So,
Welcome to Yoga Nidra with me,
Jan Raj.
And for Yoga Nidra,
Find a comfortable lying down position in Shavasana,
Making sure that your body is supported,
Maybe using a small cushion under the head.
Also maybe using a blanket on top of your body because your body temperature will drop.
So just take a few moments before we begin to find that really comfortable and supported position.
And once we begin,
I would ask you to see if you can allow the body to be completely still,
Finding the position and then letting go of the body.
So the guiding begins now,
And we will begin with a mantra to open up the space for this meditation.
ASAT HOMA SAT GAMAYA THAMASO MA JYOTIR GAMAYA MRITYOR MA MRITAM GAMAYA SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI So let this time be a shift from seeking the rewards of doing to receiving the grace of being.
So let's just start to practice by clarifying in your mind,
I am here.
So just go ahead and say it to yourself in your mind,
I am here.
And as you say that,
See what's going on in the inner landscape.
Notice any thoughts present right now.
Without changing anything,
Just noticing thoughts that might be present.
Noticing emotions.
Noticing the physical body.
And then turn your awareness or your attention towards your own breath.
And again,
Not changing anything,
Just becoming the witness of your own breathing.
And notice the quality of the breath right now.
Notice where you can sense the breath most clearly.
Maybe it's in your nostrils or the throat.
Deeper down in the chest or belly.
Or maybe it's just a felt sense of the body breathing right now.
And then slowly and gradually allowing the inhale to expand.
Filling the belly.
Filling the chest.
And at the same time,
Allowing each exhale to be complete.
And as you fill up more and more each round,
But still with no effort.
Very softly,
But with the intention of expanding the inhale a little bit each time.
Giving time for each exhale.
And next time you inhale,
Hold that breath for a moment on the inhale.
Open your mouth.
And just let go with a sigh.
So let's take one or two more of these.
Breathing in,
Expanding,
Holding for a moment.
And sighing out,
Letting go.
So our next step in this journey is to travel through the physical body with the awareness.
So your body will be resting in stillness and I will guide your awareness through the body.
I will mention different parts of the body and I want you to gently,
Yet directly,
Take your awareness to that part.
And that's all that needs to happen.
You don't need to try to relax or concentrate.
Just moving the awareness through the body.
Just start by taking the awareness to the top of the head.
Sensing that place,
The top of the head.
Forehead.
Shin.
Throat.
Right shoulder.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
Back of the hand.
Palm.
Right thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky finger.
Back of the hand.
Palm.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Right shoulder.
So the whole right arm from the shoulder to the fingertips.
The whole right arm.
And the awareness goes to the throat.
Left shoulder.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
Back of the hand.
Palm.
Left thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky finger.
Back of the hand.
Palm.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Left shoulder.
So the whole left arm from the shoulder to the fingertips.
The whole left arm.
Throat.
Chest.
Solar plexus.
Navel.
Lower part of the belly.
Pelvic floor.
So the whole front of the body from the throat to the pelvic floor.
The whole front.
Right hip.
Front of right thigh.
Kneecap.
Shinbone.
Ankle.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Pinky toe.
Sole of the foot.
Arch of the foot.
Heel.
Ankle.
Calf muscles.
Back of the knee.
Back of the thigh.
Right hip.
So the whole right leg from the hip to the toes.
The whole right leg.
And the awareness goes to the navel.
Left hip.
Front of left thigh.
Kneecap.
Shinbone.
Ankle.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Pinky toe.
Sole of the foot.
Arch of the foot.
Heel.
Ankle.
Calf muscles.
Back of the knee.
Back of the thigh.
Left hip.
So the whole left leg from the hip to the toes.
The whole left leg.
Now taking the awareness to the area between the shoulder blades.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Spine.
Tailbone.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
So the whole backside of the body with shoulder blades,
Spine,
Tailbone and buttocks.
The whole backside.
Throat.
Neck.
Back of the head.
Top of the head.
Forehead.
Right temple.
Left temple.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Area between the eyebrows,
Third eye.
Right eyelid.
Left eyelid.
Right eyeball deep in its socket.
Left eyeball deep in its socket.
Nose.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Both corners of the mouth.
Tongue.
The area under the tongue.
Throat.
Upper palate.
Gums.
Teeth.
Both jaws.
Shin.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Right ear.
Left ear.
So the whole head and the whole face.
The whole head and the whole face.
And now allowing to open up the awareness to the whole body at the same time.
All these parts,
But not as parts,
But as a whole,
As one.
Sensing the whole body from the top of the head to the soles of the feet.
The whole body at the same time.
The whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body is still and heavy.
Witnessing the stillness of the body.
And now take your awareness deep into your chest and connect with your heart.
As we start listening to the heart,
We can start hearing our deep heartfelt longing.
Our deep desire.
Something that is not from the mind,
Not from the shoulds,
But from a deeper place,
From the being.
So as you connect with your heart,
Just sense what is that longing of your heart right now.
What would you like to manifest for the coming period of your life?
Where would you like your life energy to go?
For example,
If you struggle with health,
Your deep wish and intention could be,
I am healthy.
So as you drop in and find that longing,
You create a simple sentence in the present tense in your own language.
And then repeating that sentence over and over again a few times.
So for a while now in silence,
Dropping in,
Connecting with the heart,
Sensing that deep longing,
Creating a simple sentence in the present tense with that longing as a fact.
It's not a vague wish,
It's a fact.
I am healthy.
And then just repeating the sentence over and over again.
And then very gently letting go of this sentence,
Allowing it to sink deeper inside your subconscious,
Knowing that this is a seed that will grow stronger and stronger until whatever it is that you wish for will fully manifest in your life.
Also knowing that later on we'll return to this deep intention.
And now take the awareness to your nostrils,
Sensing these really sensitive outer edges of the nostrils.
This is where the air comes in and where the air flows out.
So the air has always been here,
Not changing anything.
Just becoming aware of that flow of air in the nostrils.
Maybe you can sense the touch of air on your upper lip.
Or maybe you can sense it deeper inside the nostrils.
Or maybe you can just see that flow of air in your mind's eye.
Air that is coming in,
Air that is flowing out,
Over and over again.
Just becoming present with that flow of air in the nostrils.
And as you connect with that flow,
See if you can follow the air a little deeper inside.
So air comes in through the nostrils and up the nasal passages.
And then the air flows out,
Nasal passages,
Nostrils.
Just this part of the body for now.
Nostrils,
Nasal passages.
And then following the air even deeper inside.
Nostrils,
Nasal passages,
And then down the throat.
And when the air flows out,
Throat,
Nasal passages,
Nostrils.
And then following the air all the way down.
All the way down to the bottom of the belly.
Nostrils,
Nasal passages,
Throat,
Bottom of the belly.
We know the air doesn't go all the way down the bottom of the belly.
But in your mind's eye,
Just allow it to go all the way down.
Nostrils,
Nasal passages,
Throat,
Belly.
And then the air flows out through the belly,
Throat,
Nasal passages,
Nostrils.
So for a few moments,
Just be very,
Very present with this flow of air happening in your body.
Following that flow in and out.
Over and over again.
Keep following the flow of air.
But we're adding a countdown.
So when air comes in,
In your mind,
Clearly think 108.
When air flows out,
Same number,
108.
Next time air comes in,
Take away one number,
107.
And when the air goes out,
107.
So for a while,
Following the flow of air and counting down from 108,
The purpose is not to count as far as possible,
But to follow the air and see how long can I hold that count without losing it.
And if you notice you lose the count,
Just softly start over from 108 as many times as you need.
So following the flow of the air and counting down from 108.
Keep following that flow of air and counting down from 108.
So keep following the flow of air,
But let go of the countdown.
No more countdown.
No more countdown.
And as you follow that flow of air,
Can you sense the flow of air as a wave happening in your body?
Just allowing the sensation of breathing happening.
And now take your awareness to the area in front of your closed eyes.
And in your mind's eye,
Create a big black screen in front of your eyes.
Allowing this screen to become as big as it possibly can.
As we move into visualizations,
Just keep the awareness in this area.
And observe whatever wants to manifest.
As I will mention different objects,
Different places.
Something completely different could manifest for you.
Pictures,
Memories,
Insights.
More a sense of receiving than trying to understand or make sense of.
Just keep the awareness in this area and receive whatever comes.
Rainy streets in the city.
Holiday lights in the windows.
Footsteps in the snow on the sidewalk.
Gray trees with frost on the branches.
Cold winds.
Frozen ground.
People wearing warm jackets.
Snow silently and slowly falling.
The sun setting early.
So just let go of the pictures now and see whatever comes up.
And again,
Without trying to understand,
Just receiving.
And then in your mind's eye,
See how you start becoming really light.
So much so that you start floating up from your own body.
Knowing that it's completely safe to do so.
And as you float up,
Just turn around and see your own body resting beneath you.
See how beautiful and relaxed it is right now.
And then continue to float upwards through the ceiling of the building you're in right now.
So that you can see the building below you.
Knowing that in this building,
There is this room where my body is resting.
Keep floating even higher up into the sky.
Seeing the whole area.
The whole area with houses and buildings.
With this building,
With this room,
Where your body is resting right now.
Keep floating even higher up so that you can see the whole city.
With all the areas.
With this area.
With this house.
And this room where your body is resting right now.
Keep floating even higher up into the atmosphere.
So that you can see all the countries.
With this country.
With this city and this area.
And this building.
And this room where your body is resting.
And keep floating even higher up into space.
Where you can see all the planets around you.
Noticing this planet.
With all its countries and all its cities.
With all the areas and all the buildings.
Knowing that in this building,
In this room,
Your body is resting.
And as you are drifting deep in space.
One more time,
Connect with your heart.
And sense that deep longing once more.
And in this space,
Repeat that longing exactly the same words as before.
But this time even slower,
Even more intimate.
And notice that you feel each word of that sentence.
So for a while now,
Just repeating your deepest intention over and over again.
And then gently let go of that intention.
And allow yourself to sink even deeper.
Beyond the heart.
Beyond all thoughts.
Beyond all emotions.
Deeper and beyond your own personality.
Letting go of everything and resting as awareness in the state of Yoga Nidra.
Until I call you back with the help of my voice.
For it to return to the physical body.
Starting to sense the body from the inside.
Clarifying in your mind,
I am here.
I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
Becoming aware of the room that you are in right now.
And then allowing for a deeper inhale to happen,
Bringing some new energy into the body.
That new energy to start finding some movement in the physical body.
Maybe fingers,
Toes,
Jaws.
Whatever wants to wake up and start moving first.
I may be using more of these deeper inhales.
And then eventually maybe stretching the arms above the head,
Becoming really long.
And allowing for the body to,
In your own time,
Roll over to one side and rest for a few moments on the side.
And eventually slowly sitting back up.
And as you sit back up,
You can place your hands on top of the heart.
Ending this practice together by thanking yourself for your practice.
And thanking yourself for your presence.
