Welcome to a deeply restorative yoga nidra practice that will guide you through the five koshas,
The subtle layers of your being,
Body,
Breath,
Mind,
Wisdom,
And bliss.
With gentle awareness and guided relaxation,
You will be led on a sacred descent into stillness,
Releasing tension,
Softening the mind,
And awakening the quiet joy that resides at your core.
Lie down and make yourself comfortable.
Allow the earth beneath you to receive your full weight.
There is nothing to do right now and nowhere to be.
Begin to feel the support of the ground under you.
Solid,
Steady,
Holding you completely.
Let your arms and legs rest without effort.
Let your breath begin to slow.
Take a deep breath in and exhale gently.
Again,
Breathe in slowly and as you exhale,
Allow your body to soften just a little more.
Let your face relax.
Let your jaw release.
Let your shoulders drop.
And gently allow your awareness to begin withdrawing from the external world.
With each breath,
Move deeper into the inner space.
Let yourself gently enter the space between wakefulness and sleep,
A place of healing,
Wholeness,
And quiet transformation.
In this stillness,
Bring to mind an intention for your practice.
It may be a simple word,
A feeling,
Or a prayer from the heart.
Let it come to you without force.
Whatever appears is enough.
Repeat it silently three times with quiet conviction.
As your intention settles,
Begin the journey inward through the five koshas,
The five sheets or layers of your being.
Bring your attention to your body,
The most tangible and familiar layer of your being.
The Anamaya Kosha.
The physical body.
The one made of the food you eat.
The air you breathe.
The earth itself.
Sense your feet.
Your legs.
Your pelvis.
Your spine.
Your abdomen.
And your chest.
Your shoulders.
Arms.
Hands.
Neck.
And head.
Feel the weight of your body against the surface beneath you.
Notice how the body is being held,
Supported,
And supported.
Without effort.
Let yourself drop deeper into this awareness.
You are not just in your body.
You are also observing it from within.
Sensing it not as a structure but as a field of quiet sensation.
Let your awareness sweep through the body like a soft wind.
Slow.
Curious.
Unhurried.
Notice temperature.
Texture.
Subtle tingling.
Or stillness.
Each breath.
A wave of softness spreading through you.
Allow your physical form to be exactly as it is.
Nothing to fix.
Nothing to adjust.
This is the home your spirit has chosen.
A sacred vessel.
Silently affirm.
I honor this body as the temple of my presence.
I soften into it.
I release into it.
I rest within it.
With every breath.
Feel the edges of the body blur.
As if your form is dissolving into space.
Let the boundaries fade.
Let yourself drift deeper.
From this deep stillness of form become aware of movement.
The breath.
The life force.
This is the pranayama kosha.
The energy body.
A subtle field of aliveness that animates your every breath.
Every heartbeat.
Every cell.
Feel the breath entering and leaving your nostrils.
Cool as it enters.
Warm as it exits.
You are not breathing.
Breath is breathing you.
Allow the breath to flow effortlessly.
Without trying to control it.
Let it rock you gently.
Breathing out.
Life entering.
Life releasing.
Begin to sense the prana.
The vital energy.
Riding the breath.
Imagine it as light.
As color.
As sound.
Or simply as a presence.
Feel it circulating through your body.
Flowing freely.
Nourishing every cell.
You may notice sensations.
Warmth.
Expansion.
Beneath the skin.
Between the bones.
Behind the breath.
Stay with it.
Rest in it.
Let it move through you.
Silently affirm.
I am a river of breath and energy.
My life force flows freely.
I trust the rhythm of my being.
Let the breath become your anchor.
Let it guide you deeper inward.
Allow the body to breathe.
And let yourself be breathed.
From the quiet rhythm of breath and energy.
Your awareness drifts naturally into the next layer of being.
The mind and emotional body.
Known as the Manomaya Kosha.
This is the layer where thoughts take form.
Where emotions rise and pass like waves upon the sea.
You don't need to stop the waves.
You only need to watch them.
Observe what's present.
In the space of the mind.
With no need to analyze.
Or change anything.
A memory may appear.
A feeling may rise.
A thought may pass by.
Allow each one to float across your awareness like a cloud in the sky.
Light.
Impermanent.
Drifting.
There is nothing here that needs fixing.
Nothing to resolve.
Everything is welcome.
Sense how these mental patterns like weather move across something deeper.
A still and vast sky within you.
And you are that sky.
Feel your body.
Begin to feel the emotional atmosphere.
Noticing what is alive in your heart.
Is there longing?
Is there peace?
Is there grief?
Joy?
Stillness?
Or something unnamed?
Allow every feeling to be met with spaciousness.
Held with kindness.
No story.
Just presence.
Let the mind soften.
Let the emotions breathe.
You are safe here.
Silently affirm.
I welcome all that arises within me.
I meet my emotions with gentleness.
I allow the mind to rest.
And with each breath feel yourself descending gently beneath this layer into the quiet space that holds it all within the calm beneath thought and feeling.
There is a quiet knowing.
A gentle,
Steady light of awareness.
This is your Vijnanamaya Kosha.
The wisdom body.
It is not the voice that speaks.
It is the one who listens.
The one who sees without effort.
Rest in this field of inner clarity.
You may sense it as stillness.
As presence.
As a soft inner light.
You don't need to reach for it.
It's always here.
Unmoving.
Undisturbed.
Whole.
Here,
Truth is not something you must figure out.
It's something you already know.
In your bones.
In your breath.
In your being.
Sense how this quiet intelligence lives in you.
It guides without speaking.
It leads you without forcing.
It simply is.
Let yourself rest as the observer.
Not entangled in thoughts.
Not entangled in thoughts.
Not caught in emotion.
Let the part of you that always sees,
See.
Silently affirm.
I rest in the clarity of inner knowing.
The wisdom I need lives already within me.
I trust myself.
Let that inner light grow steadier.
Softer.
And more spacious.
Let it surround you.
And support you.
As you drift deeper.
Into silence.
Beneath all layers.
Beyond all layers.
Beyond body.
Breath.
Thought.
And even knowing.
There's a space of pure being.
Of quiet joy.
Of peace.
That asks nothing.
This is your Ananda Maya Kosha.
The bliss body.
It's not joy as a reaction.
It's joy as your essence.
A gentle pulse of contentment.
That exists without reason.
Without cause.
You are not striving for it.
You are simply remembering it.
Feel the subtle presence.
Like warm light.
Filling your entire field of awareness.
The body may feel as though it is floating.
Or floating.
Or disappearing.
A breath may feel like it's breathing in every direction.
There is no longer a boundary between you.
And the space around you.
You have become the space.
You have become the stillness.
You have become the light.
Now silently affirm.
At my center is peace.
Rest in the quiet joy of being.
I am whole.
Let yourself linger in this place.
You are not separate.
You are not striving.
You are not incomplete.
You are resting in the sacred heart of your true self.
Gently awareness begins to rise again.
Like the sun warming the edge of a dream.
Feel the soft rhythm of the breath.
Just as it is.
Notice the weight of your body.
Against the surface.
Notice the air on your skin.
Let your movements be gentle.
As if you are rising from the deepest kind of rest.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and toes slowly.
Awakening the body with care.
If it feels good.
Roll to one side.
Resting in stillness.
And before returning fully.
Bring to mind your intention again.
See it in your heart.
Feel it alive in your body.
Let it be carried by you.
Into your waking life.
When you are ready.
Softly open your eyes.
Allow the quiet to linger.
And let this presence come with you.
You've journeyed through every layer of your being.
You are free from everything.
And come home.
To the source.
You are whole.
You are free.
You are light.
You are light.
From my heart.
To yours.
With all my love.
And gratitude.
Namaste.
