Yoga Nidra For Emotional Resilience

Welcome,

Yoga nidra meditation to strengthen emotional resilience.

Sit or lay in a comfortable position,

Taking the time to get cozy here,

Well supported,

Knowing you can shift your body at any time for more comfort.

As you settle your body,

Settle your eyes outward or inward gaze.

Now bring awareness to the sounds that you hear,

Sounds in the distance and sounds close by.

Feel the touch of air on your skin,

Perhaps a coolness or a warmth.

Beware of the support that is underneath you,

Does it feel firm or cozy?

And notice as you draw the breath in through your nostrils,

There's a coolness to the air as it comes in and a warmth to the air as it goes out.

Settle your awareness here to the cool air coming in your nostrils and the warm air going out.

Notice as that cool air comes in where it touches your body,

Perhaps nostrils,

Perhaps chest or belly.

As you exhale and release the breath,

Notice where your body lets go as you release the breath.

And start to notice the rhythm of your breath as it flows in and out of your body.

The sensation of that flow of breath in and out of your body.

Now bring to your awareness an intention for your meditation.

How would you like to feel during or following as a result of this meditation?

Perhaps a sense of inner peace,

Joy,

Perhaps an ease from discomfort,

Physical,

Emotional,

Breaking of a habit,

A pattern,

A being.

Cultivate an intention here and just state this intention to yourself three times.

Beautiful.

Now we'll begin with a rotation of awareness through your body.

Just following along letting your awareness settle to each area in turn.

Beginning at the center of your forehead.

Just letting your awareness be here and just notice any sensations,

Anything that comes to your awareness as a tension is here at the center of your forehead.

And awareness flows down inside your mouth.

Sense and feel your tongue and your teeth,

Sensations inside your mouth.

And awareness flowing down through your throat,

Your neck.

Just noticing the aliveness,

The sensations as you bring your attention here.

Awareness down to the notch at the base of your throat.

Some areas you'll feel a lot of sensations and some not.

Just whatever comes to your awareness.

I'm going to move awareness over to your left shoulder,

Left upper arm,

Elbow,

Forearm,

Wrist,

Left palm,

Tip of your left thumb,

Tip of your first finger,

Tip of second finger,

Tip of third finger,

And tip of baby finger.

Your whole left hand held in your awareness,

But sensations do you notice flowing through your left hand.

Awareness now flows all the way from your hand up your left arm to your left shoulder and to the notch at the base of your throat.

And to your right shoulder,

Right upper arm,

Right elbow,

Right forearm,

Right wrist,

Right palm,

Tip of your thumb,

Tip of your first finger,

Tip of your second finger,

Tip of your third finger,

And tip of your baby finger.

Your right palm,

Your right hand,

Your whole right hand,

Notice the aliveness through your right hand.

Awareness flows from your right hand up your right arm to your right shoulder and the notch at the base of your throat.

Awareness now fills your chest,

Your upper back,

Your mid back,

Mid chest,

Ribs,

Your belly,

And your low back.

Awareness fills your whole torso,

Radiant field of sensation through your whole torso.

And to navel point,

Belly button.

Awareness rest,

Navel point,

Belly button.

And left hip,

Left thigh,

Left knee,

Left lower leg,

Left ankle,

Sole of your left foot,

Tip of your left big toe,

Tip of your second toe,

Tip of your third toe,

Tip of your fourth toe,

The tip of your baby toe.

Whole left foot,

Notice the aliveness inside your left foot.

Awareness flows from left foot up through your left leg,

Left hip,

To navel point,

Belly button.

Right hip,

Right thigh,

Right knee,

Right lower leg,

Right ankle,

Sole of your right foot,

Tip of your right big toe,

Tip of your second toe,

Tip of your third toe,

Tip of your fourth toe,

Tip of your baby toe.

Your whole right foot,

Notice the aliveness that flows through your whole right foot.

Awareness flowing up through your right leg,

Right hip,

Navel point,

Belly button.

From navel point,

Awareness flowing out,

Radiating out to fill your whole body.

The light of awareness illuminates your whole body,

Your whole body,

This radiant field of aliveness,

Sensations flowing through your whole body.

Now can you feel,

Imagine your whole body being very light as if it were just floating up above the earth.

And can you imagine your whole body feeling very heavy,

Sinking into the earth.

And then can you hold in your awareness a sense of lightness and heaviness simultaneously.

Letting this go,

Sense and feel your whole body neutral,

Feeling through your whole body.

Now can you imagine your whole body feeling a little cool,

Just a slight cool breeze on your body.

And then can you imagine your whole body feeling very warm,

Like the warm summer sun is inside your body,

An inner warmth.

Can you hold this sense of coolness and warmth through your body simultaneously,

As best you can simultaneously,

Coolness,

Warmth.

Well done.

Now letting this go,

Coming back to awareness,

Your whole body neutral,

Whole body as it is.

And can you bring to your awareness a sense of being a little anxious,

A little worried,

Like you're just five minutes late for something.

So a little worried,

A little anxious,

Hold this in your awareness.

And now can you feel a sense of being very calm and peaceful.

Everything is just fine.

A sense of calm and peacefulness through your whole body.

Can you sense these two simultaneously,

A sense of being a little bit worried or anxious,

A sense of peacefulness and calm,

Everything just right.

Letting both of these go,

Coming back to neutral,

Your body or being just as it is.

Can you sense feeling a little bit frustrated,

A little bit annoyed,

Like you're trying to open a jar and you can't quite get it open,

Just a little frustration,

A little bit of annoyance.

Can you sense this,

Perhaps a memory of this?

And now can you sense and feel a sense of happiness,

Of lightness of being,

Even joy,

A sense of lightness,

Happiness,

Joy.

Now can you sense these two simultaneously,

A sense of frustration and annoyance and a sense of happiness,

Lightness,

Joy.

Beautiful.

And now let all of this go and just come back to a place of neutral sensing and feeling your whole body as it is.

Now can you sense a feeling of uncertainty,

Unsure,

As if you were going somewhere and not sure of the direction to go left or right.

Can you sense and feel a little uncertainty.

Now can you feel a sense of confidence,

I know the way,

I've got this.

Can you cultivate this,

Sense this,

Feel this in your body,

I am confident,

I've got this,

I know the way.

Now can you hold these two in your awareness simultaneously,

A feeling of uncertainty,

Unsure,

A feeling of confidence,

I've got this.

Hold these two in your awareness simultaneously.

Well done.

Yes,

In this moment.

Now let all of this go and come to neutral sense your body as it is.

Well done.

Sense and feel the rhythm of your breath.

And breath as it flows in and out of your body.

And now to imagine yourself in a beautiful place,

To see the most magnificent garden perhaps or a beautiful beach,

Perhaps a dense lush forest or a beautiful meadow,

A place that for you feels peaceful,

Is calm,

Is safe.

Allow this to come to your awareness,

A place you know or a place you create.

Trust whatever arises for you.

And let yourself experience this magnificent,

Beautiful,

Safe place that has come to your awareness.

To see the colors in this place,

Perhaps the color of the sand or the trees,

Flowers,

Perhaps there is a scent on the air that you notice.

What sounds do you hear?

Perhaps birds or waves,

Perhaps beautifully calm and quiet.

The only touch of what is under you,

Perhaps earth or water or the lushness of moss or grass.

And move through this beautiful place and feel the sense of peace,

Of calm,

Of being safe and embraced in this beauty,

This peacefulness.

Find a place to come to rest here,

To really soak in all that this place is offering its beauty,

Its sense of peace,

Of safe.

And as you settle here reconnect to your intention of that feeling you choose to cultivate,

That you've chosen through this meditation that you choose to cultivate in your life.

Just bringing this to your awareness.

Perhaps even having an image of what this looks like as you feel a sense of this moving through your body.

And as you rest here for a few precious moments,

Really let this feeling,

This sense of being that you've chosen to really come alive through this pathway of sensations,

Imagery of a sense of how you are being with this feeling that you have chosen.

Letting this beautiful environment support you,

Nourish you,

Embrace you.

Now return your awareness to your breath,

The rhythm of your breath as it flows in and out of your body.

Through feeling a sense of your body and the shape you are in,

The support that's underneath you.

And begin to wiggle your fingers and toes.

You could choose to rest here a little longer as you're ready.

Simply rise and return to seated.

Namaste.