58. A Yoga Nidra for yoga teachers: Letting go

This powerful practice is taken from our recent Yoga Nidra & Yoga Wisdom training, and is inspired by the incomparable Tracee Stanley.

Grab anything you need to get comfortable, and grab your journal and a pen too as there's optional journal prompts at the end.

And above all, enjoy!

See the shownotes here

Join our next Yoga Nidra & Yoga Wisdom training here! 

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Transcript

 Hello and welcome to For Yoga Teachers. This podcast has been created to help yoga teachers teach with passion, avoid burnout, and earn a fair living. And to help you achieve all of those things.

Today we have a very special yoga nidra for yoga teachers focusing on letting go. So grab any props that you need to be as comfortable as possible. And grab your journal and a pen as well. Because there's some optional journal prompts at the end of this yoga nidra. Take your time to get totally comfortable. You could be laid on your back, on your side, on your front. You can even practice this in a chair as long as you're going to be safe. And take your time to get as comfortable as possible.

Starting by checking that all of the touch points between you and the earth are comfortable. Checking that your heels, your feet are comfortable,

that your sacrum, your coccyx

Your shoulder blades, the upper back, the arms are comfortable

and the back of your head.

And allowing your body to release heavily down through all of these touch points.

This letting go. becomes a process of getting heavier, of releasing the body, entrusting that the mind will follow,

a surrendering of the activity of your muscles,

a letting go of the weight of your bones.

If you could be even 1 percent more comfortable, go ahead, make that change, check that you are comfortable after the change,

and then make a commitment towards stillness, if that works for you.

And turning your attention to your natural breath.

we might have conditioning there that when we turn our attention to the breath, we start to control the breath.

If youre is all about letting go

so peacefully, calmly, compassionately, letting your body breathe.

But letting this body breath be your whole world, your whole focus,

letting your natural body breath absorb your attention,

as your muscles let go,

as your bones become heavier.

And then letting go of that observation of the breath, and just being here for a moment,

taking your attention to your toes, relaxing all of your toes, the left big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe, Fifth toe.

The right big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. And little toe. Relaxing all of your toes.

Relaxing the soles of both feet. The left foot. And the right foot.

Relaxing the inner ankles. And the outer ankles.

Relaxing the calf muscles on the left side. And the right side.

Relaxing both knees. Left knee. Right knee.

Relaxing both thighs. The left thigh. The front of the left thigh. The back of the left thigh and the muscles across the inner left thigh.

Relaxing the right thigh, the muscles across the front of the right thigh, the back of the right thigh, and the inner thigh muscles on the right side.

And seeing if you can let both thigh bones rest heavily. into your hip sockets.

Relaxing both sides of your pelvis,

the left hip, the right hip,

taking your attention to the back, the lower back, the middle back, the upper back,

the sides of the waist, the sides of the ribcage,

The tummy and the chest.

Relax both shoulders. The left shoulder and the right shoulder.

Completely relax both arms. All the way down the left arm. All the way down the right arm.

Relax both palms.

Both hands. all the way to the tips of the fingers.

Relax the neck,

relax your whole head,

softening the space between the eyebrows,

softening the lips and the teeth,

and just for a moment resting your awareness at the space between the collarbones.

Feeling the skin at the space between the collarbones

and spreading your awareness across the skin of your entire body,

noticing the skin of your entire body and expanding your focus. To feel the bones, the muscles, the organs, the connective tissues, holding your whole tangible focus in your awareness,

allowing your attention to drift to your energy body

Your subconscious mind,

the home of some scars, our habitual pathways,

and just be there in this new home of the energy body.

Noticing your energy body, and just connecting. Witnessing. Observing.

And when the time is right, allowing your internal attention to move to the mind body.

And just noticing what you notice.

As a neutral observer. A witness. Is there anything there in the mind body that just needs to be acknowledged, heard,

seen? And

when the time is right, allowing your attention to drift to the wisdom body. And this is where we will rest. in the wisdom body.

And while we are here in the wisdom body, ask yourself, where do you need to surrender in your life?

Ask your inner wisdom, where do you need to surrender in your life?

Asking your inner wisdom, where do you need to surrender in your life?

If it feels like an option, allowing your attention to drift to your bliss body.

The place inside you that is complete and whole and infinite. And pure, and free, and forever.

And staying connected with that sense of everlasting, unchanging bliss. Keeping that sense as we gently come out through the layers, the koshas. Keeping that connection to bliss.

And keeping that sense of surrender. As you revisit your wisdom body.

Is there anything that he wants to tell you?

And then moving to the mind body.

Is there anything there that needs to be heard?

Moving to the energy body, is there any energetic shifts? Anything that needs to be acknowledged? Having asked yourself where to surrender?

And keeping the connection to bliss, and perhaps the connection to all of the layers. Sensing into the tangible, physical body. That sense of letting go.

That sense of surrender.

Perhaps associating the sense of surrendering the physical body. With the sense of surrendering in your life.

Keeping the connection to a sense of bliss, everlasting bliss.

Let your attention rest at your heart.

The yogis believed that that everlasting bliss lives in the heart. Or at the heart centre. Resting your attention at the heart and listen.

While we are here at the heart, asking yourself, What does your heart long for? What does your heart long for?

With your attention resting at the heart, Ask yourself, what does your heart long for?

Keeping your connection to your sense of everlasting bliss, which might be at the heart.

Connecting with your physical body. Your physical body is relaxed and lying on the floor. You have been practicing yoga nidra.

Connecting all the way down with your toes. Connecting all the way out with the tips of your fingers. And connecting all the way up to the crown of your head.

And starting to breathe purposefully. The inhale, always an opportunity to come back into this present moment. And the exhale is always an opportunity to surrender.

When you are ready, starting to wiggle your fingers and your toes. And take that movement into your hands and into your feet. Taking whatever movements feel right for you, and eventually with no rush, no hurry whatsoever. Eventually you will make your way up to any comfortable seated meditation.

You might like to Take your journal and your pen and we'll have some questions in a moment. There is no rush. The

first question is, what does your heart long for? What does your heart long for?

The final prompt, it's a bit of a long one and I'll read it a few times. What distractions are you ready to release to empower your spiritual practice? What distractions are What distractions are you ready to release to empower your spiritual practice?

Let's read it one more time. What distractions are you ready to release to empower your spiritual practice?

And when you are ready, maybe starting to make your breath a little more energised, perhaps taking some circles of the wrists and the ankles, and transitioning back into your day. And I hope you have a beautiful day.