Please get ready for yoga nidra.
Lie down in shavasana,
Feet slightly apart,
Arms beside the body with palms facing up.
Head in one straight line with the spine,
Eyes gently closed.
Adjust your blanket,
Clothes and position so you can practice yoga nidra without moving and with no physical discomfort.
Please keep your eyes closed and become aware of the whole body.
The whole body from the toes to the top of the head,
Seen mentally,
Felt mentally and relaxed completely.
The practice of yoga nidra is the act of hearing and feeling.
Once the practice begins,
Do not move your body.
Simply surrender the whole body to the floor.
Observe the body mentally,
Check each and every part of the body and if there is anything tight,
The clothes,
The belt,
The wrist watch,
Please loosen them and relax the body.
There should be no tightness in any part of the body because it will eventually divert your attention from the practice to the feeling of discomfort.
Surrender the whole body to the floor.
Relax the whole body.
Say to yourself mentally,
I am going to practice yoga nidra.
I will not sleep during the practice of yoga nidra.
Give yourself time to become calm and steady.
Breathing in,
Feel the calmness spreading throughout the body and breathing out,
Say to yourself mentally,
Relax and feel the tensions leaving the body.
Now become aware of the sounds in the distance.
Become aware of the most distant sound that you can hear.
Let your sense of hearing operate like a radar,
Searching out distant sounds and following them for a few seconds.
Move your attention from sound to sound without attempting to recognize the source.
Gradually bring your attention closer.
Bring your attention to closer sounds,
To sounds outside the building and then to sounds inside the building.
Move your mind from sound to sound.
Just listen.
Do not try to think about them.
Do not try to identify the source.
Like a microphone,
Make your mind sensitive to hearing all the sounds within the range of hearing.
Without opening the eyes,
Develop your awareness of the room.
Visualize the four sides of the room,
The ceiling,
The floor,
The body lying on the floor.
See your body lying on the floor in perfect relaxation.
Become aware of the existence of the physical body lying on the floor in perfect stillness.
Do not sleep.
Become aware of the body lying on the floor.
Awareness of the body in perfect stillness and in a state of relaxation.
Observe the breath.
Observe the breath.
Experience the breath within the nostrils.
As you breathe in,
Feel the coolness of the breath within the nostrils and as you breathe out,
Feel the warmth of the breath within the nostrils.
Complete awareness of the breath flowing inside the nostrils.
Deepen the awareness of breath by observing the temperature of air.
As it goes in,
It is cool and as it goes out,
It is warm.
Do not sleep.
Do not sleep.
Do not move the physical body.
Say to yourself mentally,
I am practicing yoga nidra.
Remind yourself that you are practicing yoga nidra and do not sleep.
Now is the time to make your sankalpa,
Your resolve.
Simple,
Positive resolve.
A simple sankalpa.
Please state your resolve with feeling,
Faith and awareness three times mentally.
Now we are going to rotate the awareness through different parts of the body.
You have to move your mind from one part of the body to the next as I name the different parts.
Repeat mentally the name of each part and simultaneously visualize that part in front of the closed eyes.
Become aware of that part,
Relax that part and then move on to the next part of the body.
The practice always begins with the right hand.
Right hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Four fingers and thumb together,
Palm,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Side ribs,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Five toes together,
The whole right side,
The whole right side,
The whole right side.
Now bring your awareness to the left side of the body.
Left hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Four fingers and thumb together,
Palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Side ribs,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Five toes together,
The whole left side,
The whole left side,
The whole left side.
Now bring your awareness to the back of the body.
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Right lower back,
Left lower back,
Right mid back,
Left mid back,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The neck,
The spinal cord,
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
The whole back,
The whole back,
The whole back.
Now bring your awareness to the front.
The forehead,
The forehead,
The forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow centre,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Bridge of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Tip of the nose,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Depression of the chest,
Navel,
Abdomen,
The whole front,
The whole front,
The whole front.
The whole right arm,
The whole right arm,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
The whole left arm,
The whole left arm,
The right leg,
The right leg,
The left leg,
The left leg,
The back,
The back,
The head,
The whole head,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Relax the whole body completely.
Become aware of the whole body completely.
The whole body lying on the floor.
Visualise the whole body in one thought,
In one glimpse.
Observe the whole body from the toes to the top of the head.
Complete awareness of the whole body from the top of the head right down to the toes.
The whole body,
The whole body.
Now you have to visualise the following objects as I name them.
Visualise the objects as I name them in your Chittakash.
Chittakash is the space in front of the closed eyes.
If I name the symbol of the rising sun,
Then mentally you have to visualise the image of the rising sun in your Chittakash as clearly as possible,
As colourfully as possible,
As vibrantly as possible.
And in this way you have to develop the images of the various objects and symbols as I name them.
Intensify your imagination and quickly follow the form of vision or awareness of the item being named.
As I name the various objects,
Intensify your imagination.
The rising sun,
The rising sun.
The rising sun behind the mountains.
The rising sun behind the mountains.
Blue sky,
Blue sky.
White clouds floating in the blue sky.
White clouds,
Golden clouds,
Orange clouds,
Pink clouds.
The setting sun,
The setting sun behind the ocean.
The sun reflecting on the waves of the ocean.
The sun reflecting on the waves of the ocean as it sets.
The golden waves,
The golden waves.
Blue waves,
Blue waves.
Many coloured clouds forming.
Twilight,
Starlit night,
Moonlit night.
Full moon,
Full moon.
A standing dog,
A moving elephant,
A racing horse.
A big pond with clear water.
Lotuses blooming in the pond.
Blue lotus,
White lotus,
Pink lotus.
A sandy bank of the river.
A sailboat on the river.
A bonfire burning on the banks of the river.
A bonfire.
Try to listen to the crackle of the fire.
Try to hear the crackle of the fire.
Chimney smoke rising from an old house.
A garden,
A garden with beautiful beds of flowers in it.
Roses,
Different coloured roses.
Pink rose,
Red rose,
Yellow rose.
Smell their fragrance.
Visualise the dew drops on the petals.
Visualise the dew drops on the petals.
Trees,
Trees.
A deep dark forest,
A deep dark forest.
Widespreading trees,
Tall stately trees.
Trees laden with leaves,
Trees without leaves,
Bare trees.
A small clearing in between the trees.
A small clearing in between the trees and a temple in the clearing.
A small temple with an aura of light around it.
Go to the door of the temple.
The door is locked.
You sit down on the floor in front of the closed door.
Close your eyes.
Visualise yourself sitting down in front of the closed door of the temple,
Closing the eyes and becoming still.
A sense of deep peace and harmony envelops you as you close the eyes.
As you are surrounded by the light radiating from the temple,
A sense of deep peace and harmony envelops you and the sounds outside fade into the distance.
You are in a meditative state.
Feel and experience the peace and the tranquillity.
Now bring your awareness back to Chittakesh.
Bring your awareness to the dark space in front of the closed eyes,
The space in front of the forehead.
Watch this space,
The inner space,
With detachment.
Do not become involved.
Rest your mind in this warm and friendly darkness.
If any subtle phenomena manifest,
For example colours or patterns of light or movements which emerge in the mental space of Chittakesh,
Simply observe them and continue with your awareness.
If thoughts occur,
Let them come and then go,
But you have to continue watching the dark space,
The warm space,
The friendly darkness.
Continue observing the Chittakesh with detached awareness.
Continue observing the Chittakesh with detached awareness,
Feeling and experiencing harmony,
Relaxation and peace.
Now repeat your resolve.
Repeat your resolve three times mentally.
The same resolve you made at the beginning of the practice,
Repeat it mentally using the same words and the same attitude.
Become aware of the resolve with feeling and with faith and repeat it mentally three times.
Now become aware of the breathing.
Become aware of the natural breath.
Experience the movement of the natural breath in the body.
Become aware of the arms and legs and of the body stretched out on the floor.
Become aware of the meeting points between the body and the floor.
Develop awareness of the room,
The sides of the room,
The ceiling,
The floor.
Develop awareness of noises in the room and noises outside the room.
Do not sleep.
Externalise the mind.
Do not open the eyes.
Externalise the mind.
Become aware of the outside environment.
Become aware of the outside sounds.
Gradually begin to move your body.
The toes,
Feet,
The fingers,
The hands,
The arms,
The head from side to side.
Take your time.
Do not hurry.
Do not open your eyes.
Simply move the body.
Take a deep breath in and stretch the whole body and then slowly and gently sit up using your elbows and only then open your eyes.
Practice of Yoga Nidra is over.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
