Exceptional.
Welcome to your yoga nidra practice,
Entering the cave of the heart.
In all traditions,
The heart is exemplified by a radiant lotus,
A lotus of compassion,
Of wisdom,
A lotus that is self-illuminating,
That can cut through our samskaras or deep-rooted habit patterns that bind and create bondage for our minds and bodies.
This deep relaxation helps one to calm the nervous system,
Keep the mind attending to the present moment,
And enter a state beyond deep sleep.
To begin,
Lie down and make yourself absolutely comfortable so that there will be no need to move later on.
So maybe a pillow under the head,
Pillow under the knees,
Being warm enough with a blanket and darkening the room.
If you fall asleep during the practice,
Then that's no problem,
But as much as you can,
Trying to stay awake and alert in a relaxed way.
Let your body lie against the ground and feel what it's like to surrender one's physical weight into the earth element below you.
So this act of surrender is a non-holding,
A non-grasping of the physical body.
And if we can surrender our physical body into a state of relaxation,
The mind can begin to follow where it has space and ease to rest.
So just start by feeling the contact points in the back of the body,
In the back of the head,
Shoulder blades,
Buttocks,
Thighs,
Calves,
Heels.
And as you breathe in and out through your belly,
Let the body weight become heavier and heavier,
As though the contact points are seeping into the earth,
Widening in their surface area,
So that the contractions in the back of the body relax and release,
To give way to softness and a sense of sweetness in the way in which you lie your body down.
Just begin by feeling the outer layer,
The skin layer of your body softening and releasing,
Creating more space in the Annamayikosha,
The physical sheath,
The food body.
From the skin,
Feeling the muscles begin to also release their tension,
Any small residual holdings with every breath become softer and softer,
From the muscles to the internal organs.
As you breathe in and out in an easy way,
Your breath is the force of life itself,
Prana,
That gives sustenance and nourishment to your organs,
For them to be able to work harmoniously.
So right now in Yoga Nidra,
We are returning the favor to all layers of self,
Starting from the physical and moving sheath by sheath,
Kosha by kosha,
Inward,
Inward,
Inward.
All are equally important,
All are necessary,
As we are human beings with a body and mind,
Rooted in societal structures,
But walking a spiritual path.
From the organs now to the bones of the body themselves,
The skeletal body,
And just if you can feel the solidity of the bones giving way to a more fluid nature,
Where there is a flow,
Especially between the joints where the bones meet,
Relaxing all layers from outer to inner of the physical body.
Notice how the mind is drawn more and more inwards.
It's very common in Yoga Nidra for the breathing to become more shallow,
Almost imperceptible when inhale becomes exhale,
And sometimes the breathing even suspends.
As the Prana in the body takes over,
The energy,
The life force itself,
Becomes more important than the physical act of breathing.
This may or may not happen,
But if it does,
Let the process be completely natural.
If the breath is deep,
It's deep.
If it's shallow,
It's shallow as it wants to be.
And same with the mind.
If the mind is deep within,
It's deep within.
If it rises to the surface,
It rises to the surface.
Every action of your mind and body is a reflection of nature itself,
And not fighting that natural process.
Being in accord with nature.
Letting your mind observe the thoughts arising and passing in the Manomaya Kosha,
The mental body.
At the same time,
Being aware of your physical body,
Annamaya Kosha.
There is no separation.
That is our true nature.
And when we create separation,
This breeds violence,
Hatred,
Mistrust,
And fear.
Delusion of mind and ignorance take over.
Let the body and mind flow together.
Let your awareness,
Your concentration,
Be a relaxed observer.
Healing the ruptures of separation through your clear vision of things as they are.
As mind flows with body,
Body flows with mind,
Bring your attention to the sensations within the body sphere as well.
The Pranamaya Kosha,
The feeling of energy in the body.
How we know that we are alive.
What animates us gives motion.
And as you observe,
Like a shadow,
Seeing where the mind goes,
What it focuses on,
What it is attracted to,
And what it is repelled by.
Just do nothing.
In doing nothing,
There is a silent power that is born deep in the locus of the heart.
Slowly drawing your mind into the heart center,
Anahata chakra.
Just witnessing all the arising and passing of so many feeling states,
Mental states,
Physical states.
Like waves in the ocean,
Sometimes crashing against one another,
Sometimes small ripples,
Sometimes huge storms.
And as you let go more into the realm of trustful surrender,
Ishvara Pranidhana.
And lay your mind to rest now in the lotus of the heart,
The home of the mind.
Seeing all questions subside.
So that you can feel the illumination of the Vijnanamaya Ghusa,
Your own inherent wisdom,
Buddhi,
That lies below the surface waves of your mind,
Your citta vrittis.
As though you are taking a deep dive into a vast ocean.
The darkness soothing in the way it holds your awareness.
As we enter the lotus of the heart,
We come into contact with the very deepest desires of our incarnation,
Of our reason for being.
What is it that we are seeking?
What is it that we wish to hold?
Let yourself be in flow with nature.
If the mind comes to the surface,
It comes to the surface.
If it dives deep,
It dives deep.
Do not force or direct.
Let go.
As you descend deeper and deeper into the heart core,
One begins to see with the inner eye all of our repository of our samskaras,
Our karmas in the karmashaya,
The storehouse of all karmas,
Of all cause and effect,
Of all the seeds of our thoughts,
Speech and actions.
Coming into contact with not only the qualities of human life that creates suffering,
But also those that lead us to liberation.
As we move to our innermost center,
Ananda Mayakosha,
Deepest contentment,
Happiness and joy that is non-conditional,
Non-dependent on any external factor,
Full of infinite metri,
Friendship,
Loving-kindness,
Infinite karuna,
Compassion,
Infinite mudita,
Sympathetic joy,
And infinite upeksha,
Equanimity.
Just feeling the completeness of your human existence through all the layers from physical to mental,
Mental to energetic,
Energetic to the wisdom body,
From the wisdom body to the deep core of Ananda.
All exist at once,
All equally important.
Feel what it's like.
When the mind finally returns home after so much searching,
Seeking,
Wandering,
And losing oneself,
Just go home now and rest on this beautiful bed of a fully bloomed lotus of the heart.
Deeply connected to all beings in this whole wide and mysterious universe.
Letting yourself be in the mystery rather than the desire for answers.
Good.
When you're ready to emerge,
Just move layer by layer back to the physical body and the feeling of a deeper breath in the abdomen as you wake up,
Wake up,
Wake up,
Wake up.
Now the physical body.
First with deep breath and let that breath extend to the extremities and movements through toes and fingers.
Feel where the mind shifts to in its perspective,
Coming out of the Nidra state.
And then whenever you're ready,
Just bring the knees to the chest and rolling to the side in a fetal position,
Staying here for as long as you need to.
Coming out of your Nidra practice,
Make sure that you are not overwhelming your senses.
Drinking a glass of water to come back into the feeling of the physical body rooted in the material plane can be very helpful.
Take your time over the next five to ten minutes coming out and then go about your day in a new and fresh way,
With a new and fresh mind joined with body through breath.
Thank you for your deep attention and your willingness to practice step by step on this path for all beings.
Thank you.
