Lie down in Shavasan and get ready for the practice of Yoga Nidra.
Make sure you have everything you need to be comfortable and warm.
You may want to use a blanket to cover yourself up and if lying out flat on the floor is uncomfortable,
You can place a pillow or rolled up blanket underneath the knees and maybe a small pillow underneath your head.
Now lengthen the head,
Neck and spine,
Keeping them in a straight line.
The legs and feet are a little bit apart,
Toes falling outward to the sides of the body,
Arms alongside the body without touching it,
Palms of the hands turning upwards,
Fingers curled if they wish to.
Bring the chin slightly in towards the chest so that the neck lengthens.
Gently close the eyes and mouth.
Allow your awareness to skip lightly around the body now and let go of any tension,
Especially in areas where you know you tend to hold tension.
Feel the buttocks on the floor free of tension,
The lower back nestling in towards the floor and the abdomen soft and the chest open.
Be aware of the space between the shoulder blades,
Shoulders releasing to the floor,
The arms relaxing,
Hands and fingers relaxing.
Then move upwards towards the head and face,
The jaws a little bit apart so that the teeth don't clench and the tongue resting loosely inside the mouth.
The muscles around the eyes are softening,
The forehead smooth,
Free of any tension.
If you feel you have to make any final adjustments to your position,
Clothing or cover,
Do it now so that for the remainder of the time you lie here,
You can keep the body completely still.
Be aware that you are going to practice Yoga Nidra and in this practice there is no need to do anything,
Only to listen.
Be completely aware of where you are,
More or less the time of day and repeat mentally a couple of times,
I am going to practice Yoga Nidra,
I will remain awake and aware.
Now become aware of the whole body,
From the top of the head to the tips of the toes and the tips of the fingers.
Aware of the whole body and stillness.
Feel the contact of the body with the floor.
Feel the different parts of the body touching the floor.
The heels,
Calves,
Back of the thighs,
Buttocks,
Back,
Spine,
Shoulder blades,
Back of the hands,
Arms,
Shoulders again,
The back of the head touching the floor.
Now let your attention go to the sounds you may hear from outside the room and sounds inside the room.
Letting go of these sounds and bring the awareness to the natural breath,
Effortlessly entering and leaving the body.
Observe the rise and fall of the abdomen and experience the breath as if you were aware of it for the very first time.
Now letting go of the awareness of the breath,
We begin with the rotation of awareness around the body.
Become aware of each part of the body as you hear it named.
Mentally repeating the name of the part,
Taking the awareness to that part.
Begin on the right side and become aware of the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Side of the waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Kneecap,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Then move the awareness over to the left side.
Become aware of the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Side of the waist,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Kneecap,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Now bring the awareness to the back of the body.
Be aware of the back of the head,
Back of the neck,
Top of the right shoulder,
Top of the left shoulder,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Space between the shoulder blades,
Middle of the back,
Small of the back,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Base of the spine and all the way up the length of the spine from the base to the top.
Become aware of the top of the head,
The forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Space between the eyebrows,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right eyelashes,
Left eyelashes,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Nose,
Top of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Both nostrils together,
The upper lip,
Lower lip,
Both lips together,
The chin,
The jaws,
The throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel,
The abdomen and the pelvic floor.
Now awareness of the whole of the right leg,
The whole of the left leg,
Both of the legs together,
The whole of the right arm,
The whole of the left arm and both arms together,
The whole of the back,
The whole of the front,
The whole of the back and front together,
The whole head,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body together.
Complete awareness of the whole body lying in Savasana,
Practicing Yoga Nidra,
Awake and aware.
Come back to the awareness of your breath.
Feel the breath flowing in and out of your nostrils,
Flowing in and out of your body.
Feel your body moving around the breath and feel the contact between the body and the floor.
Remember where you are lying in the room and visualize the room around you,
The walls and the ceiling,
The windows,
The door.
Let your attention move out to sounds you can hear inside the room and sounds from the outside.
Externalize your attention completely and when you are sure that you are quite awake,
Begin to make small movements with your toes and fingers,
Your feet and hands,
Making bigger movements with the legs and arms,
Moving the head smoothly from one side to the other and stretching in whichever way you feel like,
Leaving that stretch with a big sigh.
Lie totally still for a moment and carefully roll on to your right side.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete and slowly come up into a sitting position and rub the palms of your hands together and place them over your face.
Open your eyes behind the hands and then slowly move the hands away.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
