by Karen Brody
3.Right shoulder joint
4.Right elbow joint
5.The bend of the right wrist joint
6.Tip of the right thumb
7.Tip of the right index finger
8.Tip of the right middle finger
9.Tip of the right fourth finger
10.Tip of the right small finger
11.The bend of the right wrist joint
12.Right elbow joint
13.Right shoulder joint
14.Hollow of the throat
15.Left shoulder joint
16.Left elbow joint
17.The bend of the left wrist joint
18.Tip of the left thumb
19.Tip of the left index finger
20.Tip of the left middle finger
21.Tip of the left fourth finger
22.Tip of the left small finger
23.The bend of the left wrist joint
24.Left elbow joint
25.Left shoulder joint
26.Hollow of the throat
27.Heart center
28.Right nipple
29.Heart center
30.Left nipple
31.Heart center
32.Solar plexus
33.Navel center
34.Right hip joint
35.Right knee joint
36.Right ankle joint
37.Tip of the right big toe
38.Tip of the right second toe
39.Tip of the right third toe
40.Tip of the right fourth toe
41.Tip of the right small toe
42.Right ankle joint
43.Right knee joint
44.Right hip joint
45.Navel center
46.Left hip joint
47.Left knee joint
48.Left ankle joint
49.Tip of the left big toe
50.Tip of the left second toe
51.Tip of the left third toe
52.Tip of the left fourth toe
53.Tip of the left small toe
54.Left ankle joint
55.Left knee joint
56.Left hip joint
57.Navel center
58.Solar plexus
59.Heart center
60.Hollow of the throat
61.Space between the eyebrows
Pay attention to all sensations in your body. Rest your mind.
If you have thoughts, picture yourself as a boat and the thoughts as extra things inside your hull. Slowly allow each thought to move over the side of the boat and into the water, where it gently floats away.
Soon you are an empty boat. Feel this sense of emptiness.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Notice your body breathing, the soft, gentle movement of the belly rising and falling. Inhale slowly, and exhale even more slowly. In and out. Releasing any worries and fears as you exhale. Noticing sensation in your body. Your body relaxing deeper. Welcome whatever you’re feeling.
Now inhale slowly, filling the abdomen, then the chest, and all the way up to the neck. Exhale even more slowly, pursing your lips as if you’re blowing through a straw.
And again—inhaling up to the neck, and exhaling like you’re blowing through a straw.
Continue breathing like this for three more breaths.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now stop, and notice sensations in your body. No judging, just welcoming everything. Noticing rhythm in your body, which areas feel in rhythm and which don’t. Be present to all the energy in your body—and relax deeply into this vibration of energy.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Imagine yourself lying down on a red carpet in an open area of the woods. The sun is shining, majestic green trees surround you, and beside you is a beautiful waterfall. You hear the sound of the waterfall, and you feel the warmth of the sun on your entire body.
Slowly bring your awareness to the first power center, located between the tip of the tailbone and the bottom of the pubic bone.
Visualize bright red light moving through this area at the base
of your spine. Notice any sensations here as you take a few slow, deep breaths in and out.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
As you’re lying on the carpet, deeply relaxed and warm, grounded to the earth, you notice the carpet’s color turning to a deep, rich orange. You bring your awareness to the second power center, visualizing a deep orange color moving through your lower abdomen and into your reproductive area, lower back, and sacrum. Follow it with slow inhalations and exhalations.
Keep breathing.
Feel sensation. No thinking.
Listen to the sound of the waterfall as the orange begins to sink deeper and deeper into your lower spine and into your second power center. Relax and feel.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows and rest here. Let go of all fears. Experience total peace and stillness.
Witness a light inside of you come on, your internal power switch.
Feel this.
Be this.
Relax in total peace and tranquility.
(Pause for 30 seconds.)
Repeat your intention three times.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Say hello to it—“I see you.” And then let it be planted like a seed into the depths of the rich, moist soil.
Now repeat the following affirmations. Absorb each affirmation as if you’re digesting it into your entire system. Feel it permeate every cell and atom. (Pause for 5 seconds between each affirmation.)
•I am grounded, safe, and supported.
•My life force is flowing freely, opening all channels for healing.
•I am filled with creative energy and vitality.
Notice your connection to the earth, your heart beating, life force flowing, in you and outside of you, to infinity.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Notice sensation in front of the body, behind the body, to the left of the body, to the right, above, and below the body.
If there’s any area of your body that needs healing, send light to that area now.
(Pause for 10 to 15 seconds.)
Now take a deep breath in through your heart. Follow your breath and see where it lands in your body.
Wherever the breath arrives, notice if there’s an image, word, or phrase that’s being whispered to you. No thinking, just feel this whisper.
This is your soul whisper.
Be grateful for whatever you received.
And now be still and notice the impact of your soul whisper in the form of sensations on your body and in your mind.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Everything is okay.
Feel this.
Notice how peaceful your body feels. Come out of your body for a moment and observe yourself experiencing deep peace and relaxation. Vow to take this peace back into your everyday life, or if you plan to go to sleep now, take this peace into your sleep.
Repeat your intention again three times.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Trust that it has been heard and will act as a compass back to your power.
Now, feeling deeply relaxed, begin to emerge from your yoga nidra nap.
Notice the sweet sensation of rest in your body. Carry it into your day, your sleep, your life.
Spend a little more time sending love to any area of your body that needs it today.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now, if you’re getting up, open your eyes slowly.
And with micro-movements, begin to move your body, starting anywhere that feels right to you. Let your body decide when and how it will move.
Your breath is soft; your mind is clear.
Yoga nidra is complete.
Be good to yourself.
Phase Two: Release Meditation
Time: Approximately 30 minutes
Close your eyes.
Now begin to imagine you’re lying or sitting in a warm, cozy cave, in a zone of total silence.
If you hear noise, let it invite you to go deeper into your cave.
Feel yourself in the cave, sensing your body, and connecting deeply to the earth—tapping into fluidity, ease, and stillness.
Notice all the elements:
•The ground beneath you—earth
•A trickle of rain outside the cave—water
•The fresh smell of the cave meeting your skin—air
•And the warmth of the cave—fire
Be still.
“Release . . . release . . . release,” you whisper to yourself.
Trust in the profound pauses. You cannot have rest unless you pause.
Feel yourself moving into the pause, whatever this means to you.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Take a deep breath in, and stretch your mouth open as wide as you can. Hold your mouth stretched open for a count of three.
Hold . . .
Hold . . .
Hold . . .
Now release with a sigh, letting go of any holding in the body.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
And again, take a deep breath in and open your mouth wide, stretching it as wide as you can.
Hold . . .
Hold . . .
Hold . . .
Now release.
Relax. Be still.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
It’s time to turn on your internal power switch.
Take a moment to notice vibration in your body—your life force.
Now shift gears from doing mode to doing absolutely nothing. Just be.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Do nothing from now on except follow the voice. Stay awake and alert. If you fall asleep, you will still benefit from yoga nidra, but try to stay awake until the end. You cannot do yoga nidra wrong, so give up perfection and just listen and relax.
Permission to rest is granted. You are entering the yoga nidra cave. It’s time to dare to rest and go within.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Repeat your intention to yourself three times. If there is a specific intention you wish to plant, to help you release a habit or pattern, make your intention a positive statement of the heartfelt intention you wish to grow. Be sure your intention is stated in the present tense, like it’s happening right now.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Let all sensations associated with your intention spread throughout your body.
Now we’ll rotate attention through the feminine landscape of your body. Do not visualize the body part, but instead notice sensation when the body part is mentioned. If you have had that body part removed, there is still energy associated with that area, so tune into the energy in that area of the body.
Begin with noticing sensation in
the space between your eyebrows, mouth,
nose,
left eye,
right eye,
both eyes,
left ear,
right ear,
both ears,
forehead,
back of the head,
back of the neck,
throat,
right shoulder,
left shoulder,
both shoulders,
right arm,
left arm,
both arms,
right hand,
left hand,
both hands,
throat,
middle of the chest,
right breast,
left breast,
both breasts,
navel point,
right ovary,
left ovary,
both ovaries,
uterus,
cervix,
right fallopian tube,
left fallopian tube,
both fallopian tubes,
vagina,
pubic bone,
right hip,
left hip,
both hips,
right leg,
left leg,
both legs,
right foot,
left foot,
both feet,
back of the legs,
lower back,
middle back,
upper back,
back of the neck,
throat,
and back to the space between your eyebrows.
Rest in this space. Observe stillness.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
Begin to notice the breath moving through the space between your eyebrows.
As you breathe in, the belly rises, entering the space between the eyebrows.
And as you breathe out, the belly falls, and the breath exits your body through the space between the eyebrows, allowing any stagnation in the body to leave.
Breathe in and out from this spot at your own pace.
Follow the breath. Let it decide the pace.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now, from the space between your eyebrows, inhale slowly down to the base of your spine while saying the sound Soooooo to yourself.
Then slowly exhale from the base of the spine back up to the space between your eyebrows while silently saying the sound Hummmmmm.
Feel your awareness expanding and merging with your life force.
Continue breathing and repeating the So Hum chant silently in rhythm with your breath.
Breathing in Soooooo from the space between your eyebrows to the base of the spine.
And exhaling Hummmmmm, the breath moving from the base of the spine back to the space between your eyebrows.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now remain in your third eye and feel all sensation in your body. Welcome everything.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Remember an experience you have had of feeling disconnected, weak, powerless. Feel this in your body, but do not concentrate on its source. Feel the experience of feeling powerless as clearly as possible.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now allow the opposite feeling to rise—feeling powerful, connected, in the body and your entire mind. You are feeling powerful.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now welcome both feelings. Breathe in and out as you feel both powerless and powerful.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Remember an experience you have had of feeling confusion and numbness. Feel this in your body, but do not concentrate on its source. Re-create the experience of feeling confused and numb as clearly as possible.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now allow the opposite feeling to rise, feeling clarity and luminousness in the body and your entire mind. You are feeling clear and open, intuitive.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now welcome both feelings. Breathe in and out as you feel both confusion and clarity.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Begin to visualize yourself walking on a beach, your feet kissing the sand. You are breathing in and out slowly as you walk.
There’s a bonfire ahead of you, and you walk toward it.
When you arrive at the bonfire, there’s a warm glow from the flames. Feel this warmth in your cells.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now lie down on the sand. You’re deeply relaxed, the sand against your back. Total connection to the earth. The sound of the ocean—water. Your skin notices the fresh ocean breeze—air. And you feel the bonfire in every atom and cell of your being.
Open your senses to all of this. Feel how your body aligns with the frequency of earth, water, air, and fire.
Now, from this place of total relaxation and deep connection, where do you feel a yes in your body?
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Where do you feel a no?
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now how does it feel to feel both yes and no? Just notice. Be kind and gentle with whatever is rising as you hold both yes and no. You don’t need to put a story to it, just see how you feel.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
As you’re lying down, notice a yellow, sparkling light at your abdomen
—your gut. Let your entire digestive area fill with this yellow sparkle.
Imagine a bridge between your body and your soul. Begin to move from body into soul and notice how this feels. What does soul feel like to you?
Just notice. Let go of your thinking mind. Pay attention to sensation only.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
As you’re lying down in your soul, connected to your life force, opening to wisdom, notice an indigo sparkle in the space between your eyebrows.
The sparkle moves up to the crown of your head, turning white. Allow this white light to activate your internal power switch, sending healing to dissolve all shame, any parts of your body that have been betrayed, and all feelings of not being enough.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Welcome a new relationship with yourself as a woman.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now, from your position next to the fire, look up at the sky and see if there’s a healing message for you in the stars.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
You feel a glow in your heart, and you know everything is okay.
You are okay.
Feel this.
Be true to your feelings, whatever they are. Welcome them as you sit, completely empty of all thoughts, connected to your internal power switch.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Watch the fire, and slowly begin to imagine an emotion or habit or pattern that you are ready to release. It could be anger or fear. Or maybe it’s a behavior you want to release.
Feel this piece of emotional exhaustion in your body. Bless it, and then release it into the fire. Let it go.
Now watch what you’ve released burn as if you’re witnessing it like a movie. Notice all the sensations in your body as you watch it burning in the fire.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows. Remain deeply relaxed. Your breath is soft and at ease.
You’re in a safe container of tranquility, love, and deep silence. Feel and experience this.
You are free.
It’s here your Wild Woman emerges.
Feel her presence within you.
Completely let go of fear and anxiety.
Relax. Be wild. Be calm. Be free.
Feel this.
(Pause for 30 seconds.)
Repeat your intention three times.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Let it go to the deepest levels of your being. Trust that whether you know it or not, every cell, every atom, every part of you hears your intention and invites it to come toward you.
