like it's made of lead.

Experience the body as heaviness.

Now let go of heaviness and come to the opposite experience of lightness.

Coming to the opposite experience of lightness.

The hair is light.

The fingers are light.

The toes are light.

The nose is light.

The eyelashes are light.

The body is so light that it feels as if it could rise above the floor like a feather.

The body is so light that it could blow in the wind like a life in an autumn wind.

Experience the body as lightness.

Now let go of lightness.

Recollect an experience of grief.

Concentrate and try to remember the experience of grief.

Any grief you have experienced in your life,

Mental,

Physical,

Recollect the feeling of grief.

It doesn't have to be a large experience of grief.

It can just be a small experience.

Recollect any grief as if it is happening right now.

Feel the grief.

Let go of the grief and come to the opposition sensation of joy.

Recollect an experience of joy.

Concentrate and try to remember the experience of joy.

Recollect this feeling and relive it.

Make it vivid.

Awaken the feeling of joy.

Check that you are awake.

Recollect the feeling of joy as if it were happening right now.

Feel the joy.

Now let go of the joy and come back to natural breathing.

When we grieve for a deceased loved one,

A lot of comfort would be derived if we could think that our loved one was watching over us.

Sending us love and reassurance that all is well.

Our loved one who has passed into the next world is looking down on us,

Helping us,

Loving us,

Supporting us.

Bringing awareness to our mind space right now.

In that space bring to mind the image of a deceased loved one.

See them clearly.

See them as if you were watching a movie.

What are they wearing?

How old are they?

Where are they?

Still the mind and open the mind to any connection or communication that may come through.

Keep the body still and the breathing deep and ask that you be held at all times in full love and protection.

Now consciously push your energy upwards,

Up to the universe,

Up to the stars,

Soaring higher and higher,

Up,

Up.

And then when you have pushed your energy as far as it will go,

Just be still and breathe deep breaths.

Do you feel any thoughts floating into your mind?

Do you feel any communications drifting in?

Make a mental note,

Don't analyse,

Just record it mentally.

And if there is any more communication,

It tends to flood the mind in chunks and then goes quiet,

Then another download,

Then a stop.

Just allow it to be there.

When it has dried up,

Just go back to the breathing and bring yourself back into your body with deep breaths.

Now we take this feeling of calm,

This feeling of comfort and carry this into our day so that if we feel that the pain is unbearable,

We can begin our deep breathing and we will feel that relaxation and calm until the next time we meditate.

Let us be peace.

Let us be calm.

Knowing that we are only a few thoughts away from our loved ones who look over us and protect us and guide us from the next world.

They pour their love down upon us as they know how hard it can be on this planet.

They are in a place where the pain and suffering of human existence is gone,

Where there is just love and connection with the universal loving energy that we all have access to.

We know we will one day be reunited with our loved ones and will be exalted to the highest emotions,

But until then,

We are watched over,

We are protected,

We are loved.

And we send that love back from the very depths of our hearts.

We send that love back to join with the universal love that is open to us all.

We are loved,

We are protected,

We are one.

Letting go of the visualization,

Coming back to your natural breath.

And in the natural breath,

You can hear the sankalpa,

The same resolve that you made at the beginning of the practice with the same wording.

Repeat it mentally three times with faith that it will come true.

The grief we carry is in part the grief of the world.

Hold it gently.

Let it be honored.

You don't have to keep it anymore.

You can let it go.

Let it flow into the heart of compassion.

You can weep.

Releasing the grief we carry is a long,

Tear-filled process,

Yet it follows the natural intelligence of the body and heart.

Trust it.

Trust the unfolding.

Along with meditation,

Some of your grief will want to be written,

To be cried out,

To be sung,

To be danced.

Let the timeless wisdom within you carry you through grief to an open heart.

Listen for the sounds in this room.

Listen in all directions for sounds.

Sounds outside of this room.

Find the furthest sound that you can hear.

Start to remember this room.

The walls,

The ceiling,

The floor.

Remember your place in this room.

Remember what's in this room with you.

Become aware of your body lying on the floor or sitting.

Notice the weight of your body and all the points where your body is supported.

Extend your attention through your entire body.

Become aware of your entire body from your head to your fingertips.

Become aware of your body extending from your head to your toes.

Be aware of your breath.

Become aware of the entire physical body and the breath inside your body.

Consciously make your breath deeper and full.

Make your breath deeper.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply.

Make your breath very full.

Saying to yourself,

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Starting to move your body and stretching.

Making your movements larger and larger.

Inhaling your arms over your head.

Being mindful of what's near you.

Gently rolling to the side.

Opening your eyes.

Pushing up into a seated position if you aren't in one.

Fully alert and ready to go on with the rest of the time.

Namaste.