Get comfortable on your back in Shavasana.
If you're lying on a yoga mat,
Take your feet to the corners of the mat,
Or the same distance apart if you're on a bed.
Take some space between your arms and body,
Palms facing up,
Shoulder blades even and firm on your back.
Take a moment to feel your back muscles spreading evenly across the floor.
Feel the length of your back and spine being supported by whatever you are lying on.
Notice the support underneath you and relax into it,
Trusting that you don't need to do anything else.
Trusting that you don't need to do anything for the next 30 minutes.
Bring your attention to your breath,
And begin by taking five of your longest and deepest breaths way into the basin of your belly.
Feel the whole of your abdomen stretching with each inhale in every conceivable direction.
Feel the belly widening from deep inside,
Upward,
Side to side,
And vertically up and down.
On exhale,
Notice the softening and settling of your mind and body.
Each exhale letting go of any and all responsibility,
So you can arrive and be completely here.
Release all cares and worries of your day.
You're weak.
Now allow your breath to return to a natural state of rhythm,
Moving freely and smoothly,
And eventually becoming quiet and natural.
Allow yourself to feel a deeper sense of relaxation,
And simultaneously do your best to stay awake throughout the practice.
If you fall asleep,
Don't worry,
But you will reap more benefit if you can stay awake.
This may take you a number of times practicing Yoga Nidra in order to be able to stay awake.
Make a resolution to yourself right now and say,
I will not sleep.
I will stay awake throughout the practice.
Repeat this again mentally.
I will not sleep.
I will stay awake throughout the practice.
During Yoga Nidra,
You are functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness.
Avoid over-concentrating or intellectualizing the instructions.
The idea is to stay relaxed and simply move your consciousness as guided by the instructions.
Bring your awareness back to your whole body lying on the floor.
See and feel your entire body in a state of looseness and ease.
The body is still and quiet.
We will begin by clarifying your heart's deepest longing and desire called the Sankalpa.
This should come from a place of your highest self.
This means it is not the longing of your ego,
Rather the longing of your mind.
This means it is not the longing of your ego,
Rather it comes from a place where you are clear and where no confusion resides.
Begin by evoking a feeling of gratitude.
This is the soil for the seed of your Sankalpa to grow.
Feel grateful for your life and everything in it.
Feel grateful for even the hardships and challenges of the past that have brought you to the place you are now.
See the beauty and greatness of where you are now and how far you have come.
With this feeling brewing in your body,
Mentally repeat your Sankalpa three times in the present tense.
Say it with feeling and happiness as though you already have received it.
Start with I have,
I feel,
I am,
Or I experience,
Followed by whatever the feeling is or the phrase that you've crafted.
If you aren't sure or you don't already have one crafted,
You can use I love myself as I am in this moment now.
Begin to repeat your Sankalpa three times,
Starting now.
Now we will begin to rotate consciousness throughout the body.
It is as though we are taking a trip through the whole body with a relaxed body and an attentive mind.
You might even mentally repeat the name of the part as I say it and also sense it with your awareness.
Keep yourself alert,
But avoid concentrating too intensely.
Become aware of the right side of your body.
Feel and sense the whole right side of your body.
Now feel your right hand,
No physical movement,
Just your awareness is moving.
Become aware of your right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
The lower arm,
The elbow,
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The armpit,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right kneecap,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth.
Become aware of the left side of your body.
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Palm of the hand,
The wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Kneecap,
Calf muscle,
The ankle,
The heel,
Sole of the foot,
The sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Now go to the back.
Feel the whole back.
The whole body is relaxed,
Whole body still.
Become aware of the right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade,
The right buttock,
Left buttock,
The spine,
The whole back together.
Now go to the top of the head.
Feel the top of the head opening and expanding.
Feel the forehead,
Both sides of the head,
The right side,
The left side,
The right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between the eyebrows,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The nose,
The tip of the nose,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
The chin,
The throat,
The right chest,
The left chest,
The middle of the chest,
The navel,
The abdomen,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole of the back,
Buttocks,
Spine,
Shoulder blades,
The whole of the front,
Chest,
Abdomen,
Face,
Fronts of the legs,
The whole head,
The whole body,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
Total body awareness,
Mind is awake,
Stay awake,
Repeat to yourself,
I am awake,
I am practicing yoga nidra,
Become aware of your natural breath,
Without forcing the breath that is happening naturally,
All on its own accord,
Without changing it in any way,
Simply noticing,
Feel the air flowing through the nostrils,
Now feel your body breathing and then feel your abdomen breathing,
Notice the expansion of the abdomen with your inhalations,
Feel the exhalations melt you deeper into the surface you are lying on,
Begin to feel your inhalations rise from the abdomen to the heart on inhale,
And travel from the heart back to the belly center on exhale,
Do this ten times,
Counting ten from belly to heart and ten from heart to belly,
Nine belly to heart,
Nine heart to belly,
Eight,
Continue decreasing until you get to zero,
At zero,
Feel your mind and body clear,
Now bring your awareness to the points of your body that are resting on the floor,
Scanning from head to toe,
Feel the back of your head in contact with the floor,
The backs of your shoulder blades on the floor,
The back of your arms and the floor,
Your hands and the floor,
Feel the whole upper back and the floor,
Your buttocks and the floor,
The backs of your thighs and the floor,
Your calves and your heels on the floor,
Feel your whole body becoming increasingly and noticeably heavy,
So heavy that you feel yourself sinking towards the core of the earth,
Drawn by the magnetic pull,
Your breath becomes slow and barely noticeable,
Your bones are like weights and your skin is sinking with the pull of the earth's magnets,
Now feel your whole body release all heaviness and notice the points of your body on the floor becoming lighter,
Feel lightness take over your body so much that your body begins to rise like cotton,
Your body feels completely unbound by gravity and is beginning to rise upward suspended in space,
Feel the whole body rising upward,
Notice the lightness of the body,
And you're simply rising up with lightness of body,
Your breath returns to normal and you experience the pleasantness of being weightless,
Now bring your body back to the yoga mat,
Back to the bed,
And begin to awaken the memory of pain,
Re-experience any physical or emotional pain you have experienced in the past,
And intensify it as though you are feeling pain right now in your body,
Remember the feeling of pain and feel it penetrate into your entire being,
Notice how the feeling of pain feels inside you,
Release all pain and change the feeling to one of pleasure,
Any kind of pleasure you've experienced whatever comes to you first,
Feel and indulge in the experience of immense joy,
Awaken the feeling so you're feeling pleasure right now in the present moment,
Now bring your awareness to the space in front of your forehead and eyes,
Imagine a black screen in front of your forehead and eyes,
Look at this dark space and remain thoroughly effortless as you simply watch this space and notice any images or colors,
Don't try to see anything in particular,
Just notice what is being cast onto the space without becoming involved in what you're seeing,
This is your subconscious revealing itself to you,
Now bring your awareness to your whole spine lying on the floor,
Notice the tailbone curling under and into the body,
Feel your sacrum touching the floor underneath you,
Feel your low back arching and lifting away from the mat,
Your thoracic spine rounding and touching the floor until you arrive at your neck,
Notice that natural lift into your skull,
Notice your skull level and laying evenly with your neck long and face centered,
Come back to the very tip of your tailbone and feel the space above it at the base of your pelvis,
See here your base chakra and energy center,
Muladhara chakra,
See a yellow square surrounded by four petals,
A downward pointing triangle,
Feel the center becoming grounded and solid providing a feeling of support and nourishment,
This is the element of the earth,
See and sense this area and feel yourself arriving into a place of home within your own body,
You have arrived and you are here to experience life to its fullest potential,
Move up to the sacral area,
An ocean blue circle surrounded by six lotus petals,
Inside is a crescent shaped moon,
Luminous,
Feel yourself letting go into the vastness of the ocean,
Notice as you become aware of your second chakra,
Svatisthana,
Other feelings or sensations moving through the body,
Notice how sensations are fluid and constantly in flux,
And this movement is what brings a release of any stuck energy in the body,
Become aware of the base at Muladhara that holds and supports the fluidity of Svatisthana,
Travel into your third chakra above the navel,
Manipura or lustrous gem,
See a downward pointing triangle filled with red flames,
Surrounded by a ten-petaled yellow lotus flower,
See and hear the fire burning away and transforming experience into growth and understanding,
Feel your mind and body becoming energized,
Notice your confidence and innate sense of power,
A true power emanating from within renewing your enthusiasm and energy,
Here you have an unwavering sense of who you are and can rest in the unknown future with ease and delight,
You are a lustrous gem of brilliance shining bright for all to see,
Feel your awareness resting at the seat of your soul at the heart center,
See a green 12-petaled lotus with two triangles like the Star of David,
One pointing up and one pointing down,
In the center is a flame,
The flame of the soul,
Feel this lotus blooming in your heart center and examine the feeling that takes place as you feel it's maturing within the home of love and compassion,
Notice that this is the place where you feel balanced and capable of loving and being loved,
This is the home of self-compassion from which can sprout loving,
Healthy and nourishing relationships with others,
Drawing your awareness to the throat center,
The place that purifies,
Upward pointing sky blue triangle surrounded by a 16-petaled lotus,
Creating a deep resonance and cohesion of the energetic wavelengths in your entire body,
Feel that your body is in resonance with itself and the world around you,
And from this place of resonance you are able to receive and express yourself creatively,
This healing rest that is yoga nidra is creating a deep resonance in your mind,
Body and energetic field,
Come into your third eye center,
Ajna chakra at the middle of your brain behind your eyebrow center,
Feel yourself seeing clearly a two-petaled lotus,
The color indigo,
Bright purple,
Feel that it is here,
There is a deep capacity to understand the truth,
You can see things clearly and from a place of higher insight and clarity,
Here we can see where we have been,
Where we are now and where we are going,
Draw your attention to the top of your head,
Here there is a crown of 1000 violet-purple petals,
Feel and sense the top of your head relaxing into the lotus and the lotus settling into your crown,
Feel that there is no separation between you and the lotus,
Become aware of the witness that is observing all of this happen,
Get in touch with that which observes and sees everything without judgment,
See yourself lying on the floor and see all seven chakra centers from above,
See and feel each center as though you are looking at your body from above,
Feel yourself becoming charged with a feeling of harmonious and balanced energy,
Now bring your awareness back to your entire body lying on the floor,
Feel the whole back of your body,
Feel the front plane of your body,
Feel that your body is a vessel for breath and awakened consciousness,
Feel that you are at full capacity and potential,
Before you go out into the world allow your sankalpa to permeate into your being,
Begin again by swelling into gratitude,
Feel grateful for all the teachings and the lessons,
All of the things that make your life sweet,
All of the things you already have that fulfill your needs,
Bathe in this feeling of gratitude,
Repeat your sankalpa three times with complete certainty that you will receive its gift,
Say it in the present tense as though you have already received it,
Begin to awaken to your surroundings,
Become aware of the room that you are in,
See the walls,
The light,
The darkness,
The things inside of the room and where they are placed,
See and feel your breath and body and begin to stir some movement into the body,
Fingers,
Toes,
Wrists,
Ankles,
Move organically,
And then slowly roll onto your side and sit up,
Yoga nidra is now complete,
Take a moment sitting to integrate the practice and transition into the rest of your day,
