We'll now go into Yoga Nidra.
Preferably lie down in Shavasana,
In the dead man's pose or the corpse pose.
Your body stretched out,
Feet apart and the palms of the hands turned upwards.
If you prefer,
You could also practice sitting down.
And you can close your eyes.
If you need to make any adjustments,
Now is the time to do it,
So that you are as comfortable as possible.
As we must not have any movement,
Either conscious or unconscious,
While we are practicing Yoga Nidra.
In this practice,
You have to only maintain awareness of hearing and feeling.
The body sleeps,
But the mind remains awake.
And you must remain alert,
So you do not sleep.
Say to yourself mentally,
I will not sleep,
I will remain awake.
Take a deep breath.
As you breathe in,
Feel coolness and calmness spreading throughout your body.
As you breathe out,
Feel your cares and worries flowing out of you,
Dropping away.
And become aware of your body.
Relax yourself completely.
Become physically calm and steady.
Feel the legs relaxed,
The trunk,
The head,
The arms,
The hands.
Let them all relax.
Become aware of your physical body,
Right from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
And in your mind,
Say,
Om Complete awareness of the whole body.
Say again to yourself,
Om Relax your whole body mentally.
Relax yourself mentally.
Relax yourself by breathing normally and becoming aware of the breath as it moves between your navel and your throat.
Navel to throat breathing.
Be aware of this and slowly feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed.
And now leave your breathing and become aware that you are going to practice Yoga Nidra.
Yoga Nidra begins now.
Now is the time to make your resolve.
Be consistent.
Plant this resolve in one place and do not change it.
The resolve will come true if the soil is perfect.
Repeat your resolve with complete feeling and awareness three times.
We go now into the rotation of consciousness.
Awareness of parts of the body.
The consciousness should move around the body and keep on moving.
As it moves,
It changes into prana,
The vital energy in the form of a current of energy.
Do not concentrate on any one part but let your mind jump freely from one part to the next as I name the part.
Right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Palm of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Waist.
Hip.
Right thigh.
Kneecap.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Shoulder.
Sole.
Top of the foot.
Right toes.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
The left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Waist.
Hip.
Left thigh.
Kneecap.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole.
Top of the foot.
The left toes.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Now go to the back of the body.
Back of the head.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
The whole spine.
The right hip.
Left hip.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Back of the right thigh.
Back of the left thigh.
Back of the right knee.
Back of the left knee.
Right calf muscle.
Left calf muscle.
Right ankle.
Left ankle.
Right heel.
Left heel.
Now go to the front of the body.
Go to the top of the head.
The forehead.
The right eyebrow.
The left eyebrow.
The space between the eyebrows.
Right eyelid.
Left eyelid.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Jaw.
Troth.
Right collar bone.
Left collar bone.
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 toes.
Left toes.
Now the major parts of the body.
The whole right leg.
The whole left leg.
Both legs together.
The right arm.
The left arm.
Both arms together.
The whole back.
The whole front.
The back and front together.
The whole head.
The whole body.
Visualize the whole body.
Intensify your awareness.
The whole body.
And bring your attention to the natural quiet breath.
Become aware of the breath through the nostrils.
The natural breath that flows through both nostrils.
Become aware of the temperature of the breath as it moves through your nostrils.
The breath from the left nostril is Ida,
The moon.
And from the right nostril is Pingala,
The sun.
Ida,
The left breath is cooler.
And Pingala,
The right breath is warmer.
Try to become aware of this.
And now think of an ocean.
Think of a dark blue ocean.
And become aware of the waves.
That ocean lies within the inner space,
The Chidakasha.
And the rolling waves represent sleep.
The manifesting unconscious state of the mind.
Become aware of sleep and try to visualize the state of unconsciousness within you.
Like waves on an ocean.
Above is a beautiful blue sky.
And below is the vast ocean with infinite waves.
Now imagine a well.
Imagine a well and you are looking into it.
The well is dark and deep.
A cylindrical tunnel into the depths of the earth.
There is a bucket on a chain.
You lower it into the well and it moves into abysmal darkness.
You can feel it on the chain in the depths.
But you cannot see it.
Now pull the bucket up.
Up,
Out of the darkness and into the light.
Let's lower the bucket again.
But this time if you wish,
You can get into the bucket and I will lower you down and pull you up again perfectly safely.
Now the bucket is winding down.
You are descending slowly through the light and moving into darkness.
Unknown,
All-pervading darkness.
Complete darkness and emptiness all around.
So dark,
You cannot see yourself but you can know and feel that you are.
You descend a little further with complete awareness that you are.
And now I am winding you up.
Up,
Up through the darkness and into the dim light.
From the dim light into daylight and out of the well.
Now ask yourself,
What am I thinking?
Do not think but become aware of the spontaneous thought process.
Become a witness.
Do not suppress any thought.
Try to witness your thoughts and ask yourself again and again,
What am I thinking?
And at the same time maintain total awareness of any thought that is passing through the visible frame of your consciousness.
And now in your mind's eye imagine you are standing at the edge of a still clear lake.
The water is calm.
The water is deflecting the sky above.
This lake is your mind.
Deep,
Washed,
Aware.
Each ripple on the water is a rithi.
A movement of thought.
We will visit five of these together not to control them but simply to witness their shape and soften their grip.
A small,
Steady ripple appears on the lake.
This is brahmana,
The ripple of clarity.
It brings insight,
Logic and truth.
See an image float to the surface.
A recent moment when you felt clear and grounded.
Let it rise and gently pass.
Trust its message.
Then let it go like a leaf on the water.
Another ripple forms.
This one is vipadhyaya.
A distortion.
Something mistaken for something else.
And you see a shadow in the water.
A moment when you misunderstood,
Assumed or judged.
Allow it to surface with compassion.
And silently say,
I forgive myself for what I could not see.
And let the ripple fade.
And now comes vikalpa.
A beautiful,
Swirling ripple made of stories,
Dreams and what-ifs.
And you see a scene you imagined recently.
A future fear.
A mental rehearsal.
Gently observe it as if watching clouds drift by.
Smile at the creativity of your mind.
Then let it go.
Returning to still water.
The next ripple is soft,
Subtle.
Almost like a fog.
It is nidra.
The ritti of sleep and unconsciousness.
Recall a time you were moving through the day without presence.
Notice how the ripple dulls the light.
Then watch it lift.
Revealing clarity underneath.
And say silently,
I choose to awaken.
And finally smriti.
A ripple that carries the past.
See an old memory arise.
See it arise gently as if it is coming from deep water.
Feel its emotional shape without clinging or pushing it away.
And say,
Thank you for what you've taught me.
I release you now and let it dissolve back into the lake.
Dissolve,
Dissolve,
Dissolve.
Now you should remember your dissolve and repeat it three times.
With maximum feeling and awareness,
Repeat your dissolve three times.
And relax all efforts.
Bring your attention to the natural breath.
The natural breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.
As you maintain your awareness of your breath,
At the same time develop your awareness of your physical existence.
Become aware of the physical existence of your body.
Develop awareness of your body and Visualize your body resting on the surface that it is practicing yoga nidra on.
Take your mind out and visualize the area that you are practicing yoga nidra in.
Do not open your eyes.
Simply become aware of the fact that you are practicing yoga nidra.
And start moving now.
Start moving your body.
Start stretching yourself.
Take your time.
There is no hurry.
And when you are sure that you are wide awake,
If you were in the sleeping position,
Sit up slowly and open your eyes.
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
Hari Om Tat Sat Yoga Nidra
