Please lie on the floor in a comfortable position.
Ideally your arms would be out to the sides with some room between the inside and outsides of your armpits.
And maybe something under your knees so your lower back is comfortable.
But of course any other position where you can lie down and be still would be absolutely acceptable.
We'll begin by focusing on the body,
The Anamaya Koshas.
So take a big deep breath in and breathe out your mouth.
And then do that one more time.
Big deep breath in and breathe out your mouth.
And then please flex your feet and make fists with your hands and engage the muscles in your hands and feet.
And then squeeze all the muscles to the bones in your legs and arms.
Then maybe lift your head,
Legs and arms off the ground for a moment.
And then release that completely.
And then make any small adjustments you might need to make so that you can lie comfortably and still.
So if anything needs to be moved slightly,
Now is your moment.
And we'll all have the intention to be attentive with our minds and awake but absolutely still for the next few minutes.
This won't be a long yoga nidra so we'll make that intention knowing we won't be here forever.
Then bring your mind's eye down to your feet and relax your feet.
Ask your feet to relax without moving them.
And feel that relaxation move through your ankles and then your lower legs.
Your knee area and then your upper legs,
The fronts and backs of your thighs.
Relax your belly.
Relax your glutes and lower back.
And then feel that relaxation move through your middle back and maybe your upper back.
Now move your attention to your hands and feel your hands relax and let go.
And that moves into the wrists and forearms.
Then elbow area and upper arms all relaxing.
Shoulders relax.
Feel your muscles in your neck relax.
Jaw relaxed.
Face relaxed.
Even your eyes relaxed.
Whole body released and relaxed on the floor.
And now we move away from this physical body and into the breath body,
The pranamaya kosha.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
No need to modify it in any way.
Just watch your breath as it naturally and slowly as you rest moves in and out.
Let your mind sit there for a moment watching your breath.
Watching the sensations your breath creates without you having to do anything about it.
Notice how subtle the breath is.
Notice the pauses after the in and out breath that come naturally without you having to create them.
Now we'll move our attention away from the breath and into our mind and thoughts.
Notice as your thoughts arise.
Maybe the thoughts are random.
Maybe you're thinking about yourself lying on the ground or the sound of my voice.
But just notice how your thoughts come and then they go.
One thought after another arising and falling.
No need to get involved with them or modify them in any way.
Simply noticing the thoughts and noticing that you have thoughts.
Thoughts are rising and dissipating.
This is the manomaya kosha.
Now let's notice that there's space between the thoughts.
So the thoughts arise and the thoughts fall but there is space.
You can visualize that space between your thoughts.
You could visualize your thoughts arising and falling in a blue sky or in a pond of perfect blue water.
Or any other visualization that allows you to see that your thoughts are arising and falling within it.
Thoughts come,
There is blue space.
And thoughts dissolve and that blue space is still there.
The space between your thoughts is your vision of maya kosha.
Blue space between the thoughts.
And now let your vision,
Your mental vision pan out even further.
Where you're looking at your thoughts in that blue water or sky and you watch them get further and further away from you until they actually dissolve.
Allow yourself to feel the natural peace that's beyond the thoughts and the mind,
Ananda.
Panning back and relaxing completely into this bliss.
Okay.
Okay.
Slowly begin to deepen your breathing.
As you slowly expand the breath,
Begin to feel the prana move in the body again.
Deepen the breath more so it moves all the way down towards your fingers and toes.
And then as you begin to feel ready,
Very slowly begin to move and stretch the body in any way that makes sense to you.
Then bring your palms together over your heart,
Left over right.
Eternally bowing to your own heart.
Namaste.
