Love & Belonging: A Yoga Nidra For Self-Worth

Today,

I will guide you in a session to cultivate self-love,

Self-worth,

And self-acceptance.

The universe does not give to us that which we will not give to ourselves,

For you see the universe is just a mirror of what you are.

Given that all things begin and end with you,

Won't it be wonderful to fall in love with yourself?

This session is designed to connect you to your various bodies,

Your physical body,

Your breath body,

The body of thoughts and emotions,

Your spirit body,

And as you peer into these layers of self,

May you start to fall in love with all that you are.

Allow my words to wash over you and take you on a journey.

Go ahead and relax and get yourself cozy and comfortable.

If you are not already doing so,

You may go ahead and lay down.

You want to be sure that your muscles can fully release so that you can relax and not worry about anything.

My voice will take you where you need to go.

Make sure your spine is straight and the back of your neck long and your shoulders relaxed and down,

Arms and legs uncrossed,

Long,

And relaxed.

There is nothing for you to do here.

Just relax and lay still.

If at any time you feel the need to adjust the body,

That is perfectly fine.

All you need to do is listen to my voice and be comfortable.

And now just begin to notice your body.

Notice all the outer edges of your body.

Notice the outline of your body.

Notice the places your body makes contact with the surface beneath you.

The weight of your body.

Air on your face.

Any clothing or blankets touching your skin.

And allowing now any tension to release and melt from the forehead,

The eyebrows,

And the eyes,

And the jaw.

With your chin slightly tucked and the back of your neck long,

Just allowing everything to release.

And now simply observe your natural breath.

No need to force anything.

Just observe your natural breath,

Placing particular attention on the exhale.

With each exhale,

The body lets go just a little more,

The natural breath flowing throughout the body,

And you letting go,

Just for now.

And as you lay here now,

Begin to feel into your heart space.

Allow your breath to go here.

As you continue to observe the natural breath,

Notice how it passes through your heart center.

This deep reservoir,

A portal into your true essence.

No need to analyze what you feel here,

Just allow yourself to experience it.

This portal of energy in your chest begins to stir,

Has space to breathe.

Allow any emotions,

Feelings,

Or physical sensations to arise and pass.

Just be a neutral observer of your natural breath that flows and filters through your heart center.

And notice what is happening to your body as a whole,

Perhaps a feeling of stillness,

Relaxation,

Openness,

Or emotional truth.

Welcome any sensations you receive from your heart center.

And as we lay here,

It is now time to call forth your sankalpa.

Sankalpa is a short,

Positive statement of your heart's deepest desire in this life.

If you are currently working with a sankalpa,

You may call that to mind.

Otherwise,

Feel free to use this one.

I love and accept myself exactly as I am now.

Whisper the sankalpa silently to yourself three times.

Bring your attention now to the point between your eyebrows,

The center of the forehead,

And the entire forehead.

The left temple.

The left cheekbone.

The bridge of the nose.

The right cheekbone.

The right temple.

The crown of the head.

The back of the head.

The back of the neck.

The jaw.

The floor of the mouth.

Inside the cheeks.

The roof of the mouth.

The tip of the tongue.

The center of the throat.

The center of the collarbones.

Right collarbone.

Right shoulder.

Upper arm.

Elbow.

Forearm.

Wrist.

Palm of the hand.

Right hand thumb.

And fingers.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The tips of all five fingers.

The empty space between the fingers.

The palm.

The back of the hand.

The wrist.

The forearm.

The elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

The point in between the collarbones.

The left collarbone.

Shoulder.

Upper arm.

Elbow.

Palm of the left hand.

Left hand thumb.

The tip of the tongue.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The tip of the forearm.

The wrist.

The forearm.

The elbow.

The upper arm.

Underarm.

Shoulder.

Center of the chest.

Heart center.

Right ribs.

Front and back.

The solar plexus.

The navel.

The lower abdomen.

The pelvis.

Both hips.

Both thighs.

The back of the neck.

Front and back.

And ankles.

Feel into the heels of both feet.

The soles of the feet.

And all five toes on both feet.

Feel the tips of all ten toes.

Feel the tips of all ten toes on both feet.

The space between the toes.

The tops of your feet.

Ankles.

Shins.

The pelvis.

The entire pelvic bowl.

The soles of your feet.

The lower back.

The lower abdomen.

The place of your sacral chakra.

The mid-back.

The upper back,

Between the shoulder blades.

The sides of the neck.

The entire head.

And the face.

Notice now your breath.

Soft.

Unaltered breath flowing gently in and out of the body.

Smooth and rhythmic.

Air flow in the nostrils.

The slight expansion and release of the belly.

The subtle rise and fall of the abdomen.

And without changing your breath,

Notice it passing through your heart center.

And now,

If you could,

Imagine you can breathe in and out of your heart center.

Just feeling the breath here.

Breathing in and out of your heart center.

And on your next inhale,

Imagine breathing in through the heart center and out through your hands.

Heart center open and receiving breath and exhaling breath and energy out your hands.

In through the heart and out through the hands.

Prana activating these energy centers with your natural breath in through the heart and out through the hands.

And keep doing this for a few moments.

Allowing breath and energy to flow into your heart and then down your arms and out your hands.

With this,

You may notice an energetic field forming at the heart and a tingling or warmth in the hands as they are being activated.

And now,

Gently release the breath practice and return to simply noticing your inner landscape.

Allow your awareness to be centered here.

First,

Invite the feeling of softness into your body.

Allow yourself to feel gentle,

Open,

Receptive,

And soft.

Notice where in the body this quality appears.

Perhaps at the chest,

The face,

The hands,

Just sensing softness now.

And now,

Without forcing,

Invite in the opposite,

A sense of firmness,

Feeling grounded and solid,

Feeling the density or structure of the body.

And notice where this quality most appears.

Perhaps in your spine,

Your hips,

Or your teeth,

The firmness of your bones.

And again,

Returning to the feeling of softness.

Feeling softness in the body,

Spreading like a warm exhale,

So tender,

So soft,

So light.

And again,

Returning to firmness,

The steady presence of your inner structure.

And let yourself sense how the body knows both experiences intimately.

Without merging the two,

Invite sensations of both softness and firmness to be here present simultaneously.

Feel the experience of both softness and firmness at the same time.

Soft where the body wants to soften.

And firm where the body naturally supports you.

And now,

Gently release any effort,

As if you are simply noticing the quiet movements of your inner world.

Return your attention to the quiet rhythm of the breath at the heart center.

Notice the inner stillness that's now available.

Rest here,

Simply aware.

And once again,

You may bring your Sankalpa to mind.

I love and accept myself exactly as I am now.

You may repeat your Sankalpa silently to yourself three times.

And one last time,

Bring your attention to the natural rhythm of your breath.

Breath like ocean waves washing in and out.

Noticing the subtle rise and fall of the abdomen.

Noticing the stillness of your spine,

Your arms,

Your hands,

Your legs,

And feet.

And perhaps you notice your heartbeat here.

And now,

You can begin to notice the surface beneath your body.

Your clothing and your blankets on your skin.

The air touching your face.

Any sounds present in your environment.

Any scent in the air.

Any taste in the mouth.

And returning to that breathing pattern we did in the beginning.

Taking two sips in through the nose.

Followed by a long exhale.

And we'll do it two more times.

In through the nose.

And again,

In through the nose.

Like exhaling,

Letting it all go.

And now,

Begin to bring little movements to your fingers and toes.

And when you feel ready,

You can rub your palms together.

And you may open your eyes.