Lie down on your back.
Arms gently away from your sides.
Palms turned up.
Open the legs so that the feet are about 12 to 18 inches apart from one another.
Feet falling open.
This is your time to be still.
You will enter quiet space of awareness,
Beneath thought.
So let your whole body soften into the ground beneath you.
Nothing to hold,
Nothing to change.
Feel the breath move in the body,
In and out.
Connecting with the sweeping motion of the breath.
As it sweeps up and down the body like a tide.
Effortless,
Natural.
Become aware of sounds in your environment.
Listen for a moment.
Then withdraw from them.
Turning inward.
Gently closing like a curtain.
Now become aware of your body laying still.
Feel the outline of your body.
The whole body resting on the earth.
Feel any points of contact.
Your body makes with the floor.
Feel the weight of the body.
Feel any warmth in the body.
And be still.
Remain still and listen.
You are going to practice Yoganidra,
The art of yogic sleep.
You will be at times between waking and dreaming,
Drifting and coming back.
This is normal.
This is a doorway to stillness and insight.
Repeat inwardly.
I will remain awake and aware.
This is a seed we plant.
The seed of your heart's deep intention.
This is not a wish or a goal.
It is a seed of your heart's deep intention.
The seed of truth already inside you.
Sankalpa arises from your soul's quiet knowing.
It may come as a phrase like,
I am whole.
Or,
I trust life.
Or,
I live with an open heart.
Choose your own sankalpa now.
And use it for this practice and any practices to come.
Trying not to change it.
If nothing comes to mind,
You may use,
Gratitude flows through me.
Let your sankalpa come softly.
And once it is clear,
Say it inwardly 3 times,
With full feeling.
This will plant the seed in the fertile soil of stillness.
And then let it go.
Trust it will grow.
Now we begin rotation of awareness through the body.
Your task is only to listen and feel.
Move your awareness around the body.
As I instruct you to meet each body part,
Try not to make any physical movement,
Just awareness.
Feel the right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the right hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Right side of the chest.
Waist.
Hip.
Right thigh.
Knee.
Calf.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Now feel the whole right side of the body,
Shining in awareness.
Now the left hand thumb.
Feel it,
Tune in to any sensations,
And move that awareness around the body,
To meet the body parts I mention.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Left side of the chest.
Shoulder.
Left chest.
Waist.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Calf.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
The whole left side of the body,
Filled with awareness.
Radiant.
Now feel the back of the head.
Back of the head.
Crown.
Forehead.
Eyebrows.
Space between the eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Nose.
Tip of the nose.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Throat.
Centre of the chest.
Heart.
Navel.
Pelvis.
The whole body.
Spread your awareness throughout the whole body,
From head to toe,
Completely still.
Completely aware.
Now bring your attention to the breath.
Feel the breath as it moves in the chest,
Rising and falling.
And now the breath in the belly,
Expanding and softening.
No effort,
Just watching,
Just being.
And now we welcome gratitude.
Bring to mind someone or something you feel grateful for.
No need to force it.
It might be the sun through the window.
The sound of a bird.
A loved one.
Your own breath.
Let the feeling of gratitude begin to blossom in your chest.
Golden,
Like light spreading through the heart.
Let it expand with every breath.
Gratitude,
Simply for being.
For this moment.
For this life.
Stay with this feeling.
Let it soak into your whole body.
A radiant warmth.
Love itself.
Spreading from your chest,
Out,
Into the whole body.
And now,
Once again,
Return to your sankalpa.
That quiet intention you set in the beginning.
Repeat it,
Slowly,
Silently,
Three times,
With love,
With trust,
With knowing.
Now,
Slowly return to the breath.
To the rise and the fall.
To the tide that sweeps up the body and down.
To the feeling of the body lying on the ground.
To the sounds around you.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and toes.
Let movement return,
Gently.
Bring the hands to your heart.
Feel the warmth,
Moving into the heart centre.
Feel the stillness,
And carry this stillness with you,
Into your day.
Or into your sleep.
Yoganidra is now complete.
In your own time.
Come to seated,
Or fall into a deep sleep.
