Welcome to your Yoga Nidra practice.
This is your guide Ganshi and I am grateful that you have taken this time to be here today.
Yoga Nidra is a powerful technique of conscious rest.
Think of this guided meditation as a complete reset for your body and mind,
Arriving into a state of deep relaxation through layers of your consciousness.
This recording focuses on the Manipura Chakra,
The solar plexus,
Which is your center of power,
Clarity and self-confidence.
As you rest,
We connect to the fire that sits within you,
The fire of transformation and the strength of your willpower.
Come to lie down comfortably on your back,
Resting in Shavasana,
Arms slightly away from the body and palms open facing the sky.
Allow the legs to relax and the feet to turn outward naturally.
Notice the shape of your body on the surface underneath you.
Looking for symmetry and balance.
Make any small adjustments that you need so you can feel fully at ease.
Adding support if you wish,
A blanket under the knees,
A thin pillow beneath your head or an eye mask for the eyes.
Take a deep breath into the belly and exhale softly.
Start by telling yourself mentally,
I am now going to begin the practice of Yoga Nidra.
I will stay awake and aware.
I will be completely still.
I will avoid thinking and analyzing.
Instead,
I will focus on relaxing,
Experiencing and enjoying.
I will keep following all instructions.
Start by tensing and relaxing the body.
As you breathe in,
Scrunch your face to tighten the facial muscles,
Tightening the limbs all the way to the fingertips and the toes.
Tightening the chest,
Stomach and buttocks all at once and holding your breath consciously to create maximum tension for a few moments in every muscle of your body.
And then release,
Letting go of the breath completely.
Taking a few deep breaths in and out.
And enjoying that feeling of relaxing as you exhale.
And now for the second time,
As you inhale,
Tighten your face,
Arms and legs,
Chest,
Stomach and buttocks.
Really feel the tension building up in every muscle,
Every corner of your body as you hold your breath and maximize the tension.
This time sending all your mental frustrations and worries into the physical body.
And then letting go.
Taking a couple of deep breaths without tensing to help you let go further as you exhale.
Know that you can let go mentally as easily as you can let go physically.
From now on there will be no further movements.
So if you wish to make any adjustments,
Please do so now and feel perfectly comfortable and relaxed for the rest of your yoga nidra practice.
Start by taking your awareness outside and listening to all the sounds around you and in this recording.
Listening without thinking of the cause or the origin of these sounds.
Simply hearing as if you are listening to noises or music.
As if you are mentally imitating the sound.
Stretch your awareness out like a radar,
Picking up on the softest,
Most subtle and far away sounds.
In this moment ask yourself,
Am I awake and aware?
If your mind begins to wander and think of other things,
Realize what has happened and know that it is okay.
It's normal.
But as soon as you realize that your mind has drifted off,
Bring it back to listening.
Listening to my voice.
Keep bringing it back to simply listening.
And listening very carefully.
Observing the gaps between the sounds and the sound of silence itself.
Feel your body resting against the floor and the contact points between the body and the ground underneath.
Feel the back of the heels,
Legs,
Buttocks,
Hands and arms,
Shoulders and the back of the head.
Observing the force of gravity pulling your body towards the floor and surrendering.
Surrendering to the force of gravity as the weight of your body presses down against the surface of the earth.
Now bringing your attention to the heart space and in this moment of stillness inviting a sankalpa,
A simple and positive intention or resolve.
Choosing something that connects you to your inner strength,
Clarity and confidence.
If you don't have a personal sankalpa that you are working with at the moment,
You can choose one of the following resolves for this practice.
I am strong and confident.
My inner fire guides me and I trust my decisions.
From the depth of your being,
Repeat your sankalpa silently in your mind three times with full faith and conviction.
Knowing that the sankalpa made in your yoga nidra practice will become a reality as you mentally speak it,
See yourself already living it.
Planting a seed into the quiet soil of your being and letting it rest there gently.
Notice how you feel after making your sankalpa.
Now begin to bring your awareness into the body as we move through rotation of consciousness.
Stay still and simply feel each part of the body as I name it.
Allow it to relax from the inside and let it soften.
Start with the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle,
Ring,
Little finger,
Inside of the palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip joint,
The entire length of the thigh,
Knee joint,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Heel,
Right big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Sweeping your awareness up and down the right side of your body,
Relaxing and refreshing the right half of your body.
And now shifting your awareness to the left side,
Starting with the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle,
Ring,
Little finger,
Inside of the palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip joint,
The entire thigh,
Knee joint,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Heel,
Left big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Sweeping your awareness up and down the left side of the body,
Relaxing and refreshing the left half of your body.
In this moment check in with yourself.
Am I awake and aware?
Now bringing your awareness to the front,
To the top of your head and begin to feel the sensation here,
Like a gentle hand resting lovingly over your head.
The same hand gently stroking your forehead,
Wiping away all your worries,
Relax the eyebrows and the space in between the eyebrows.
Feel the left eye and the right eye softening and sinking into the sockets,
Left cheek and right cheek becoming loose.
Left ear and right ear,
Top lip and bottom lip slightly parted,
Letting go of tension.
The tongue becoming soft at the base of the mouth,
Jaw unclenching,
Letting all your facial muscles relax at once.
Notice how the face is becoming loose and soft,
As if your face were a mask,
A mask that you are wearing for the outer world.
And now allow this mask,
This external mask to melt away,
Connecting to the real you behind the mask.
Awareness around the throat,
Collar bones,
Chest,
Heart center,
Upper belly,
Lower belly,
Pelvis,
Thighs,
Knees.
Shins,
Tops of the feet and then circling around to the back of the body,
Around the heels,
Calves,
Knees,
Thighs,
Buttocks.
Sacrum,
Lower back,
Middle,
Upper back,
Back of the arms,
Shoulders,
Neck and the back of the head.
And now spreading your awareness throughout the whole body,
Feeling your whole body at once,
Completely relaxed.
In this moment,
Check in with yourself.
Am I awake and aware?
Now bring your attention to the natural rhythm of your breath,
Simply observing without trying to change anything.
Feel the breath as it flows in and out.
Notice the effect that the breath has on your navel,
Rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.
Now bring your awareness to the solar plexus,
The space above the navel and below the ribs.
This is your Manipura chakra,
Your center of inner power and clarity.
Feel the breath warming this space,
Filling it with light and presence.
Awakening the inner fire within with each inhale and releasing tension with each exhale.
Check in with yourself.
Am I awake and aware?
Let your awareness move to the space behind your closed eyes,
Your Chidakash,
The screen where your inner world reveals itself.
Explore your Chidakash knowing that you are exploring another dimension of your being.
Simply notice,
Notice if it is a large space or a small space.
Is it bright or is it dark?
Is it warm or is it cool?
And whatever you see or don't see,
Just watch with patience and acceptance.
A vast desert landscape stands ahead of you.
It is wide open,
Silent and powerful.
The bright golden light of the sun hovers above you.
You walk barefoot across the fine golden sand.
Each footstep is leaving a mark and the wind is gently smoothening it over.
In a distance you can see a small fire,
Stones arranged in a perfect circle around it.
You notice the fire burning steadily in the centre.
As you walk towards it and take a seat next to the fire pit,
You can feel the warmth of the flames against your skin and even more so.
A warmth of the fire within.
Something inside you begins to awaken.
A quiet fire at your centre.
It glows in the shades of golden and yellow.
The colours of your inner sun as you realise that you carry this fire within you.
Always have and always will.
The fire asks nothing more than to be tended with awareness.
It knows when to rise and it knows when to rest.
Stay with this image,
The sun,
The fire and the golden breath of your inner sun.
Know that this is your Chidakash and whatever you see or don't see,
Just watch patiently with awareness and acceptance.
And now returning back to your sankalpa,
Mentally repeating it to yourself three times with full faith and conviction.
Let it settle deep into your awareness,
Knowing that the sankalpa that you made in your yoga nidra practice is becoming your reality as you see yourself having achieved your sankalpa already.
And now notice,
Notice how you feel after achieving your sankalpa,
Feeling it deeply within your being.
And then gently start to come back,
Bringing back with you the inner experiences,
Insights and energy.
Begin to bring your awareness back to your body and feel the weight of the body resting on the earth.
Feel the shape of the body and the softness in your muscles,
The calm in the breath as you come back to the sounds surrounding you,
Listening to all the sounds in your presence.
Slowly reorienting yourself to the external world of activity.
Returning back into the body,
Gently begin to move your fingers and your toes.
Stretch your arms and legs and take your time as if you were waking,
Waking from a deep and nourishing rest.
When you feel ready,
You can roll onto one side and pause here for a moment.
You can continue to rest here or if you feel ready,
Come into a seated position,
Palms joining together in front of your heart center.
May your inner fire shine with quiet confidence.
May you act with clarity,
Courage and purpose.
May your power be rooted in love.
Namaste.
I hope you have a wonderful day ahead of you.
