Abhava Pratyaya Alambana Vritra Nidra Resting in the silence beneath thought.
In this sutra,
Patanjali invites us to look at sleep not as emptiness but as a subtle movement of the mind,
A state where ordinary thoughts,
Images,
And perceptions are absent.
This practice is an invitation to rest deeply.
Not to force wakefulness,
Not to resist sleep,
Not to judge dullness or tiredness,
But to gently explore the space between sleep and awareness.
The body may become deeply relaxed.
The mind may become quiet,
Thoughts may fade,
Images may dissolve and yet a thread of awareness may remain.
And this is the beauty of Yoga Nidra.
The body thus,
The Mind Softens.
And awareness watchers.
So allow yourself now to prepare for practice.
Lie down in a comfortable position.
Let your body be fully supported.
You may place a pillow between the knees,
A folded blanket beneath the head or cover the body if you wish to stay warm.
Allow the feet to fall slightly apart and let the arms rest away from the body.
With the palms facing upward or in any position that feels natural.
If you are doing this practice sitting down.
Make sure your spine is upright.
Your neck is comfortable.
And you can rest your hands on your knees or your thighs with your palms facing upward or downward.
Whichever may be more comfortable for you.
Once you settle,
Allow the body to become quiet.
Let the eyes close.
Let the jaw soften.
Let the belly soften.
And take a slow breath in and a long breath out.
Once again,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
There's nothing to do.
Nothing to solve,
Nothing to understand.
For now,
Simply this.
Feel the body touching the surface beneath you.
Let the body receive the support.
You do not need to hold yourself up.
You do not need to hold the mind together.
You do not need to remain alert.
True effort.
Simply allow yourself to be held.
And as the body is held,
Let the breath become natural.
Notice the breath as it is.
Not forcing.
Not controlling,
Just observing.
The bread comes.
The Bread Goals The breath enters.
The bread leaves.
With each exhale,
Invite the body into deeper rest.
Now become aware of the space around the body.
The quietness of the doom.
The stillness around you.
The body resting in space.
The breath moving in space.
The mind softening in space.
And gently bring your attention inward.
And quietly bring to mind your Sankalpa,
Your intention,
Your resolve.
Whatever is your this all Repeated silently three times with feeling and simplicity.
Let the Sankalpa settle into the deeper mind like a seed.
Now we begin the rotation of consciousness.
Allow your awareness to move from point to point in the body.
There is no need to move physically.
Simply listen,
Feel and let awareness travel.
Bring awareness to the right hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger LingFingal Little finger.
Bomb of the hand.
Back of the head.
List.
Father.
Elbow Upper arm.
Shoulder.
UMPIT!
Right side of the waist.
Right hip.
Tie.
Knee Caw.
Angel.
Heal.
Soul of the right foot.
Top of the right foot.
Light Big Dough.
2nd toe Todd?
Forward.
Fair.
Now bring awareness to the left hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger Ring finger.
Little finger.
Bum of the hand.
Back of the head.
The best.
For the arm.
Elbow Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Ampe!
Left side of the waist.
Left hip.
Bye.
Me.
Golf Angle Heal Soul of the left foot.
Top of the left foot.
Left Big Dough 2nd toe Todd?
Forward.
Fav.
Now bring awareness to the back of the body.
Right Shoulder Blade Left Shoulder Blade the space between the shoulder blades.
Oppo back.
Middleback Lower back.
The whole spine.
Back of the pelvis right side of the back.
Left side of the back.
The whole back.
Now bring awareness to the front of the body.
Doppled the head.
Call ahead.
Right Eye Brow.
Left Eyebrow the space between the eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right Ear.
Left yo.
Write G.
Left Cheek nose,
Tip of the Nose Upper lip.
Lower lid.
Gin.
Jaw.
Drought.
Right Collarbone Left Collarbone center of the chest,
Right side of the chest.
Left side of the chest.
Upper abdomen.
Navel Lower abdomen.
12 days.
The whole front body.
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 back body.
The whole front body.
The whole head.
The whole body.
The whole body resting.
The whole body breathing.
The whole body held in awareness.
Now bring your attention to your natural breath.
Bring your awareness to your natural breath.
Feel the breath moving by itself.
The body breathes.
And you are aware of breathing.
There is no need to interfere.
The breath becomes softer.
The body becomes heavier.
The mind becomes quieter.
Let the breath become a gentle thread.
A thread between waking and sleep.
A thread between rest and awareness.
Let the body this.
Let the mind soften.
And bring into awareness the feeling of heaviness.
Heavy Body.
Heavy Arms Heavy Legs Heavy Head The whole body heavy.
As if the body is sinking gently into the earth.
Heavy.
Support it.
Hell.
Now bring into awareness the feeling of lightness.
Light Body.
Light arms.
Light Legs.
Lighthead.
As if the body is floating in quiet space.
Lie.
Spacious.
For Thee.
Now heaviness and lightness together.
The body heavy and held.
Awareness,
Light and open.
Now bring into awareness the feeling of tiredness.
Not as a problem,
Not as a failure,
Simply tiredness.
A Heavy Mind.
A body asking for this.
A nervous system wanting to soften.
Let tiredness be known with compassion.
Now bring into awareness the feeling of wakefulness,
A clear,
Quiet alertness.
Not forced,
Not tense,
A gentle brightness within.
Awareness Awakens.
Presence Awakens.
A soft inner light.
Now tiredness and wakefulness together.
The body may be tired.
Awareness can still know.
The mind may be quiet.
Awareness can still remain.
Now silently hear the Sutra.
Abhava.
Pratyaya Alambana VDITID NIDRA Sleep.
Is the mental movement based on the experience of absence.
Let the meaning settle gently.
Sleep is not wrong.
Rest is not wrong.
Absence is not wrong.
But even absence can be known.
Even blankness can be known.
Even sleepiness can be held in awareness.
Now imagine that you are standing at the edge of evening.
The edge of evening.
The day is slowly fading.
The sky is deep blue.
The light is soft,
The air is quiet.
In front of you.
Is a peaceful path leading toward a small,
Simple,
Resting place.
A place of safety.
A place of deep rest.
You begin walking slowly.
With each step.
The outer world becomes quieter.
The sounds of the day fade.
The Concerns of the Day Softened.
The unfinished thoughts lose their urgency.
Step by step,
You move toward rest.
You arrive at the resting place.
It is calm.
Womb.
Why?
There is a soft bed or the mat waiting for you.
You lie down.
The body feels completely supported.
The breath becomes slow.
The mind becomes quiet.
As you rest there.
You notice thoughts appearing like small lights in the distance.
A plan.
A memory.
A concern.
A word,
An image.
One by one.
The lights begin to dim.
Not forced,
Not pushed away,
Simply fading.
A thought appears.
It fades.
A memory appears.
It fades.
A concern appears.
It fades.
The mind becomes quieter.
The space within becomes wider.
Now you notice a gentle darkness around you.
Not frightening,
Not heavy,
A soft,
Peaceful darkness.
The kind of darkness that allows rest.
The kind of darkness that allows the body to repair.
The kind of darkness that holds the seed beneath the soil.
You are resting in this soft darkness.
No need to think.
No need to imagine.
No need to understand.
Just resting.
Now notice the edge between waking and sleep.
Perhaps the body feels very heavy.
Perhaps the thoughts are far away.
Perhaps the mind begins to drift.
Perhaps there is blankness.
If sleep comes,
Let it come.
If awareness remains,
Let awareness remain.
There is nothing to force.
Simply allow a gentle tread of awareness to stay present.
A thread of knowing.
A soft inner light.
The body this.
The mind softens.
Awareness Watchers.
Now imagine that in this peaceful darkness,
A small lamp appears.
A very gentle lamb.
Not bright enough to disturb rest.
Just bright enough to remain aware.
This lamp represents awareness.
Solve.
Steady.
Kind.
It does not fight the darkness.
It does not fear sleep.
It simply shines quietly.
The body rests in darkness.
The lamp remains.
The mind becomes still.
The lamp remains.
Thoughts fade.
The Lamp Remains.
Images dissolve.
The Lamp Remains.
This is bright relaxation.
Rested but aware.
Quiet but clear.
Soft.
But awake.
Let yourself rest in this feeling.
Bright relaxation.
The body completely at ease.
Awareness gently awake.
Now bring to mind a place in your life where you sometimes become unconscious,
Dull or automatic.
Do something gentle.
Perhaps scrolling without presence,
Eating without tasting.
Listening without really hearing,
Working on autopilot,
Avoiding a feeling,
Delaying something important,
Drifting away from what matters.
Choose something gentle.
And let it appear lightly.
No judgement.
No criticism,
Simply noticing.
And ask yourself,
Gently,
Where am I asleep in my own life?
Where am I moving automatically?
Where am I mistaking distraction for this?
Now let the questions dissolve.
You do not need to answer with the thinking mind.
Let the deeper mind receive them.
Now bring compassion to this place.
Perhaps this dullness has been trying to protect you.
Perhaps this avoidance has been trying to keep you safe.
Perhaps this tiredness has been asking for real rest.
Instead of judging it.
We say inwardly.
I see this.
With compassion.
Once again.
I see this with compassion.
And now,
I gently return to awareness.
Feel the body resting.
Feel the breath moving.
Feel the surface you are resting on holding you.
This moment is here.
This breath is here.
Awareness is here.
Now imagine the small lamp of awareness becoming a little clear though.
StillSolve Still Gentle.
But steady.
Its light reaches the body.
The head,
The Truth.
The heart.
The Belly.
The pelvis,
The arms,
The legs.
Not waking the body through effort but illuminating it with presence.
The body is resting in awareness.
The mind is resting in awareness.
Even silence is resting in awareness.
Now notice the space of absence.
No strong thought.
No need to speak.
No need to remember,
No need to become,
Just the quiet absence of content.
Let yourself rest here.
This is not emptiness as loss.
This is emptiness as spaciousness.
A Quiet Field A gap.
A pause,
A soft inner night.
And in this absence,
Awareness remains.
Nothing needs to happen.
Nothing needs to appear.
Nothing needs to be filled.
You can rest.
Without grasping.
You can be quiet.
Without disappearing.
You can soften without becoming unconscious.
Rest here for a few moments.
Now gently hear the words.
I am aware of thought.
I am aware of silence.
I am aware of movement.
I am away.
Of absence.
Thought comes and goes.
Silence comes and goes.
Walking comes and goes,
Sleep comes and goes,
But awareness remains.
Now they turn to the image of the quiet lamp.
Let the lamp shine in the resting place.
Let the body lie in complete ease.
Let the mind become peaceful.
Let the breath become soft.
The lamp does not demand anything.
It's simply the means.
Soft awareness.
Gentle Presence quiet knowing.
Now bring back your Sankalpa,
Your intention,
Your resolve.
The same one that you chose and made at the beginning of the practice.
And repeated silently three times.
Let the Sankalpa settle into the quiet mind.
Now begin to the talk.
Feel the body resting on whatever surface it is resting on.
Feel the back of the head.
The shoulders,
The arms,
The hands,
The spine.
The hips,
The legs.
The Feet.
Feel the whole body.
The whole body resting.
The whole body breathing.
Notice the natural breath.
Become aware of the area that you are practicing Yoga Nidra in.
Make small movements with the fingers.
With the toes.
You can gently move the head from side to side.
You can stretch the body in any way that feels natural.
Taking your time,
There is no rush.
And when you are ready and if you are in the sleeping position.
Roll gently on one side.
And pause there for the bit.
Let this position be a bridge between deep rest and waking life.
Remember,
Rest is sacred.
Sleep is sacred.
But awareness can gently accompany this.
You can solve them.
Without disappearing.
You can become quiet without becoming unconscious.
You can return from dullness to presence with kindness.
When you are at ease.
Slowly come back to a seated position.
Or remain rested if that feels right.
You can keep your eyes closed or softly open them.
Bring the palms together at the heart.
If that feels natural.
Take a slow breath in.
A gentle breath out.
May you honour your need for this.
May you listen when the body is tired.
May you soften when the nervous system asks for care.
And may you also recognize the places where dullness,
Distraction,
Or autopilot have taken you away from presence.
May sleep restore you,
May stillness awaken you,
May the body rest deeply,
May the mind soften completely and may awareness remain like a quiet lamp within.
Abhava pratyaya lambana vittir nidra May you rest in the silence beneath thought.
May you awaken gently from unconsciousness.
May you return to bright,
Clear,
Compassionate presence.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Adiom tat sat.
