Yoga Nidra: Your Divine Radiance

Connect with your inner divinity through passages from the Radiance Sutras, evoking the beauty of your true nature. This session invites you to relax and reconnect with vast consciousness, cultivating love for self as the basis for love of others. Through a body scan, breath awareness, and simple but potent imagery, embrace your divine essence and find peace within.

Let this practice be a small yet profound pause in your day, helping you rediscover the beauty of your inner light.

Transcript

This Yoga Nidra features passages from a beautiful work called the Radiant Sutras.

These teachings illustrate a sacred dance between Shiva and Shakti,

The divine partners who symbolize the balance of the universe,

The masculine and the feminine.

In this journey together,

The invitation is to contemplate,

Perhaps experience directly,

The divinity that permeates your whole body and being,

Right now,

At this very moment.

We'll also include a Sankalpa,

A statement of intention.

In Sanskrit,

The word comes from San,

Meaning a connection with the highest truth,

And Kalpa,

Meaning vow.

A Sankalpa is a short yet resonant statement of your deepest truth,

Aligning you with your purpose,

Expressed in your own words,

In your own language,

Or perhaps an image or a deep feeling.

It often begins with I am,

Or I trust,

As in I am healthy,

Or I trust my innate wisdom,

Or I am divine exactly as I am.

You will be invited to recall your Sankalpa at moments during this Nidra,

However it appears to you,

Trust its presence,

And invite it in.

So let's begin.

Welcome to your Yoga Nidra.

We dedicate the fruits of this practice to the universe and all its beings,

And the collective wisdom.

May we rest in our inner knowing and feel peace within.

Getting fully settled,

Perhaps laying down or seated,

Arranging yourself so you feel supported with a deep sense of comfort,

Trust,

And letting go.

Make any last adjustments to give yourself a supreme level of relaxation.

In the space of Yoga Nidra,

The practice encourages sleeping body,

Awake mind.

If you do fall asleep,

Trust your body received exactly what it needed in this session.

If however,

You'd like to stay with my voice throughout this practice,

I invite you to bend one arm at the elbow and point your fingers towards the sky.

This will help you stay within the ideal space to receive your Yoga Nidra.

Resolve to stay present.

Resolve to stay aware through this practice.

If you haven't already,

I invite you to close your eyes.

And as you soften into the earth beneath you,

Know you are welcome here.

Welcome in this space.

Welcome on this land.

Fully welcome.

And whatever arises within,

Be it sensations,

Emotions,

Thoughts,

Images,

Visions,

Or any distractions come,

Any sounds,

Sensations,

Let it all be here with a sense of welcoming.

An invitation to come even deeper within.

Knowing all along you are safe within this space.

Give yourself full permission to simply move through this practice in any way that feels good for you.

There are no pressures.

No demands placed on you to be any other way than who you truly are.

This practice is to support your body's deepest healing wisdom.

Allow all expression to melt from your face.

Tiny expressions let go.

Eyeballs sink into their sockets.

Mouth,

Cheeks sliding down with gravity.

Release the jaw.

Let your tongue rest in your mouth.

And as your face releases,

Notice how your whole body responds.

Take a full breath in,

Filling the lungs completely.

And with a sound,

Release out.

Whatever sound emerges,

Let fully go.

Inhale and allow for an audible release.

Sinking deeply into the earth.

And again,

Inhale and release with sound.

Continue to breathe normally.

And with every exhale,

Give your weight to the earth.

It takes no effort for the earth to hold you.

Sense the connecting points of your body with Mother Earth's body.

You can trust she will hold you.

Feel yourself beginning to enter a deeper level of stillness.

As we continue this yoga nidra,

Simply allow your body to respond non-mentally and directly to my words,

Without any interference from the mind.

Shift from thinking and doing to feeling and being.

Allow yourself to feel the safety and ease of your inner sanctuary.

This place within where you can never be touched by outside influences.

A space where you are held in peace and protection.

Know you can call on your sanctuary in a moment's notice.

And we will now invite your sankalpa,

Your inner intention.

This is a way of being that is born of your heart.

Just as a seed is planted in the bountiful soil of the earth,

Plant your intention to be seeded in the fertile ground of your own being.

Let your being receive the echo of your words,

Or your sense,

Or an image.

Allow what comes to you naturally,

Or simply rest back in trust of your soul's deepest knowing.

And then letting that go.

Forget all of your ideas about the body,

It's this way or it's that way.

Just be with any area of it,

This present body,

As permeated with limitless space,

Drenched in freedom.

Now let your attention rest on each body part as it's named.

Imagine the outlines and shapes of each glowing with sensation.

Bring your undivided attention to the inside of your mouth,

Ears,

Nose,

Eyes,

Forehead glowing with sensation,

Scalp,

Neck,

Throat glowing with sensation,

Chest,

Navel,

Pelvis,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Your whole spine glowing with sensation,

Right shoulder,

Right upper arm,

Right elbow,

Right lower arm,

Right wrist,

Right palm of the hand glowing with sensation,

Right fingers,

Spaces between the fingers,

Whole right arm glowing with sensation,

Left shoulder,

Left upper arm,

Left elbow,

Left lower arm,

Left wrist,

Left palm of hand glowing with sensation,

Left fingers,

Spaces between the fingers,

Whole left arm glowing with sensation,

Right hip,

Right thigh,

Right knee,

Right lower leg,

Right ankle,

Right sole of foot,

Right toes,

Spaces between the toes,

Whole right leg glowing with sensation,

Left hip,

Left thigh,

Left knee,

Left lower leg,

Left ankle,

Left sole of foot,

Left toes,

Spaces between the toes,

Whole left leg glowing with sensation.

Now bring your attention to the middle of the chest.

Become aware of the heart center glowing with sensation.

Feel the heart center open.

Now expand your attention to each and every part of the body,

One cohesive being glowing with sensation.

This body is made of earth and gold,

Sky and stars,

Rivers and oceans masquerading as muscle and bone.

Every substance is here,

Diamonds and silver,

Magical elixirs,

Ambrosia that gives visions,

Herbs that nourish and heal,

The foundation of the planet,

Immortal magnetic iron circulating in the blood.

Every element in you loves the others,

Earth loves rain,

Sky loves sun,

Sun loves the space it shines through,

Space loves everyone equally.

In meditation,

Luxuriate in knowing this deep and simple truth,

Every cell is an organ of sense infused with majesty.

Now become aware of the body breathing,

The flow of the breath as sensations in the nostrils,

The abdomen gently rising as breath flows in and releasing as breath flows out.

No need to change anything,

The body breathing naturally and rhythmically.

In breath,

Abdomen rising,

Out breath,

Abdomen releasing.

No need to change anything,

The body breathing itself.

In breath,

Abdomen rising,

Out breath,

Abdomen releasing.

The in breath flowing in,

Abdomen rising.

The out breath flowing out,

Abdomen releasing.

Breath flows in,

Breath flows out.

Notice how breath flows in and out without any effort from you.

No need to do anything,

The body breathing itself.

Body breathing is the flow of the divine,

Where the rhythms of life turn into each other,

The eternal exchange.

Pour one breath into the other,

Out breath into the in breath,

Into the out breath.

Awaken to equanimity,

At peace in the play of opposites.

As we continue our journey,

We will now experience opposing sensations.

Simply allow all experiences to move through without preferences,

Labels or judgment.

By remaining a witness to this experience,

You are releasing your identification with any pre-programmed thoughts and feelings.

You are also activating your innate ability to regulate yourself,

Including your reactions and responses.

Experience the sensation of heaviness.

Heaviness on or within the body.

Now experience lightness.

Allow lightness to present itself on or within the body,

Welcoming the opposing feeling of lightness on or within the body.

Locating again any sensation of heaviness on or within the body.

Then sensing lightness.

Sensation of heaviness.

Then lightness.

Heavy.

Light.

Heavy.

Light.

Now experience both sensations on or within the body,

Both heaviness and lightness at the same time,

Without thinking or analyzing,

Simply experiencing and welcoming how doing this affects your body and mind.

Watch for a moment in which two opposing perceptions occur,

Wanting to go and not going,

Knowing and simultaneously not knowing.

In the midst of this dilemma,

Let go of both perceptions and jump into the interval in between.

Reality flashes forth.

Your being is the shining field of awareness,

The continuum in which the opposites play.

Rest your gaze at the middle of your forehead,

Your third eye center.

Go to a wide open space,

Gaze without looking anywhere.

The mind stops its building of thoughts and rests on its own foundation,

Immensity.

The light that you see by is the light that comes from inside.

In this space of integration,

You are witness to all that is happening but doing nothing to make it happen.

Meditate on the Self as being vast as the sky,

A body of energy extending forever in all directions,

Above,

Below,

All around.

In the embrace of infinite space,

Awaken to your true form,

Divine creative energy revealing herself to you.

Delight in this entire universe as permeated with divine awareness and every area of your body,

Your feet,

Your face,

Your shoulders made out of divine awareness.

The body of the planet beneath you,

Out beyond the farthest horizons,

The stars and the reaches of space are all arising from God-consciousness.

Know this and dissolve into peace.

Within this space,

Your sanctuary,

With connection to divine awareness,

Your deepest heartfelt intention is actualized and fulfilled with ease.

Reconnect with your Sankalpa,

Your inner intention.

This is a way of being that is born of your heart.

Plant your intention to be seated in the fertile ground of your own being.

Receive your intention in whatever form it appears to you and allow what comes to you naturally trusting your soul's deepest knowing.

Allow it to resonate within you.

Wherever your heart journeys,

On whatever expedition in your outer life and secret inner realms,

Breathe in intimacy with infinity.

Where can you go to avoid the one in whom all exists?

Reach down into your deepest being.

Take a stand in eternity.

Walk through this world,

Seeing every situation as an expansion of the mystery.

Savor the tremble of recognition.

The God in you is touching the God out there.

Sense yourself slowly rising to the surface of waking awareness.

Become aware of your body resting on the surface beneath you.

Notice the rise and fall of your breath.

Feel the air gentle on your skin.

Notice the quality of your thoughts.

Observe perhaps how they are a little softer,

A little quieter than before.

Slowly,

Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.

Send a breath to wherever in your body needs more energy,

More life.

Bring your intention back into your awareness again.

Repeat it silently to yourself three times.

This way of being born of your heart.

Feel it echo through your whole body,

Or simply trust your heart and soul's deepest knowing.

Now feel free to gently move and stretch and yawn in your own time,

And to slowly begin to sit up with your eyes remaining closed.

Whenever you are ready,

While opening your eyes,

Allow your soft gaze to gently rest on anything around you that brings a sense of pleasure and delight,

A sense of the divine.

Let that sense reverberate through your whole being,

As you remain connected to a deep feeling of peace and contentment.

Slowly move your eyes and head as you orient yourself back to the space around you.

Sensing your body grounded and connected with the surface,

The earth beneath you,

Easing into your day or evening,

Take this experience of peace and calm with you.

Your Yoga Nidra is now complete.

We come in peace.

We go in peace.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.