Get ready for Yoga Nidra.
Get ready for Yoga Nidra.
Preferably lie down in Shavasana,
The dead man's pose or the corpse pose,
With your feet apart,
The palms of your hands facing upward and if you're sitting that's perfectly fine.
Make sure you're sitting with your back upright and you can put your hands on your knees with your palms facing upward.
Close your eyes and quickly become motionless.
If you need to make any adjustments,
Make them now.
If you need to grab a blanket,
Grab it now.
Because there should be absolutely no movement until the practice is finished.
For the next 30 to 35 minutes,
Forget all your problems,
Forget all your worries,
Forget all your tensions and concentrate on Yoga Nidra.
Forget all your cares.
Take a long deep breath in and as you breathe out,
Feel yourself letting go and become aware of faraway sounds,
Distant sounds.
Allow your sense of hearing to range,
To range into the distance and then gradually bring it back into the place that you are practicing Yoga Nidra in.
Develop your awareness of the place that you are practicing in.
Yourself lying on the floor or on your yoga mat or yourself sitting down.
Become aware of your body and the surface that it is practicing Yoga Nidra on.
Become aware of your breathing.
Be conscious that you are breathing.
Don't concentrate on it.
Simply know that you are breathing.
Awareness of your breath and awareness of the body.
Remember your purpose and say mentally to yourself,
I am going to practice Yoga Nidra.
I will remain awake.
I will not sleep.
And now state your dissolve,
Your Sankalpa,
Your intention.
Repeat your dissolve mentally with full awareness,
With full feeling.
Repeat it three times.
And now we move into the rotation of consciousness.
Awareness of different parts of the body by taking a trip through the body.
Let your mind jump freely from one part to the next.
As I name the part,
Become aware of the part but don't concentrate too much on it.
We begin with the right side.
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Waist,
Hip,
Right thigh,
Kneecap,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
Right toes,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
Sixteen,
Seventeen,
Eighteen,
Nineteen,
Twenty,
Twenty-five.
Now the left side.
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Waist,
Hip,
Left thigh,
Kneecap,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
Left toes,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Now go to the top of the head,
The top of the head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
The chin,
The jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel,
Upper abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
Right groin,
Left groin,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Right knee,
Left knee,
Right calf muscle,
Left calf muscle,
Right ankle,
Left ankle,
Right toes,
Left toes,
Now the back side,
Right sole,
Left sole,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf muscle,
Left calf muscle,
Back of the right knee,
Back of the left knee,
Back of the right thigh,
Back of the left thigh,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Right hip,
Left hip,
The whole spine,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The back of the neck,
The back of the head,
The top of the head,
Now the whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole head,
The whole back,
The whole front,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
Now become aware of the meeting points between the body and the surface that you are resting on,
Concentrate on them for a bit,
Feel these meeting points intensely,
Evenly,
Bring your attention to the soles of the feet,
Feel the skin on the soles of the feet,
Right from the heels to the tips of the toes,
Go to the palms of your hands,
In your mind feel the skin on the palms of your hands and fingers,
Feel the skin and become aware of the lines on your palms,
The lines on your fingers intensely,
With full awareness,
Develop your awareness of the skin on your forehead,
On your cheeks,
On your chin,
Become aware of any lines on your face,
Bring your attention to the eyelids,
Feel the meeting points between the eyelids and now the lips,
Feel the meeting points between the lips intensely,
With feeling and from the lips go to the breath,
Bring your attention to your natural breath,
Become aware that you are breathing quietly and slowly,
Become conscious of your breathing,
Nothing else,
Aware of the natural breath,
Aware of the air as it goes in and out of the nostrils,
Aware of your natural breathing and become aware of Chidakasha,
Chidakasha is the inner space you see behind your forehead,
The inner space you see behind your forehead,
Develop your awareness of this space,
An infinite space that extends as far as you can see,
As low or as high and as wide as you can see,
Become aware of this space,
Totally aware but not involved,
Observe it as if you are watching a movie,
What you see is a projection of your subconscious,
If you see patterns,
If you see images,
This is simply the way your mind is manifesting,
Maintain your awareness and now allow a gentle image to begin forming in your awareness,
You are entering a quiet sacred space,
A sanctuary,
It exists not in the outer world but within you,
This is the inner landscape of Ahimsa,
The inner landscape of non-violence,
The entrance is open and inviting,
You step inside and you feel an immediate sense of calm,
The air here is soft and warm,
With a golden light bathing everything it touches,
This sanctuary is made up of natural elements,
Earth,
Stone,
Wood,
Water,
It feels alive but peaceful,
There is a stillness here,
Not silence but a quiet that listens,
You begin to walk slowly,
Barefoot,
With each step you feel the ground receiving you,
Not resisting,
Not pushing,
Just holding,
You notice here nothing is hurried,
Even your breath seems to slow down,
You are being invited to soften,
You come to a clear still pool at the centre of this space,
You sit beside it,
The surface is like a mirror,
When you look into the pool you don't see your deflection,
You see the ripple of your actions,
You see moments when your words soothed someone,
You see moments when your silence brought safety,
You see moments when your presence just your being helped ease tension,
Now you also notice the other ripples,
The times when your stress led to sharpness,
The times when your rush led to neglect,
The times when judgement came quickly,
There is no shame here,
Only awareness,
The sanctuary holds it all,
The sanctuary holds it with compassion,
You become aware of your heart centre and you breathe in deeply,
You inhale forgiveness and you exhale peace,
You now hear a quiet voice from within,
And it may sound like your own voice,
It says,
I am safe,
I am soft,
I can choose gentleness again and again,
And as you sit in this space you realise a Himsa is not an ideal,
It is a frequency,
A way of being,
A presence you can return to,
You commit to the turning here,
Not only in meditation,
But in life,
With every breath,
With every choice,
With every step,
And let the sanctuary dissolve into your body,
Let it become your breath,
Your spine,
Your heart,
Your presence in the world,
And once more return your awareness to Chidakasha,
Return again to that inner space,
The space you see behind the forehead,
Watch this space carefully for any colours,
Any patterns that may emerge,
There should be no effort,
Just awareness of watching,
Complete awareness of watching with no involvement,
And become aware of your dissolve,
Remember the dissolve,
The intention,
The Sankalpa you made at the beginning of the practice,
Now is the time to repeat your dissolve,
State your dissolve three times,
In the same words and with the same attitude,
With feeling and emphasis,
And become aware of your breathing,
Become aware of the natural breath,
Take a long slow deep breath,
And become aware of your relaxed body,
Become aware of your physical existence,
Become aware of your surroundings,
The surface you are resting on,
The area that you are in,
And start making small movements with your body,
Wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes,
And if you are practicing Yoga Nidra in the sleeping position,
You can now sit up slowly and gently open your eyes,
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Hari Om Tat Sat
