Yoga Nidrā For Death/Rebirth

A script written by Stephen Levine that I altered a little. We begin with ascending/descending breaths, counting backward from the navel. Rotation of consciousness begins with solidity and then lightness. Breathing is focused on the breath as the last breath. Finally, in the visualization portion, we practice dying and then being reborn.
Enjoy! If you like my offering and vibe, please follow me, rate/review, or leave a comment.

Trigger Warning: This practice includes references to death, dying and the departed.

Transcript

Welcome to your practice of yoga nidra.

Adjust your body in shavasana,

The corpse pose,

Using any props to feel supported,

Held,

Comforted,

And then adjusting any of your bones so you might settle a little bit deeper.

And when you're able,

Choose to become still.

With your palms up and your toes falling open,

Eyes closed.

Begin to inhale,

Tracing awareness and breath from the toes rising up the spine,

Fingers to crown.

And exhale out of the mouth.

Allow your awareness to move back down.

Witness tension,

Leave the body through fingers and toes.

Again,

Inhale,

Fill the lower belly,

Breath rises.

Out the mouth,

Emptying,

Letting go as the bones drop.

A few more on your own.

And as your awareness moves through the body,

You're meeting yourself where you are,

Releasing any expectation or judgment.

And when you exhale,

Allow thought,

Any sort of preference to release to the earth.

One more breath.

And release the control of the breath.

Breath softening.

Witness the natural breath softening at the navel.

Notice softening.

Notice the bottom of the exhales,

How there's a momentary stillness,

A space of no breath.

And every time your body exhales into that natural pause,

Feel yourself empty.

And I'd like you to count your breaths backwards from 13.

So when the body naturally exhales,

There'll be a momentary pause before the next in breath.

So 13 there.

And then the next exhale,

There's a pause,

And resist the urge to change the breath if can.

And imagine every time you count backwards as if a step downward,

Deeper into yourself.

Philosophy Not zero.

Okay?

Not zero.

Welcoming,

Silent stillness,

Complete wholeness and ease.

Feel my guidance,

Feel my words energetically and as you listen to my voice,

Hold on to less and less of what you hear.

As you witness sensation,

Release all doing and feel your body as a whole,

This form that you inhabit,

Feeling the solidity of form that there is heaviness in the heels.

There's a sinking to the ankles,

Just feeling the heaviness of your physical form in the knees,

The solidity of the body connected to earth,

The tailbone.

Notice the sensations in the base of the skull,

Sinking,

Back of head,

Heavy.

Your form pulled to earth,

Back of hands,

Elbows,

The solidity of the shoulders,

So heavy,

Jaw sinking,

Releasing all tension as the forehead is solid,

Heavy to the earth,

Just feeling any sensation that arises in the pelvis and through the sensation of the body.

This is how you connect to form.

As you examine sensation through the whole body,

You might notice tingling,

The sensation might be hot or cold.

No need to grasp any sensations,

Just feel soft sensations or maybe hard sensations without any grasping,

Feeling sensation,

Solidity that arise in the physical body,

Your physical form.

And now notice a lightness that's within the heaviness.

There is a lightness that breeds awareness through the five sense organs.

So the lightness inside the heavy body,

It experiences hearing,

Seeing,

Smell,

Taste,

And touch,

It receives it through the outer heavy earth body.

This light body,

Explore that it's the container of life force.

The life force sensation rises subtly and passes subtly.

Bring your attention to this inner body,

Held within the outer body as a lightness to the right toes.

A lightness to the shin,

Thigh,

Subtle sensations,

Awareness to the left toes,

So light.

Soft shin,

Left thigh bone.

A lightness to the navel that is so soft.

Feel the body,

The subtle body as awareness,

The inner body perfectly nestled within the heavier form,

Receiving experience and experiencing light sensations in the center of the chest.

The body of awareness so subtle in the right finger,

So light.

Right forearm and upper arm.

The left finger so light,

Forearm,

Upper arm.

The ears so light as well as the eyes.

And these sensations are the pranic field.

Enter this light body of awareness.

Deep repEE Noticing the natural breath as each breath allows life to be as it is.

As each breath allows life,

Energy,

Awareness to remain in the earth and vessel.

Observe the light body receiving the heavy body.

And feel this contact between the heavy body and the light body.

Feel how each breath sustains the light body balanced perfectly within.

See the connection between the outer body and the inner body,

Breath so soft.

As air is drawn in through the nostrils and out received as sensation.

Awareness.

Each breath so precious.

Each breath maintaining the connection that allows life to remain in this solid form.

Now experience this delicate balance of moment to moment awareness itself and sensation.

As each breath was your last.

Now experience each inhalation as though it will never be followed by another.

Each breath the last.

Let the breath come.

Let the breath go.

The last breath of life,

Leaving the heavy body behind.

Each breath ending.

The connection severed between the heavy body and the light body.

The end of a lifetime.

The final breath,

Each breath the last,

Let go.

Don't hold on to it.

Let each breath go finally,

Forever and don't attach to the next breath.

As the last breath leaves,

Go with it.

Don't hold on.

Let yourself die.

Let the light body float free now.

Let go now.

Gently.

Let it all float free.

Let it all go.

Dying.

Leave the body behind and follow the light into luminous space.

Let yourself die into that luminous space.

Let go.

Let go of your name.

Let go of your face.

Let go of longing.

Open to wonder.

Hold on to nothing.

Light dissolving into light.

Dying.

Let yourself float free into vast space.

Dying.

Dissolving.

Edges melting.

Let go of your name.

Each breath vanishes.

Open into death.

Die gently into this moment.

All fear dissolves.

Dying.

And from across vast space,

Notice now something gently approaching.

It is the first breath of life.

Watch the breath approaching from far away.

And experience it entering the body.

And now each breath the first.

Each inhalation the first breath of life.

Each breath completely new.

Every breath bringing you back into the body.

Taking birth once again.

Born back into the body.

Taking birth again to serve and be served.

To learn.

To teach.

To care and be cared for.

Awareness once again entering the body as consciousness.

Pure awareness.

Re-inhabiting pure form.

Birth.

Born again into the body.

Each breath the first.

Taking birth for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Taking birth to heal.

The light body once again re-animating the heavy body.

Each breath connecting.

Maintaining the light body within its momentary vehicle.

Born again to the world to bring peace.

To bring kindness.

To bring healing to pain.

Allowing you the healing you took birth for.

Each breath so precious.

Born.

To allow all beings to know their peace.

Their great nature.

Born again.

Feeling your body lying on the floor.

Allowing your awareness to begin to rise to the surface slowly.

And your senses to slowly begin to externalize.

And allow the sound of the bell to start to bring your awareness back to the present moment.

And as your breath continues to deepen.

And your body might move a little bit as your breath deepens.

So you might wiggle,

Fingers,

Toes,

Or stretch.

And eventually there's no rational roll to the right in the fetal position.

And as you come up to seated,

Start to palm your hands.

So rub your hands together creating warmth and light and energy.

And you'll welcome the world into your face eyes with this warmth.

And feeling the nourishment of your touch as you breathe in and breathe out.

And then take the right hand to the heart.

Left hand on top.

The right thumb crosses over.

Your hands are in eagle mudra.

We're going to chant Hadi Om four times.

Hadi is referring to Vishnu,

The maintainer of the universe.

And Hadi is defined as he who removes all sorrows.

So this is our first note.

This is our note,

The base note.

If you want to hum it.

And remember as you do Hadi Om to seal the lips for the Om.

Okay?

And follow me the best that you can.

We'll do it four times.

Hadi Om.

Hadi Om.

Hadi Om.

And Jay,

May you praise the flow that guides you.

Practice spirit,

Life,

Heart.

Follow it effortlessly with a lot of grace.

So we close by saying Jayo flow.

And then hands in prayer thumbs to the eyebrow center honoring these eastern traditions.

May the knowledge of all the teachers who've watched the path before continue to download to the cells of our being so we can live yoga.

Namaste.

Thank you.