Yoga Nidra For Emotional And Physical Release

Welcome to this yoga nidra for emotional release.

Just begin to settle into a very comfortable position now lying on your back,

Arms softening out beside you with your palms facing up,

Allowing your collarbones to soften,

Shoulders relax,

Release your jaw and soften your face.

And you can settle in here by taking a nice deep breath in through your mouth and exhale release with a soft sigh.

Inhale now through your nose and begin to visualize how the breath navigates the inner architecture of the nasal passageways,

Which are perfectly designed and structured in a rigid and bumpy formation that allows the breath to be warmed up and humidified before moving down into the lungs.

Inhale through the nose into the nasal passageway,

Breath is bouncing,

Dancing,

Swirling,

Warming up and then moving down into the lungs where the oxygen moves through the tiniest vessels to meet with the bloodstream.

Here it is exchanged for carbon dioxide,

Which is released on the exhale.

And you can breathe here with intention and visualization like this for a few more rounds.

Simply letting that all go and allowing the process of the breath to happen now in its most natural and organic form.

On the next inhale,

Breathing into your lungs softly,

Bring your attention to the left side of your chest cavity.

Here you notice a subtle pumping of the heart muscle.

Feel this subtle beat,

Energy and warmth begin to expand and evolve.

And it is in this warm radiant heart space that we begin the practice of yoga nidra.

Here in this life giving organ at the center of your physical being lies not only your life force,

But also your deepest and truest desires.

Begin to notice what it is that your deepest inner being desires.

What is it that you wish for in the depth of your heart space?

With this intention,

You can create your sankalpa.

And if you're not familiar with the term sankalpa,

It means truth and vow.

It is an honest intention or resolve that you wish for in this lifetime.

Generally not something material,

But something that will truly comfort your inner being.

The sankalpa is usually in the form of an I am statement that brings you something you truly desire for yourself.

And it is created as a statement in the present and positive tense because deep down your body and soul already know this intention to be valid and true.

Because you,

My dear sweet being,

You are already worthy and whole.

You can gently bring that I am statement to your mouth and your lips as if to speak it into truth.

Gently drawing your awareness to your lips,

Your mouth,

Your teeth,

The insides of your cheeks.

Draw your awareness to your jaw,

The insides of the ears,

The outer architecture of the ears,

The temples of the forehead,

The center of the forehead,

The eyebrows and the space between the eyebrows.

Draw your awareness to your eyes,

Feeling first the eyeballs themselves and then the eye sockets.

Draw your awareness to the top of your head.

Feel the back of your head and the back of your neck.

Feeling a radiant sensation begin to build up on the right shoulder,

Down the back of the right arm,

Past the elbow,

The back of the forearm,

The back of the hand.

Feeling the right thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

Feeling the back of the hand and then feeling the palm of your hand,

Feeling a radiant pulsing sensation in the palm of the right hand.

Feeling the inside of the right wrist,

Up the front of the forearm,

The inside of the elbow,

The right upper arm,

And the front of the right shoulder.

Begin to feel the sensation again begin to move to the back of the neck,

Softening,

Releasing.

Gently building that radiant sensation again,

This time over towards the left side,

Feeling the back of the left shoulder,

Down the back of the left upper arm,

Past the elbow,

The forearm,

The back of the wrist,

The back of your hand.

Feeling your left thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

Feeling all five fingers together,

Feeling the back of the hand and then the palm of the hand,

Feeling a radiant pulsing sensation in the palm of the hand.

And now it begins to move up past the wrist,

Up the forearm,

Past the inside of the elbow to the upper front of the left arm,

And then to the front of the left shoulder.

Soften,

Bring your awareness to the center of your throat.

Noticing the center of your throat,

Feel it begin to radiate out in all directions,

As if radiant beams of light are stemming from the center of the throat.

Become aware of the collarbones,

The front of the chest,

Down past the center of the chest,

The rib case,

And the lower floating ribs.

Become aware of the belly,

Feeling the front,

The back,

And the two inner sidewalls of the abdomen.

And you can also gently notice the expansion and release of the breath at the abdomen.

On the next expansion,

Feel the radiance begin to move to the hips,

Feeling the pelvis cradling the inner organs.

And you can begin to draw your awareness now over to the front of the right hip.

And like a river flowing,

That sensation begins to pour down the front of the right leg,

Past the knee,

The front of the shin,

The ankle,

And the top of the right foot.

Feeling the right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Feeling all five toes together,

The top of the foot.

Feel the sole of the foot,

And notice that the sole of the foot is radiating energy away from the body.

Notice the heel resting on the earth,

The back of the ankle,

The back of the calf,

The back of the knee,

The back of the thigh,

The back of the right hip.

Feeling both hips now and the pelvis again.

Feel the sensation begin to pull over towards the front of the left hip,

And then it begins to pour down the front of the left upper thigh,

Past the knee,

The shin,

The ankle,

The top of the left foot.

Front big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Feeling all five toes together,

Feel the top of the foot,

Feel the sole of the foot.

Feel that the sole of the foot is radiating energy away from the body.

Notice the heel,

The back of the ankle,

The back of the calf,

The back of the knee,

The back of the thigh,

The back of the left hip.

Feeling both hips now resting on the earth,

Feeling the lower back,

Middle back,

And the upper back,

Feeling the back of the neck,

The back of the head.

Become aware of the whole backside of your body resting onto the earth.

Become aware of the whole front side of your body radiating energy away from you.

Become aware of the right side of the body,

All the limbs and organs and cells of the right side of the body,

And then become aware of the left side of the body,

All the limbs,

Organs and cells of the left side of the body.

Become aware of the whole body now as one radiant being of sensation,

One radiant being of sensation.

Feel your whole body,

Feel your whole body.

And now draw your attention back to your breath in and out through the nose.

On your next inhale,

Draw the breath up the right side of the body,

Pause,

Shift your awareness to the left side and exhale down the left side of the body.

Staying on that left side,

Inhale up on the left all the way to the top,

Pause,

Shift to the right side as you exhale down the right side of your body.

Once again,

Inhale up the right side of the body,

Pause,

Exhale down the left,

Inhale on the left and exhale down on the right.

Place this breathing pattern and allow your body to settle into the most relaxed and released state.

Notice your body once again.

Feel your body becomes very heavy into the surface beneath you,

Weighted down into the earth,

Feeling that your body is so very heavy,

As if it is weighted under heavy sandbags.

And then begin to feel that your body is very light,

Feeling that it's light as a feather,

Floating lightly through the air.

Then feel that your body is very heavy now,

So very heavy,

Weighted into the ground.

And then begin to feel your body becoming very light,

Lightly floating like a cloud.

And again,

Feel the heaviness now,

Low lightness,

Heavy and light,

Heavy and light,

Heavy and light.

And begin to feel that both sensations,

Although opposing in nature,

Can be felt simultaneously in the body,

Letting go of any resistance in your mind to allow this to happen.

And just feeling those two opposing sensations in your body,

Heavy and light,

Heavy and light,

Release those sensations now.

Gradually become aware that your body is very warm.

Feeling the warmth over your entire body as though you're resting on hot sand with the sun beating down on you,

Feeling that your body is so very warm.

And now begin to find a sensation of coolness in the body,

Feeling that your body is very cool as though it is resting on a cold floor or standing in a cool puddle of water,

Feeling this coolness through the entire body.

And then bring the sensation back to warmth in the body,

Feeling warmth come over the entire body.

And then again back to feeling cool.

And then warm,

Cool and warm,

Cool and warm,

Until eventually you can feel both sensations together,

Letting go of the mind's resistance to simultaneously feel these physical sensations and just feeling them cool and warm,

Cool and warm.

Now let go of both of those sensations and begin to find a feeling of abundance throughout the body.

What does that look like?

How does that feel?

Feeling abundant,

Full and rich.

Now finding a space of lack come over you,

Feeling empty and depleted throughout the physical body and mind.

Then bring in a sensation and knowing of abundance throughout,

Feeling full,

Ample,

Rich.

And then again noticing a sensation of lack,

Emptiness and depletion in the physical,

Emotional and spiritual body.

Bring yourself back to the opposite feeling,

Abundant and full,

And then once again back to lack and emptiness.

Feeling abundance and lack,

Abundance and lack,

Abundance and lack,

Until eventually you can feel both of these concepts and sensations throughout your being.

Feeling abundance and lack simultaneously throughout,

Feeling them both together now.

And then with love and gratitude,

Let go of all these sensations and release your body even deeper into rest and relaxation.

Clearing your body and mind from these sensations that have overcome and moved through your being.

And then begin to imagine yourself resting on soft grass and earth.

Feeling the sensation of the gentle blades of grass and marshmallow-like texture of earth below your body and supporting your body.

You are resting now in a very beautiful and lush field.

The sky is blue overhead.

The sun is radiant,

Kind and warm.

Maybe a few small clouds pass by.

And you hear and feel the subtle brush of a warm breeze passing by.

The air smells sweet and fresh from nearby wildflowers.

The colors of nature around you are vibrant yet comforting.

Your skin is soothed by the warm air.

Off in the distance you can notice a sweet song is playing.

You don't recognize the song,

But you know it to sound uplifting and peaceful.

Imagine yourself getting up and walking over the wholesome earth towards the sound of the song.

Stepping lightly,

Moving gracefully,

You navigate through the field towards the soothing sounds.

The song gets louder as you near closer to a gazebo from which the music is playing.

It's perfectly crafted out of light golden colored wood.

And the gazebo creates a protected space for you to move and dance freely,

Innocently,

Without judgment and without expectation.

You move here in any way that feels good for your body.

Releasing tension,

Releasing expectations,

Releasing emotions that have built up in the tissues of your physical body.

And your body stores these emotions over many years.

But as you move here,

You feel everything release and leave your body.

Letting your body feel renewed and refreshed.

Eventually your body begins to tire from the release of the movement.

And you walk over to the corner of the gazebo where the music is playing and carefully turn off the sound.

As the music stops,

You listen carefully to all the sounds of Mother Nature around you.

A soft breeze,

A bird singing gracefully,

And a dragonfly fluttering by.

This dragonfly pauses to gather your attention and then encourages you to follow it along a nearby path.

You follow its quiet,

Confident guidance along the path until you find a soft bed of golden flowers.

The dragonfly nestles into the flowers and instinctively you know that this is a safe place to do the same.

Very naturally you move your body into a restful position here and close your eyes for the most beautiful,

Restorative,

And deep rest.

Settling the body in deeper now as you sink just a little more into that supportive golden bed of soft flowers.

The flowers are just around you to create the softest golden nest or cocoon.

And it is here that you know you are safe and protected.

All is well in this space.

You can let go of any physical,

Emotional,

Or spiritual strains and release and rest fully into a deep,

Deep sleep.

And as you are resting here,

Just bring your attention back now to the sankalpa that you set at the start of the practice.

Encompassing the sankalpa within your cocoon,

Knowing it to be real and true.

Rest here.

And now the practice of yoga nidra is complete.

You can gradually bring your attention back to the breath now as you deepen the breath,

Feeling it expand throughout the entire body.

Gently waking the body up from this deep restoration.

Noticing that you feel a little bit lighter.

And you take a moment of gratitude to thank yourself for honoring this sacred rest today.

And just allow yourself a few moments here to embrace this feeling of rejuvenation before you move on with the rest of your day.