My name is Mark Rowland,
Welcome and good evening.
Find your most comfortable position for rest,
And allow your body to become heavy,
As though the earth itself were holding you.
Feel the weight of gravity,
The earth holding you safely.
Gravity is the universe's quiet way of saying,
You belong here.
The practice of yoga nidra begins now,
Nothing to achieve and nowhere to go.
You are safe,
You are home.
Begin to notice your breath,
The soft rhythm,
The gentle rise and fall,
Like a tide against the shore of your body.
Each exhale,
A letting go.
Each inhale,
A subtle arrival.
In this vast stillness,
A seed of intention quietly glows.
Let one simple truth rest in your heart tonight,
Perhaps I am one with all that is.
Or maybe I surrender into deep peace.
Whatever your intention,
Your sankalpa is,
Whisper it silently now.
Let it dissolve into the dark ocean of awareness,
Where it will take root without any effort.
Now bring awareness to different parts of your body,
You will not move,
Only listen and feel.
Let attention glide like a starlight,
Touching each point and awakening presence.
Now bring your attention to your right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and little finger.
Now the palm of your hand,
Bring your attention to the back of your hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm and your shoulder.
Now to the right side of your chest,
Your waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Notice your knee,
Calf,
Your ankle,
The heel of your foot,
The sole,
Now top of the foot,
And your right toes,
One by one.
Now bring attention to your left hand side,
Left thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and your little finger.
Now your left hand,
The palm,
Back of the hand,
Your wrist,
Forearm,
Your left elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
Now left side of the chest,
Waist,
Your thigh,
Notice your left knee,
Calf,
Your ankle,
The heel of your foot,
The sole of your foot,
The top of your foot,
And your left toes,
One by one.
Now sense both legs together,
A single field of awareness,
Both arms together,
Front of the body,
Back of the body,
Head and the whole body now,
Radiant and still.
Feel the body as a constellation of light,
Each point a star connected in the great map of you,
And beyond that the greater constellation,
All the vast cosmos itself,
It's all mirrored here,
In your cells.
Now bring attention to your breath,
Do not change it,
Simply notice,
Notice,
The breath enters and it leaves,
A doorway between worlds,
Follow the coolness at the nostrils,
The warmth of the out breath,
Feel the chest widen,
Feel the belly soften,
Now I want you to count backward from eleven to one with each exhale,
Eleven,
Exhale,
Ten,
Exhale,
Keep going until one,
Then let go of counting,
Counting,
Falling into the space where the breath effortlessly breathes itself.
The universe is breathing with you,
You see there is no separate you to control it,
Just the rhythm of being,
A cosmic tide.
Now allow the mind to explore sensation,
Feel the warmth that surrounds you,
Imagine a golden radiance enveloping the body,
Then sense coolness,
The quiet silver light of a moonlit sky shining upon your skin,
And coolness,
Light and shadow,
Expansion and stillness.
These opposites dance beautifully together,
They belong to one field,
Just as day and night are born from the same turning planet,
So every experience rises from the same presence,
The one that you are.
Now let the mind open like a sky,
Imagine you are floating above your resting body,
Gently rising through the ceiling and out into the cool night air,
Below the earth glows with a faint blue halo,
Above stars shimmer like sparks of awareness,
You drift among them,
Each star a thought dissolving,
Each galaxy a breath,
You are not separate from them,
You are them,
You are the infinite gaze looking upon itself,
You feel yourself expanding,
Becoming as vast as space beyond beginning,
Beyond end,
You are a luminous silence aware of itself,
And in that infinite stillness,
The soft truth resounds,
There is only one,
One life,
One light,
One moment,
Playing its countless forms,
Oceans,
Mountains,
People,
Dreams,
And tonight,
As you,
You falling into beautiful rest,
Let go of even these words now,
Just let my words dissolve into the hum of the oneness of the universe,
Return awareness softly into your body,
But only as a whisper,
The weight of the body,
The rhythm of the breath,
You are safe,
You are infinite,
You are the universe,
Allow sleep to come,
As a tide returns to shore,
There is no need to follow it,
As you are already home,
Sleep well friend,
Rest with the universe now,
