Metta Nidra - Opening Your Heart To Loving Kindness

Welcome to this yoga nidra meditation for practicing loving kindness.

This meditation brings together two types of meditation,

Yoga nidra and metta.

Metta means loving kindness or universal goodwill and the practice of metta is one of the most ancient forms of Buddhist meditation.

It is designed to support the habit and practice of living with compassion.

Loving kindness meditation beautifully illustrates the flow of connection within the relationships in our lives through the experience of taking time to wish ourselves and others joy,

Love,

And well-being.

Metta practice begins with compassion toward oneself and extends increasingly outward toward loved ones,

Community,

And ultimately to the planet and universe.

In this yoga nidra I will be guiding you into a deeply relaxed state infused with the intention of compassionate living.

Take a few moments to get settled.

Lie down on the floor or the bed and find a comfortable position.

Make any adjustments needed in your body to find a state of comfort that allows you to be as still as possible throughout the practice.

You may want a blanket or a mask for your eyes to help you maintain comfort and warmth as you relax.

Gently close your eyes and release tension in the tissues around your eyes.

Notice your breathing as your body settles into place.

Breathe in and breathe out deeply for three breaths allowing a sense of calm and readiness to relax to the muscles in your face and body with each inhale and releasing tension with each exhale.

Now start to shift your awareness into the environment around you through your senses.

What scent or sense do you smell around you?

What sounds do you hear in the room?

What sounds do you hear outside of the room?

What do you notice visually even with your eyes closed?

Perhaps the play of light and shadow on the back of your eyelids.

Perhaps even a dreamlike image is taking shape.

What sensations do you feel on your skin?

Temperatures of the air,

Textures of clothing or sheets or blankets.

On your next exhale feel your completely supported by the surface,

By the earth itself beneath you.

Know that no matter what you may bring to the earth it will always hold you.

Shifting into the attention or sankalpa for this yoga nidra practice.

Ask your heart what it wants and needs with regard to compassion.

What do you start to notice in your body as you open your heart to loving-kindness?

Set that openness as your sankalpa today.

And now we begin to build on this intention by first bringing to mind someone for whom it's easy to send love.

Someone with whom you feel a strong and loving connection.

This could be a partner,

A friend,

Someone in your family,

A mentor or a beloved pet.

Take a few moments to feel the connection you have with them and then silently send them your wishes of well-being.

This may sound like the following wish or you may choose to use your own words.

May you be happy.

May you be well.

May you be peaceful and at ease.

May you be loved and loving.

Notice how it feels to send love and kindness to this special someone.

Imagine yourself receiving these same wishes of well-being in return.

Allow yourself to feel these wishes extend toward yourself as you silently repeat.

May I be happy.

May I be well.

May I be peaceful and at ease.

May I be loved and loving.

Notice how it feels to send and accept love and kindness yourself.

Bring to mind a group or a community of people to whom you belong.

This could be family,

A group of friends,

Co-workers,

A spiritual community or your neighborhood.

Take a few moments to feel the connection you have with them and then silently send them your wishes of well-being.

May you be happy.

May you be well.

May you be peaceful and at ease.

May you be loved and loving.

Notice how it feels to send love and kindness to this community.

Now bring to mind a larger community of which you are a part.

This could be your geographical region,

Your nation,

Your continent or some other larger collective.

Take a few moments to feel the connection you have with them and then silently send them your wishes of well-being.

May you be happy.

May you be well.

May you be peaceful and at ease.

May you be loved and loving.

Notice how it feels to send love and kindness to this larger group of people.

And finally bring to mind all living beings,

Plants and animals of this earth.

Feel the connection you have to the planet and again send the following wishes for well-being.

May we all be happy.

May we all be well.

May we all be peaceful and at ease.

May we all be loved and loving.

Notice how it feels to send love and kindness to all living beings on this planet.

As you allow these feelings of universal goodwill to continue to resonate in your heart and mind,

Let's begin the rotation of consciousness to the different parts of your body.

As I name each part,

Imagine placing a golden heart on that part of your body.

The symbol of the golden heart brings the theme of loving-kindness from the metta meditation experience through the remainder of this yoga nidra.

In this way you can bathe your body and mind in compassionate intention.

Begin by placing a golden heart at the crown of your head.

Place a golden heart in the middle of your forehead,

At your left brow,

Your right brow,

Your left eye,

Your right eye.

Place a golden heart on your left cheek,

Your right cheek,

On your left ear,

On your right ear.

Place a golden heart on the tip of your nose,

Inside your mouth,

On your left jaw,

Your right jaw,

And on your chin.

Place a golden heart on the front of your neck,

The back of your neck,

On the back of your head,

And back again to the crown of your head.

Feel your whole head and neck bathed in the glow of golden heart light.

Now place a golden heart in the middle of your chest,

At your heart center.

Place a golden heart on your stomach,

On your navel,

On your pelvis.

Place a golden heart at the base of your spine,

On the middle of your back,

On your upper back,

Between your shoulder blades.

Feel your whole torso bathed in a golden glow.

Place a golden heart on your left shoulder,

Your upper arm,

Your left elbow,

Your forearm,

Your left wrist.

Place a glowing golden heart on the back of your hand,

On your left thumb,

Your index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger.

Place a golden heart on the palm of your hand,

And the heel of your hand,

Lighting up the whole of your left hand.

Place a golden heart on the inside of your elbow,

The inside of your shoulder.

Feel your whole left arm glowing with golden heart light.

Place a golden heart on your right shoulder,

Your upper arm,

Your right elbow,

Your forearm,

Your right wrist.

Place a glowing golden heart on the back of your hand,

Your right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger.

Place a golden heart on the palm of your hand,

And the heel of your hand,

Lighting up the whole of your right hand.

Place a golden heart on the inside of your elbow,

The inside of your shoulder.

Feel your whole right arm glowing with golden heart light.

Place a golden heart on your left hip,

Your left thigh,

Your knee,

Your shin,

Your left ankle.

Place a glowing golden heart on the top of your left foot,

Your left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Pinky toe.

Place a golden heart on the sole of your foot,

And heel,

Lighting up the whole of your left foot.

Place a golden heart on your left calf,

The inside of your left knee,

The back of your thigh,

On your left buttock.

Feel your whole left leg bathed in a glorious glow.

Place a golden heart on your right hip,

Your right thigh,

Your knee,

Your shin,

Your right ankle.

Place a glowing golden heart on the top of your right foot,

Your right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Pinky toe.

Place a golden heart on the sole of your foot,

And heel,

Lighting up the whole of your right foot.

Place a golden heart on your right calf,

The inside of your right knee,

The back of your thigh,

On your right buttock.

Feel your whole right leg bathed in a glorious golden glow.

Feel the whole left side of your body glow with the golden light of loving kindness.

Feel the whole right side of your body glow with the golden light of loving kindness.

Feel your whole body glowing.

Your whole body glowing.

Your whole body glowing.

Breathe in the golden light of this metta nidra.

Breathe out as you relax even more,

And surrender to the feeling of your whole body breathing.

Breathe in with self-compassion,

And breathe out with compassion for all of life on our planet.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

For the next few moments,

Notice any glimmer of light or shadow that appears in the field of vision behind your closed eyelids.

Wait as though you are waiting in a meadow for a bird or a squirrel to arrive.

Allow your mind to flow with any images or sounds or other dreamlike experiences that may come to you in this state of deep relaxation.

Perhaps you can feel the sense of your golden light body rising from the bed or the surface you're lying on.

Whatever experience arises for you,

Allow its flow knowing that you are safe.

Return your awareness to the sankalpa of this practice,

The intention for opening your heart to loving kindness.

What does it feel like in your body to practice opening your heart in this way?

And now,

Start to become aware of the sounds around you as you return your awareness toward awakening.

If you instead wish to go fully to sleep,

Simply allow my voice to wash over you as you drift back into dreaming.

If you are returning to wakefulness,

Start to wiggle your fingers and toes.

Turn your head from side to side and roll over onto your side.

Begin to sit upright and give your body a stretch wherever it needs it the most.

Thank you for joining me in this practice of metta nidra.

The light in me bows to the light in you.

Namaste.