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Sankalpa arises through stillness, inner listening, and the steady unfolding of practice. This guide offers reflections for Yoga Nidra teachers on how to hold space for Sankalpa with care - through presence, example, and trust in each student’s inner timing.
Sankalpa is a truth we return to – something remembered, already known.
In Yoga Nidra, it arises through stillness and listening from within when the body is at ease, the breath slows, and awareness gently begins to turn inward. From that place of quiet receptivity, a phrase may emerge, a feeling, or a wordless sense of knowing that has long waited just beneath the surface.
As teachers, we do not define it.
We hold space for it to surface.
We offer examples with care, as invitation rather than prescription.
Sometimes Sankalpa reveals itself with clarity.
Other times, it rests in the background - present, yet unspoken.
However it appears, it is already here - steady, whole, and woven into each student’s inner path.
This series offers one way to explore the inner arc of Yoga Nidra one stage at a time.
It is a path of deepening relationship where attuned listening helps shape the way forward.
May these reflections support your own remembering and nourish the spaces you hold for others to listen, rest, and trust what is quietly coming into view
Sankalpa is a a vow remembered from within.
In Sanskrit, Sankalpa means a vow (kalpa), rooted in essence (san).
Quiet. True. Already alive in you. Within each of us lives a quiet promise - a truth to return to, already present beneath the surface.
It is an authentic call to live from what is already true.
The Heart Remembers
Sankalpa often arises when the body is at ease, the mind settles, and awareness turns inward.
Like a seed resting beneath the surface, it begins to grow when the ground is receptive.
What truth is already alive in you is asking to be lived?
The Invitation of Sankalpa
It may offer:
- Inner alignment and clarity
- A felt sense of sincerity and direction
- Connection between body, breath, and being
- A deepening relationship with your essential nature
Sankalpa can arise as a phrase, a sensation in the heart, or a quiet knowing without words.
It becomes steady through sincerity.
It becomes luminous through trust.
Guiding Sankalpa
The heartspace becomes the ground.
Still. Luminous. Whole.
From this quiet center,
a phrase may begin to form.
Or a feeling may stir beneath the surface- clear, simple, free from language.
Some Sankalpas arrive like breath:
“I am whole.”
“I open to grace.”
“I trust the rhythm of life.”
Each one shaped by sincerity,
carried within the body like light.
When the phrase feels alive,
it may begin to echo inward -
repeating softly,
like a vow being remembered.
Let it settle.
Let it remain.
Inspired by The Book of Yoga Nidra Meditation Scripts - a companion for your voice, and the spaces you hold.
30 complete Yoga Nidra practices to support rest, clarity, and depth in teaching.
Available on Amazon.
