Welcome.
Yoga Nidra is traditionally practiced as a waking slumber,
Where the mind remains alert,
But the body,
For all intents and purposes,
Falls asleep.
This supremely relaxed state is fertile ground for slumber,
So this particular meditation is designed to help you relax into sleep.
If you don't plan to drift off to sleep right now,
Be sure to set yourself a timer to wake you at the end,
As there will be no closing bell or awakening.
At any point during this meditation,
You are free to let go of the sound of my voice and drift off to sleep,
Or stay aware of the words and allow them to help you relax more and more and deeper and deeper.
Give yourself permission right now to relax,
To rest,
To be supported,
And to let go.
The day is done and it is time for your brain and body to relax.
There's nothing else you need to do right now,
Nowhere you need to arrive.
Make yourself supremely comfortable and simply allow yourself to be received by the surface beneath you.
Arrange yourself in savasana,
Lying comfortably on your back,
Or in whatever position you prefer to sleep.
If you sleep on your side,
Feel free to settle there.
Pull the covers up.
Let yourself be warm and cozy.
You have permission to be fully and completely comfortable.
If there's anything at all that would make you even slightly more at ease,
An extra pillow,
A glass of water,
A heavier blanket,
Pause the recording now and take care of it.
It is absolutely worth it.
Take a slow breath in and a long exhale out.
Feel the weight of your body and notice how the surface beneath you holds you completely,
Fully supported from below.
By your bed,
Or the couch,
Or the mat,
Or the floor.
Supported by the earth below it all.
You don't have to hold yourself up anymore.
Let everything go soft.
Bring your awareness now to your hearing.
Allow your attention to drift from sound to sound,
Without needing to name or locate anything.
Notice the most distant sounds that you can hear.
Allowing your hearing to operate like radar,
Settling for a moment on one sound,
Before moving your awareness to the next.
Allow your unconscious mind to note each sound and move on.
Gradually bring your awareness closer to the sounds of this room.
The sounds near to your body.
The sound of your breath.
The faint rhythm of your own heartbeat.
You have nowhere to be.
Nothing left to do today.
Let the day go.
It is done.
As your breath continues its slow,
Even rhythm,
Prepare to plant your sankalpa,
Or intention for practice.
Since tonight the intention is for rest,
Or for release,
Choose a short,
Quiet,
I am phrase that orients you towards sleep and ease.
Something like,
I am safe and resting.
Or I release this day completely.
Or perhaps,
I fall asleep easily and wake feeling rested each morning.
Simply allow the right words for you to arrive.
Whatever feels true tonight.
And repeat your phrase to yourself three times,
In the exact same words,
With quiet conviction.
And then simply let it go.
We'll move now through a slow rotation of consciousness.
I'll name the parts of your body one at a time.
Simply bring your attention there and notice whatever sensations are already present.
There's no need to move or to do anything.
Just simply notice what's happening in that part of the body.
At any point if you lose track of my words,
There's no need to catch up or follow up on the body parts you missed.
But simply join back in whenever you develop consciousness.
As always,
We'll start with the right hand thumb.
Become aware of all the sensations existing already in your right hand thumb.
And then slowly slide the awareness to the right index finger,
Middle,
Ring finger,
And the pinky finger.
The palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Center of the right wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Ribcage.
The right side waist.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
The sole of the foot.
The arch of the foot.
The top of the foot.
The right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
All five toes together.
The whole right foot.
The whole right leg.
The whole right side of the body.
Relaxed and heavy on the floor.
Next,
Shift your awareness to your left hand thumb.
Left index.
Middle.
Ring finger.
Pinky.
The palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
The center of the left wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Ribcage.
The left side waist.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
The sole of the foot.
The arch of the foot.
The top of the foot.
The left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
All five toes together.
The whole left foot.
The whole left leg.
The whole left side of the body.
Together.
Relaxed on the floor.
Next,
Shift your awareness to the soles of both feet.
The right heel.
The left heel.
Both heels together.
Back of the right knee.
Back of the left knee.
Right buttocks.
Left buttocks.
Tailbone.
Sacrum.
Lower spine.
Middle spine.
Upper back.
And the neck.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Back of the right arm.
Back of the left arm.
The back of the skull.
The whole back side of the body.
The back side of the body together.
The whole back side of the body relaxing back heavy on the surface beneath.
Next,
Shift your awareness to the scalp.
The crown of your head.
The center of the forehead.
Right temple.
Left temple.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Right eyeball.
Left eyeball.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Right side jaw.
Left side jaw.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
The tip of the nose.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
The place where the two lips meet.
Inside right cheek.
Inside left cheek.
The roof of the mouth.
The floor of the mouth.
The teeth in the gums.
The tongue.
Right side neck.
Left side neck.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
The pit of the throat.
Sternum.
Right side ribs.
Left side ribs.
Solar plexus.
Abdomen.
Navel.
Pubic bone.
Right groin.
Left groin.
Right kneecap.
Left kneecap.
The tips of all ten toes.
The whole front side of the body.
The front side of the body together.
The whole front side relaxing back into the back side of the body.
The whole front side relaxing back into the back side of the body.
The front and back sides together.
Become aware of the whole right side.
Become aware of the whole right side.
The whole left side.
The right and left sides together.
The whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body together.
Lying in deepest relaxation at rest.
The whole body heavy and still.
And safe exactly where it lies.
Bring your awareness now to the natural breath.
There is nothing you need to change or improve.
Simply watch the breath.
Feel the slight coolness of the air as it enters the nostrils.
And the warm,
Humid air as it leaves.
Notice the gentle rise of the chest or belly on each inhale.
And the slow fall on the exhale.
On the next inhale,
Count to yourself silently 27.
And as you exhale,
27.
Inhale,
26.
And as you exhale,
26.
Continue counting your way down the breaths,
Breath by breath,
All the way to zero.
At any point,
If you lose track of the counting,
Or you make it to zero,
Simply start over once again from 27.
Let go of the counting.
Next we'll practice awareness of dualities.
Feel your body becoming heavy.
Heavy as stone.
The arms too heavy to lift.
The legs sinking.
Heavy and heavier still.
Let yourself be completely and utterly heavy.
And now let that go.
Feel the body becoming light.
Weightless.
Floating just slightly above the surface.
Easy and free and without effort.
Light.
And now let that go.
Feel now a sense of wakefulness in the mind.
Alert.
Present.
Aware.
Noticing.
And then let that dissolve into drowsiness.
A warm,
Pleasant fog at the edges of your thoughts.
Soft.
Slow.
Pleasantly dim.
Feel the body heavy.
And then light.
Awake.
And then sleepy.
Awake.
Drowsy.
Heavy.
Light.
Let them all go.
Bring your awareness instead to the soft space just behind your closed eyes.
In Yoga Nidra,
We call this space Chidakasha.
Notice the inner darkness there.
Calm and receptive.
As I name the following objects,
Let them appear in this space as vividly as you can.
And then release them as the next one arrives.
A night sky.
A night sky clear and vast.
The dark blue of the night sky.
The Milky Way.
The Milky Way faint and far.
A single star.
A single star clear and bright.
A shooting star.
A shooting star.
Gone.
The trace of its tail in the darkness.
The dark silhouette of a tree line against the sky.
A still lake below reflecting stars.
The surface of the lake barely moving.
A stone pier at the edge of the water.
Weathered planks to the stone pier.
A wooden boat tied to the pier rocking slightly.
A mist low on the water.
A soft mist low on the water.
A copse of pine.
A path through the trees.
Soft pine needles underfoot.
A small cabin.
A small cabin with one window lit.
Amber.
The warmth of the amber lamplight through the glass.
A door.
A jar.
A wooden warm floor inside.
A low fire and a stone earth.
The sound of fire.
Embers.
A deep chair near a warm fire.
Heavy wool blanket.
A heavy wool blanket on a deep chair.
Outside the lake still.
The trees still.
The stars still.
Silence beneath everything.
The silence underneath everything.
Just the silence.
The quiet silence.
The quiet darkness.
From this deep and quiet place,
Recall your sankalpa from the beginning of practice.
Repeat it to yourself once more three times in the exact same words gently and calmly.
Release it now into the darkness of your mind.
Allow it to drift away slowly into the distance.
Nothing left to hold on to or to do right now.
In the quiet darkness that it remains,
Observe the space just in front of your eyes behind your forehead.
Observe your chidakasha.
Observe the darkness.
You may notice colors or images or patterns or you may see nothing at all.
Just notice.
Observe the quiet peace in your mind.
Nothing here to do or not do.
You are in a deeply meditative state.
A healing and restorative state for your brain.
Slowly allow yourself to let go of your sense of hearing.
Let go of the sound of my voice.
Allow yourself to drift in the quiet darkness of your mind.
Relax into the quiet darkness of your mind.
Drift off.
Drift off into deepest sleep.
