Yoga Nidra - Chakras

In this Yoga Nidra practice, we will explore the magical realm of our subtle energy. We will delve into the chakras and discover the sacred meanings they hold. These chakras are not mere physical entities, but rather they are energetic centers that hold immense power and wisdom. Although they cannot be felt as easily as our tangible body parts, they impact our physical and emotional well-being in profound ways.

Remember, there is no right or wrong way to experience this. Simply trust your inner voice and allow the guidance of the voice to lead you on this mystical journey. This practice is an opportunity for us to tap into the infinite power that lies within us, and to connect with the divine wisdom that surrounds us.

So let us come together in this sacred space and embrace the beauty of our subtle energy. Let us allow ourselves to be immersed in the pure radiance of the chakras, and bask in the limitless potential that they hold. Namaste.

Photo by Arina Krasnikova

Transcript

In this Yoganidra practice,

We will feel our subtle energy.

We will learn about the chakras and what they represent.

The chakras are not anchored in the material body,

But are energetic centers.

So they cannot be felt as easily as a thumb or a foot.

However,

The chakras affect our body and our mind.

So don't try to locate them exactly in the body,

But feel their radiance and energy.

It is like a visualization practice within our body and the level that goes beyond our bodies.

Don't worry about whether you are doing it well or right,

Just follow your instinct and the voice.

Welcome to the practice of Yoganidra.

Lie stretched out on your back on a comfortable surface.

You will remain immobile throughout the practice.

So cover up and cushion the head,

Neck,

Lower back and back of the knees if you want support here.

You can pause the playback briefly if you need more time.

Then,

Stretch your legs out so they are no longer touching.

Relax your feet.

Open the soles of your feet,

Stretch all your toes away and then let your heels sink heavily into the surface.

Let the tension escape from your ankles and feel your calves release.

Make your knees very soft and release the muscles in your thighs and groin.

Perhaps shake or roll both legs a little to help relax your hips.

Let your pelvis get heavy so that it sinks into the support comfortably and softly.

Feel your lower back open and your lumbar spine relax.

Mentally extend yourself from your tailbone to the crown of your head.

Place your head in extension of your spine.

Feel the space opening up between your vertebrae and your discs.

Breathing a sigh of relief.

Let the back of your head become very heavy and sink comfortably in your pillow or pad.

Feel the connection between your heels,

Tailbone and the back of your head.

Then,

Open your shoulders,

Your arms rest,

Palms facing up to the left and right of your body.

Feel your palms opening,

Your fingers and wrist relaxing and let go completely.

Your shoulder girdle softens as you relax.

Roll or shake your arms slightly and let them roll a little further outwards.

You feel your body being carried completely and you let go of everything.

Your body is completely relaxed.

Stay alert and present as your body rests.

Become aware of all the sounds that you can hear at this moment.

Only those you can hear without effort.

Are there any distant sounds that you can hear?

Allow your hearing and senses to radiate outwards.

Seek those distant sounds and follow them for a few moments.

Then,

Gradually direct your attention to closer sounds.

Are there sounds outside this building?

Are there any sounds inside this building?

Are there sounds close to you?

Now,

Softly close your eyes if you haven't yet and keep them closed until the end of the practice.

Now,

Visualize the four walls of this room,

The ceiling,

The floor and your body lying on the floor.

Visualize the position of your body,

What you're wearing,

Your hairdo,

Face.

Notice your body and feel the points of support on the floor.

Feel both heels touching the floor.

Feel the back of your head resting on the floor.

Shoulder blades and back.

Back of the right hand and back of the left hand on the floor.

Right elbow and left elbow on the floor.

Your butt on the floor.

Feel your heels resting on the floor.

Notice your body lying on the floor.

Notice that your body is relaxed and not moving.

Now,

Set your sankalpa.

Repeat your resolution three times in your mind with confidence and trust.

Your resolution is like a seed that you place in well-prepared soil.

What you resolve to do in this way will come to pass in your life.

You are aware that you are doing yoga nidra now.

Stay awake throughout the practice and follow the instructions of the voice.

We will now begin a journey of sensory awareness through the body.

You will bring your awareness to different parts of your body.

As you hear them,

Please repeat the name of the part of your body silently in your mind each time.

Feel that part of your body but do not move.

You can also imagine to let the breath flow through that part of your body.

We start on the right side.

Right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

The fifth pinky finger.

The right palm.

The back of your hand and wrist.

Your right forearm and elbow.

The upper arm and shoulder.

Your armpit.

Right side of the chest.

Waist and groin.

Your right thigh and knee.

Your knee pit.

The right lower leg.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the right foot.

Top of the foot.

Your right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And your fifth pinky toe.

Feel your entire right side.

The entire right side.

Then move your attention to the left.

Your left hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Left ring finger.

And left pinky finger.

Left palm and back of the hand.

Left wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

And upper arm.

Your shoulder and armpit.

The left side of your chest.

Waist and groin.

Your left thigh and knee.

The left knee pit.

Your lower leg and ankle.

Your heel and sole of the foot.

The top of the foot.

Your left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the pinky toe.

Feel the whole left side.

Feel the entire left side.

Now go to the back of your body.

Right heel.

Left heel.

Right calf.

Left calf.

Right knee pit.

Left knee pit.

Right thigh and left thigh.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Your lower back.

The middle back and upper back.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Your neck.

Back of the head and top of the head.

Now feel the entire back of your body.

The entire back of your body.

Then move your attention to the front of your body.

Your forehead.

Right temple.

Left temple.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The center point between the eyebrows.

The center point between the eyebrows.

Your right eyelid and left eyelid.

Your right eye.

Left eye.

Right ear and left ear.

The right nostril and left nostril.

Right cheek and left cheek.

The nose and tip of the nose.

Your upper lip and lower lip.

Both lips together.

Your chin and jaw.

The neck.

Right clavicle.

Left clavicle.

The whole right side of your chest.

The whole left side of your chest.

Upper abdomen.

Navel.

Your lower abdomen.

The right groin and your left groin.

Your pelvic floor.

The whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Both legs together.

The whole right arm.

The whole left arm.

Both arms together.

Your belly and chest.

The whole upper body.

Your whole face.

The whole head.

The whole body.

The whole body.

The whole body.

The whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Both legs together.

The whole right arm.

The whole left arm.

Both arms together.

The whole back.

The belly.

The chest.

The whole upper body.

The whole face.

And the whole head.

The whole body.

The whole body.

The whole body.

The whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Both legs together.

The whole right arm.

The whole left arm.

And both arms together.

The whole back.

The belly.

The chest.

The whole upper body.

The whole face.

The whole head.

The whole body.

The whole body.

The whole body.

Please stay awake and alert.

Breathe deeply in and out.

Let go of your weight,

Your thoughts,

The stories in your head.

Everything can wait.

While you just breathe.

Now breathe in deeply and as you exhale let go of all the tension in your body.

Then gently continue breathing and deepen the breath into your belly.

Counting to five on the inhale and five on the exhale.

Now breathe in.

Inhale two three four five.

Exhale two three four five.

Inhale two three four five.

Exhale two three four five.

Inhale two three four five.

Exhale two three four five.

Continue breathing.

Feel your belly rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale.

Deepen the breath into the belly.

Let your body weight sing into the floor,

To your feet,

Buttocks,

Shoulders and head.

The earth is our home.

The earth gravity is always there to accompany us every moment we can connect with the earth by feeling a solid surface.

Just giving our weight to the earth and connecting with it.

Feel your own power,

Your beautiful body that knows exactly what to do and when to do it.

Notice the calm and steady power of your heart and intuition.

Notice this deep wisdom within you.

When we enter a quiet state of relaxation from deep within us,

Subtle messages can come.

Emotions,

Images,

Thoughts,

Memories,

Whatever you are seeing,

Feeling or sensing.

Notice it just as you notice your heartbeat,

Just as you notice your breath,

Just as you observe the swelling of your navel when you inhale.

Let it come.

Observe.

See how it changes,

Maybe fades,

Something emerges.

Just observe.

Keep breathing deeply.

Feel your belly button rise and fall.

Let your breath flow deep into the lower abdomen,

Your groin and the pelvic floor.

Feel the pelvic floor lowering with the inhalation and rising with the exhalation.

The pelvic floor follows the movement of your diaphragm.

With the inhalation,

Feel the slight pressure against the pelvic floor.

With the exhalation,

Feel the relaxation and the area of the pelvic floor sits your root chakra.

The chakras are energy centers or energy vortices in your body.

This is where the psychic energies and aspects of yourself are focused.

The root chakra represents being rooted in the here and now.

Feel the area of the pelvic floor and imagine earth.

You can smell the earth.

Earth strengthens your primal trust.

Here sits your muladhara chakra.

Then take your breath to the level of your lower abdomen.

About halfway between your pubic bone and belly button is positioned the svaristana chakra.

This energy vortex represents your creativity and sexuality.

For us women,

The center of our fertility sits here,

The uterus.

Feel the area in front of the lumbar spine and imagine water.

Taste clear,

Fresh water.

Water gives life and vitality.

Come with your breath to your navel.

Here lies the manipura chakra.

This is the center of your psychic power and strength.

Western medicine calls the ring shaped plexus of ganglia,

Which is a little higher in the area in front of the spine,

The solar plexus.

This is where your fire sits.

You see fire burning in front of your inner eye.

Let your breath flow higher to your heart.

This is where the psychic centers above and below your heart connect.

In the anahata chakra,

Here is the seed of your higher self,

Your soul.

This is where your feelings such as love,

Joy and contentment are located.

The element of air is connected to the heart chakra.

You feel pleasantly warm air on your skin and playing around your fingertips.

Feel the air around you.

Now take a deep breath.

Feel the breath swirl around your larynx.

Relax your throat and feel your vishuddha chakra.

Here your thoughts materialize and become sounds.

Your words become communication.

This is where you make contact with the community.

Imagine a wide space that can be filled with sounds.

You hear the sounds in this space.

Now go to the center of your thoughts,

Behind your forehead.

The ajna chakra is our control center.

It governs our thoughts and intellect.

It also opens our subtle spiritual perception.

This is where the third eye is positioned.

The ability to see that we are all connected and our thoughts are not our minds.

Notice your thoughts or the silence and absence of thoughts.

This is where the observer and the mantra OM sits.

Take a deep breath and with the exhalation quietly say the mantra OM in your mind.

Repeat two more times.

Breathe in deeply,

Breathe out and repeat the mantra OM.

Again breathe in deeply and with the exhale repeat the mantra OM.

Now let your attention move to the top of your head.

Here,

Or a little above,

Sits your sahasrara chakra.

The crown chakra connects you to the divine.

It allows you to experience the connection of all things to you.

It helps you overcome your ego.

And think in the big picture.

Through conscious relaxation and meditation your crown chakra is strengthened.

Like right now you see a thousand petaled lotus.

Let your breath move along your spine a few more times.

Connect with the inhale to the top of your head and run with the exhale to the bottom of your pelvis.

Inhale to the crown of your head,

Exhale into the pelvic floor.

Feel the energy circulating through the body.

Once again inhale to the crown and exhale to the pelvic floor.

Stay awake and intensify your perception.

You now visualize something specific.

As soon as you hear a term imagine or visualize it on your mind screen.

Be aware and unbiased.

The key to visualization is to relax and just let the image come.

Just let the image rise.

Flickering light.

A large flowering cherry tree.

A large fir tree.

A moving car.

Colored clouds in the sky.

Yellow cloud.

Gray cloud.

Pink cloud.

Shining stars in the sky.

Foggy morning.

Sunshine in the fresh air.

Starry night.

Moonlit night.

Full moon.

Sailboat on the high seas.

Laughing with friends.

A warm hug.

Cat cleaning itself.

Galloping horse.

Rising sun.

Setting sun.

Sea waves.

Stormy night.

Cool clear water.

Stay at the eyebrow center with your attention.

Waiting for results.

Get help from others.

Making appointments.

Meditating Buddha.

Sandy beach.

Sailing boat.

High mountain range with snow-capped peaks.

Barbecue place.

Burning fire.

Lotus flowers on a lake.

Smoke from a chimney.

Cold winter.

Light in a house.

Daybreak.

Temple bells ringing.

Meditating yogi.

Resting Buddha.

The wide calm sea.

Dense jungle near the sea.

Animals living peacefully together.

Cobras.

Lions.

Goats.

See yourself in this jungle.

Hear the mantra of.

Listen to the mantra of.

Continue observing your eyebrow center.

The center between your eyebrows.

The sun rises bright red.

Clouds in the sky.

Raindrops falling on a flower.

Fog over a river.

Red rose.

Sunflower.

Apple.

Lettuce leaves.

Hot spring.

Large pine.

Grapes.

The symbol om.

A lonely wooden hut.

Snow covered mountains.

Cold mountain stream.

Sailing ship on the sea.

Lotus on a lake.

Bathing people.

Remember your resolution.

Your sankalpa.

Repeat the resolution from the beginning of the practice.

Three times in your mind.

With confidence and trust.

Now feel your breath.

Feel your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.

Maintain awareness of your breath while developing awareness of your physical body.

Your body is relaxed and lying on the floor.

Feel your skin.

Feel your clothes.

Feel the pillow and blanket touching you.

Enjoy this heaviness of your body as it rests on the floor.

Direct your awareness to all the points that touch the floor.

The back of your heels.

Thighs.

Buttocks.

Shoulder blades.

Back of your arms.

Hands.

And the back of your head.

Feel if anything has risen to you during this practice that you would like to trace or write down.

Perhaps something has dissolved or clarified.

Maybe an idea has risen or a new perspective has opened up.

Stay with it for a moment with your eyes closed.

Then visualize the space around you.

Imagine where you are in the room and what else is around you.

Remain still and keep your eyes closed until you feel ready to move.

Then begin by moving your hands and feet slowly.

Take your time,

There is no rush.

Wake your body up and when you are sure that you are fully awake,

Gently open your eyes.

Then push yourself up from the floor.

Let your head come up and open your eyes.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.