Welcome.
My name is Natalie and today we explore the practice of Yoga Nidra,
Diving into the fifth layer of consciousness called the Anandamaya Kosha,
Also known as the Ocean of Bliss.
This practice takes you through all five layers of consciousness,
Or Koshas.
Each Kosha represents a different part of our consciousness,
And so we move through and move our awareness through the physical body,
Into the breath body,
Energy body,
And then into the realms of thought and emotion,
Into the depths of visualization and imagination,
And finally into our ocean of bliss.
When we can finally surrender,
Surrender what we are holding onto,
Surrender to our own internal barriers,
And also surrender to the experience of meditation itself,
Our mind and consciousness will flow into this peaceful ocean of Anandamaya Kosha naturally.
It's not something that can be forced,
It's the opposite of that,
It'll come from this sense of really letting go and surrendering into the practice.
This Kosha also relates to the element of ether,
Meaning that we sense into the natural spaciousness in our body and mind,
And this spaciousness allows us to connect to our spirit and go into the places that are precious by nature to connect to.
So take a few more moments now to connect to the space around you,
And take any last movements that you need to take,
And now we connect to our Sankalpa,
Our heart's vow.
Not only for this practice,
But for our life,
A vow we make to ourselves,
Something that we will cultivate,
Just like planting a seed,
And then the practice itself begins to water the seed and give it light.
In today's practice,
I'll offer the Sankalpa.
I allow myself to rest to connect with my spirit,
Or I soften my barriers and allow myself to experience true peace.
Choose the Sankalpa that resonates with your heart,
And then repeat it to yourself slowly and intentionally three times.
Now we begin the rotation of consciousness,
Connecting into the first layer of consciousness.
We begin at the crown chakra,
The top of the head.
Begin to sense the top of your head,
Really connecting in,
And slowly,
Gradually move your attention down your forehead,
Sensing your right eyebrow,
Right eye,
Left eyebrow,
Left eye,
Right side nostril,
Right cheek,
Right side jaw,
Left side nostril,
Left cheek,
Left side jaw.
Sense the right side of your face,
The left side of your face.
Sense your top lip and bottom lip.
Sense the inside of your lips,
Roof of your mouth,
Bottom of your mouth.
Sense the tip of your tongue,
The right side of your tongue,
Left side of your tongue,
Sensing the top of your tongue,
Bottom of your tongue.
Sense the back of your tongue,
Moving slowly down into your throat,
Sensing your neck,
Right shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Palm of your right hand,
The back of your hand,
Thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger,
Tips of fingers,
And connection of awareness to your fingers,
Hand,
Arm.
Sense the right side of your chest,
Right waist,
Down to your right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of your right foot,
Top of the foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Connect to and sense your toes,
Your right foot and leg.
Sensing the right side of your body as a whole,
Coming back up to your left shoulder,
Moving down,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Palm of your left hand,
Back of the hand,
Thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger.
Sense the tips of your fingers,
Connect to your left hand and your left arm,
Coming back up to the left side of your chest,
Moving down to your waist,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Tips of toes,
Giving attention and sensing into your left foot,
Allowing your attention to drift back up through your left leg,
And eventually sensing into the whole left side of your body.
Let your attention rest at the center of your chest.
Gently move down the center of your body,
Down to your solar plexus,
Sensing breath beneath your ribcage,
Navel center,
Pelvic bowl,
Pubic bone,
Tailbone,
And begin to move your attention up your spine,
Sensing into your back body,
Moving up through your lower back,
Center of your back,
And upper back,
And coming up to the back of your neck,
Slowly up the back of your head,
And sensing into both ears,
And the whole top of your head,
And as you sense this space at the top of your head,
Begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath,
Sense the inhales moving into your nose,
And the exhales allowing you to soften,
And with your attention on each inhale and each exhale,
Begin to count your breath from 20 down to 0,
Nice and slow.
Notice the quality of your inhales as they nourish your body with life,
Notice the quality of your exhales as they allow you to soften and let go.
Now,
Notice the natural pause and space that live in between each breath.
Begin to notice your thoughts and your emotions,
Imagining your thoughts and your emotions like clouds gently floating across the sky,
And a part of you watches them come and watches them go,
And connect to this part of you that watches and notices.
Allow this part of you to become the center of your attention.
This witness notices the thoughts,
The feelings,
And the whole experience,
And as the witness,
Can you notice the silence and the space between these thoughts?
Now,
Begin to imagine yourself walking down steps into a cave that leads you to the deepest depths of your consciousness,
And this place carries the answers and the wisdom of your own wise one and wise self.
It also carries the wisdom of those that came before you,
And those that will come after.
Imagine moving down these steps into the darkness,
And you might carry with you a light to guide you,
And the bottom of these steps,
The door that carries the answers to your own truth.
You can open this door by simply asking to have access to what's on the other side,
To have access to this wisdom and inner knowledge that already exists within you.
Allow yourself to surrender to whatever it is that you find on the other side of this door.
Become aware of any symbols,
Not needing to make sense of them now,
Just noticing,
Witnessing.
The deepest depths of your consciousness shows you the vast universe,
A beautiful place full of life.
Let yourself be a part of this vast universe.
Drift into a sleep.
Connect to your own truth and to the answers that live within you.
May this sleep nourish you and bring you peace.
Letting go of anything that holds you back,
Anything that anchors you,
Gently and freely,
With a deep sense of trust,
Allow your consciousness to drift slowly and gently into this ocean of bliss.
