Yoga Nidra In The Tradition Of Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Yoga Nidra is a well-established practice, which enables us to relax deeply, recover from stress and prepare for sleep. It's said to help us recover up to 4 hours of sleep. At the same time, the practice helps us strengthen our intuition, as well as connect and orient ourselves towards our deep intentions.

Transcript

Welcome to this yoga nidra session. Find a comfortable pose on your back where you can be relaxed. Let the toes drop apart and the palms face up and close your eyes. Make any adjustments you need so your body feels completely comfortable. Now finding a pose in which you can stay for the next 20 minutes or so without having to make any adjustments. Also keep your eyes closed and take a deep breath in and with the exhale let go of the worries and thoughts of the day. In this practice you're going to develop the feeling of relaxation in the body and there's actually not nothing you have to do. You don't have to deliberately relax your muscles. Just develop the feeling of relaxation. That feeling when the body gets very heavy just before you go to sleep. Try to stay awake however during this practice. You can say to yourself, I will stay awake or remain awake throughout the practice. The only thing you need to do now is follow my voice. There's no need to intellectualize or analyze the instructions. Just go with it. If thoughts come and disturb you from time to time, Just let them be and continue the practice allowing yourself to become calm and steady. Bringing a feeling of inner relaxation to your body. Becoming aware of the stillness of your body. Feeling your body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes. As you feel your body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes, You can recite internally the mantra OM. Feeling the stillness of your whole body and reciting again OM. Being aware of your whole body. The whole body lying here. Bringing your awareness to the fact that you're practicing Yoga Midra and connecting with your resolve, Your intention. Let this resolve manifest naturally. See what comes up for you now. What's the intention for this practice and the intention you want to connect yourself with through the practice. Ideally this is a short positive statement. Then recite the statement in your mind three times. Repeat this resolve for three times. The resolve you make during your Yoga Midra practice is bound to come true in your life. You begin a rotation of consciousness, Of awareness through the different parts of the body. And we'll go rather quickly from one part to the next. And you can repeat the name of the body part and simultaneously bring awareness to that part of the body. Being alert but not putting too much effort into concentrating intensely. Become aware of your right hand, The right thumb, Second finger, Third finger, Fourth finger, Fifth finger, Palm of the hand. Become aware of your palm, The back of the hand, The wrist, The lower arm, The elbow, The upper arm, The shoulder, The armpit, The right waist, The right hip, The right thigh, The kneecap, The calf muscle, The ankle, The heel, The sole of the right foot, The top of the foot, The big right toe, The second toe, The third toe, The fourth toe, The fifth toe. Become aware of the left hand, The left thumb, The second finger, Third finger, Fourth finger, Fifth finger, The palm of the left hand, The back of the hand, The wrist, The lower arm, The elbow, The upper arm, The shoulder, The armpit, The left waist, Left hip, Left thigh, Kneecap, Calf muscle, The ankle, The heel, Sole of the left foot, The top of the foot, The big left toe, The second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe, Fifth toe. Become aware of your back, The right shoulder blade, The left shoulder blade, The right buttock, The left buttock, The spine, The whole back. Go to the top of your head, The top of the head, The forehead, Both sides of the head, The right eyebrow, The left eyebrow, The space between the eyebrows, The right eyelid, The left eyelid, The right eye, The left eye, The right ear, The left ear, The right cheek, The left cheek, The nose, The tip of the nose, The upper lip, The lower lip, The chin, Throat, Right chest, Left chest, The middle of the chest, The navel, The abdomen, The whole right leg, The whole of the left leg, Both legs together, The whole of the right arm, The whole of the left arm, Both arms together, The whole of the back, Buttocks, Spine, Shoulder blades, The whole of the front, Abdomen, Chest, The whole of the back and the front, The whole of the head, The whole body, Becoming aware of the whole body. Try to be aware and awake, Not moving, Becoming aware of your body lying on the floor. See your body lying on the floor. It's like you're visualizing your body lying here in this room. Becoming aware of your breath, Feeling the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs, Allowing your breathing to be natural, No effort, Complete awareness of your natural breath. Bring your awareness to the movement of the breath in the area of your navel. Feel your belly move with the exhale and the inhale, Expanding and contracting, Bringing your awareness to this movement. And then start to count your breath backwards from 27 to 1. 27, Navel rising, 27, Navel falling, 26, Inhaling, 26, Exhaling, 25, Inhale, 25, Exhale. Continue to say the words and the numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breath. If you lose track, Start again with 27. And then bring your awareness to your chest, Feeling the falling and the rising in your chest with every breath. And concentrate on the movement of your chest, Counting backwards from 27 to 1 again. Inhaling, 27, Chest rising, Exhaling, 27, Chest falling, Inhale, 26, Exhale, 26, Chest rising, 25, Chest falling, 25. Again, Repeat the words and the numbers mentally to yourself as you count. And if you lose track, You can just start again with 27. Be aware as you count, Moving your awareness to your throat, Coming aware of your breath moving in and out of your throat, And concentrate on the breath in your throat, Counting backwards again from 27 to 1, Being aware as you count, Being awake, Inhaling 27, Exhaling, Inhaling, Exhaling, 26, Inhaling, Exhaling, 25. And go ahead. Now letting your breath be, And we'll come to a visualization. A number of different things will be named and you should try to develop a vision of them on all levels. Emotions, Feelings, Awareness, Emotion, Imagination, As best as you can. If you're able to find this vision, Your relaxation is complete for the time being. Imagine a burning candle, Burning candle, An endless desert, Endless desert, Egyptian pyramid, Egyptian pyramid, Torrential rain, Torrential rain, Snow-capped mountain, Snow-capped mountain, Greek temple at sunrise, Greek temple at sunrise, Coffin beside a grave, Coffin beside a grave, Birds flying across the sunset, Birds flying across the sunset, Red clouds drifting, Red clouds drifting, Cross above a church, Cross above a church, Stars at night, Stars at night, The full moon, The full moon, A smiling Buddha, Smiling Buddha, Wind from the sea, Wind from the sea, Waves breaking on the desert sea, Waves breaking on the desert beach, The restless sea, The restless sea, Waves breaking on the desert beach. Now it's time to repeat your resolve from the beginning. Repeat the same resolve you found in the beginning three times. With full awareness, Relax all efforts and become aware of your breathing. Become aware of your natural breath, Aware of your whole body, Aware of your breathing, Aware of your body lying totally relaxed on the floor, Breathing slowly, Quietly, Developing awareness from the top of the head to the tips of the toes. And you can say Aum in your mind, Repeating two more times Aum, Becoming aware of the floor and the position of your body lying on the floor, Becoming aware of the surroundings in this room, Still lying with your eyes closed and very gently starting to move your body, Maybe your toes, Maybe your fingertips, Taking your time to wake up the body again. And when you're ready, When you feel like you're sufficiently awake, You can open your eyes and roll over to the right side and finish the practice of Yoganidra.

Reviews

An absolutely beautiful practice But I’ll need to listen again as I fell asleep about 2/3 rds through the meditation All my thanks Constanze

Shiny!! I'll leave more of a review when I stay awake longer listening!