Please get ready for yoga nidra.
Find a comfortable position,
Anything you want,
As long as you can rest fully in stillness.
Adjust everything,
Your body,
Position,
Close,
Until you are completely comfortable.
During yoga nidra,
There should be no physical movement.
Close your eyes if it is comfortable for you and try to keep them closed until the end.
Now envision a protection bubble around you,
Creating your own sacred space tonight.
Set the intention to be safe and undisturbed throughout your practice.
Take a deep breath,
And as you breathe out,
Feel the heaviness of life flow out of you.
During yoga nidra,
You are functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness.
And the only important thing is to follow my voice.
Try not to intellectualize or analyze the instructions as this may disturb your mental relaxation.
Simply follow the voice with total attention and feeling.
And if thoughts come to disturb you from time to time,
Do not worry,
Just continue to practice.
Now bring about a feeling of inner relaxation in the whole body.
Concentrate on the body and become aware of the desire for complete stillness and relaxation.
Develop your awareness of the body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.
Relax,
Complete stillness,
Complete awareness of the whole body.
Again,
Relax,
Continue your awareness of the whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Become aware of the fact that you are going to practice yoga nidra.
Say mentally to yourself,
I am aware.
I am going to practice yoga nidra.
Repeat this to yourself again.
The practice of yoga nidra begins now.
Your sankalpa is like planting a seed that is nourished through your practice.
It can be anything you choose.
Awakening your spiritual potential.
Achieve greater health or even just fully reflects for the practice now.
Repeated each time you practice until it has been accomplished.
As the resolve made during yoga nidra always comes true if you are patient.
So create a simple phrase that can be repeated with the same words and in the same way.
Each time you say your sankalpa,
Make it clear and concise in positive energy.
Repeat your sankalpa now in your mind's eye,
Three times with feeling,
Awareness and gratitude.
Bring awareness to the space between the eyebrows to the third eye.
And I'm going to name places in the body.
As I do,
Simultaneously repeat the name of the part and become aware of that part.
Allowing an energetic string to connect one part to the next,
Deepening the connection to the next,
Deepening connections in your body.
Try not to concentrate too hard,
Just allow the mind to flow and the energy to guide itself through the body.
Bring awareness to your forehead,
To the third eye center,
Third eye center,
Pit of the throat,
Right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Right wrist,
Palm of the hand,
Right pinky finger,
Ring finger,
Middle finger,
Index finger,
Right thumb,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
Pit of the throat,
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Left wrist,
Palm of the hand,
Left pinky finger,
Ring finger,
Middle finger,
Index finger,
Left thumb,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Pit of the throat,
Center of the chest,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Center of the chest,
Navel,
Pelvic center,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right calf,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
Right little toe,
Fourth toe,
Third toe,
Second toe,
Right big toe,
Sole of the foot,
Right ankle,
Right calf,
Right knee,
Right thigh,
Pelvic center,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Left knee,
Left calf,
Left ankle,
Top of the foot,
Left little toe,
Fourth toe,
Third toe,
Second toe,
Left big toe,
Sole of the foot,
Left ankle,
Left calf,
Left thigh,
Left hip,
Pelvic center,
Navel,
Center of the chest,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Center of the chest,
Base of the throat,
Chin,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
Tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Left ear,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Third eye,
Center,
Crown.
Now bring your awareness to the breath.
Let your breath follow the energetic string in your body.
There is no need to focus on where it is or where it's going,
Even which direction it is moving in.
Simply just observe with deep connections flowing through the body.
Move your attention to the psychic centers.
Imagine the breath starts in the seat at the pelvic floor,
At the root or muladhara chakra.
It then rises up through the seven chakras all the way to the crown,
Taking with it the sacred violet flame.
Inhale the energy of the violet flame.
Exhale,
Breathing out the smoke of awareness.
Follow this breath counting backwards from 27 to one like this.
27,
Inhale fortitude.
27,
Exhale awareness.
26,
Inhale fortitude.
26,
Exhale awareness and so on.
Imagine you're a tree.
Feel the sensations of your mighty roots digging deep into the earth.
The strength of your massive trunk reaching up towards the sky.
Your entire being is weighted into the depths of mother earth,
Nurtured and secure,
Deeply connected and grounded to the earth.
Your whole body feels heavy.
Your whole body feels heavy.
Intensify the feeling of being grounded and heavy.
The whole body feels heavy.
Now imagine you're a dolphin,
Dashing in and out of the ocean as you swim without a care,
Complete freedom.
Feel your sleek body cut through the water with ease,
Bobbing along in the buoyancy of the warm salt water.
Your body is light and weightless as you swim.
Your body is weightless.
Intensify this feeling of freedom and lightness.
Your whole body is weightless.
Now see yourself sitting around a campfire.
Perched on a log,
You warm your hands in the glow of the flames.
The smell of pine crisp in the air as you sip hot chocolate.
Feel the warm cocoa running down your throat,
Warming you from the inside.
Feel the heat of the fire kiss your cheeks as you get warmer and warmer.
Let your whole body experience the heat.
Awaken the experience of heat as vividly as possible.
Now change the experience.
Imagine yourself taking a walk on a blustery fall day.
You hear the sounds of leaves skipping across the sidewalk and the road as the wind ebbs and flows.
The tip of your nose becomes icy cold as does your ears.
Even your fingertips begin to get chilled as the wind blows harder.
Feel the cold seep into your bones,
Becoming colder and colder.
The whole body is experiencing the cold winds,
The experience of cold.
Awaken the experience of cold.
Bring your mind back into the eyebrow center.
Here I will enumerate a few objects and as I name each one,
Just try to visualize it quickly.
If you cannot,
Don't worry.
Keep following my instructions.
Sometimes I will go very slowly and sometimes fast.
It will also come back to the image a number of times.
Some of the images may be known to you,
But do not think too much.
The image should shine by itself.
Bring your awareness to the eyebrow center.
Darkness,
Snow gusting in the winter winds,
The moon high in the navy sky,
Eagle soaring,
Braided sweetgrass,
Rose quartz in the scent of frankincense,
Forest of cedars,
Brown bear tracks,
Salmon swimming upstream,
Wildflowers dancing in the breeze and tiny shining stars studded in the heavens,
A dove,
A galloping horse,
A burning fire in the bush,
Heat of the noontime sun.
Keep your awareness focused at the eyebrow center.
Visualize a large lake with lotus flowers,
People swimming,
A jade pendant,
A deer in the forest,
An eagle feather,
A bouquet of wildflowers,
Gray clouds in the sky,
Stormy night,
Full moon,
Mountain stream,
An elephant flashing,
The fragrance of jasmine in the air and the scent of sage burning,
The silence of the sun setting on the horizon.
Come back to the middle of the eyebrow again and visualize snow-capped mountains,
The immense trees of the redwood forest,
The rising sun and chirping birds and drizzling rain in the morning mist,
Sunflower,
A lotus,
Smell of frankincense burning and stars in the night sky,
Dove,
Jade,
Deer in a field of grass and wildflowers as far as the eye can see.
See yourself standing in a wide open space under the night sky.
Before you is an old woman whose skin is leathered from the sun,
Her white hair is tied in two braids and she is wrapped in a large dark cloak.
She smiles as she reaches out her hand to you.
You reach your hand out to her and she takes it.
She holds your hand in both of hers,
Looking deep into your eyes as if she can see your soul.
She asks,
When was the last time you sang and danced,
My child?
The old woman now takes your other hand,
Holding both between her own.
There is an instant sense of peace in this gesture and awareness the healing she brings.
She tells you to turn your face up to the stars.
The moon is high in the sky,
Illuminating a rainbow around its edges.
The stars pierce the navy background,
Peering to sparkle and shimmer.
As a large owl flies overhead,
You feel a heavy breeze come from the north,
Brushing against your face,
Carrying with it the smell of sweet grass,
Which carries away your negative feelings and evokes a sense of strength in your soul.
You inhale deeply and then very slowly release the breath again.
This elder now turns around to face the south.
She places her hands on your back near your shoulder blades.
And it feels as if her hands have birthed a new energy within you.
It is though a plant has begun to grow from the soles of your feet,
Touching all your psychic centers as it climbs towards her touch,
Belonging to connect with your spiritual soul,
Awakened by her hands.
Again,
You turn your face up to the heavens.
It is as if the moon is calling to you.
Her moonbeams washing over you,
Creating the sensation as if you were one on a boat with waves,
Gently lapping the side,
Rocking you softly.
With each ripple,
You feel your heart open wider,
The connection to your soul deeper.
She begins to turn you again,
Meeting you halfway now facing the east.
She invites you to open your arms wide.
You see,
She has taken a few objects from beneath her cloak.
In one hand,
She holds a large shell.
She closes her eyes to say a silent prayer.
You notice a small trail of smoke arises from the shell carrying a familiar scent.
You quickly recognize the smell of cedar and sweet grass with a hint of tobacco.
In the other hand,
She holds what appears to be feathers,
Three feathers,
One small and blue,
A white medium-sized feather and a tall brown and white feather tipped with black,
All bound together with a leather strand.
She chants as she cleanses you with this sacred smoke.
Your heart now bursting,
You feel an immense emotional release that comes from deep within and maybe even through generations.
Now standing behind,
She welcomes you to turn your face again to her.
She looks deep into your eyes one more time and says,
My child,
Pray with me.
Together,
You come to your knees,
Foreheads resting against the sandy ground.
Still holding her hand tight,
You both begin to sing your prayer,
A prayer of healing and love that gives thanks to the air,
Water,
Fire and earth.
Sacred smoke continues to billow from the shell,
Washing over you both as you kneel there.
Carried on the wind,
It washes away all that it is heavy and unwanted.
You feel her begin to rise.
Still kneeling,
You turn to one another.
She places your hand over her heart and then hers on yours.
You close your eyes and melt into the heart connection.
It is as if she is pulling your soul to the surface,
Reminding it of the love that is in your heart,
Teaching you how to heal.
After a few minutes,
She slowly takes her hand away from your heart,
Taking both of your hands and hers one more time.
Her gaze is all that is needed to know all is exactly as it is meant to be in this moment,
In this place of perfect peace and serenity.
Remember your sankalpa.
Repeat it now three times with awareness and gratitude.
Become aware of your breath,
The natural rhythm of your breath.
Feel the subtle movement of the chest and belly with every inhale and exhale.
Full awareness of the breath.
Now deepen your awareness of your surroundings.
Notice that you are lying on the floor.
The sounds inside this room,
The sounds outside of this room.
Notice how your physical body feels.
Sense your fingers and your toes.
Deepen your awareness of your physical body.
Become aware of the hands and the feet,
The fingers and your toes.
Begin to slowly wiggle your fingers and toes.
Allow the sensation of movement to ripple through the body.
Maybe roll the wrists and ankles to find a little more movement.
Slowly stretching and letting the body wake up slowly.
There is absolutely no rush to come out of your practice.
The invitation is to move as slowly as you need to.
But the practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
Hareil tatsat.
