Find stillness.
And when you find stillness,
You might realize you need to make any last adjustments.
Adjusting clothing,
Adjusting your posture.
Make sure that you are as comfortable as you can be.
Begin to listen to the sounds.
Start with sounds as distant as you can hear.
And then allow the sense of hearing to come a little bit closer,
Sounds in the room.
Feel your body relax,
Becoming a little more effortless with each exhalation.
It's as if each exhale,
Breathe tension out of the body.
And then affirm to yourself,
I will remain aware and awake.
I will remain aware and awake.
Try to be completely still throughout the practice of yoga nidra.
And although we'll move through a body scan,
Do not move the named body part to feel it.
If you don't feel it,
It's actually kind of normal.
And so it'll come with practice.
You can also visualize it or simply repeat the name of the body part.
Try to stay with my pace.
Body scan will begin completely in the right side of the body.
And so bring the awareness into your right thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
All five fingers together,
Spaces between your fingers,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Shoulder blade,
Armpit,
Ribs,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Top of the right foot.
Bring the awareness to the left thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
All five fingers,
Spaces between your fingers,
Palm,
Back of hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Shoulder blade,
Armpit,
Ribs,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The top of the left foot,
The whole right side of the body,
Whole left side of the body,
Whole right side,
Whole left side.
Bring the awareness to the crown of the head,
Very top of the head,
Scalp,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Space between eyebrows,
The right temple,
The left temple,
The right eyelid,
The left eyelid,
The right eye,
The left eye,
Bridge of the nose,
The right ear,
The left ear,
The right cheek,
Left cheek,
The right nostril,
The left nostril,
Tip of the nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Upper teeth,
The lower teeth,
The roof of the mouth,
Floor of the mouth,
Tip of the tongue,
Base of the tongue,
Throat,
Chin,
Jaw,
Right side of the neck,
Left side of the neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Space between your collarbones,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Sternum,
Mid-abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
Feel the back of the head resting on the floor,
The back of the neck,
The front of the neck,
The right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The middle of your upper back,
Mid-back,
Lower back,
The right buttocks,
Left buttocks,
Feel the whole back of the body,
Feel the whole front of the body,
And feel the space between.
Feel the whole body as a unified field of sensation.
Feel the whole body.
Seek out any remaining tension in your body,
And see if,
On an exhalation,
The tension will melt away.
And so you're completely effortless and relaxed.
No effort anywhere in the body.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Be aware that you are breathing.
Notice the breath flow in through the nostrils,
The throat,
And it fills the abdomen,
And the belly rises and falls,
But the chest remains still.
Continue watching the belly rise and fall and the stillness of the chest with every breath cycle.
Do not control the breath.
Allow for the body to breathe itself,
Even if that rhythm is spontaneous.
Be aware that the body is breathing itself,
And you are the observer of the breath.
You are the awareness of breath.
As we become more relaxed,
The breath becomes quieter,
More subtle.
Watch the breath in the right nostril.
Watch the breath only in the right nostril.
And then watch the breath in the left nostril.
Observe your breath through the left nostril.
With just our awareness,
We'll find alternate nostril breathing,
Not using our hand,
But just moving the awareness from one nostril to the other.
It begins like this,
And we'll count the breath.
Inhaling,
Right nostril,
54.
Exhaling,
Right nostril,
54.
Inhaling,
Left nostril,
54.
Exhaling,
Left nostril,
54.
Inhaling,
Right nostril,
53.
And counting down.
If you lose count,
The point is not to get to zero,
So don't worry about losing count,
But simply return back to 54 and continue counting down.
Inhaling and exhaling on one nostril.
And then switching sides,
Inhaling and exhaling on the same count.
Continue the practice.
Reaffirm,
I am awake and aware.
I am awake and aware.
And feel all the points in which your body meets the floor.
Feel the floor holding you.
Feel the support of the floor holding you here.
We're going to move through a series of visualizations.
These are also going to be at a moderate pace,
Similar to the body scan.
These visualizations are to be seen with as much detail as you can,
Without trying to over-effort.
To concentrate too hard ruins our relaxation.
And so,
Staying with my pace.
Visualize a candle burning.
Snow-capped mountains.
A rushing river.
A sunrise over the water.
A path through the woods.
A log cabin.
An open book.
A boat on the water.
Birds flying in front of a sunset.
Horses running.
A dog wagging its tail.
A beach.
See the waves rolling in on the beach.
A bouquet of flowers.
A bowl of fruit.
A pine tree.
A bird's nest.
A cat laying in the sun.
An open door.
A temple at sunrise.
An endless desert.
A turtle.
A school of fish.
A coral bed.
Visualize your face,
Your reflection in the mirror.
Visualize your body laying on the floor.
All the props and people around you.
And the space that you're in.
Imagine you can see in your body.
And at the center of the body,
In the heart space,
You see a lotus flower.
And as you breathe in,
The petals of the flower point down towards the pelvis.
And as you exhale,
The petals point up towards the crown of the head.
Inhaling,
The petals point down.
And exhaling,
The petals point up.
This lotus flower is luminous.
It glows.
Continue watching the petals move with your breath.
Inhaling down and exhaling up.
I invite you to continue visualizing the lotus flower.
But then see yourself seated in meditation upon that lotus flower.
You too are luminescent.
You glow light.
Hear this self chanting Aum.
This self seated on the lotus flower is chanting Aum.
And you can see the vibrations of Aum resonating out from your heart.
Fill the space.
Space of the body.
Space of the body.
Space of this room.
The empty space within and around you.
Continue this visualization.
The vibrations of Aum connect this individual Atma,
The spirit,
To the universal spirit.
Giving you the connection to any energy that you would need to pull in to achieve your sankalpa,
To heal.
Reflect on your sankalpa,
That yogic resolve or goal,
Or that place you decided could use a little bit of healing.
Repeat the sankalpa,
This yogic resolve,
Three times.
Feel that vibration of Aum pulling in the energy and sending it to where you need it to go.
Does it fill the whole body?
Does it go to a specific place in the body or mind?
I'm going to go through pairs of opposites of experiences.
First being lightness.
And so find a place in the body that feels as light as a feather.
And feel the sensation of lightness begin to fill the whole body.
It expands.
So you feel almost so light that you could float off the floor.
Find a place in the body that feels heavy.
A heaviness that spreads,
Fill the whole body.
So heavy you're sinking into the floor.
So heavy you're sinking into the floor.
And feel a sensation of lightness again,
As light as a feather or a leaf floating on the breeze.
So light,
Floating through the air.
And feel again the sensation of heaviness,
Sinking.
Extremely heavy.
Filling the whole body.
Begin to experience them at the same time.
Experience them at the same time.
This might be challenging at first,
And so you can rapidly switch between lightness and heaviness.
Until the two can merge to be in the simultaneous experience,
Both heavy and light,
In the same moment,
In the same body.
Two sides of the same coin.
And feel a place in the body that's cold.
Like a frigid winter day.
As cold as an icicle.
And feel that sensation of cold fill the whole body.
There's ice in your bones.
Then feel a sensation of heat.
Like the desert sun.
So hot you can see the heat waves above the earth,
Rippling in the air.
Just cooking.
So hot.
And then feel cold again.
The shivers filling your whole body.
You're laying in a bath of ice water.
So cold.
Once again feel the heat.
Hot as summer day.
Heat of a campfire.
And the heat fills your entire body.
So hot.
And then feel both cold and hot at the same time.
Again this could be by switching rapidly from one to the other.
Until you can experience both.
You might also think about a hot place in the body and a cold place somewhere else in the body.
And see if you can connect the two.
Feeling what exists between the hot and cold.
While experiencing both hot and cold at the same time.
And recall a sensation of pain.
This could be anything from a headache to a bee sting to emotional pain.
And as you recall the pain let the experience intensify.
Until it fills your consciousness.
And then recall a moment or a memory of pleasure.
Of happiness or bliss.
And let this experience intensify until it fills your whole being.
Return to the experience of pain.
And let the experience intensify.
And then return to the experience of pleasure.
And let the pleasure intensify.
And see if you can experience both of these at the same time.
Both pleasure and pain together.
Two sides of the same coin.
And find a place in the body that could use a little extra energy.
Or if there's too much energy a little less energy.
This might be a place of constriction,
Of contraction.
It might be a place of injury or illness.
And fully experience that contraction,
Illness,
Or injury.
Fully experience this place.
And the discomfort that might be there.
And then imagine and visualize this contraction released.
Or the injury or illness healed.
Or this place of the body is completely healthy.
Restored.
And experience that.
That health and vitality.
And how good it feels.
To be healed.
Revisualize yourself lying on the floor.
See as many details as you can.
The quality of light.
The colors in the space.
Without actually moving.
Imagine yourself getting up off of the floor.
And you're in this space.
Without actually moving.
Imagine yourself getting up off of the floor.
Visualize yourself walking to the door and opening it.
And as you walk through the door,
You're in this space.
In which your sankalpa,
That yogic resolve,
Will manifest.
Where are you?
And like you're watching a movie of yourself,
Watch this sankalpa,
This yogic resolve,
Turn from an idea into reality.
Manifesting.
What are you doing?
Who is with you?
How do you feel?
Feel the sensations in your body.
How good it is to achieve this.
This goal.
This resolve.
And then dive into the sensation.
The experience in your body.
Begin to watch your breath.
Feel the belly rise and fall.
Feel your body on the floor.
Feel the points of contact the body makes with the floor.
Imagine for a moment merging into the floor.
That there was no separation between you and what supports you.
Completely connected to the earth beneath you.
Not only connected to the earth beneath you,
But to the space around you.
To the other beings around you.
Imagine,
Visualize the boundaries of your skin dissolving.
Where your energy merges with the infinite.
And the infinite's energy flows right through you.
You are infinite.
You are a drop in an ocean.
You are connected.
Begin to bring the awareness back into this room.
Listening to the sounds.
Listening to sounds that are near and distant.
Feel the quality of your experience.
The state of relaxation.
Of effortlessness.
Of complete awareness.
And as you begin to bring the awareness into this space,
Into the body,
The breath gradually deepens.
And when you feel ready,
You can so gently reawaken the body by wiggling the fingers and toes.
Letting the movements be tiny at first.
And then they grow.
From fingers and toes into the wrists and ankles.
Taking your time.
There's plenty of it.
As you continue growing the movements in the body,
Eventually they'll roll you onto one side.
Keep the eyes closed.
Taking your time allows you to stay in this deep state of relaxation.
