This Yoga Nidra practice has been inspired by the astrological sign of Gemini.
Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac and is represented by the symbol of the twins.
Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury and rules the third astrological house.
It's the sign of communication,
Information,
Curiosity,
Words and languages.
This practice is suitable for everyone,
But those with a significant Gemini placement in their chart may find it to be especially useful and inspiring.
So make sure that you're in a comfortable position to begin the practice.
If it's comfortable for you to lie in Shavasana,
Bring yourself into Shavasana,
Lying on your back with the feet falling out towards the sides of the mat and the arms at the sides of the body with the palms facing upwards.
Support yourself with props if you need to,
And if you won't be able to rest comfortably in Shavasana,
Choose another position that's comfortable for you.
You can also do this practice sitting,
If it feels better.
And now close your eyes and feel your body beginning to settle.
Feel the places where your body connects into the surface beneath you and feel the weight of your body at each of those connection points.
With every exhalation,
Feel your body becoming heavier and sinking into the surface beneath you.
And now bring your awareness to the breath.
Watch the breath flowing in and out of the body.
Feel the breath continuing to ease you into deeper levels of relaxation.
And on your next exhalation,
Say to yourself mentally,
I am peaceful.
Breathe in,
And as you exhale,
Say to yourself,
I am relaxed.
Continue to follow the breath,
Exhaling,
I am peaceful.
Exhaling,
I am relaxed.
Now become aware of any sounds you can hear around you.
Let your awareness jump from sound to sound.
There's no need to get involved in any one sound.
Just observe that the sounds are there.
And know that any external sounds are not going to disturb you,
But will only help you to relax even more deeply.
The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.
The practice begins with the cultivation of your inner resource.
The inner resource is a deep feeling of absolute safety and well-being.
Once you've found your inner resource,
It's always there for you to return to if you find that you need it during the practice or at any time in your life.
Invite a deep feeling of safety and well-being to arise within and around you.
You might like to remember a time when you felt absolutely safe,
Secure,
And well.
Or you might like to imagine a situation which has everything you need to feel safe,
Well,
And secure.
Feel this feeling arising vividly for you.
Intensify the feeling.
Welcome it into every cell of your body.
And know that this is your feeling that you have created for yourself,
And that you can return to it at any time that you need it.
And now it's time for the Sankalpa.
The Sankalpa is a deep vow or prayer from the heart for something that you wish to attain in your life.
The Sankalpa should be something positive that feels greater than yourself,
And that you long to achieve.
Examples of a Sankalpa include perfect health,
Spiritual awakening,
Living one's purpose,
And reaching one's spiritual potential.
The Sankalpa can be stated as a short,
Positive statement,
Or it may arise as words,
Feelings,
Or a deep sense of knowing.
There's no need to force the Sankalpa.
If it's there,
It'll arise very naturally by itself.
Bring your awareness to the heart center.
And if you have a Sankalpa,
Recall your Sankalpa now.
And if you don't have one,
That's okay too.
The Sankalpa is not necessary.
Just keep your awareness at the heart center,
And observe what's happening there.
Now we come to the rotation of consciousness around the body.
This rotation is known as the 61-point rotation.
The consciousness moves through many of the mama points,
Or energy points,
Around the body,
To encourage deep relaxation in the physical and energetic bodies.
As you bring your awareness to each point,
If you like,
You can also place the Sanskrit mantra for peace,
Om Shanti,
On that point.
Mentally repeat the mantra,
Om Shanti,
As you rest your awareness on each point.
We'll begin at the eyebrow center.
Bring your awareness to the eyebrow center.
Om Shanti.
And the space between the collarbone.
Move the awareness to the space between the collarbones.
Om Shanti.
And the right shoulder.
Om Shanti.
The right elbow.
Om Shanti.
The right wrist.
Om Shanti.
The right thumb.
Om Shanti.
The right index finger.
Om Shanti.
The right middle finger.
Om Shanti.
The ring finger.
Om Shanti.
And the little finger.
Om Shanti.
The right wrist.
Om Shanti.
The right elbow.
Om Shanti.
The right shoulder.
Om Shanti.
The space between the collarbone.
Om Shanti.
The left shoulder.
Om Shanti.
The left elbow.
Om Shanti.
The left wrist.
Om Shanti.
The left thumb.
Om Shanti.
The left index finger.
Om Shanti.
The left middle finger.
Om Shanti.
The ring finger.
Om Shanti.
And the little finger.
Om Shanti.
The left wrist.
Om Shanti.
The left elbow.
Om Shanti.
The left shoulder.
Om Shanti.
The space between the collarbone.
Om Shanti.
The centre of the chest.
Om Shanti.
The left side of the chest.
Om Shanti.
The centre of the chest.
Om Shanti.
The right side of the chest.
Om Shanti.
The centre of the chest.
Om Shanti.
The navel.
Om Shanti.
The lower abdomen.
Om Shanti.
The right hip.
Om Shanti.
The right knee.
Om Shanti.
The right ankle.
Om Shanti.
The right big toe.
Om Shanti.
The right second toe.
Om Shanti.
The third toe.
Om Shanti.
The fourth toe.
Om Shanti.
The fifth toe.
Om Shanti.
The right ankle.
Om Shanti.
The right knee.
Om Shanti.
The right hip.
Om Shanti.
The lower abdomen.
Om Shanti.
The left hip.
Om Shanti.
The left knee.
Om Shanti.
The left ankle.
Om Shanti.
The left big toe.
Om Shanti.
The second toe.
Om Shanti.
The third toe.
Om Shanti.
The fourth toe.
Om Shanti.
The fifth toe.
Om Shanti.
The left ankle.
Om Shanti.
The left knee.
Om Shanti.
The left hip.
Om Shanti.
The lower abdomen.
Om Shanti.
The navel.
Om Shanti.
The centre of the chest.
Om Shanti.
The space between the collarbone.
Om Shanti.
The eyebrow centre.
Om Shanti.
Bring your awareness to the breath.
Follow the natural flow of the breath.
Watch the breath as it comes in through the nose,
Travels down the throat,
Down the windpipe,
Into the lung.
Feel the chest gently expanding.
And follow the breath back out again.
Follow the breath back out of the lungs,
Up the windpipe,
Up the throat,
And out of the nostrils.
Visualise the molecules of oxygen entering the body as you breathe in.
See the oxygen entering in through your nostrils and into your lungs.
Follow the molecules of oxygen as they travel into the bronchioles,
The small tubes inside your lungs,
And into the alveoli,
The tiny sacs that send the oxygen into the bloodstream.
Follow the oxygen into the bloodstream.
Observe it with curiosity.
See where it goes.
And now bring your awareness back to your lungs and watch the molecules of carbon dioxide entering into the alveoli and travelling up the bronchioles,
Out of the lungs,
Up the windpipe,
Up the back of the throat,
And back out of the nostrils.
Follow the carbon dioxide molecules as they leave the body and flow out into the world.
Where do they go?
Send your awareness into your body.
Become aware of the continuous changes happening within your body.
With every breath,
With every heartbeat,
Your body is changing.
Cells are dividing.
Healing responses are activated.
Blood is flowing.
Hair is growing.
Observe the constant changes occurring within the body.
Witness change inside the body.
Change inside the body.
Little though the body is constantly changing,
Your consciousness always remains the same.
Become aware of your unchanging consciousness,
The eternal consciousness that's witnessing these changes occurring.
Now we'll move the awareness through the seven major chakras,
Or energy centres,
In the body.
Beginning at Muladhara Chakra.
Muladhara is located at the perineum in men and at the base of the cervix in women.
Bring the awareness to Muladhara Chakra.
And picture a red lotus with four petals at Muladhara Chakra.
If you wish to place a mantra at Muladhara,
You can use the mantra,
LUM.
LUM.
Now bring the awareness to Svadhisthana Chakra,
At the base of the spine.
And picture a bright orange lotus with six petals at Svadhisthana Chakra.
If you wish to use a mantra,
Place the mantra,
VUM.
VUM.
Now move the awareness to Manipura Chakra,
Behind the navel.
Picture a yellow lotus with ten petals at Manipura.
The mantra for Manipura is RAM.
RAM.
Now Anahata Chakra,
Behind the heart.
Picture a blue lotus with twelve petals behind the heart.
The mantra for Anahata is YUM.
YUM.
And Vishuddhi Chakra,
Behind the throat.
Bring the awareness to Vishuddhi Chakra.
And picture a purple lotus with sixteen petals at Vishuddhi Chakra.
The mantra for Vishuddhi is HUM.
HUM.
And now Anya Chakra,
At the eyebrow centre.
Bring the awareness to Anya Chakra.
And picture a grey lotus with two leaves.
For Anya,
We'll use the mantra OM.
OM.
And bring the awareness to Sahasrara Chakra,
At the top of the head.
Picture a bright red lotus with a thousand petals at Sahasrara Chakra.
For Sahasrara,
We will also use the mantra OM.
OM.
OM.
Now bring the awareness back to Anya Chakra,
At the eyebrow centre.
OM.
And to Vishuddhi,
Behind the throat.
HUM.
To Anahata,
Behind the heart.
YUM.
To Manipura,
Behind the navel.
RAM.
To Svadhisthana,
At the base of the spine.
VUM.
And to Miladana,
At the cervix or the perineum.
LUM.
Come back to Svadhisthana.
VUM.
Manipura.
RAM.
Anahata.
YUM.
Vishuddhi.
HUM.
Anya.
OM.
Sahasrara.
OM.
Anja.
OM.
Vishuddhi.
HUM.
Anahata.
YUM.
Manipura.
RAM.
Svadhisthana.
VUM.
Miladana.
LUM.
Imagine that you're walking through a forest on a clear night.
The full moon shines brightly in the sky above you.
And the sky is filled with sparkling silver stars.
The moonlight illuminates the forest around you.
And the many plants and trees softly glow in silver.
You are aware that every plant,
Every tree,
And every star in the sky above you contains a wealth of information.
You walk towards a tall tree and place your hand onto the bark of the tree.
As you make contact with the tree,
A communication begins.
Listen to what the tree has to say to you.
Welcome its wisdom and information.
You continue walking through the forest and come to a small cottage with soft golden light glowing through the windows.
You enter into the cottage.
Inside is a room filled with bookshelves.
Hundreds of books line the walls.
And a warm fire softly burns in a fireplace in the corner.
You examine the bookshelves.
One book catches your eye.
You remove it from the bookshelves.
On the cover of the book are mysterious and beautiful symbols.
You open the book and slowly turn the pages.
What do you see?
Welcome the wisdom the book contains for you.
You place the book back on the shelf.
In the corner of the room,
There's a small staircase.
You walk up the stairs and enter into an empty room.
The room is empty except for a hooded figure sitting before a burning candle in meditation.
A feeling of deep peace radiates from the figure.
You walk towards them and sit in front of them.
Slowly they remove the hood.
Your eyes meet.
Who is it that you see?
A silent communication begins between the two of you and together,
You become one.
You and together,
You enter into a deep meditation.
If you have a sankalpa,
Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.
Remember your sankalpa,
The deep vow or prayer from your heart.
And if you don't have a sankalpa,
Rest your awareness at the heart center and observe.
And now invite your inner resource to arise again.
Welcome your feeling of absolute safety and well-being.
Feel it vividly.
Welcome it into every cell of your body.
This is your feeling that you can return to at any time that you need it,
In your practice or in your life.
Complete safety,
Security,
Well-being,
The deep inner knowing that all is well.
And now slowly prepare yourself to end the practice.
Turn your awareness back outwards and become aware of any sounds that you can hear in your environment.
Let the awareness jump from sound to sound.
There's no need to get too involved in any one sound.
Just acknowledge that the sounds are there and become aware of the feeling of the air against your skin and the feeling of your clothes against your skin and your body against the surface beneath you.
In your mind,
Create a picture of the room that you're in.
Can you picture the walls,
The ceiling,
The floor,
The furniture,
The different objects in the room?
Can you picture your own body,
So peaceful and still?
Now begin to deepen the breathing and gently start to reawaken the body.
Begin to move the fingers and toes,
The wrists and the ankles,
And stretch yourself in any way that feels good for you.
Take your time.
There's no rush.
When you are ready,
Slowly blink the eyes back open.
This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Thank you for listening.
