Hello and welcome.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible now.
Lie down in a position that you can maintain with ease and stillness.
Allow the legs to rest a little apart.
Let the arms rest slightly away from the sides of the body,
With the palms turned upward if that feels comfortable.
Take any final movements you need,
Knowing that during Nyoga Nidra stillness in the body supports stillness in the mind.
And when you are ready,
Allow the eyes to close.
Become aware of the whole body lying here.
The body resting,
The body supported,
The body held by the ground beneath you.
There's nothing you need to do,
Nowhere you need to go.
For this time,
Simply remain awake to rest.
Take a deep breath in,
And exhale slowly.
Again,
Breathing in deeply,
And breathing out fully.
And exhale,
Letting the body settle a little more completely.
Begin to notice sounds around you.
Notice distant sounds.
Notice nearer sounds.
Notice the space in which sound appears.
You don't need to follow any sound,
Simply hear.
Then gently take the awareness from sound and bring it back to the body lying here.
Move now to your resolve,
Your sankalpa.
This short positive statement is expressed in simple language,
So it is already true.
Choose your sankalpa now,
And repeat it inwardly three times,
With clarity and feeling.
And now move your awareness to the right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Breath flow,
The upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Right arm,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Right second toe,
Right third toe,
Right fourth toe,
Right fifth toe,
Thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
The upper arm,
Shoulder,
Left heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Whole upper back,
Middle back,
Lower,
Both heels together.
Now to the front of the body,
The top of the body,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between the eyebrows,
The right eye,
Left eye,
Both lips together,
Chin,
Jaw,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
The centre of the chest,
The upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
The whole pelvis,
Become aware of the whole right leg,
Both legs together,
Both arms together,
The whole back body,
The whole front body,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
Feel the entire body lying here,
Resting in stillness,
And now bring your awareness to the natural breath,
You don't need to change it,
Simply observe the breath moving in and out,
Notice the gentle rise and fall of the abdomen,
The abdomen rises as the breath comes in,
The abdomen falls as the breath goes out,
Remain with this simple movement and begin counting the breath backwards from 27 to 1,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,
24,
25,
26,
27,
27 breath in,
27 breath out,
26 breath in,
26 breath out,
25 breath in,
25 breath out,
Continue silently at your own pace,
And if you lose count,
Simply begin again at 27,
Now let go of counting,
Become aware of opposite sensations in the body,
Feel the whole body becoming heavy,
Arms heavy,
Legs heavy,
The torso is heavy,
The head is heavy,
As though the whole body is sinking gently into the earth,
Deeply heavy,
And now lightness,
The whole body becoming light,
Arms are light,
The legs are light,
Torso is light,
The head is light,
As though the body could float,
Spacious and buoyant,
Now experience heaviness and lightness together,
Moving between them with ease,
Heavy,
Now bring awareness to coolness,
Pleasant coolness like the highland morning air,
Coolness around the forehead,
Coolness at the throat,
Coolness in the hands,
Coolness around the feet,
A clear gentle coolness,
Now ascend of warmth,
Warmth at the centre of the chest,
Warmth in the belly,
Warmth in the hands,
Warmth in the feet,
Now coolness and warmth,
Both held in awareness,
Now let us visualise together,
See or maybe sense a highland loch at dawn,
The water is completely still,
Soft mist hovers above the surface,
The sky is pale with first light,
Distant hills rest in silence,
The air is cool,
Clean and clear,
A shoreline of stone,
Tethered near the water's edge,
A reflection of sky in the loch,
No disturbance,
No urgency,
Only quiet,
Imagine that the body is resting beside this loch,
Supported by the earth,
Held in the silence of the land,
The mind becoming still as the water,
If a thought arises,
It's only a small ripple,
And then stillness returns,
The loch remains,
The hills remain,
The wide morning sky remains,
A single breath moving like mist,
Silence between bird calls,
Clear water,
Ancient stone,
Soft light on the surface of the loch,
The whole landscape resting,
The whole body resting,
The whole mind resting,
Remain here for a few quiet moments and then gradually let go of the image of the loch.
Return your awareness to the breath,
Return your awareness to the body lying here,
Return your awareness to your sankalpa,
Repeat it again inwardly,
Three times,
With steadiness and feeling.
And now begin to deepen the breath,
Feel the body once more,
The points of contact with the ground,
The shape of the room around you,
Notice sounds again,
Notice the air on the skin.
Begin to invite small movements into the fingers and the toes,
Perhaps to the hands and the feet,
If it feels good,
Stretch gently,
And when you are ready,
Roll slowly to one side,
And pause there for a moment.
Then,
Taking your time,
Come back up in your own way,
Carry something of the loch's quiet with you,
Thank you for sharing this practice.
