Practices From The Himalayan Tradition

A Yoga Nidra practice honoring The Himalayan Tradition of Yogic Meditation. This is a voice-only practice and is trauma-informed. Designed with neurodivergent people in mind, it tries to help you keep focused.

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Marci.

My lineage is the Himalayan tradition of yogic meditation which has truly transformed my life.

Woven into this yoga nidra practice are pieces from my tradition gifted through the writings of Swami Veda Bharati and from the wonderful Deb Adele who I was blessed to have had initiate me into this lineage.

So before we begin,

I wish to share with you the highest desire,

The sankalpa of the Himalayan tradition.

May all people of this living planet follow the path of truth and universal love.

May they live with a purpose in life,

Sincerely practicing through compassion and understanding.

In this culture of busyness,

Of always doing,

You are making a powerful choice to give yourself a break in your life,

Stepping into the not doing,

Into being present in the moment and nurturing your highest self by gifting yourself with the time and the space to practice yoga nidra with me today.

It is a way of accessing deep rest and rejuvenation,

Quieting the mind and transforming your life.

Yoga nidra engages all the brain waves that you access in your sleep cycles.

When Swami Veda had his brain waves monitored during yoga nidra,

He entered into brain waves that were deeper than those most people can ever achieve,

Even in the deepest of rest.

So thank you for taking care of yourself in this way.

The practice of yoga nidra is an effortless effort.

It's an opportunity to truly honor yourself and your body's inner wisdom.

So as you get ready to settle in,

Please pause a moment and ask your body,

How do you want to rest into this practice?

Do you wish to be on your back,

Possibly with the knees propped in an eye mask?

Would you prefer to lie on your side,

Maybe with a pillow between the knees,

Lying on your belly,

Sitting up well supported?

Maybe a pillow would be perfect under the head.

Listening to what the body is asking of you is the easiest way to be comfortable and relaxed for the next half hour,

Letting you receive the greatest benefits.

You might get cool during the practice,

So having a blanket nearby might be nice.

Now is the time for deep listening.

Deep listening to what your body is asking for,

Deep listening to what your highest self is asking for.

And the most powerful gift you can give yourself is to honor that request.

Every single part of this practice is optional,

And some pieces you will resonate with and others you might not.

Just be curious about what is or is not working for you without judgment.

While setting an intention to stay relaxed and awake throughout the practice,

Know that if you fall asleep,

You're still receiving the benefits of the practice,

Trusting that your body knows what it needs.

This is a time to practice your right to choose what is best for you,

What will serve you most in this practice,

Because this is your practice.

As you start to settle in,

Allow yourself to begin to notice the breath as it breathes the body.

Notice the movement of your natural breath,

The quality.

Take a nice deep breath,

And after you exhale,

Just return to your natural breath,

Noticing if there are any changes in the quality of the breath.

Taking a nice deep breath,

See if you can let the lowest part of the ribcage expand as wide as is possible,

Opening like a jellyfish.

And after you exhale,

Just return to your natural breath,

Noticing if there are any changes in the quality of the breath.

Feel free to repeat this jellyfish breath again if you want,

Giving the diaphragm another chance to expand.

How did that feel?

To relax further still,

Check in with your body and see if it would benefit from this tense and release practice from Swami Veda.

Tense and relax the right leg,

Left leg,

Right leg,

Left leg.

Tense and relax both legs simultaneously.

Repeat.

Tense and relax the right leg and right arm,

Left leg and left arm,

Right leg and arm,

Left leg and arm.

Tense and relax the right arm,

Left arm,

Right arm,

Left arm.

Both arms simultaneously.

Repeat.

Tense and relax all the limbs simultaneously.

Repeat.

Notice the body,

How it's feeling now,

Sensing the natural movement as the breath breathes the body.

Effortless effort.

Listening deeply.

Is there anything your body is asking you to readjust?

Even the tiniest amount,

To be as comfortable as is possible for the next half hour.

Before we move deeper into our practice,

I would invite you to think of something that always makes you feel deeply content,

Relaxed,

Safe.

It might be something like the taste of your favorite warm drink in the morning,

The scent of your favorite flower,

The sound of one of your favorite songs playing,

The fabric of your softest shirt on your arms,

Seeing the face of someone who loves you unconditionally.

Just find that something that for today,

In this moment,

Feels right.

And let this be your anchor for our practice.

If at any point you feel uncomfortable with what is going on in our practice,

Just allow your attention to come back to your anchor.

Now please take your awareness to each of the following points as I name them.

And if it serves you,

You may wish to visualize a blue star resting at this point as perfectly and clearly as you can.

Allow your attention to be effortless,

Allowing this blue star to be at each point of the body as I direct your inner awareness to it.

Brow point,

Hollow of the throat,

Right shoulder joint,

Thumb side of the right elbow,

Thumb side of the right wrist,

Thumb of the right hand,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger on the right hand,

Little finger side of the right wrist,

Little finger side of the right elbow,

Right shoulder joint,

Hollow of the neck,

Left shoulder joint,

Thumb side of the left elbow,

Thumb side of the left wrist,

Thumb of the left hand,

Index finger,

Middle finger on the left hand,

Ring finger,

Little finger on the left hand,

Little finger side of the left wrist,

Little finger side of the left elbow,

Left shoulder joint,

Hollow of the neck,

Heart center,

Right side of the chest,

Heart center,

Left side of the chest,

Heart center,

Navel point,

Top of the pubic bone,

Right hip joint,

Big toe side of the right knee,

Big toe side of the right ankle,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Middle toe,

Fourth toe,

Baby toe on the right foot,

Baby toe side of the right ankle,

Baby toe side of the right knee,

Right hip joint,

Top of the pubic bone,

Left hip joint,

Big toe side of the left knee,

Big toe side of the left ankle,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Middle toe,

Fourth toe,

Baby toe on the left foot,

Baby toe side of the left ankle,

Baby toe side of the left knee,

Left hip joint,

Top of the pubic bone,

Navel point,

Heart center,

Hollow of the throat,

Brow point.

Now see your whole body with all 61 points shining like constellations in the vast night sky,

Remembering that you too are a part of this universe and are made of stardust.

Please turn your awareness to the breath at the belly and watch the breath breathe the body ever so easily,

Noticing the slight expansion as the breath enters the body and the slight contraction as the breath leaves the body.

For the moment there's nothing to do except watch the rhythm of the inhalation and the exhalation and the experience of being breathed.

Then begin to exhale through the body to the toes and inhale through the body from the toes to the crown of the head.

Continue with this movement,

Following the breath evenly through the body with your awareness.

And the next time you exhale,

Exhale to the ankles and inhale from the ankles to the crown of the head.

Fill only the space from the ankles to the crown of the head with breath,

Sweeping your awareness and breath from ankles to crown.

And the next time you exhale,

Exhale to the knees and inhale from the knees to the crown of the head.

Following the breath with your awareness,

Knees to crown.

And the next time you exhale,

Exhale to the tip of the spine and inhale to the crown of the head.

Now you're filling the part of the body from tailbone to crown with breath.

You may notice the breath becoming less deep as there is less of the body to breathe.

The next time you exhale,

Exhale to the navel point and inhale to the crown of your head,

Continuing to follow the breath with your awareness.

The next time you exhale,

Exhale to the heart center and inhale to the crown of the head,

Being aware of the body from the heart to the top of the head.

And the next time you exhale,

Exhale to the hollow of the throat and inhale from the hollow of the throat to the crown of the head.

The breath will be rapid and shallow as it covers a much shorter distance.

And the next time you exhale,

Exhale from the crown to the nostrils and inhale from the nostrils to the brow point.

The breath will be barely audible.

Then exhale from the brow point to the hollow of the throat and inhale from the hollow of the throat to the crown of the head,

Continuing to follow the breath with your awareness.

Then exhale from crown to the heart center,

Inhaling back to the crown of the head.

Then exhale from the crown to the navel point,

Inhaling back to the crown.

As you include more of the body,

The breath will become slower and deeper.

Then exhale from the crown to the tip of the spine and inhale to the crown.

Then exhale from the crown to the knees and inhale back to the crown.

Exhale from the crown to the ankles,

Inhaling back to the crown.

And exhale from the crown to the toes,

Inhaling back to the crown.

Your whole body is breathing.

Every cell is alert with life,

Yet the movement is effortless.

And the next time your breath moves through your belly,

Allow it to stay there and let the breath once again begin to breathe the body.

You're now the watcher of the experience of the exchange of breath and body,

The dance of inhalation and exhalation,

Both the witnesser and the witnessed.

Engaging deep listening to your body's messages.

Sense the whole body and the sensations on the skin.

You might notice clothing touching it,

Air moving on it,

The temperature around you,

And the ears listening to the sounds around you.

Ears listening to the sound of my voice,

The nose,

And the flow of air in and out of the nostrils.

You might be noticing a scent,

The mouth,

Moist or dry.

You might even notice a taste lingering,

The eyes,

Possibly in complete darkness.

Possibly the light still glows through the lids a bit.

There may be colors,

Patterns that are changing,

Forming,

Dissolving.

Going a bit deeper,

See if you can visualize,

Hear,

Taste,

Smell,

Or touch any of these.

A meadow at dawn in early spring.

A meadow at dawn in early spring.

A meadow at dawn in early spring.

A forest at sunset in late fall.

A forest at sunset in late fall.

A forest at sunset in late fall.

A gentle summer rain.

A gentle summer rain.

A gentle summer rain.

Snow falling to the ground.

Snow falling to the ground.

Snow falling to the ground.

Now please allow your awareness to move to your heart center.

Resting here in silence,

Once again,

Noticing the breath.

Notice how your breath may have changed just by paying attention to it again.

You might want to exhale as much of your breath as you can,

Followed by a relaxed big inhale.

And again,

Going back to the natural breath,

Witnessing the breath,

How the breath breathes the body effortlessly.

Begin to bring more movement into the body,

Moving however your body is asking.

Maybe wiggling your toes and your fingers,

Rotating your hands and your feet on your wrists and ankles,

Stretching your body however it wishes.

No matter your position,

You might want to bring your knees to your chest and wrap your arms around yourself,

Giving yourself a hug.

Tell yourself,

I am loved and I am love.

Stretching,

Moving however the body wishes.

Maybe even shifting to sitting if you're lying down.

But no matter what position you're in,

I would invite you to bring the palms of your hands together at the heart center with me for a moment.

Take a breath for yourself.

Take a breath for someone you love.

Take a breath of gratitude for the world around us.

Om shanti shanti shanti.

Om peace,

Peace,

Peace.

And thank you for taking time out of the busyness of your life to practice yoga nidra with me today.

Reviews

Thank you

I went from an anxious state with bodyaches upon awakening early and was at such peace in my body mind and spirit when I woken. Thank you for introducing me to the Himalayan tradition. You are wonderful guide.🙏

Loved it. But had to do my best to hear it all. The recording is fading away from time to time,as if you turn away from the microphone till your voice almost fades away.

Kind and relaxing