Welcome to this yoga nidra for self-compassion and kindness.
Find a comfortable position to lie down in and gently soften and close your eyes or come to a gentle gaze.
Start to let go and slowly soften into your posture.
Take a deep breath and as you exhale let go and allow your muscles to soften.
As you take another deep breath let go of any mental distractions and allow your exhale to help soothe and slow down any thoughts.
Now allow the sound and the easy rhythm of your soothing breath to further soften your body.
Allow each breath to flow through you like a rolling sea wave and now turn your awareness to sounds outside the room that you're in.
This may be traffic or other noises from within your home.
Just noticing them without finding any of them distracting.
There's no need to judge them or wish they were different.
Just being aware of their existence in the background.
Now drawing your attention inwards to sounds within the room that you're in.
This may be from a clock or the humming of electrical devices.
Again just noticing them and allowing them to be just as they are.
And now bringing your attention inwards again and noticing any sounds that you're making.
Perhaps you can hear your breathing or the slight movement of your clothes against the furniture you're resting on.
Just noticing what's there.
And we're now going to set a sankalpa,
An intention or affirmation that we'll use for this session.
You may already have one that you work with and you can go ahead and continue to use that.
Otherwise take a breath from your head down into your heart and continue breathing in and out of your heart space.
Now breathe normally and with focus on your heart.
Feel into why you wanted to do this practice today.
What is your heart yearning for?
Feel a statement emerging that really resonates with you and create a short positive intention in the present tense as if it's already happening.
Examples of an intention might be I am worthy and have compassion for myself or I am calm and at peace.
Once you have your positive statement or intention repeat it in your mind three times with full awareness,
Belief and conviction that it is happening for you.
Now sense the following areas of the body.
If it's helpful when you hear the name of a body part you can repeat that body part in your mind.
I'd just like you to bring awareness to your mouth,
Your teeth and gums,
Inside of your left cheek,
Inside of your right cheek,
The roof of your mouth,
The root of your tongue.
Notice all sensations inside the mouth.
Now moving to your left ear,
Right ear.
Awareness of the left cheek,
Right cheek,
Tip of the nose,
Your left eye,
Right eye.
Awareness of the chin,
The pit of the throat,
The left shoulder,
Right shoulder,
Left upper arm,
Right upper arm,
Left elbow,
Right elbow,
Left forearm,
Right forearm,
Left wrist,
Right wrist,
Left hand,
Right hand,
The entire left hand and arm from the tips of the fingers to the top of the shoulder.
Bring attention back to the pit of the throat,
Middle of the chest and the right shoulder.
Bring attention to the right shoulder and the entire right hand and arm from the tips of the fingers to the top of your arm.
Bring attention back to the pit of the throat,
The middle of the chest,
The middle of your torso,
Lower torso.
Moving awareness into the pelvis,
The left hip,
Right hip,
The left thigh,
The right thigh,
Left knee,
The right knee,
The left shin,
The right shin,
Left ankle,
Right ankle,
The left foot and toes,
The right foot and toes.
Bring awareness now to the back of the body,
Starting with the left heel,
The right heel,
The left calf,
Right calf,
Back of the left thigh,
Back of the right thigh,
Left buttock,
Right buttock,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Left shoulder blade,
Right shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Forehead,
Middle of the eyebrows,
Pit of the throat,
Centre of the chest and hold your awareness here,
Resting at the heart centre and as you rest here,
Breathe in soothing life-giving oxygen to the heart centre and recognise what a kind and self-compassionate action this is and as you continue to inhale,
Breathe in self-compassion and as you exhale,
Breathe out compassion for all humanity,
Inhaling the softness and warmth of self-compassion and exhaling compassion for others,
Slowly and rhythmically,
Breathing self-compassion into the heart space and breathing out compassion for others and now with each inhalation,
Feel energy expanding and moving outwards in circles from your heart space.
On your exhalation,
Feel it contract,
This wave of warm,
Kind,
Self-compassionate energy continues to move outwards as you inhale,
Sending waves of warmth and self-compassion through your upper torso and become aware of this wave of energy contracting as you exhale compassion to all humanity.
On the next inhale,
Feel the warm,
Soothing energy of self-compassion flood your torso,
Arms and shoulders.
Continue to feel this wave flowing throughout your body,
Bringing powerful energy and soothing self-compassion to all your limbs.
As you inhale and exhale,
Sense this warm,
Healing energy pulsating or ebbing and flowing like the waves,
Filling your body with self-compassionate energy on the inhale and subsiding slightly as you exhale self-compassion to others.
Now sense this warm energy expanding out further to your head,
Fingers and toes,
Flooding them with kindness and compassion.
Sense this warm energy flow into every cell in your body,
Bringing compassion and bathing them in warm,
Healing energy and just bathe in this warm,
Soothing,
Compassionate energy as your body drinks this in and now allow your breath to return to normal as you rest here.
We'll now bring our mind to some opposite feelings and begin to feel your whole body heavy.
Both your arms are heavy as you rest here on the surface you're lying on,
Both legs heavy,
Torso heavy,
Your head heavy.
The whole body heavy and sinking into the surface beneath you.
Really sense the heaviness of the whole body,
Feeling and sensing this in every muscle and limb and now release heaviness and start to feel the body becoming lighter and lighter.
Both arms are light,
Both legs light,
Torso light and head light.
The whole body light like you're floating,
Light as a feather.
Feel and sense the lightness of your whole body.
Now sense heavy and light together.
Hold these two opposites together and explore how this feels in your body,
Heavy and light.
Now let these sensations go and just sense your body being held by the earth beneath you and now bring your mind to sense or imagine a time where you've been or felt self-critical.
Don't focus on an example,
Just invite in the feeling that arises in the body with self-criticism.
Where do you feel this?
Just allow yourself to feel and sense self-criticism in your body.
Just becoming aware of sensations in the body when you bring self-criticism to mind and now let self-criticism go and sense or imagine self-kindness and compassion.
Explore how this feels in the body,
Self-kindness and self-compassion.
How do you experience this in your body?
Now explore sensations of self-criticism and self-compassion and kindness together.
Notice how this feels in the body,
Self-criticism and self-compassion and kindness together and let go of these opposites now and bring your awareness to your closed eyelids.
Allow yourself to sink deeper now and to rest.
Now see yourself resting like you're above your body looking down at it.
Notice the position you're resting in,
The expression on your face.
No judgment,
Just simply observe yourself and have compassion for this resting being and now sense or imagine a green healing light uniting the heart space with the belly and throat.
Allow this green healing light to provide you with compassionate healing energy.
If there's a specific area of the body that needs healing then send this green light to that area now,
Flooding it with compassion and bring your awareness back now to the dark space behind your eyelids.
You'll now hear a series of positive affirmations.
You can simply allow your subconscious mind to take in these messages or if it feels right you can repeat each affirmation in your mind.
I deserve care and compassion.
I accept love and kindness.
I am as compassionate towards myself as I would be to others.
I am worthy and deserve to feel loved.
I am kind to myself.
I am worthy of kindness and compassion and now come back to your own intention or affirmation that we set at the start of the practice.
Repeat it to yourself three times with full awareness,
Belief and conviction in its truth and now on your next inhalation breathe through the heart.
What would your heart like to tell you?
What message does your heart have for you today?
Just breathe in and out of your heart space and perhaps you'll receive a whisper,
An image,
A word or phrase.
Just breathe through the heart and listen.
If you receive a message just take a moment to notice how it feels in your body and if you have not received a message trust that this may come to you later in your day or in your dream space and now return your attention to your body as you rest here.
Feel your breath at the nostrils noticing as it flows in and out.
Become aware of the relaxation in your physical body and you can remain in this relaxed place for as long as you want or if you would like to return to awareness at this time start to notice the parts of your body that are touching the surface you're resting on and you may like to invite gentle movement into your fingers and toes or perhaps moving your head slowly from right to left feeling the connection with your pillow or cushion and when you're ready you can open your eyes.
This is the end of our practice today.
