Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra under the light of the full moon,
Allowing us to take a deep journey into our own hearts.
So go ahead come to Shavasana.
Let your arms be a little further from the body with your palms up to the sky and a sign of receptivity under this full moonlight.
Let your legs be comfortably apart,
Feet full to the side and feel free to place a bolster or cushion under your knees to really help the lower back to settle well.
Place a small pillow or cushion under your head and a blanket or shawl to keep warm.
And when you feel you are able to settle into the earth then start tuning your awareness inwards,
Calling your senses back home.
Allow the inner gaze to adjust to the internal landscape in quietitude.
Hearing the sound of my voice but not grasping you,
Simply being guided by your own consciousness.
Allow the healing power of prana,
Life force,
To provide rejuvenation and restoration under this full moonlight.
Know that it's safe to let the body sink even deeper into stillness,
Releasing down even further into the earth.
You might sense that the back of the body dissolves into the earth as though the boundary of the physical body begins to merge with the support beneath her.
Then sense yourself let go completely with each exhale,
Simply melting into peace and welcoming any phenomena that appear and disappear in this vast internal landscape.
You are allowing the body to sleep but the awareness to remain alert like a child sleeping in its mother's arms.
The body is sleeping but the mother is watching over.
Bring your attention to your feet and allow the weight of the feet to drop.
Allow the weight of the ankles and heels to drop.
Allow the weight of the shins and calves to drop.
Allow the weight of the thighs and buttocks to drop.
Allow the weight of the pelvis and the whole torso to drop.
Allow the weight of the shoulders,
The arms and the hands to drop.
Allow the weight of the neck and the head to drop.
Allow the weight of the mind and the thoughts to drop.
And now look down at your own body lying here on the earth and see yourself resting here on a beautiful and balmy night under this full moonlight.
Now is the time for you to make your sankalpa or heart's resolve.
A simple short statement in the affirmative starting with I AM.
Please repeat your sankalpa internally three times with total conviction for its fruition.
Allow it to simply dissolve into the deeper layers of the mind body to begin its manifestation.
We will now begin with rotation of consciousness.
Simply bring your awareness to each point on the body as I name them and move your attention from point to point.
This practice always begins with the right hand.
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right waist,
Hip,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now bring your awareness to the left hand.
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now come to the back.
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
The spine,
The whole back together.
Now come to the front.
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Right eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Nose,
Tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel,
Abdomen,
Lower abdomen.
Now become aware of the whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Both legs together,
Whole right arm,
Whole left arm,
Both arms together,
Whole back,
Whole front,
Whole head,
Legs,
Arms,
Back,
Front,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
The whole body together.
Now become aware of your whole body,
Your whole body lying here on the floor.
Become aware of the space around the body and the space within the body,
Body and space.
Become aware of the meeting points of your body and the floor,
Very subtle meeting points between the body and the floor,
Back of your head and the floor,
Shoulder blades and the floor,
Elbows and the floor,
Back of the hands and the floor,
Buttocks and the floor,
Calves and the floor,
Heels and the floor.
Become aware of all the meeting points between the body and the floor.
Sense all the points simultaneously and evenly.
And now turn your attention to the eyelids,
Feel the narrow line of meeting between the upper and lower eyelids,
Feel the sharp point where the eyelids meet.
Intensify your awareness between the eyelids.
And now the lips,
Centre your attention on the line between the lips,
The space between the lips.
And now once again sense moonlight pour forth over your entire body,
Shining down on your face feel the energy and light and luminosity on your entire form.
And now sense your entire form as the infinite darkness of the night sky and allow the moon to shine held within this vast darkness of awareness,
The infinite cosmos.
It's almost as if the entirety of space holds the moon steadfast in the depths of darkness.
Just for this moment focus on the darkness around the moon and imagine the entirety of your body as holding the same quality.
And now notice that the moonlight is right between the space of your eyebrows.
Let your body hold the moon just as the dark deep sky holds the entirety of the cosmos.
And now imagine how it would be to be the sky and the moon at the same time.
Depth of the cosmos and the lightness and the brightness of the moon at the very same time.
And now once again feel the breath and feel how it flows through your entire body on the inhale to be released on the exhale into the image of the moon.
Sense your breath flow effortlessly like a rolling river or swaying ocean.
It's lapping and rolling and swirling.
Just moving in and around and under the entire ocean of your body.
Now bring your awareness to the cool lunar breath coming in through both nostrils on the inhale to the space between your eyebrows.
And as you exhale back down from the space between your brows down through both nostrils as if it's an upward pointing triangle.
So again as you inhale through both nostrils to the centre of your brow and exhale from the centre of your brow back down through both nostrils.
Please continue with your own gentle rhythm.
And now sense that the breath is starting at both elbows.
Cool lunar breath enters the points of the elbows travelling up both arms to the centre of the brows on the inhale.
And as you exhale from the centre of the brow down both arms to the points on the elbows.
This time forming an even larger upward pointing triangle.
Cool lunar breath enters the points of the elbows up to the point between the brows.
And as you exhale from the point of the brows back down through both arms to the points of the elbows on the exhale.
Please continue with your own gentle rhythm.
Now bring your awareness down to the perineum and station your awareness here.
This time as you inhale sense that you are inhaling through the perineum moving evenly up to both points on the elbows on the inhale.
And as you exhale from both points on the elbows back down to the perineum.
This time forming a downward pointing triangle.
Again as you inhale from the perineum to both points on the elbows on the inhale.
And from both points of the elbows on the exhale moving back down to the perineum.
Please continue with this gentle rhythm in your own time.
Now sense any imagery of this breath simply dissolve away.
Sense the whole of your body being bathed in this glorious moonlight.
The whole body is being bathed in this radiant luminous moonlight.
The whole left side of the body,
The whole right side of the body,
The whole body,
The whole body bathed in incandescent moonlight.
As the body rests in this glorious moonlight,
Sense your whole body resting like nectar.
The breath is flowing and the lunar cooling energy is flowing in and out in whichever way is most easeful.
Just as the moonlight dapples in possibility that anything is possible,
Know that under the light of this full moon you can simply let go.
You can surrender.
Under deeply anything that is unhelpful to be released into this full moonlight so that this cycle of renewal can simply go on.
And now notice that the body feels light.
The physical body becomes lighter and more spacious and you can welcome in this feeling of opportunity,
Of possibility.
The space in the body can bring in anything that you'd like more of.
And so now is the time to repeat your sankalpa silently within this vast space within.
Please repeat it internally three times.
And now once again rest your gaze in front of your closed eyelids.
This is the sky of the mind.
Right now it is night and a glorious full moon illuminates this space.
Just allow the inner gaze to rest quietly in the night sky.
There is nothing to be seen.
The moon slowly dissolves again into space and the sky grows darker and darker.
And soon a tiny point of red light in the distance heralds the start of a brand new day.
And this point becomes silver,
Then rose and then brightens and grows and emerges from the darkness.
Its radiance fills the whole sky.
A new day is dawning as you behold the arrival of the morning with wonder and delight.
This point of light grows higher and higher until it radiates with orange and pink filling the whole sky warming your cheeks and your chest.
Sense the warmth on your fingertips.
Now become aware of the breath,
The sound that is closest to you.
Notice the sounds in the room and the sounds a little further out into the distance.
Sense the temperature of the air in your skin,
The feeling of the blankets or your clothes.
All that exists is infinite divine consciousness,
Free and blissful.
This practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
Namaste.
