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