Long Yoga Nidra With Sankalpa

This is a classic long version of Yoga Nidra with an emphasis on Sankalpa, visualizations, and breathing practices. Done correctly this practice can change the neural grooves of the mind and bring about positive change in our lives. Make sure to state your Sankalpa in the present tense with positive phrasing. It also needs to be specific enough to bring palpable change in your life. It is also important to keep the same Sankalpa until it comes to pass. Relax. Enjoy.

Transcript

Now we'll begin the long version of Yoga Nidra.

Please lie down in Shavasana.

Make yourself comfortable.

Lie down with your arms out to the side,

Palms up,

Legs slightly apart.

Make sure you're not touching anyone near you.

And place a blanket over the body.

Make sure you are warm and comfortable.

During the practice of Yoga Nidra,

There is to be no movement of the physical body.

There is only movement of our awareness,

Of our consciousness.

So make all the necessary adjustments you need to make now to ensure that you will not fidget or move during the practice of Yoga Nidra.

Please resist the temptation to move during the practice of Yoga Nidra.

You will listen to the instructions and follow at the same pace,

Using total awareness and feeling.

Yoga Nidra is not a practice of concentration.

This is a practice of awareness.

And we'll begin by taking a few deep breaths in and out of the body.

With each inhalation,

Allow calmness and coolness to enter the body.

Notice that the breath is cool as it enters the nostrils.

And with each exhalation,

Begin to release,

Begin to let go of something.

And notice the air is warm as it flows out of the nostrils.

So with each inhalation,

We are receiving,

We're opening to something fresh,

To something new,

A new experience.

And with each exhalation,

We're letting go of something old,

Something that no longer serves us.

Inhale in again,

Calmness and coolness.

Let it spread into the body.

And then exhale,

Make room,

Release and let go.

Inhale,

Receive,

And exhale,

Release.

Inhale,

Receive,

And exhale,

Release.

Continue for a few more breaths on your own.

And keep softening the body.

Keep softening the breath.

Remember,

You are practicing Yoga Nidra.

Say to yourself,

I will not sleep.

I will remain awake and alert throughout the practice of Yoga Nidra.

And now become aware of your environment,

Of your external environment.

And listen to the sounds that you hear outside of the room.

Listen for the furthest sounds that you can hear.

Your hearing,

Your ears are like the microphone on a tape recorder,

Able to pick up even the slightest sound.

Move your awareness from sound to sound without sticking or attaching to any particular sound.

Simply move from sound to sound.

Complete awareness of the external environment.

Now move your awareness,

Move your hearing closer.

Listen to the sounds that you hear inside of this room.

Listen to the sounds that you hear within the room.

Again,

Moving your awareness from sound to sound.

Bring your awareness now to the sounds that you hear closest to you.

Listen to the closest sound.

This is the sound of your own breath,

Of your own heart beating in the body.

Listen to the sounds in the body now.

Listen to the natural flow of breath.

Continue to develop your awareness and extend it now to the room.

Without opening the eyes,

Visualize the four walls,

The ceiling,

The floor.

See your body lying on the floor.

Have a quick vision of the body lying over the floor as though you were looking at a mirror reflection of yourself.

See the body lying over the floor.

See the clothes on the body.

See the hair on the head,

The eyebrows,

The eyelashes.

Pull as much detail as you can,

Including texture and color.

I will chant Aum three times.

Please listen to the sound of the Aum chant and feel the vibrations in the body.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins.

Now is the time to make your Sankalpa.

This is a short mental statement.

You repeat to yourself three times at the beginning and at the end of Yoga Nidra.

Repeat this statement to yourself now with full intention,

With full feeling and awareness.

Know that it will be fulfilled.

Anything in life can fail you but the Sankalpa.

We will rotate our consciousness around the body.

I will call out different parts of the body.

And as I do this,

Have a quick vision of this part of the body in your mind's eye and then move on.

We will move quickly and thoroughly.

Please do not stick to any particular part of the body.

Simply move along at the same pace.

Bring your awareness to the eyebrow center and in your mind's eye,

Visualize the right side of the body.

Now bring your awareness to the right hand thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the chest,

Waist,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Heel of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The right side of the body.

Visualize the right side of the body,

The right side of the body.

Now bring your awareness to the left side of the body and visualize the left hand thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of the chest,

Waist,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Heel of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The left side of the body.

Visualize the left side of the body,

The left side of the body.

Bring your awareness to the points of the body that meet the floor,

Heels,

Calves,

Back of the thighs,

Buttocks,

Back of the hands,

Back of the arms,

Upper back,

Back of the head,

Top of the head,

Forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye sinks into the socket relaxing,

Left eye sinks into the socket relaxing,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Bridge of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Tongue,

Teeth,

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Upper chest,

Lower chest,

Abdomen,

Pelvis,

Groin,

Right leg from hip to toes,

Left leg,

Hip to toes,

Right arm,

Shoulder to fingers,

Left arm,

Shoulder to fingers,

The whole of the trunk,

The torso,

The whole of the head,

Lower body,

Upper body,

The whole body,

Visualize the whole body,

See the whole body lying over the floor.

Continue your awareness of the body lying over the floor and now feel the body becoming very heavy,

As heavy as lead.

Become aware of the legs and allow them to become as heavy as lead.

Feel them sinking deep into the floor.

And now the arms,

Awaken the sensation of deep heaviness in the arms.

Every part,

Every pore of the arms,

Like an anchor sinking into the floor,

Into the earth.

Bring about the sensations of heaviness in the trunk,

In the torso and in the whole of the head.

Feel the whole body sinking deep into the earth and feel the earth receiving this heaviness.

Stay with this awareness of the sensations as the body becomes even heavier still.

Now change your awareness and feel the body becoming very light.

Awaken the feeling of lightness in the legs.

Every part,

Every pore of the legs are as light as cotton.

So light,

You can almost feel the legs floating up from the floor.

And now the arms are as light as a feather.

So light,

As light as a feather.

Bring about the sensations of lightness and weightlessness over the whole body.

Feel your body so light,

It can float above the floor.

Quickly change your awareness again now and cultivate the sensations of heaviness again in the body.

Quickly,

The body becomes completely heavy,

As heavy as lead.

Feel the body sinking deep into the earth.

And now quickly change again,

Bring about the sensations of lightness in the whole body.

Cultivate the sensations of lightness in the body as light as a feather,

As light as cotton.

Let the body float above the earth.

Now bring about the experience of pain.

Concentrate and try to remember the experience of pain.

Any pain you have experienced in your life,

Mental or physical,

As though you were living this moment again,

Recollect the feeling of pain now.

Change your awareness now and recollect the feeling of pleasure,

Any kind of pleasure,

Mental or physical.

Remember a time when you experienced deep pleasure and relive this moment now.

Make it vivid and awaken the feeling of pleasure.

Check that you are awake.

Do not sleep.

Say to yourself,

I will not sleep.

I will remain awake and alert.

Now you are going to travel into your past in the same way you have traveled from the past to the present.

Retrace the steps of your memory and consciousness backwards from this time.

The past is a part of time and time is part of the mind.

Normally you walk forward in time.

This time we will walk backwards in time.

By remembering your past,

You are going into the deeper recesses of your consciousness.

Try to remember what happened from the present time to the time you got up this morning,

As if you were watching a film running in reverse.

Remember back to the start of Yoga Nidra,

Then recall what you were doing one hour before that.

Remember the important objects and feelings at that time.

With full awareness,

Remember what you were doing one hour before that.

Stage by stage and hour by hour,

Remember what you were doing,

Thinking and feeling.

Continue going back in time,

Hour by hour,

Until you get to when you woke up this morning.

When you have finished,

Bring your mind directly back to the present.

And bring your awareness back to the present moment.

Make sure you are not sleeping.

I will name some objects.

Please visualize these objects in your mind's eye.

Visualize them on all levels of feeling,

Awareness,

Emotion and imagination as best you can.

Move along at the same pace.

Jump your mind from image to image.

Do not stick,

But keep moving.

A burning candle,

A burning candle,

A burning candle.

An elephant moving,

An elephant moving,

An elephant moving.

A horse racing,

A horse racing,

A horse racing.

Torrential rain,

Torrential rain,

Torrential rain.

Snow-capped mountains,

Snow-capped mountains,

Snow-capped mountains.

Waves breaking on a deserted beach,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach.

Flying across the sunset,

Flying across the sunset,

Flying across the sunset.

A starlit night,

A starlit night,

A starlit night.

Human skeletons,

Human skeletons,

Human skeletons.

Smiling Buddha,

Smiling Buddha,

Smiling Buddha.

A golden cord extending from your navel to the sky,

A golden cord extending from your navel to the sky,

A golden cord extending from your navel to the sky.

A yogi sitting in deep meditation,

A yogi sitting in deep meditation,

A yogi sitting in deep meditation.

A golden egg,

A golden egg,

A golden egg.

Become a witness of your awareness,

Not the body,

Not the mind,

Nothing but the different awareness.

Become aware that you are observing yourself.

Look within and try to be aware of the one who is looking,

The one who is aware of what you have been doing so far.

Go into Chittakash.

This is the space between the eyebrows,

The mind's eye.

Go deep within this cave.

There is a flaming light.

Find that light.

Find the light and find a small golden egg in the center of the light.

A small golden egg,

Very bright,

With light all around.

And now is the time to repeat your sankalpa.

Repeat the same resolve that you made at the beginning of the practice.

Do not change it.

Repeat it to yourself three times with full intention,

With full awareness.

And now relax all efforts.

Become aware of the natural breath flowing in and out of the body.

Awareness of the whole body,

Awareness of the natural breath.

Your body is lying completely relaxed on the floor and you are breathing quietly and slowly.

Become aware of the floor and the position of your body lying over the floor.

Now develop your awareness of this room without opening the eyes.

Visualize the four walls,

The ceiling,

The floor.

See the other bodies lying around you also practicing yoga nidra.

Visualize the objects around you and just become aware of your surroundings.

I will chant om three times.

Listen to the sounds of the om chant.

Feel the vibrations expanding in all directions from your body.

The practice of yoga nidra is finished.

Gently start moving your fingers and your toes.

Move the head from side to side.

And then inhale,

Take the arms up and over the head.

Point your toes,

Give yourself a long stretch.

And then bring the knees into the chest.

Give yourself a big hug.

Roll onto the right side of the body and just pause.

When you feel you are ready,

Please sit up and open your eyes.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

Reviews

I was looking for this one.