Prepare yourself for yoga nidra by making sure that you are completely comfortable.
Lay on your back with cushion beneath your body,
Support under the head,
And bolsters under the backs of the knees.
Ensure that the feet are not touching the floor,
That the body is warm enough,
And that you will not be disturbed.
Close your eyes and take the next few moments to adjust anything that feels uncomfortable – the body's position,
The props,
Or your clothing – until you are able to completely let go.
Yoga nidra is the practice of psychic sleep.
It is a systematic relaxation of the body,
The breath,
The mind,
And emotions until you are in an alpha-wave state.
During this state,
Your body is completely relaxed,
And the eyes are closed,
But the mind is conscious and aware.
Through this relaxed awareness,
You can let go of everyday stresses and experience a deeply healing state of equanimity.
While practicing yoga nidra,
Try not to fall completely asleep.
The secret of the practice is to reach and sustain the twilight state of consciousness between the waking and the sleeping states.
My voice will act as an anchor to keep you relaxed and in the present moment.
If the mind becomes overactive with thoughts,
Continue listening with your full attention.
If you feel yourself drifting,
Simply return to the sound of my voice and follow the words being spoken.
Take a moment to witness the state of your emotions,
The flavor of your mood.
What has been happening lately that is causing you stress?
Is it possible to look at the situation objectively without falling into the story in your mind?
Have you been able to connect to a sense of hope?
What might be blocking your ability to feel hopeful for the future?
Notice this all without judgment.
Take a snapshot of your emotional tone and then allow it to dissolve into silence and stillness.
Now create an intention or sankalpa based on a quality that will help you to deal with your stressors more easily.
Create a short,
Positive statement in simple language beginning with I am.
Perhaps the intention I am hopeful resonates with you.
If not,
Create a personalized intention.
Keep it with care and attention and state it to yourself three times now.
The sankalpa you use during yoga nidra plants a seed for transformation in your life.
You will now embark on an orderly tracing of the sensory pathways in the body.
Say the name of the body part to yourself after you hear it and move all of your awareness into that part.
You will relax the mind by relaxing the body.
Begin at the center of the chest.
All awareness at the center of the chest.
Feel the right side of the chest,
The left side of the chest,
The right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right rib cage,
Left rib cage,
The sternum,
Upper abdomen,
Navel center,
Lower abdomen,
Right groin,
Left groin,
The pelvic floor,
Tailbone,
Sacrum,
Right buttock,
The left buttock,
The entire spine from the tailbone to the base of the skull,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The whole nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Back to the heart center.
Move your awareness into your right hand thumb,
The first finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
And fourth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Groin,
Buttock,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Left ankle,
Heel,
Soul of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the fifth toe.
Then move all awareness into the left hand thumb.
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Groin,
Buttock,
Thigh,
Left knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe.
Now feel the whole left leg,
The whole right leg,
Both legs together,
The whole left arm,
The whole right arm,
Both arms together.
Feel your entire torso,
The face,
The head,
The body,
The whole body.
Feel your entire body.
You are practicing yoga nidra,
You are awake and aware of the words being spoken.
Begin to focus on your natural easy breath.
Where in your torso do you feel the movement that breath creates?
For now do not change the breath,
Simply observe what is already happening.
Some breaths will be long and smooth,
Some short and not as complete.
Allow each breath to come to you however it presents itself.
How does it feel to pull breath into your body?
Notice the activity of inhalation,
Drawing the breath into your body,
Creating a sense of fulfillment and potential.
Focus for a few moments on the feeling of inhaling.
Can you feel the movement of the breath near the heart center?
A gentle lifting and expansion on the inhale.
Imagine that your breath originates from your heart center and as you inhale,
The energy of the breath expands outward in all directions.
On your exhale,
Simply relax.
Continue to inhale from your heart center,
Imagining that space expanding larger and larger.
The emotional center is relaxed and open,
Able to experience any emotion that might arise.
Continue witnessing sensations of lightness in the heart center as you breathe easily.
Next,
Notice the release of the exhalations.
Surrender the breath out of your body,
Creating a sense of emptiness.
Focus for a few moments on the feeling of each exhalation.
Try not to force the breath out from the body,
But allow it to slowly dissipate.
Feel the passivity of the exhale that surrenders the air from your body.
Now notice the places where the exhalations become inhalations,
Where the inhalations become exhalations.
Can you feel the peace within these transitions,
The quiet space where nothing is happening,
The potential of the inhale and the surrender of the exhale dissolve into one another?
Focus for a few more moments on the transitions between inhale and exhale,
Between exhale and inhale.
Allow your mind to drop into that stillness.
Continue to feel your entire body and notice that each part of the body feels very heavy and grounded into the earth.
The arms are heavy,
The legs are heavy,
The torso is heavy,
The head is so heavy that you couldn't move it,
The body is feeling so heavy and dense that you seem to be sinking down into the floor.
Now experience the whole body becoming light and buoyant.
A floating and weightless sensation comes into the arms and legs.
The head and torso feel light and floating.
The weight of the body has disappeared and you seem to be rising away from the floor and toward the ceiling.
Move back into the feeling of resting in comfort and safety as you practice Yoga Nidra.
Move your mind back to the way things were in the past,
Not a specific situation but just a general rumination of the memory.
Notice if your mind seeks out memories that are negative or those that are positive.
When you remember,
What do you tend to dwell on?
Does it change the way you think and feel in the present moment?
Now focus on the opposite of memory.
Focus on the future.
Observe yourself non-judgmentally and watch where your mind wanders.
Does it look toward some future delight with a sense of happy anticipation?
Or does the future seem bleak?
Imagine the future.
Then remember a time in your life when you had hopelessness.
Be sure to remind yourself that you are not experiencing these feelings at this time,
Just remembering them.
Where do you feel this emotion in your body?
Is there a feeling of constriction around the heart or abdomen?
Remember a feeling of hopelessness.
And then experience the opposite,
The feeling of hope.
Allow your heart to open and expand to the possibilities of good outcomes,
A feeling of support and love from those around you.
Imagine positive outcomes to any stressful situation and bathe in this feeling of hope.
You are practicing yoga nidra.
You are awake and aware.
Begin to look deeply into the space in front of your closed eyelids.
Imagine there a screen as if you were at the theater watching a movie.
At first the screen is blank,
But slowly images begin to emerge.
There may be colors,
Shapes,
Or patterns that you notice.
Try not to push any image away nor hold on to any image.
Whatever you see there is within the unfolding of your mind.
If thoughts occur,
Allow them to arise and dissolve.
Stay detached from the images on the mental screen.
Practice being a witness to what is seen without any emotional reaction.
Now as you hear these objects,
Envision them as clearly as you can on your mental screen.
Continue noticing emotions,
But remain a passive observer.
A red ball,
A blank page,
Your reflection in a mirror.
Looking forward to the future,
A white oak tree,
A heavy burden,
Feeling hopeful,
The clear tone of a bell.
Hear a good news,
A sad memory,
The crescent moon,
A family portrait,
A peaceful place to rest.
Feeling the support of friends,
A vast mountain range,
The view from an airplane,
A positive outcome,
A candle in the darkness,
A cat napping in the sun,
Your body resting in yoga nidra.
Take a moment to visualize yourself resting in yoga nidra.
Imagine that you could see a view of this room from above.
Look down upon all the brightly colored mats and other props.
See the other people around you who might also be practicing.
Begin to imagine tiny golden threads that connect you to everyone else that is here.
These golden threads connect all of us.
They connect you to the teacher and to each other.
Imagine that the golden threads spread outwards in an ever expanding web of connection.
They connect each one of you to everyone in your local yoga community,
To everyone in the other communities that you participate in.
See the golden web that is woven as you visualize these threads.
They travel beyond this class over many miles to each one of our families at home,
Wherever home may be.
Take a moment to visualize this web of golden threads spanning the country and beyond.
Each golden connection is nourished and strengthened by the love we have for this practice that sustains us.
They are also nourished by the care that we show for one another in large ways and in small ways.
We are connected by this union of heart and mind as we come back to our yoga nidra practice again and again.
We are joined and whole,
Content and blissful as we rest here in this moment.
Notice where your mind has gone into the supporting web of connection.
Who from your life has been brought to mind through this meditation?
What gifts has this person brought into your life?
With an open heart,
Send that person love and gratitude.
Then slowly begin to follow the golden threads of connection back towards yourself.
There may be other people along your path who you wish to acknowledge.
Hold each within your heart for a few moments.
Continue to follow the threads back until you arrive again at the threads connecting the people in this room.
Find compassion and gratitude in your heart for the people here sharing your yoga nidra experience.
With a heart full of hope,
Rest in the awareness that we are all on this path together.
We can give and receive support from each other as we move through the transitions of our lives.
At times we have support to give and at other times we are in need of that support.
We are all able to rest in the security and hope that the connections between us will provide support when it is needed.
Now it is time to repeat your sankalpa.
Repeat the same statement made at the beginning of the practice three times silently with rich awareness and feeling.
Relax completely into the moment and bring attention to your calm and peaceful state of mind.
The emotions,
Thoughts,
And memories move through the mind like sand through a sieve.
There is no sense of grasping or pushing away anything in the mind.
Watch your breath come and go in a similar fashion.
Inhale,
Followed by exhale,
Followed by inhale,
Moment by moment by moment.
Feel too the quiet comfortable state of your body.
It is so still and peaceful that you are almost unaware of your physical form.
Begin to bring consciousness into the places where the back of your body is touching the floor.
Then imagine the four walls of the room,
The ceiling,
The floor,
And remember the time of day as you begin to awaken.
Start by making small conscious movements in the fingers and the toes.
Then move the hands and the feet.
Turn the head slowly from side to side.
Open the eyes to allow the outside world to slowly come into focus.
Gently bend the knees and roll over to your side.
Then when you are ready to come up,
Use the strength of your arms to push yourself up from the floor.
And the practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
