Yoga Nidra For Fear And Worry

Welcome to Yoga Nidra for Fear or Worry by Scott Moore.

This yoga nidra practice is a tool and a resource to access the strength and the clarity inside of you when life feels difficult or you're feeling fear or worry about either personal or the world's circumstances.

I might suggest finding a place where you can rest undisturbed for the next 20 minutes or so,

Preferably with your eyes closed.

I find that an eye mask can help to calm the nervous system,

So if you've got one of those that'd be great.

I also like to lie down on a yoga mat or a blanket or a bed or a couch,

But if that's not available,

Don't worry.

Any seated position will also work.

So to start,

And especially if you're feeling fear or anxiety in this moment,

Give yourself a nice deep breath in with a few clearing breaths out your mouth.

Do this a couple times.

In through the nostrils,

Maybe a slight hold with a clearing sigh out the mouth.

This is great to clear emotional tension.

It also clears your mind and it anchors you into this moment.

I want to remind you that in this moment,

Everything is okay.

So I want you to focus on your breath and for the next several minutes while we're doing this meditation together,

Stay present with me as I guide you to the clarity,

The wisdom and the power that is already inside of you through this process of deepening relaxation and layered awareness.

To start,

I invite you to put your hands on your belly and give yourself a couple rounds of slow,

Deep breath down into the belly,

Allowing your belly to rise and fall with your breath.

Emphasize your exhale,

Which will signal a release of any tension and it'll also let go of any worry or stress or fear.

This breathing practice calms the nervous system in part by stimulating the vagus nerve,

Which helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

This is the part of our nervous system that allows us to relax.

If you know whisper breath or ujjayi breath,

I want you to breathe in and out through the nostrils with just a little bit of a constriction in the throat to create a little sound,

Texture of your breath like this.

If you don't arrive at the whisper breath,

Don't worry about it.

Just breathing deeply into your belly will help.

This breathing style is also called the victorious breath.

For a moment,

While you're breathing deeply,

I invite you to imagine,

What if you are already victorious?

What if you've already won?

If possible,

Create an internal sanctuary for yourself and allow yourself to remember a time when you felt victorious.

Bring alive a time when you felt confident and capable.

Similarly,

You may choose to remember a time when you felt safe,

When you felt happy and alive.

Allow that moment to come back alive in your awareness as you remember the sights and the smells,

The sounds,

And especially the emotions of that place,

That time.

At any time during this practice,

Or at any time you feel worried,

Or fearful,

Or could simply use it,

You're always welcome to come back to this sanctuary.

Before we go any further in our practice,

I invite you to remember something or someone that you deeply love and allow that love to rise to the surface and to rest in your heart.

Notice how it feels,

If it has a sensation,

A weight,

Or a presence.

This feeling is going to be an anchor for our practice today.

Now allow your breath to resume to whatever feels natural and easy throughout the rest of this practice.

Let's remember nothing is supposed to happen and nothing is not supposed to happen.

As long as it feels safe,

I invite you to simply welcome,

Recognize,

And witness anything that comes into your field of awareness.

At any time,

You're also welcome to respond to anything that arises by giving yourself a nice deep breath,

Maybe changing your position,

And or remembering your sanctuary.

Now you may get so relaxed that you fall asleep.

That's perfectly okay.

The part of you I'm speaking to is always paying attention.

And even as we speak,

We are repairing your nervous system by giving you several long moments of nourishing rest.

I invite you to relax a little bit deeper.

I invite you to take this moment and simply notice my voice.

Just stay with the sound of my voice.

You're aware of the sound of my voice.

Now bring your attention to your heart.

And if you can,

See if you can bring back that feeling of the love that you invited into your heart earlier.

Keep your attention on that sensation,

That feeling of love in your heart.

Now move your attention back to the sound of my voice.

You're aware of the sound of my voice.

And now bring your attention back to the love that you invited into your heart.

You're aware of the love in your heart.

I invite you to relax deeper as you feel these both simultaneously.

The sound of my voice and the love in your heart,

Be aware of them at the same time.

My voice and your heart.

You're aware of my voice and your heart.

And one of these may feel like me and the other may feel like you,

But what these both have in common is that you're aware of them.

In fact,

Be this awareness,

Which is your true self.

This true self is awareness itself,

Whose most natural way of being is boundless peace and love.

As we deepen our practice,

I invite you to relax your body even more and allow your body to be an anchor to presence and peace.

So,

Relax the entire body.

I invite you to just allow your face to experience ease.

Notice the sensation around your eyes,

Allow your jaw and your mouth to relax,

Allow your nose and ears to relax,

And your entire face to just settle.

I invite you to adopt a feeling of ease and peace in your scalp,

The crown and back of your head.

Allow that sensation to move down your neck into your shoulders.

Give yourself the permission for your shoulders to relax and just notice the sensation of your arms.

I invite you to allow your arms to rest,

Whether on your body or at your side.

Allow your arms to feel at ease and peaceful.

Bring your attention to the sensation of your torso.

So,

Allow a peace to settle over your heart.

Perhaps you can remember that love that you anchored in your heart earlier,

How that feels.

Allow that love to sort of suggest and ease down to the belly.

Now,

Relax the entire upper half of the body from hips all the way to head.

Notice now the sensations of the hips and legs all the way down to your feet.

Allow a calming wave of peace to settle over your entire body.

As you do so,

Come back to your heart again.

Again,

Remember how that love feels,

Whether it's a pressure or a feeling.

Perhaps it evokes a memory.

I invite you to give yourself this moment to simply notice that you are,

In fact,

Noticing.

You may be aware of your body or a memory or an emotion,

But at all times you are aware.

Even if it doesn't make sense,

Be the awareness itself,

Whose most natural way of being is one of boundless peace,

Love,

And calm.

If it's possible,

Relax deeper as we explore a more subtle part of your being,

Your energy body.

In this space of great awareness,

As you experience your energy body,

It will heal,

Find alignment,

And will begin to settle your nervous system.

I want you to bring your attention,

Your awareness to your root,

The floor of your pelvis.

This is your place of belonging.

Your connection to the earth,

Your anchor to trust.

I want you to remember a place where you feel like you simply belong,

A place where you feel at home.

I invite you to feel a time when you feel connected to the earth,

Your favorite piece of earth,

Whether that's sitting on a rock or on the beach,

Gardening,

Sitting on a forest trail.

Remember a time of sitting on the earth,

Feeling that connection,

That belonging to the earth.

And remember what it feels like to trust someone or something very,

Very deeply.

I invite you to bring your attention to your heart center again,

This energy center,

Which is associated with our love,

Which is associated with our green spaces,

And which also involves our growth.

Again,

Anchoring your heart in this thing that you love.

Remember a green space you love to be,

Anything from your own garden or plants you keep around your house or apartment,

Maybe a nursery you love to visit,

Or a forest that you love to be in.

Where is a green space that you love to be?

And know that even as you're practicing this yoga nidra practice,

You are growing in this moment.

Bring your attention back to this sensation of your root,

Your belonging,

The earth,

And trust.

Now bring your attention back to your heart with its love,

Awareness of green spaces,

And growth.

What is the part of you that can experience both of these simultaneously?

You are aware simultaneously of your root and your heart.

I invite you to be that profound part of you that is rooted in heart,

That is safety.

Let's remember that energy changes,

As do emotions,

They come and go,

But awareness stays constant,

And it is your fundamental peace and compassion.

Be this awareness.

Stay with the sound of my voice.

In awareness,

Be with me here,

Listening to my voice.

Be presence itself.

I invite you to relax deeper and become even more available for greater awareness as we explore a more subtle part of your being,

A part that holds,

Among other things,

Deep consciousness and belief.

In this state of deep and relaxed awareness,

I want you to repeat these affirming beliefs in your mind.

Each one of them speaks the truth.

It's going to be okay.

I'm going to survive this.

Every problem has a solution.

Every difficulty makes me stronger.

Growth rarely happens in my comfort zone.

My breath is a superpower for calm and strength.

I have powerful resources.

As I remain centered in my heart,

I discover that many of the answers are inside of me.

I search for the goodness in others.

I choose love,

Joy,

And growth.

With these beliefs,

This positive programming ringing in your heart,

Notice that you're noticing.

Notice your relaxation.

Rest facilitates building and repair.

Be this awareness itself,

Which is all capable.

Everything is possible as your true self.

If you can remember any of those affirmations or the feeling of the affirmations,

Maybe repeat one to the best you can,

Or maybe just rest in that feeling.

As we rewind our practice a little bit,

Come back and again revisit that feeling of groundedness and root in heart.

Rest in that peace that is not dependent upon the events and circumstances of your life or the world,

The peace that nobody can touch,

The peace that is always with you.

I invite you to feel this peace move throughout your entire body.

Once again,

Connect with your heart,

That person,

Place,

Or idea you love so much.

Now,

As we begin to bring our conscious mind back online,

I invite you to sort of outline your body,

Feel the parts that are grounded,

Your hands,

Your feet,

And your sacrum.

In a moment,

We're going to finish this practice,

And as we do,

You'll go back out into your day feeling safe and vibrant and stronger.

You're going to feel more heart-centered and grounded,

Capable to compassionately respond to both personal and global events and circumstances,

And you're going to feel a sense of hope and clarity that will help you glide through your day as you manage whatever you need to take those small steps forward toward the growth that life is asking you to grow into.

In a moment,

I'm going to count down from five,

Which will signal the end of our Yoga Nidra.

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Yoga Nidra is over.