Life is about intention and attention.
Attention is what your focus is on at any given moment.
Intention is the meaning behind your actions,
Words and behaviours.
Meditations,
Mantras and goals give you an opportunity to focus your attention on your intention.
In yoga nidra practice,
Your intention is called your sankalpa.
Your sankalpa describes how you want to show up in the world.
It can be a characteristic or trait that you would like to embody.
It can be a short term,
Long term or lifetime goal.
It's about living your life in a purposeful,
Inspiring,
Creative and congruent way.
It is heartfelt and meaningful to you.
Something you treasure and value.
A sankalpa is a short sentence which you can bring easily to mind.
It is present-tensed.
This means that it is phrased as if you have it right now.
Your subconscious mind is a loyal friend.
Whatever you think and believe,
Your subconscious mind will find evidence of.
When your sankalpa is present-tensed,
It will come into fruition.
Your subconscious mind will make sure of it.
A sankalpa is positively tensed.
Your subconscious mind is simple and literal.
It understands absolute value and basics.
It doesn't understand negative words such as don't or won't.
This is why you need to be crystal clear and state what it is that you want instead of what it is that you don't want.
The word should is an expectation that has come from somewhere else or someone else.
The word should does not belong in a sankalpa.
It is important to phrase your sankalpa positively and in the present tense to ensure that the seeds of your intention planted and nourished during any yoga nidra session can grow into fruition.
I invite you to welcome this practice of yoga nidra which is devoted to discovering and uncovering your sankalpa.
With the grace and ease of a delightful gift from the universe,
It will make itself known to you during the visualization phase.
Your comfort is of the utmost importance in order to remain still and awake throughout the practice.
Be warm and cozy in the most comfortable position available to you right now in this moment.
Align your body from head to toe in the most natural and neutral position.
Allow your hands to rest naturally either by your side or on your abdomen.
Palms of the hands facing up if you can.
Choose whichever position is most comfortable for your body.
Lift your chest up,
Tuck in your shoulder blades and then rest your chest back down again.
Your jaw is relaxed and open.
Your lips still touching each other.
Your tongue is resting comfortably behind your bottom teeth down into the throat.
Invite your tongue to spread out and relax completely.
Allow the tension to leave the muscles in your face.
Make any final adjustments to perfect your comfort now.
During yoga nidra you are awake and aware while remaining perfectly still.
If you do need to move during the practice do so consciously with awareness and it will become a part of the practice.
Close your eyes now if you feel safe and secure to do so.
Taking a deep breath relax any tension or stress.
Bring about a deep relaxation to the body.
Starting with the right arm from the shoulder to the tips of the fingers.
The left arm from the shoulder to the tips of the fingers.
The right leg from the hip down to the tips of the toes.
The left leg from the hip down to the tips of the toes.
The whole of the torso.
The whole of your head.
The whole body.
Whole body relaxed.
During yoga nidra you focus with hearing and awareness.
Your sense of hearing is the last to leave before sleep.
Use my voice as an anchor to keep you present,
Awake and aware.
Even if you are unable to understand what I am saying stay focused on my voice.
Make a resolution now.
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I will not fall asleep.
Invite a vision of your most creative,
Inspiring and purposeful self to come to mind.
What words describe this vision?
What words come to you for your sankalpa?
Now we begin a rotation of awareness through the body.
As I say the body part focus your full awareness to that part and if you like mentally repeat the body part name after me.
This will help to keep you awake and fully aware.
Starting with the right hand side of the body.
Right hand thumb.
Pointer finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Top of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Waist.
Hip.
Buttock.
Upper leg.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Heel.
Soul of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
Whole right side of the body.
Whole right side of the body.
Shifting awareness to the left hand side of the body.
Left hand thumb.
Pointer finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Top of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Waist.
Hip.
Buttock.
Upper leg.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Heel.
Soul of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
Whole left side of the body.
Whole left side of the body.
Shifting now to diagonal awareness.
The whole of the right arm.
The whole of the left leg.
The whole of the left arm.
The whole of the right leg.
Whole of the right leg.
Whole of the left arm.
The whole of the left leg.
The whole of the right arm.
All of the limbs together.
All of the torso together.
Shifting awareness to the tailbone.
Allow the awareness to travel up the spine vertebrae by vertebrae to the neck.
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead.
Right temple,
Right ear,
Right cheek.
Left temple,
Left ear,
Left cheek.
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow.
Brow middle,
The brow middle.
Right eye,
Left eye,
Nose,
Mouth,
Chin,
Throat,
Neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Chest,
Tummy,
Lower back,
Upper back,
The point between the shoulder blades,
The point between the shoulder blades.
Shifting awareness to the inner body,
The heart,
The circulatory system,
The respiratory system,
The digestive system,
All muscles throughout the body,
All bones in the body,
The whole of the body,
The whole of the body.
Please check that you are still awake,
Aware and practicing yoga nidra.
Become aware of your breath.
Feel the flow of your breath in and out of the body.
Breathing is natural,
Effortless.
Be aware of breathing.
Notice the flow of the breath entering in through the nostrils and flowing down,
Belly rise.
Breath flowing out and back through the nostrils,
Belly fall.
Breathing in,
Belly rise.
Breathing out,
Belly fall.
Concentrate on this flow of breath through your belly,
Counting back from seven to one.
Belly rise,
Seven.
Belly fall,
Seven.
Belly rise,
Six.
Belly fall,
Six.
Go on practicing and stay aware.
Say the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths with your belly.
Moving our awareness onto opposites.
Imagine or create the sensation of the body being heavy,
Body made of lead,
Steel,
Sinking into the space beneath it.
Now experience the opposite sensation of lightness in the body,
Body made of helium,
Floating into the space above it.
Breathing the sensation of lightness to remember or create the sensation of the body being cold,
Ice cold palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Remembering or creating the sensation of the body being hot,
Burning hot palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Moving opposites,
Return to the body lying still,
Deeply relaxed within its surroundings.
Visualize the body in its surroundings from the sky's point of view.
Visualize the body from the sky.
Notice something interesting in the surroundings nearby,
Something unusual.
With curiosity the body moves towards it.
You notice a symbol on it.
What color is the symbol?
Instinctively you reach out to touch it.
You notice a higher energy buzzing inside of you and around you.
Turning to look around you notice that the surroundings have changed.
Scenery of your sankalpa realized appears to you.
You understand that you are in a future state where your sankalpa has come true.
Visualizing your true aligned self,
Expressing in your own unique way.
Bringing your gift to the world with ease and grace.
Effortless.
You sense love and compassion,
Your body warm and softening.
Note your posture.
Study the emotions on your face.
You are able to sense the feeling,
The essence in this space by watching your future self interact with the world around you.
You are witnessing your true innate nature.
Your future self smiles at you and beckons you to come near.
You are invited to journey inside of your future self to fully experience the fruits of your labor your sankalpa realized from the inside out.
Filled with compassion and gratitude you accept the offer and move into your future heart.
Feel the warmth and softness here.
Your future self insists that you use all the senses available to you in your future body to experience your sankalpa realized and it asks that you only stay present with complete awareness.
Knowings and understandings will come to you as you sense this from the inside out.
Be open to them appearing in whatever form they wish to,
Be it words,
Symbols,
Visions or essences.
Picture the colors,
Shapes,
The objects and lighting when your sankalpa is realized.
Fully experience the sensations of vision.
Listen for resonance,
Rhythms and sounds in your sankalpa realized.
Allow yourself to fully experience all the sensations of sound.
Savor the flavors,
Essences and fragrances in your sankalpa realized.
Fully experience the sensations of taste and smell.
Savor the flavors,
Essences and fragrances in your sankalpa realized.
Correst the textures,
Note the connections and feel the deep richness of your sankalpa realized.
Allow yourself to fully experience the sensations of feeling and touch.
Let the gifts of knowing and understanding from your senses flow into your heart space naturally with ease and with grace.
You thank your future self for teaching you the value of your sankalpa and allowing you to experience its rich rewards.
Your future self embraces you with pure,
Unconditional love.
With your heart full of happiness and joy,
You bid your future self farewell and return to your body.
Allow the gifts of knowing and understanding during the visualization to fuse together and make themselves known to you in words.
Allow the words to come to you now.
Feelings which will form your sankalpa.
And repeat your sankalpa three times now.
Relax all efforts and draw your awareness to your natural breath.
Awareness of the whole body and awareness of breathing.
Your body is lying totally relaxed.
You are breathing quietly and slowly.
Become aware of your surroundings.
Start moving your body and stretching.
Please take your time.
Do not hurry.
Start with little movements in your fingers and your toes.
Put your arms up towards the sky and back down.
When you are sure that you are wide awake,
Open your eyes and sit up slowly.
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
