Find your most comfortable position for practice today.
In Yoga Nidra,
One goal is to allow the conscious mind to release responsibility for the physical body.
The more comfortable you can make yourself at this time.
The easier it will be for you to relax and to let go.
Take any last adjustments or embellishments you need,
Like a towel across the eyes or a pillow behind the knees.
To get yourself prepared for meditation practice today.
Begin by opening your awareness to your sense of hearing.
Become aware of all the sounds you can hear without straightening.
Allow your consciousness to move from sound to sound without needing to label or identify the source.
And now allow the most distant sounds to melt into the weave of the vibration in the world around you.
Still in the periphery of your awareness but less important now Slowly narrow your awareness to closer sounds.
Sound within the building.
Sounds isolated within this room.
Closer now.
Become aware of the sound of the breath traveling in and out of your body.
You may be able to hear or sense the beating of your own heart.
As the body quiets.
Tune into the quieter voice of feeling inside of you.
Pay attention to your emotional center.
Many find it at the center of the chest.
How do you feel right now?
What do you need most right now?
The answer might be support.
Or change.
Or a way you'd like to feel more often.
What parts of you are asking for support today.
From your most compassionate place.
Take time now to generate a sankalpa.
Or inner resolve for this practice.
A statement that makes what you want into your reality.
If you're working with a Sankalpa,
You're always welcome to use that one.
Or you could choose a new one to work with today.
If you've been struggling with insomnia,
You might say something like,
I am well rested.
If you've been feeling isolated.
You might choose a statement like,
I am safe and loved.
Give yourself time now for the just right words to come.
And when you find the right words from your heart's deepest desire today,
Form it into a present moment,
Simple and clear I am statement,
And repeat it internally three times.
Now let it go.
We'll now train our attention to the whole body,
Developing sensory awareness of the whole body,
Part by part.
As I name the parts of your body rapidly,
Repeat the word in your mind and bring all of your attention to the sensations there.
Your awareness like a golden thread trailing from your brain to your body,
Part by part.
Connecting your physical and mental selves.
Visualize a network of golden threads.
Connecting all of the parts of the body.
Start by bringing your awareness to your right hand thumb.
And then visualize that golden thread from brain to thumb,
Becoming aware of all the sensations existing there.
Glide your awareness and the corresponding thread to the right index finger.
A connection to the middle finger,
Ring finger,
And 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,
Yep.
Buttocks,
Thigh,
Hamstring,
Knee,
Kneecap,
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 right foot.
The whole right leg,
The whole right side of the body connected by a web of golden threads,
Relaxed and heavy on the floor.
Next shift your awareness to your left hand thumb.
Left index.
Middle.
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
Golden threads from the brain to the tips of all five fingers,
The palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
The center of the left wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit.
Ribcage,
The left side waist,
Hip,
Buttocks,
Thigh,
Hamstring,
Knee.
Kneecap.
Sham.
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 leg,
The whole left side of the body,
Connected with golden threads,
Relaxed and heavy on the floor.
Next,
Bring your awareness to the soles of both feet.
The right heel,
Left heel,
Both heels together.
Back of the right knee.
Back of the left knee.
The tailbone.
Pelvis.
Lower back.
Middle spine.
Upper back.
Neck.
The back of the skull.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Back of the right arm.
Back of the left arm.
The whole back side of the body.
The back side of the body connected.
The whole backside of the body together,
Relaxed and heavy on the floor.
Next bring your awareness to the scalp.
The muscles of the scalp,
The crown of the head.
The center of the forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right eyeball,
Left eyeball,
The bridge of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Right side jaw,
Left side jaw,
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 of the neck,
Left side of the neck,
The pit of the throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side chest,
Left side chest,
Right side ribs,
Left side ribs,
The center of the chest and sternum.
Solar plexus,
The whole abdomen,
Belly button,
Pubic bone,
Right groin,
Left groin,
The pelvic floor,
The tips of all 10 toes,
The whole front side of the body,
The front side of the body together,
The front side of the body relaxing back into the back side of the body,
The front and back sides together.
The whole right side.
The whole left side.
The right and left sides together.
The whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body together.
Complete awareness of the whole body.
The whole body connected by golden threads of awareness.
Feel the breath as it enters the body through the nose.
Bring your awareness to the breath now as it passes through the right nostril only.
Notice all of the sensations as you exhale through the right nostril.
Inhaling,
Feel the breath in the right nostril.
And exhale through the right nostril.
We'll shift now to virtual alternate nostril breathing.
On the next inhale,
Observe the inhale through the right nostril.
And as you exhale,
Become aware of the breath now in the left nostril.
Inhale through the left nostril.
And exhale through the right.
Continue with this pattern,
Inhaling right and exhaling left,
Switching sides on the exhale.
Let go of this pattern of breathing and return to your natural breath.
Notice the slight sense of fullness you experience on the inhale breath.
On the exhale a sense of emptying.
Recall to your mind a time when your life felt full,
Full of connection and purpose,
Meaningful work and joy.
Notice how that feels in your body.
Experience now a sense of repletion,
Of all of your needs being met in every sense and every cell in your body,
Full and satisfying and plentiful and whole.
Now let that go Shift now instead to a sense of emptiness.
Recall a time when your life felt empty and lonely.
Untenanted.
Boring.
Meaningless and dull.
The whole brain and body wondering what the point of it all is.
Monotonous.
Frivolous.
Shallow.
Lonely.
Alone.
Now let that go.
Allow yourself to fill to the brim with happiness,
Pure joy,
Elation.
Experience happiness in your whole body and mind,
Energetic and exciting,
Light and free,
Full of hope,
Jubilation and delight.
Now let that go.
Recall in the physical body what it feels like to experience sadness,
Deep grief and devastation,
A heaviness,
Dread,
A low aching pain and sadness in every cranny of your existence.
Hold on to that feeling of sadness and bring back in the happiness.
Experience sadness and happiness at the same time in the same body.
Now just sadness.
Now only happiness,
Sadness,
Happiness,
Now both,
Now none.
Experience the self without any of these emotions.
Experience the mental quiet in the abundance of our fleeting emotions and associations and mental strain.
Next we'll move on to rapid visualization.
As you hear the following objects,
Visualize them as clearly as possible.
As colorfully as possible.
And as vividly as possible in your mind's eye.
A soap bubble.
A clear soap bubble on water.
A bubble floating.
Many clear bubbles filling the sky.
Two playful dogs.
A ripe apple.
A maple leaf,
A spring puddle,
An earthworm,
A firm handshake,
A crockpot full of soup,
An old shoe,
A new notebook,
The last page in a favorite novel.
A bumblebee.
A hummingbird.
A pile of rocks on the shore.
A pile of rocks on the shore of a river.
An inner tube.
A soft towel.
A golden chalice.
A warm freshly made bed.
The slightest steam after it rains in the summer.
Morning light,
Sunset,
A single candle in a window,
Drifting snow,
Drifting sand,
Drifting leaves,
Leaves drifting across a wide calm lake,
A single raindrop in a wide calm lake.
Rippling outward the rings of its impact,
Spreading.
Dissipating.
Disappearing.
Perpetual.
Watch as the ripples get smaller and smaller,
And allow the image of the lake to softly fade into the darkness.
Bring your awareness back to your Chidakasha,
The space inside your mind,
Just behind your eyebrows.
Allow your internal gaze to focus here on the warm and friendly darkness of your own mind.
You are in a deeply meditative state.
Nothing to do or not do,
But simply observe the quiet peace in your own mind.
You may see colors,
Images,
Or shapes in your Chidakasha,
Or you may see nothing at all.
Nevertheless,
Continue to observe the calm and friendly quiet in your mind.
A silent observer.
A non-judgmental observer.
Do not sleep.
Continue to watch the warm and friendly darkness of your own mind.
In Yoga Nidra,
We call this space Anahatamaya Kosha.
Or the bliss body.
The space inside of yourself where all is calm.
Without attachment to physical body,
The unconscious mind,
Or mental associations.
Continue to watch the peaceful darkness of your mind.
In this peaceful darkness,
Remember your intention from the beginning of practice and repeat it to yourself mentally three times.
And now allow it to drift off into the darkness of your mind.
Returning your awareness to your Chidakasha and resting here.
In Savasana.
Deeply relaxed.
Deeply at peace.
Nothing to do except to observe the quiet of your own mind.
In our rotation of consciousness,
You visualized your awareness as golden threads attaching to all of the parts of your body.
Bring back that visualization to your mind's eye.
See the golden threads of awareness from your brain to every part of your body.
Golden threads connecting you to every part of you.
Around the world in this very moment there are hundreds and even thousands of others meditating,
Leaving a golden web of awareness from their minds to their bodies,
Their emotions,
Their thoughts and sensations.
Without opening your eyes,
Recall to mind the four walls of the room where you lie.
See the ceiling and the floor.
Your body lying in relaxation.
Expand your awareness to become aware of others lying in meditation in your city,
Your country,
Your region,
And the world.
Visualize the golden threads of awareness from their minds to their bodies.
Now see those golden threads of awareness reaching out.
Meandering and weaving through the air.
Reaching out for connection to others.
Develop awareness of the other bodies in the world See the golden thread of your awareness touching their tentative tendrils.
Golden threads connecting each of our bodies.
Golden threads from individuals with self-awareness and awareness of others.
Golden threads of those committed to progress,
Self-discovery,
A change,
And non-attachment.
Change rippling down the threads into our interactions with one another and our interactions in our communities.
Our personal interactions for change are rippling down our connections to each individual outside of this room and the network of our lives.
Acknowledgement of those making time for meditation and grateful to those doing the work with us.
Those on this journey of transformation impacting all of the transitions and connections in each of our lives.
See the vastness of this web of self-awareness.
See the sameness in our commitment to ourselves and the world.
Your practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Drop your awareness from the world back into your physical body lying in deepest relaxation.
At peace and at ease.
Begin to bring some small movements back into your body.
Testing out your physical self once again.
Moving,
Stretching in ways you see fit.
And when you're ready,
Tuck your knees up and roll over onto one side to pause for just a moment.
Reconnecting with your physical self alert and ready for whatever comes in next.
And in your own time,
Blink your eyes open and use your hands to press yourself back up to a seated position.
A sense of peace and connection ever present as you continue on with your day.
