And now prepare for yoga nidra.
Lie down and make yourself comfortable.
You may wish to place the pillow under your head and knees to ensure comfort in the body.
Adjust the head,
Neck,
And shoulders so that they are in line with your spine and allow your arms and legs to splay outwards with the palms facing up.
Make any last adjustments so that the body can remain completely still throughout the practice.
However,
If any discomfort prevents you from following the practice,
Then there is no harm in adjusting the body.
During yoga nidra,
We focus on the act of hearing and feeling,
Heightening our awareness,
And the only thing to remember is to follow the voice of the instructor with feeling and your complete attention.
Now close your eyes,
Allowing them to soften and sink towards the back of the head.
Bring your awareness to the breath in the body.
Take a big inhale,
And in the next exhale,
Let your body fall completely heavy.
And again,
Big inhale and exhale,
Completely letting go.
Let your body fall heavy,
Sinking deeper and deeper,
Just letting go.
And now become aware of the sounds outside the room,
One by one.
And now bring your awareness to the entire physical body,
Lying on the floor in complete stillness.
From the top of the head to the tips of the toes,
Feel the body become heavier and heavier.
The legs fall heavy,
The arms,
The head falls heavy,
The whole body melts,
Letting go.
And say silently within,
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I am awake and alert.
And now we will begin to rotate the consciousness through different parts of the body.
We will move quickly from one part to another,
And all you have to do is bring your awareness to each part of the body by either imagining or simply bringing your awareness there.
Or you may choose to repeat the name of the part of the body after the voice.
Now we begin.
Bring awareness to the fingers on the right hand,
The palm of the right hand,
The right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
And right armpit.
Bring awareness to the right waist,
Right hip,
Right knee,
Right ankle,
Sole of the right foot.
Bring awareness to the toes of the right foot,
Remaining awake and alert.
And now bring awareness to the fingers on the left hand,
The palm of the left hand,
Left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
And the left armpit.
Bring awareness to the left waist,
Left hip,
Left knee,
Left ankle,
Sole of the left foot.
Bring awareness to the toes of the left foot,
Remaining awake and alert.
And now bring awareness to the back of the body,
Both heels touching the floor,
Both buttocks touching the floor,
Both shoulder blades,
The back of the head.
Bring awareness to the top of the head,
The forehead,
Both eyebrows,
The space between the eyebrows,
The space between the eyebrows.
Bring awareness to both eyes,
The nose,
Tip of the nose,
And both nostrils.
Bring awareness to the lips,
The chin,
The jaws,
And the throat,
Remaining awake and alert.
And now bring awareness to the chest,
The heart center,
The valley.
Bring awareness to both legs at the same time,
Both arms at the same time,
The back of the body,
The front of the body,
And now the whole body.
Bring awareness to the whole body,
Remaining awake and alert.
Now bring awareness to the rise and fall of the breath in the body.
Bring awareness to the breath as it rises and falls from the heart center.
And now maintaining awareness of the breath rising and falling from the heart center,
Begin counting the breaths from eight to one.
The breath rises eight,
It falls eight.
It rises seven,
It falls seven.
It rises six,
It falls six.
It rises five,
It falls five.
And now continue from four until one,
Remaining awake and alert.
And now bring awareness to the rise and fall of the breath in the body.
And imagine lying in a field of emerald green grass,
Wildflowers strewn about with their fragrant smell filling the air,
The warmth of the sun caresses the skin,
Listening to the magical sounds of sweet singing birds.
Above is the vast blue sky as far as the eyes can see,
Feeling expansive,
Free,
And at peace.
And now bring your awareness back to the breath as it rises and falls in the body.
Feel the weight of the body on the floor and bring your attention to the sounds outside the room.
Lie quietly,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Noticing the effects of the practice,
Making a commitment to bring these benefits into the rest of your day.
Gently begin to waken the body with small gestures of your fingers and toes and perhaps your head side to side.
Rub your hands together and now bring your knees to your chest and roll over to the right side.
Gently bring yourself into an upright position and spend a moment to acknowledge the beauty inside,
Giving thanks to all that you are grateful for.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
