As we start this yoga nidra experience journey inward,
We want to start by asking the mind,
Having a friendly conversation with the mind about what it is that is troubling us or what it is that is bothering us or if we're searching for answers for a certain topic or certain problems or issue or a difficult person in your life or difficult conversation that you need to have.
So a lot of times if we quiet the mind for just a second to listen,
To pay attention,
The mind will tell us what it is that it needs today.
So whatever the mind says to you,
Repeat that to yourself several times to make sure that this is your intention and speak your intention in the present tense and make sure your intention is something simple,
Easy to remember.
Because when you are in the yoga nidra state of consciousness,
You will recall that intention.
I will invite you to recall the intention so you don't want to be searching for it.
So set that intention.
And then if you need to stretch in any way,
Go ahead and stretch whether you're standing,
Seated,
Lying down,
Do some stretches,
Maybe your arms up,
Point your toes,
Any stretches that feel appropriate here.
But eventually you want to get on your back,
On a mat or on a blanket,
Make sure that you have a soft,
Comfortable surface that you're lying down on.
We like to place a bolster or a pillow under the knees.
This way you have a lot of support for the legs.
Legs are not kind of trying to find a position.
Sometimes it also helps to roll a little blanket or towel and place it right under the neck,
Just enough for the cervical spine to rest comfortably.
But you still want the back of the head on the floor.
You want the back of the head touching the mat,
The mattress,
The floor,
Whatever it is that you're lying down on.
And spread your arms away from the body,
Not too much,
Just a little bit,
A few inches away from the body.
And turn the palms up.
And any final movement here before we come to stillness,
Go ahead and move in any direction,
In any way,
Maybe move the head side to side.
Check on that point of contact between the back of the head and the floor.
Also check on the points of contact between the tops of the hands and the back of the hands and the floor,
The heels and the floor,
The hips and the floor,
The thighs,
The calves.
So any final movement,
Because in yoga nidra,
Two things are essential.
One is total stillness,
Because in yoga nidra,
We are working with consciousness,
With awareness.
And in yoga nidra,
We're shifting the awareness,
We're shifting consciousness from side to side sometimes,
From level to level,
From one part of the body to the other.
So you don't want to move,
Because if you move,
You lose that point that you were working with.
And then you end up not having a deep experience.
So if you're new to yoga nidra,
It's okay.
Experiment this time.
But the most important thing is to come to stillness.
And the second important thing is not to fall asleep purposefully.
So don't make yourself fall asleep.
Don't say,
Oh,
Good,
I'm going to fall asleep and start snoring.
That's not the point.
The point is to remain aware,
Conscious throughout this practice.
So it is for all these reasons that it's best to be practicing yoga nidra in a safe environment,
Quiet,
Safe,
Your bedroom,
Your bed.
Make sure that the surface you're lying down on is comfortable.
Make sure the knees are supported,
The neck is supported.
Cover yourself up with an extra blanket.
Put on some socks,
Wear a sweater.
So when we come to that stillness in yoga nidra and we're practicing for a long time this evening,
So you will get cold.
So what you want to do here is set up what we call a nest,
A yoga nidra nest,
Where you feel supported,
You feel protected,
Covered,
Held.
And then close your eyes if that's possible.
If you don't like to close your eyes,
You can keep them open,
But simply soften them,
Sort of looking down towards your nose or towards your toes.
And notice the breath.
Inhale and exhale.
And notice how far your breath goes when you inhale it.
Is the breath traveling from the nostrils to the nasal cavity and back out?
If so,
Help the breath go down through the throat,
To the chest,
The lungs,
The belly,
The hips and the legs,
The shoulders,
The arms.
And when you exhale,
Let the breath travel in the opposite direction and out through the nostrils.
Inhale deeply,
Allow the breath to travel inward all the way to the tips of the toes,
Tips of the fingers,
And out through the nostrils.
And as you inhale and exhale and as you focus your attention on the breath,
You might come across some hiccups,
You might come across some blockages,
You might feel that the breath is not smooth,
The breath gets rocky or hesitant.
Be patient.
Don't rush.
Continue the inhale and continue the exhale.
And every time you inhale and exhale is an opportunity to remove some of those blocks and blockages.
One more deep inhale,
Fill up the body,
Feel the fresh breath,
The fresh oxygen coming into the body,
Filling up the spaces in the body,
Creating spaces in the body.
And exhale,
Let it all out.
Inhale and exhale.
So,
Yoga nidra is a state of consciousness.
It's also known as yogic sleep.
So we will attain a level of sleep while the mind is fully conscious,
While the mind is fully awake.
So we'll spend time getting to that state of consciousness.
We can't get there with a switch or with an order.
So we have to work with the mind.
We have to settle the mind.
We have to go deeper and deeper within ourselves.
And as we get deeper and deeper within ourselves,
You'll notice that you will be transported into a state that is very different from this state,
The awake state that we're in right now.
So a lot of things that people experience in yoga nidra,
You feel as though you're falling down from a cliff,
From your bed,
Just as you do when you're entering the dreaming state.
And that's okay.
If that happens,
You simply remind yourself,
I'll be talking to you anyway.
Remind yourself that yes,
I'm practicing yoga nidra,
So this is normal.
You just continue where you are.
You don't have to remember anything.
You don't have to think about where was I or anything like that.
You just continue on as you do when you go to sleep.
At some point,
I'll be doing a full body awareness exercise with you,
Where I will mention a part of your body,
Parts of your body,
And I will ask you to direct your attention to those parts.
You don't have to do anything.
You don't have to move.
You simply direct your attention to the part of the body,
As I mentioned it.
So you might notice that you were gone for a period of time because I might be seeing your right thumb,
Your right index finger,
And then all of a sudden I'm at the left shoulder.
And you say,
Wait,
Wait,
Wait,
What happened?
How did we jump to that?
That's how you enter yoga nidra.
You exit yoga nidra.
It's just very much like sleep.
So if these things happen,
You don't have to worry about anything.
You don't have to feel that you missed out on anything.
Everything I do and say tonight is for you to get to yoga nidra.
So nothing is more important than you having the experience of yoga nidra.
And then at the end of our practice,
I will wake you up.
And when I wake you up,
We'll wake up gently and lovingly.
And our time together will end.
And I will end the broadcast.
So if you choose to go back to sleep,
You can.
It's a perfect time to go back to sleep.
If you choose to meditate,
You can.
Just know that this is a very precious time,
Very special time.
Anytime you journey to yoga nidra and back,
A lot happens within yourself.
So use that time wisely for meditation,
For asking questions,
For solving problems,
For getting your creative juices flowing,
Whatever it is that you will get out of this.
So for now,
As you lie down in your position for yoga nidra,
If there's any movement that you'd like to make,
This is your opportunity to do that.
Otherwise,
Direct your attention to the right big toe.
And then direct your attention to the right second toe.
And the right third toe.
And the right fourth toe.
And the right pinky toe.
Direct your attention to the sole of your right foot and the arch of your right foot and the outer edge of your right foot and your right heel and the top of the right foot and the right ankle and the right shin and the right calf muscles and the right knee and the right kneecap and the space behind your right knee.
Draw your attention to your right thigh and your right hip bone and your tailbone and your right groin and the outside of your right leg and the inside of your right leg.
Draw your attention to the left big toe and the left second toe,
The left third toe,
The left fourth toe and the left pinky toe.
Draw your attention to the sole of the left foot.
And the arch of the left foot.
And the outer edge of the left foot.
And the left heel.
And the top of the left foot.
The left ankle.
The left shin.
The left calf muscles.
The left knee.
The left kneecap and the space behind your left knee.
Draw your attention to your left thigh,
Your left hip bone,
Tailbone,
Left groin,
The outer edge of your left leg and the inside of your left leg.
Be aware of your toes,
Your feet,
Your ankles,
Your knees,
Your hips and release them all into the earth.
Feel them get heavy.
And remind yourself that you can move them if you want to but you choose not to move them.
You choose to keep them still,
Unmoving.
Draw your attention to your right thumb and your right index finger,
Your right middle finger,
Your right ring finger,
Your right pinky finger.
Draw your attention to the palm of your right hand and the back of your right hand.
Draw your attention to your right wrist,
Right forearm,
Right elbow,
Right upper arm,
Right shoulder and the throat.
Draw your attention to the right underarm,
The inside of your right arm and the right hip and the tailbone and the left hip.
Draw your attention to the left thumb,
Left index finger,
Left middle finger,
Left ring finger,
Left pinky finger.
Draw your attention to the left palm,
The back of the left hand,
Left wrist,
Left forearm,
Left elbow,
Left upper arm,
Left shoulder and the throat.
Draw your attention to the left underarm,
The inside of your left arm,
The left hip,
The tailbone,
The right hip,
Back to the tailbone.
Be aware of your legs,
Be aware of your arms,
Your hands,
Your fingers and remind yourself that you can move them if you want to but you choose not to move them.
You choose to remain still.
Draw your attention to your tailbone.
Draw your attention to your navel.
Draw your attention to your solar plexus.
Draw your attention to your heart center.
Draw your attention to your throat.
Draw your attention to the space between the eyebrows.
Draw your attention to the crown of your head.
Be aware of the back side of your body.
Be aware of the front side of your body.
Be aware of the right side of the body.
Be aware of the left side of the body.
Be aware of your whole body.
And imagine that there is a mirror right above you.
An oversized mirror.
And in that mirror you can see yourself lying down.
Look at yourself in the mirror and notice all the details that you can notice about yourself.
Notice the crown of the head,
The back of the head,
The forehead,
The eyebrows,
The center of your eyebrows,
Your eyes,
Your eyelids,
Your eye sockets.
Notice your temples,
The right temple and the left temple.
The right eye and the left eye.
The right eyebrow and the left eyebrow.
The right temple and the left temple.
The right ear and the left ear.
The right cheek and the left cheek.
The right nostril and the left nostril.
The upper lip and the lower lip.
Your tongue,
Your jaw,
Your chin.
Notice your tongue.
Notice your throat.
With awareness,
Release all the muscles.
Starting with the eye muscles.
And then the cheeks.
And the jaw.
And imagine that you are melting one layer at a time.
Be aware of every layer as you shed.
The layer on your face that everybody you come across knows and sees.
The layer that only people close to you,
Family,
See.
And the layer that only you can see.
And now with a lot of awareness,
Allow your arms to also melt into the earth.
Keep looking at yourself in the mirror above.
And watch the shedding,
Watch the melting away of your layers,
Of your limbs,
Of the physical parts that make up the person you are.
Notice the right breast and the left breast.
Notice the rib cage.
Notice your physical heart,
Physical lungs,
Physical organs.
Notice the diaphragm,
Your internal organs,
Your solar plexus.
Notice your abdomen,
Notice your pelvis.
Watch them all disappear.
Giving yourself the opportunity to go a little bit deeper into the person you are.
Keep looking into the mirror and see what else you notice.
What else is still there?
See if you can,
As soon as you notice,
Let them go.
And now we'll flip the view and you see yourself from the mirror's perspective.
As if you are the one in the mirror and you're looking back at yourself lying down on your bed or on your mat or on your blanket.
And we'll do the same thing.
Notice all the details you can notice.
From the tips of the toes to the soles of the feet to the ankles,
Knees and hips.
The tips of the fingers,
The pads of the fingers,
The fingernails,
The hands,
The arms,
The elbows,
The shoulders.
Notice the pelvis,
Notice the chest,
Notice the head.
And as soon as you notice,
Let them go,
Let them melt away.
And now be aware of the surface underneath you,
The surface you're lying on.
And allow the surface to start becoming fluid.
Imagine yourself lying down on a water surface.
As if you're lying down on the surface of the ocean.
You feel gentle waves underneath you.
You're supported,
You're held.
You're really comfortable where you are.
And without opening your eyes,
Imagine the sky above you.
And whatever shows up for you is fine.
The time of day or night.
The color of the sky you see.
The elements in the sky that you see.
You might be seeing clouds,
You might be seeing stars,
You might be seeing moons above you.
Whatever shows up,
Do not try to change it,
Just allow yourself to be with it.
You're feeling the fluid surface underneath you,
And you're seeing the sky above you.
And then again,
Without opening your eyes,
Without trying to move,
Without trying to change anything about where you are and how you feel.
Picture yourself getting up and walking to the shore.
And feel the sand under your feet.
And again,
Depending on what you feel,
What you see,
It might be warm,
It might be cold,
It might be dry,
It might be wet.
Simply stay with the image that shows up for you and try to look for details around you.
You might be able to see people.
You might be able to see memories.
You might hear sounds.
You might smell something familiar.
Keep walking on the sand towards a lush forest.
Take your time walking.
The walking might be smooth,
It might be hard.
You might be barefoot,
You might be wearing shoes.
Again,
Whatever shows up for you,
Do not try to change it,
Do not feel that you need to modify.
Just observe,
Just notice.
When you get to the entrance to the forest,
Find a path and start walking down this path.
And as you enter the forest,
You're going to see birds.
You're going to see butterflies.
You can see the tall trees.
You feel safe.
You feel happy.
Keep walking down the path,
Observing all the things that show up for you.
Marvel in the sights and sounds of just being in your own personal forest.
And look up towards the top of the trees and watch them sway gently side to side as they dance with the breeze.
You might be able to see the moon,
You might be able to see the stars,
You might be able to see the sun shining bright.
Whatever you see through the leaves of your trees,
Just enjoy.
Take it all in.
As you continue to walk down your path,
You're going to smell the scent of flowers.
Different scents,
All kinds of wonderful scents.
Keep following the butterflies.
They'll show you the way to an enchanted garden.
As you get closer,
The smell,
The scent is stronger and even more enjoyable.
You can't wait to arrive and see those beautiful flowers that are emitting all these wonderful scents.
And then out of the forest into a beautiful garden.
The most beautiful garden you have ever seen in your life.
Flowers of all shapes,
All colors,
All scents.
Plants and trees,
Butterflies and birds.
And then at the edge of your garden is a bench.
It looks like a meditation bench.
It looks like another person is there meditating just across from that bench.
That person looks at you and calls you in and shows you your bench and invites you to meditate.
You walk to your bench and you sit comfortably.
You close your eyes.
And then you open your eyes and you look into the eyes of that other person,
The gentle,
Loving,
Warm,
Happy.
And that person closes their eyes.
You also close your eyes and you feel connection.
You feel an energy connecting you and that person as though you're one.
You feel that you can read that person's mind and you feel that that person can read your mind.
It feels as though you're meditating on the same thing.
Remind yourself that you are practicing yoga nidra.
Remind yourself that you are practicing yogic sleep.
Remind yourself you are in a state of consciousness,
A state of awareness where everything can happen,
Everything is possible.
And invoke your intention.
Remind yourself of your intention and repeat it to yourself several times.
Keep repeating the intention to yourself until the intention starts repeating itself back to you.
Keep repeating the intention to yourself until the intention starts repeating itself back to you.
Keep repeating the intention to yourself until the intention starts repeating itself back to you.
Now release your intention.
Allow yourself to simply be in the void of your own being.
Allow yourself to be in a place where you don't have to think.
You don't have to worry.
You don't have to fear anything.
Give yourself time in this place where the senses do not belong.
Now release your intention.
Allow yourself to simply be in a place where you don't have to think.
Now release your intention.
Now release your intention.
Now release your intention.
Still in your enchanted garden.
You feel it's time to return.
Without opening your physical eyes,
Still in yoga nidra,
Open your eyes in your enchanted garden.
You're going to find that there's no one sitting across from you.
You realize there was no one in the first place.
With a smile on your face,
You leave your bench in your enchanted garden.
Maybe you want to take one final look at your garden and enjoy the colors and the scents and the animals that you're leaving behind.
Find the butterflies,
They will show you the way back.
And walk back,
Taking the same path but in the opposite direction.
Returning to the entrance to your forest.
And along the way,
Look up and see the sun or the moon or the stars through the leaves of your trees.
And enjoy all the sights,
All the sounds.
And then exit the forest.
And walk on the sand,
Feeling every step as you touch the sand,
Whether you're barefoot or wearing shoes.
And notice if the walk back is easier or harder.
Your heart,
Your mind might desire to stay in your enchanted garden or go back.
But you know that it's time to come back to the physical body,
The physical space.
So you walk back and lie down on the ocean surface.
And again,
You feel the waves underneath you,
You see the sky above you.
And then you feel the surface underneath you harden back.
And you see the mirror one more time right above you.
And you see the details of who you are start showing up again.
You see your toes and your feet and your legs and your hips.
You see your pelvis.
You see your torso.
You see your shoulders and arms and hands and fingers.
You see your head.
And then gently start feeling yourself back in your nest,
In your yoga nidra nest.
And gently you're going to start returning to the physical body.
So maybe you're ready for a deep physical inhale and exhale.
And notice the transition from the subtle body to the physical body.
And let the transition be gentle and compassionate.
Don't rush.
And start moving your fingers and your toes.
Move your hands and your feet.
Rotate your ankles and your wrists in one direction and the opposite direction.
Maybe you want to stretch your arms overhead and stretch your legs.
Point the toes.
Stretch the right side of the body and the left side of the body.
Stretch the front of the body and the back.
Start moving your head side to side,
Allowing your neck to start feeling the movement,
Allowing your throat to feel the fluidity,
The motion,
The flexibility.
Tuck your chin into the chest,
Stretching the back of the neck.
Lift your chin up to the ceiling,
Stretching the front of your neck.
Drop your right ear to the right shoulder,
Stretching the left side of your neck.
And then drop your left ear to the left shoulder,
Stretching the right side of the neck.
And then hug your knees to your chest and rock slowly,
Gently side to side,
Massaging your hips,
Massaging your back,
Your shoulders,
Your neck.
And then with the knees bent,
Draw circles with the knees on the ceiling in one direction and the opposite direction,
Massaging your internal organs and also waking them up.
Do this several times.
And then roll over to your left side.
Bend your left elbow and place your head inside your left palm.
Keep the knees bent,
Hug them to your chest,
Coming to a fetal pose.
Give yourself the opportunity to simply be here in this fetal pose.
This is your time to check back on your intention.
And if you haven't released it yet,
This is a good time to do that.
Trusting that the universe knows what to do with your intention.
Reminding yourself that the intention is like a seed that you plant in the earth.
You don't need to check on it every few minutes,
Every few days,
Every few weeks.
Just plant it there and you trust that when it's time,
It's going to manifest into a beautiful flower,
A beautiful plant,
A beautiful tree.
So stay here and feel the goodness of your journey to bliss,
Your journey to your own death.
Aum.
Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti.
Hari Om.
Sri Guru Pyonamaha.
Hari Om.
Namaste.
