Some things don’t release easily because, at one time, they were essential. We bound ourselves to them not out of error, but out of necessity. As life unfolded, holding on was how we survived, how we made sense of what was happening. And so letting go, later on, can feel like real work, work that is shaped by memory, habit, and history. But letting go is always a response to the past. In the present moment, sometimes there is another possibility. When there is no immediate danger, we can pause. We can soften back into the position of witness and notice the impulse to grasp as it arises. Occasionally, quietly, almost unnoticed, we might discover that we don’t need to take hold at all. In those moments, not grasping becomes a gentle form of freedom. And often, it is far easier to refrain from grasping in the first place than to struggle to release what might otherwise become woven into the future.

@Cielo Vida a common protocol in the pranayama kosha of a yoga nidra is counting back from some arbitrary number. If you can engage your mind both in paying attention to the breath, the sensation on the nostrils, and at the same time keep track of the count, that might "distract" you from the anxiety. If that doesn't work, then try a larger number and count back in increments of seven. That will be more cognitively challenging. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I'm not sure if I should get up or not, and I hate looking at my alarm clock, so I will count back from 100. If I make it all the way to zero, then that's time to get up, but if I drift off, well, that's the point, and I get some extra sleep.

Letting go can be extraordinarily difficult. Part of the challenge is that while the desire for change appears in the conscious mind, desire alone is never enough. Letting go occurs only when all the parts that comprise the self and the many networks of the mind begin to move in concert. Even when we are not consciously aware of fear or apprehension, much of what prevents release is happening beneath the surface, because that is where the hanging on is actually occurring. As Ayla has noted, when parts of the self remain in a state of ongoing apprehension and are expecting the future to add more pain to what is already present, we become deeply stuck. This is precisely where Yoga Nidra shows its power. It provides a kind of lever that can gently loosen our expectations about the future by providing a path for our subconscious to follow. When the subconscious imagination’s grip on what is coming begins to soften, the whole system can gradually settle back into a natural sea of tranquillity. The essential point is that letting go requires work, but not the kind of work we can do consciously. Allowing Yoga Nidra to engage in this deeper, internal labour is not a shortcut; it is an appropriate and skilful response.

It was so nice to get back into a longer Yoga Nidra. ❤️🙏

Once you've landed on a Sankalpa that fits, that truly resonates, you'll notice two things: 1. You won't forget it 2. You won't have to change it (at least, not as often) ❤️🙏

Breath