With respect to Swami Satyananda Saraswati,
I present the teachings of Yoga Nidra.
Lay down on the floor in Shavasana and make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Allow your feet to separate and fall towards the outer edges of your mat.
Separate your arms and allow the palms to face the sky.
Adjust your blanket and clothes and position so that you can practice Yoga Nidra in complete stillness and comfort.
Please allow your eyes to close gently and invite them to stay closed.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is the act of hearing and the act of feeling.
And these are the only important factors.
In Yoga Nidra you function on the level of awareness plus the level of listening.
In dreams you have no control,
But in Yoga Nidra you are the creator of the dream.
Say to yourself mentally,
I will stay awake and I will listen to the voice.
Repeat it to yourself,
I will stay awake.
Give yourself some time to become calm and steady.
Take a deep breath and as you breathe in,
Feel calmness spreading throughout your body.
As you are breathing out,
Say to yourself mentally,
Relax.
Become aware of sounds in the distance.
Become aware of the most distant sounds that you can hear.
Let your sense of hearing operate like a radar beam,
Searching out the distant sounds and following them for a few seconds.
Move your attention from sound to sound without attempting to identify the source.
Gradually bring your attention to closer sounds.
To sounds outside this building and then to sounds inside this building.
Now develop your awareness of this room.
Without opening your eyes,
Visualize the four walls,
The ceiling,
The floor,
Your body laying on the floor.
See your body laying on the floor.
Become aware of the existence of your physical body laying on the floor.
Total awareness of your body laying in perfect stillness.
Your body is laying on the floor.
Develop your awareness of all the physical meeting points between your body and the floor.
Become aware of the natural breath.
Become aware of the deep,
Natural,
Spontaneous breath.
There is no need for concentration,
Only the observation of the natural process.
Keep listening to me and know that you are breathing.
The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.
Say mentally to yourself,
I am going to practice Yoga Nidra.
I will stay awake.
I am going to practice Yoga Nidra.
I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
This is the time to set your intention.
Please state your intention clearly with feeling and awareness three times.
A short,
Affirmative statement in simple language.
Your clear,
Direct intention.
Plant that intention in one place that you will remember it.
Repeat your intention mentally with full awareness and feeling three times.
Now rotate your consciousness through the different centers of your body.
As quickly as possible,
The awareness will jump from point to point.
Please repeat mentally the name of each part and simultaneously become aware of that part.
The practice will begin with the right hand.
Right hand.
Right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Right shoulder.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Left hand.
Left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Armpit.
Waist.
Hip.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole.
Top of the foot.
Right shoulder.
Left shoulder.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Right side waist.
Left side waist.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
The spine.
The whole back together.
Top of the head.
Forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Eyebrow center.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Nose.
Tip of the nose.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Jaw.
Throat.
Right collarbone.
Abdomen.
Lower abdomen.
Whole of the right leg.
Whole of the left leg.
Both legs together.
Whole of the right arm.
Whole of the left arm.
Both arms together.
Whole of the back.
Whole of the front.
Whole of the head.
Together.
Legs,
Arms,
Back,
Front.
Head.
Together.
The whole body together.
The whole of the body together.
Together the whole body.
Right hand.
Right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Armpit.
Waist.
Hip.
Right thigh.
Knee.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Armpit.
Waist.
Hip.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Right shoulder.
Left shoulder.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Right side waist.
Left side waist.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
The spine.
The whole back together.
Top of the head.
Center.
Right eyelid.
Left eyelid.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Nose.
Tip of the nose.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chest.
Navel.
Abdomen.
Lower abdomen.
Whole of the right leg.
Whole of the left leg.
Both legs together.
Whole of the right arm.
Whole of the left arm.
Both arms together.
Whole of the back.
Whole of the front.
Whole of the head.
Together legs,
Arms,
Back,
Front,
Head,
Together.
Whole body together.
The whole of the body together.
Together the whole body.
Right hand.
Right thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Armpit.
Waist.
Hip.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Left hand.
Left thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Right shoulder.
Left shoulder.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Right side waist.
Left side waist.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
The spine.
The whole back together.
Top of the head.
Forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Eyebrow center.
Right eyelid.
Left eyelid.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Right cheek.
Nose.
Tip of the nose.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Jaw.
Throat.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Right chest.
Left chest.
Center of the chest.
Navel.
Abdomen.
Lower abdomen.
Whole of the right leg.
Whole of the left leg.
Both legs together.
Whole of the right arm.
Whole of the left arm.
Both arms together.
Whole of the back.
Whole of the front.
Whole of the head.
Together legs.
Arms.
Back.
Front.
Head.
Together.
The whole body together.
The whole of the body together.
Together the whole body.
Develop awareness of the whole body.
And become aware of the space occupied by the body.
Become aware of the body.
And the space being occupied by your body.
Body and space.
Become aware of the whole body and the floor.
The whole body in relation to the floor.
And at the same time become aware of the meeting points of the body and the floor.
These are very subtle physical points between body and floor.
Feel the meeting points between the back of your head and the floor.
The shoulder blades and the floor.
The elbows and the floor.
The backs of the hands and the floor.
The buttocks and the floor.
The calves and the floor.
The heels and the floor.
Awareness of all the meeting points between the body and the floor.
The sensation of all the points simultaneously.
Evenly.
Go on feeling these points clearly and distinctly.
Please remain awake.
Continue feeling these points.
Switch your attention to the eyelids.
Feel the narrow line between the upper and lower eyelids meeting.
Feel the sharp points where they meet.
Intensify your awareness between the eyelids.
And then the lips.
Center your attention on the line between the lips.
The space between the lips.
From the lips we go to the breath.
Draw your attention to the natural inhalation and exhalation of your breath.
Feel the breath moving along the passage between the navel and the throat.
On inhalation it rises from the navel to the throat.
On exhalation it descends from the throat to the navel.
Be completely aware of the breath.
Navel to throat.
Throat to navel.
No need to force the breath.
Just observe with awareness.
Maintain your awareness and at the same time start counting your breaths backwards as follows.
I am breathing in 27.
I am breathing out 27.
I am breathing in 26.
I am breathing out 26.
I am breathing in 25.
I am breathing out 25.
And keep on going from 27 to 1.
Count to yourself mentally as you follow the rise and fall of your breath from navel to throat and back again.
If you lose count then just go back to 27 and start again.
Total awareness of breathing and counting.
The breathing is slow and relaxed.
Full awareness.
Please continue counting.
Awaken the feeling of heaviness in the body.
The feeling of heaviness.
Become aware of heaviness in every single part of the body.
You are feeling so heavy that you are sinking into the floor.
Awareness of heaviness.
Awareness of heaviness.
Awaken the feeling of lightness.
Awaken the feeling of lightness.
A sensation of lightness and weightlessness in all parts of the body.
Your body feels so light that it seems to be floating away from the floor.
Awareness of lightness.
The experience of cold.
Awaken the experience of icy cold within the body.
Imagine you are walking on a cold floor in winter.
Your feet feel very cold.
You feel cold all over.
Awareness of coldness.
Awareness of coldness.
Awaken the sensation of heat.
Awaken the experience of heat.
The whole body is hot.
The whole body is hot.
You feel hot all over.
Recall the feeling of heat in summer when you are out in the sun with no shade.
Heat all over the body.
Heat all around the body.
Awareness of heat.
The experience of pain.
Concentrate and try to remember the experience of pain.
Any pain you have experienced in your life,
Mental or physical.
Recall the feeling of pain.
Recall the feeling of pleasure.
Any kind of pleasure,
Physical or mental.
Recall this feeling and relive it.
Make it vivid.
Awaken the feeling of pleasure.
Check that you are awake.
Are you drowsy or sleepy?
Make sure that you are still awake.
Say to yourself,
I am awake.
Say to yourself,
I am awake.
Withdraw your mind and concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyes.
The space we will call inner space.
Imagine before you a transparent screen through which you can see infinite space.
A space that extends as far as the eyes can see.
Concentrate on this dark space and become aware of any phenomena that manifests within it.
Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.
Continue your awareness of this space without becoming involved.
Practice detached awareness only.
What you see is a projection of your subconscious.
Maintain your awareness.
Imagine that it is very early morning.
Still dark.
And you are walking through the hills,
Climbing up towards the mountains.
You are alone.
You are walking east and if you look back you can see a thin crescent shaped moon in the sky.
Soon the sun will rise over the mountains ahead of you.
Far below in a valley the lights of a small town twinkle through an early morning mist.
The path twists back and forth on the side of a steep slope.
It winds between huge boulders and over bridges suspended across deep chasms.
A gap between two hills ahead gives a glimpse of a huge snow covered mountain.
The pale sky behind it foretells the dawn.
You climb up through snow.
It makes a crunching sound as you break the surface and sink in.
A glacier lays across your path.
There are creaks and groans of moving ice as you quickly move across.
Near the top of the mountain it becomes very cold.
Winds howl around your body and snatch at your clothes.
Snow and ice cling to your shoes.
You reach the top and a magnificent scene reveals itself before your eyes.
To the east a vast range of snow covered peaks and dark valleys.
To the west hills leading to the rolling plains and the sea.
Intensify your imagination and visualize this scene.
See the sun rise like a golden ball of light in the east.
Scattering rays of golden light off of the snow and dazzling your eyes.
Sweep your eyes around the sky.
To the west it is still gray.
Above you blue.
In the east a delicate pink as the sun nears.
Watch the sunlight strike the tops of the mountains and move down their sides.
Deep valleys emerge as the shadows retreat.
You sit with legs crossed and contemplate this grand scene.
This dawn of a new day.
Let yourself experience this for some time.
Let your mind be fully with this experience.
Bring your awareness back to inner space.
Bring your awareness to the dark space you see in front of your closed eyes.
This space can also be visualized in the front of the forehead.
So if you want to explore it a little then you can shift your gaze slightly upwards.
There is no need to strain.
Watch the darkness that you see before you very carefully with detachment.
There is no need to become involved.
Rest your mind in this warm and friendly darkness.
If any subtle phenomena manifests like colors or patterns,
Simply take note of these and continue with your awareness.
If thoughts occur,
Let them come and go.
But continue watching that dark space.
Continue with this detached awareness.
Now remember your intention.
Repeat the same intention that you made at the beginning of the practice with the same words and the same feeling.
Repeat your intention now three times clearly with feeling and awareness.
Become aware of your breathing.
Become aware of your natural breathing.
Awareness of breathing and awareness of relaxation.
Develop awareness of your physical existence.
Become aware of your arms and legs and your body laying stretched out on the floor.
Become aware of meeting points between your body and the floor.
Develop awareness of the room,
Walls,
Ceiling,
The noises in the room and the noises outside.
Take your mind out.
Become completely external.
Lay quietly for a few moments and keep your eyes closed.
Start moving your body and stretching yourself.
Please take your time.
There is no need to hurry.
When you are sure that you are wide awake,
Sit up slowly and open your eyes.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
