Yoga NIDRA: A prayer and meditation on loving kindness
This meditation was written and shared by Trained Spiritual Director Tonya Minton for YOGA NIDRA on February 21. You can watch/listen here or use the below meditation on your own or in groups. Please give credit to the author.
I invite you to stand and stretch your body, become as tall as you can and reach as high as you can. Reach as high as you can then reach down to the floor, this is light and easy stretch it is not intended to pull you out of your comfort zone. I invite you to move in an exploratory way, check in with your body by moving each of your parts in different way. Notice what feels good, where there might be some resistance, what area might feel fatigued. Ask yourself how do you come tonight?? Physically how do you come?? Emotionally how do you come?? Mentally how do you come tonight?? Spiritually how do you come tonight??
Take a few deeper breathes, allow those breathes to cleanse you. When you are ready come to a mountain pose where your feet are about hip distance apart and your hips are above your feet, shoulders are over your hips and your head is straight. Allow your arms to fall to your sides with palms facing out. close your eyes or soften your gaze if that is more comfortable for you. and bring your attention to your breath. slowly allow your breath to deepen, feel the breath as you pull it in to fill your abdomen and then feel your breath as it exits your body. continue this breathing. Feel your muscles relax, if you find one that is tense gently encourage the muscle to let go.
Tonight, we are going to be practicing loving kindness. This practice is beautiful during the month of February where we focus on love but this is also a practice that you can take with you into everyday life. This practice of loving-kindness is about cultivating love as a strength, a muscle, a tool that challenges our tendency to see people (including ourselves) as disconnected, statically and rigidly isolated from one another.
Loving-kindness is about opening ourselves up with compassion and equanimity, which is a challenging exercise, this practice requires us to push back against assumptions, prejudices, and labels that most of us have internalized.
All are welcome here, each and every one of you are welcome in this space as we practice together. You are here at exactly the right time at exactly the place with exactly the right people around you. Our yoga Nidra practice today is an opportunity for you to rest.
While you are taking these deep intentional breaths have some gratitude for yourself forgiving yourself this time and space to relax, renew, and recharge.
Let's go ahead and get into our position for Yoga Nidra, this might be laying down or a comfortable seated position. You want to be completely comfortable to where you will not feel the need to move around. Allow your arms and legs to be in a comfortable position and in invite your hand to be palms up in a posture of receiving.
Notice what the surface feels like that is holding you. Explore that feeling with your mind’s eye.
Notice the sensations inside the body and outside the body at the surface of
the skin… and then allowing the attention to include the sensations of breathing normally.
Our intention, goal, or prayer for tonight is loving kindness. spend a few moments with this intention, goal or prayer.
Picture God in your mind’s eye as clearly as you can. See every detail of God.
Say these words to God
May you be safe
May you be happy
May you be healthy
May you ride the wave of my life with ease
Sit with these words for a moment and know that your prayer has been heard.
Next, see yourself as clearly as you can. See every detail of you without any judgment, see yourself with the same grace and love you have for your very best friend.
Say these words to yourself
May I be safe
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I ride the wave of my life with ease
Survey your body from head to toe, however you come tonight is welcome. You cannot do this practice incorrectly, rest in this space.
Allow your attention to come to rest on the forehead
Become aware of the point between the eyebrows,
You may experience the point as skin, bone, or some other physical aspect
Or as a feeling, an awareness of energy such as a pulsing or vibration
You may see the point with your inner eye
Maybe you a point of light, like a blue star
You may hear sound or have a memory
You do not need to look for any of these experiences, but know they can arise
Be aware of your throat
You may experience it in some physical way or as a feeling or energy point
Look around with your inner eye, allow the
Point of light, blue star to illuminate everything for you
Be aware of your right shoulder
Allow any sensations to arise
Be aware of your right elbow
Any sensations are welcome
Simply observe without judgement what arises
Be aware of your right wrist
Be aware of the tip of your right thumb
Tip of your right index finger
Tip of your right middle finger
Tip of your right ring finger
Tip of your right little finger
Be aware of your right wrist
Be aware of your right elbow
Your right shoulder
Your throat
Your left shoulder
Your left elbow
Your left wrist
The tip of your left thumb
The tip of your left index finger
The tip of your left middle finger
The tip of your left ring finger
The tip of your left little finger
Be aware of your left wrist
Your left elbow
Your left shoulder
Your throat
Be aware of the center of your chest
Physical sensation, feeling, pranic sensation, point of light, blue star
Be aware of the right chest
Be aware of the center of your chest
Be aware of the left chest
Center of the chest
The navel
The Tailbone
The right hip
Allow any sensations to arise
The right knee
The right ankle
The tip of the right big toe
The tip of the right second toe
The tip of the right third toe
The tip of the right fourth toe
The tip of the right little toe
The right ankle
The right knee
The right hip
The tailbone
The left hip
The left knee
The left ankle
The tip of the left big toe
The tip of the left second toe
The tip of the left third toe
The tip of the left fourth toe
The tip of the left little toe
The left ankle
The left knee
The left hip
The tailbone
The navel
The center of the chest
The throat
The point between the eyebrows
(pause)
Say these words to yourself
May I be safe
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I ride the wave of my life with ease
Bring your attention to the center of your heart…
Repeat to yourself - May I be safe
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I ride the wave of my life with ease
You might find it hard at the beginning to say these words to yourself…and that’s
ok…try to imagine these words radiating from your heart to every cell in your
body.
Continuing reciting these phrases to yourself at a pace that keeps you focused
and alert.
Now bring to mind somebody you care about…a loved one, could be your
partner, a dear friend, or a family member… saying their name, imagining them in
front of you… feeling their presence ……starting to direct your loving kindness
towards this person and visualizing your words radiating from the center of your
heart to every cell in their body
Repeat May YOU be safe
May YOU be happy
May YOU be healthy
May YOU ride the wave of your life with ease
Continuing reciting these phrases to this person…
Now Bringing to mind somebody who is neutral to you…you do not have certain
feelings towards…neither positive nor negative…this could be the cashier at your
local grocery store… or the bus driver on your way home…or any other person… if
you know their name…saying it…. imagining them in front of you… feeling their
presence …starting to direct your loving kindness towards this person and
visualizing your words radiating from the center of your heart to every cell in their
body
Repeat May YOU be safe
May YOU be happy
May YOU be healthy
May YOU ride the wave of your life with ease
Continuing reciting these phrases to this person…
Now Bringing to mind somebody you have difficulty with…there is tension in the
relationship…or somebody you do not even like…this could be a colleague at work
or a family member… …saying their name…. imagining them in front of you…
feeling their presence …starting to direct your loving kindness towards this person
and visualizing your words radiating from the center of your heart to every cell in
their body
Repeat May YOU be safe
May YOU be happy
May YOU be healthy
May YOU ride the wave of your life with ease
Noticing if there’s a feeling of aversion, or indecisiveness, when seeing the
image of this person …. As you peel away the layers of
self, allow any negative emotions to arise, so that you can actively replace them
with Metta, loving-kindness.
Continuing reciting these phrases to this person…
Repeat May YOU be safe
May YOU be happy
May YOU be healthy
May YOU ride the wave of your life with ease
Continuing reciting these phrases to people…
And now if possible, directing your loving kindness towards people, animals, and plants in this
universe and including yourself …
Repeat May YOU be safe
May YOU be happy
May YOU be healthy
May YOU ride the wave of your life with ease
Continuing reciting these phrases several times, starting with God then you, then a loved one, then others, then the whole world.
And slowly bringing your attention back to your body and bringing with you the
feelings of kindness, happiness, love, wellbeing, and compassion…
move your fingers and toes.
Begin to move your arms and legs, awakening them gently.
Slowly move however you wish as you integrate the experience of Loving Kindness Yoga Nidra into your waking state.
Bring that deep Loving kindness with you. Keep it with you and resolve to return to this state of loving kindness often. Slowly come to a sitting position keeping your eyes closed or softly focused.
I have some scripture to share with you tonight.
Matthew 28:37-40 - Common English Bible
He replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. and the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the law and the prophets depend on these two commands.
It all starts here with loving God, and it goes out from that point. We start by loving God who loved us so much. Here we are now returning that love and then sharing that love with ourselves by talking kindly and having grace for ourselves. Then we share that love with our neighbors. We can't skip over ourselves because if we are not talking love and kindness to ourselves then how can we possible talk loving kindness to our neighbors??
Thank you for joining us tonight. as you open your eyes and carrying these feelings of loving kindness with you to share it with others.
Amen