by Karen Brody
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now affirm the following statements. Listen deeply, and feel each statement in your body. Let the feeling come from your heart.
(Pause for 5 seconds after each statement.)
•I am a free-flowing river—connected, powerful, and robust.
•I release what does not serve me and realize my full potential.
•I am connected to my inner knowing at all times.
•I hear my Wild Woman, and my heart is always open to receiving her.
Now notice a circle of women surrounding you.
This is your Council of Women. They can be women you know or women you don’t know. They can be living or have passed on. They are mentors, guides, seers.
Welcome whomever arrives. Receive their love and sisterhood.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Know you are never alone. You are supported and connected to their love.
If you have a question that you need guidance on, ask them now.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
As they leave, fill your heart with a smile. Notice how this feels.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Take a deep breath in through your heart. Follow your breath and see where it lands in your body.
Wherever the breath arrives, see if there’s an image, word, or phrase that’s being whispered to you. This is your soul whisper.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Whatever you receive, be curious and openhearted. Vow to honor your soul whisper.
See it.
Listen deeply.
Now notice how you feel.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Repeat your intention again three times.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Imagine your intention happening. Allow it to spread throughout your body and then to all the open space around you—and to infinity.
Ever so slowly, begin the process of waking up, first noticing what body part wishes to move first and then beginning to move from this place.
Tiny movements.
Staying safe and cozy and relaxed.
Moving at your own pace, when it feels right.
And as you’re moving, being aware of your body, back and front of the body, right and left sides, above and below—your whole body.
And beyond your body. How far beyond your body can you feel into?
You’re slowly transitioning out of yoga nidra. The breath is slow and peaceful. Your mind is relaxed. It’s quiet.
Take a few more moments to notice how it feels in your body to be quiet.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now, if it feels right, bend your knees and bring them to your chest. Rock side to side, eventually moving to your right side, curled in a fetal position, arms crossed like you’re hugging yourself. Or if you’re sitting, you’re bending forward, your arms hugging yourself.
Be aware of how deeply you now know yourself again—your true authentic self—the Wild Woman—the woman with her internal power switch on—the woman who knows she’s worthy and enough—and who chucks perfect, always.
If you’re waking up, start to sit up, open your eyes. If you’re continuing on to sleep, enjoy sweet, cozy dreams.
This completes yoga nidra.
Be good to yourself.
Phase Three: Rise Meditation
Time: Approximately 40 minutes
Close your eyes and begin to quiet your mind—for peace of mind.
It’s time to transition from busyness to ease, from time-bound to timeless.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
This is your time to dare to rest.
Allow yourself to begin to relax.
Become aware of all sounds. Start with distant sounds. No straining—just notice the sounds you hear outside.
Then begin to pull back, toward the room you’re in, and listen for sounds closer to you. Keep drawing your attention inward, aware of sounds, until you’re inside your body.
Notice any sounds inside your body.
Be still.
(Pause for 5 to 10 seconds.)
From here, visualize the space you’re in. See yourself lying down or sitting in this space, practicing yoga nidra.
The position of your body . . . the expression on your face . . . your clothes . . . your hair. Like a movie . . . visualize yourself practicing yoga nidra.
Take a deep breath in. And exhale, releasing tension all over your body.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
And now take another deep breath. Breathing in. And out, releasing stress and worry.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Let go. Let the ground or the chair hold you.
Allow your inhalations and exhalations to become longer and slower, without effort, moving into a slow, rhythmic breath.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
During yoga nidra, stay awake and alert. Follow the guidance of this voice at all times.
Remain relaxed.
There’s nothing to do, nowhere to be.
Permission to rest is now granted.
You’re entering the yoga nidra cave. It’s time to dare to rest and go within.
Now repeat your intention with your full awareness three times, feeling it in every part of your body. It should be short, in simple language that’s true to you, and in the present tense.
Maybe your intention is a big dream, maybe not. Whatever it is, open to it.
Spend a few moments feeling your intention.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now begin by bringing your awareness to
the right-hand thumb,
index finger,
middle finger,
ring finger,
little finger,
palm of the hand,
back of the hand,
wrist,
forearm,
elbow,
upper arm,
shoulder,
armpit,
pubic bone,
right hip,
thigh,
knee,
calf,
ankle,
heel,
sole of the right foot,
top of the foot,
right big toe,
second toe,
third toe,
fourth toe,
and fifth toe.
Now moving to the left side of the body, starting with
the left-hand thumb,
index finger,
middle finger,
ring finger,
little finger,
palm of the hand,
back of the hand,
wrist,
forearm,
elbow,
upper arm,
shoulder,
armpit,
pubic bone,
left hip,
thigh,
knee,
calf,
ankle,
heel,
sole of the left foot,
top of the foot,
left big toe,
second toe,
third toe,
fourth toe,
and fifth toe.
Now bringing your awareness to the back of the body,
right heel,
left heel,
right calf,
left calf,
right thigh,
left thigh,
right buttock,
left buttock,
lower back,
middle back,
upper back,
the whole spine,
right shoulder blade,
left shoulder blade,
back of the neck,
back of the head,
top of the head,
forehead,
right temple,
left temple,
right ear,
left ear,
right eyebrow,
left eyebrow,
space between the eyebrows,
right eye,
left eye,
right nostr
il,
left nostril,
right cheek,
left cheek,
upper lip,
lower lip,
the space where both lips meet,
chin,
jaw,
throat,
right collarbone,
left collarbone,
right side of the chest,
left side of the chest,
right breast,
left breast,
middle of the chest,
upper abdomen,
navel,
lower abdomen,
right ovary,
left ovary,
uterus,
cervix,
vagina,
the entire pelvic floor,
the whole right leg,
whole left leg,
whole right arm,
whole left arm,
the whole face,
whole head,
whole torso,
and the whole body.
Become aware of your whole body.
Bathe in sensation.
Feel your whole body.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Rest here. Notice sensations that arise.
What are you gestating?
A creative project?
A baby?
A business?
Surround what you are gestating in light, keeping it as sacred in your womb.
Breathe in slowly, and as you breathe out, release anything you need to clear your womb space so that you may welcome what you’re gestating even more, so you may rise up to this new birth.
Feel this.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
And now bring your awareness to the space between your eyebrows.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Breath and body, one movement.
Breathe in and out on the left side of your body three times.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now breathe in and out on the right side three times.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Breathe in and out in front of your body three times.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Breathe in and out in back of your body three times. Feel all boundaries of the body dissolving.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
Bring your awareness to the base of your spine. Breathe in and out the color red from the base of your spine.
Slow inhalations and even slower exhalations.
Breathing in and out red from the base of your spine.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now move to your sacral area, and breathe in and out a deep orange color from the sacrum.
In, and out, slowly.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Moving up to your digestive area, your abdomen, breathing in and out the color yellow.
Breathing slowly, steady, in . . . and out.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now breathing from your heart the color green, in and out, slowly.
Allow the breath to be rhythmic, a beautiful green color flowing in and out from your heart.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
On your next inhalation, move into your throat, and begin to breathe in and out a vibrant blue.
In . . . and out.
Noticing sensation as you breathe.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now moving to the space between your eyebrows, begin to breathe in and out a deep, dark blue-violet, indigo, from this space.
Breathing in indigo and out indigo.
Notice the flow in and out.
Relax.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
On the next inhalation, move up to the top of your head, and here breathe in white light for several breaths.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Now begin to breathe the white light through your entire body.
A healing white light, moving into all parts of your body.
Your body filling with white light.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Notice sensation in your body. Your senses are wide open.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Start counting backward from twenty-one to one, like this:
Twenty-one, I am breathing in.
Twenty-one, I am breathing out.
Twenty, I am breathing in.
Twenty, I am breathing out.
Continue at your own pace, from twenty-one to one. If you lose count, return to the beginning.
(Pause for 30 seconds.)
Breathing slowly, counting down to one.
(Pause for 20 seconds.)
Counting and breathing.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Stop counting. Notice sensation in your body.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
Begin to feel your body is light as air.
Your head, light as a feather.
Neck, light as a feather.
Shoulders, light.
Arms, light and relaxed.
Chest and abdomen, light.
Your ovaries, light as a feather.
Uterus, light. Your hips, light and airy.
Both legs and feet, light.
Your whole body, light, like it’s floating.
Feel this.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
And now bring a sensation of heaviness to your body. Your body feels heavy, as if it’s sinking into the floor.
Each body part heavy, from head to toes.
Bring heaviness to your whole body.
Immerse yourself in feeling heavy.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
And now feel both light and heavy.
How does it feel to feel both at the same time?
Just notice. Don’t think your way—feel your way.
What sensations are you feeling when you hold both?
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
Notice how the following statements feel in your body. Be sure to not think your way, but instead feel your way:
“I am unworthy.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
“I am worthy.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
“I am not enough.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
“I am enough.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
“I strive for perfection.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
“I let go of perfection.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
“I feel shame.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
“I feel no shame.”
Feel this. If you need to, bring up a memory. And then drop the memory and stay with the feeling.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
In this state of deep relaxation, begin to visualize yourself in a golden temple, a sacred space on a mountaintop.
You’re lying down, in a deep state of peace and tranquility. No fear, no anxiety, completely at rest.
If there are any areas of tension in the body, release the tension now. Release until you feel completely at ease.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Your whole body is empty.
Now you get to decide what creative energy you want to bring into it. Bring your awareness to your womb. Allow this creative energy to start in the womb and then go to a
ny area of the body that needs healing.
This energy may be something specific, like a creative idea, or not. It’s creative energy you want to give your well-rested woman, to help her dream big.
Take a moment to let this creative energy make itself known as a color. Bathe your whole body and beyond your body, into infinity, in this color.
Don’t think your way—feel.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
Witness yourself with this new creative energy.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
Now bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows and do absolutely nothing.
Be still.
Here you are turning on your internal power switch. Feel your Wild Woman arrive.
(Pause for 5 seconds.)
Now feel grace—be grace.
Relax and completely let go into the deepest peace.
(Pause for 30 seconds.)
From this peaceful place, bring your intention into your awareness.
Repeat your intention now three times to yourself. Feel it deep in your entire being, like an intravenous drip flowing into all parts of you.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Repeat the following affirmations. (Pause for 5 seconds between each affirmation.)
•I am a Wild Woman.
•I am well rested.
•I dream big from a well-rested place.
Now notice a circle of women surrounding you.
This is your Council of Women. They can be women you know or women you don’t know. They can be living or have passed on. They are mentors, guides, seers.
Welcome them. Receive their love and sisterhood. And perhaps guidance, if you need it.
(Pause for 15 seconds.)
Know you are never alone. You are supported and connected to their love.
As they slowly leave, fill your heart with a smile.
Take a deep breath in through your heart. Follow your breath and see where it lands in your body.
Wherever the breath arrives, see if there’s an image, word, or phrase that’s being whispered to you. This is your soul whisper.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
Whatever you receive, be curious and openhearted. Vow to honor your soul whisper.
See it.
Listen deeply.
Now notice how you feel.
(Pause for 10 seconds.)
