Yoga Nidra is a practice in deep relaxation,
Physical,
Mental and emotional relaxation.
The only important thing is to keep listening to the instructions without spending too much of focus but rather just relaxing and listening to the instructions.
Prepare yourself for the practice of Yoga Nidra.
Lie down on your back,
Having your legs slightly apart and your hands by the sides with the palms facing upwards.
Gently close your eyes.
Your awareness throughout the practice is that I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
I will stay aware and awake.
We are not practicing to fall asleep,
Rather to stay aware throughout the practice.
Bring your awareness to your listening,
To this voice,
To the other sounds in the room,
To the sounds outside the room.
Play with the sound for 4-5 seconds and then move on to a new sound.
Be aware of your body.
Allow your body to relax.
Without changing it,
Just become a witness to your breath,
Watching the breath go into the body and the breath going out of the body.
In and out.
Now be aware of your sankalpa or resolution.
This is something that you really want to do.
Whatever it may be for you,
State it into a short positive sentence and repeat it three times.
It is not necessary that you have a sankalpa right now,
But at some point it is very helpful to have a sankalpa.
This resolution is like a seed that you sow in the depths of your consciousness,
At the start and at the end of your Yoga Nidra.
Begin to relax your body.
Relax all those points of your body in contact with the ground.
Relax all those points of the body on the front part of the body in contact with the air.
As your body relaxes,
It gets heavier and sinks into the flow.
We are going to rotate our awareness through different body parts.
We don't have to move them.
When I mentioned the name of a body part,
Repeat the same silently in your mind and visualize it.
That is enough for it to relax.
Bring your awareness to your right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Right palm,
Back of the palm,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Chest,
Hip,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Relax the whole right side.
Relax your left thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Your left palm,
Back of the palm,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Chest,
Side,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Relax the whole left side.
We relax the back of the body,
The back of the head,
Back of the neck,
Shoulder blades,
Middle back,
Lower back,
Buttocks,
Back of the thighs,
Calves,
Heels,
The front of the body,
The top of the head,
Forehead,
The right ear,
Left ear,
The right eye,
The left eye,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
Chin,
Your neck,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Stomach.
Relax your whole body,
Your whole body and your whole body.
Now,
Begin to watch your breathing.
As you breathe in,
Your stomach rises,
The chest expands whole.
As you breathe out,
Your stomach drops whole.
Inhale,
Whole.
Very slowly exhale,
Whole.
You can say this silently.
Eleven,
Breathe in.
Eleven,
Breathe out.
Ten,
Inhale.
Ten,
Exhale.
Nine,
Inhale.
Nine,
Exhale.
Eight,
Inhale.
Eight,
Exhale.
Seven,
Inhale.
Seven,
Exhale.
Six,
Inhale.
Six,
Exhale.
Continue counting five to zero.
If you lose your count,
Start again at eleven.
Now,
Bring your awareness to the sensations in the body.
Be aware of the heaviness of your body,
So heavy as if you're made of iron and you're sinking into the floor.
You cannot even lift a finger up.
And be aware of the lightness of your body,
So light as if you were made of cotton and you can float up in the air.
Lightness.
And be aware of the heat of the body,
So hot as if you were lying under a blanket in the midday sun in a desert.
So hot you're sweating.
And be aware of the cold of the body,
So cold as if you were lying on snow under a midnight sky,
So cold you're shivering.
Now,
Be aware of the space between your eyebrows,
Brumadhya.
At this point,
We are going to make a series of visualizations of things that you have all experienced and seen before.
From your memory,
Let your visualization be as complete as possible.
The better your visualization,
The deeper you'll relax.
Visualize.
Sunrise.
In detail,
Sunrise.
Mountains.
Snow-clad mountains.
A giant green tree.
A forest of green trees.
A river.
A flowing river.
The sea.
Endless waves of the sea.
An empty winding road.
Empty road.
A friend.
Sunset.
Sunset.
A full moon night.
Visualize.
A full moon night.
You're sitting in meditation under a full moon night,
So that the white light of the moon completely bathes your body.
And now,
Be aware of your sankalp,
Your resolution,
Stating this to yourself three times with a deep emphasis and awareness.
This is like a seed that you're sowing in the depths of your consciousness.
Anything in life may fail you,
Not the sankalp you take in yoga nidra.
And now,
Bring your awareness to your listening,
To all the different,
Most distant sounds you can hear.
We're coming to the end of our yoga nidra practice.
Slowly,
Start to move your fingers,
Your toes.
Beginning to stretch your body.
As you stretch your body,
Turn onto one side.
Then,
Coming up to sit.
Rub your palms together,
Gently,
Creating warmth that you can take to your eyelids.
And very gently,
Beginning to open your eyes.
Bring your hands to the center of your chest.
Namaste.
