Get ready for this yoga nidra practice by lying down on your back on the floor or in a bed or on a yoga mat,
Lying in the pose called shavasana.
In this position the body should be straight from the head to the toe,
The legs slightly apart and the arms a little bit away from the body with the palms of the hands turned upward.
Adjust everything,
Your body,
Position and clothes until you are completely comfortable.
During yoga nidra there should be no physical movement,
However if you do need to move do so with care.
If it feels right for you,
You can close your eyes all the way down and try to keep them closed until you're told to open them again.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and as you breathe out feel the cares and worries of the day flow out of you.
In this practice you are going to develop the feeling of relaxation in the body.
So it's not necessary to make movements or deliberately relax your muscles.
Simply allow the feeling of relaxation.
And this feeling of relaxation,
It's just like the feeling you have before sleep.
When relaxation becomes deep,
Sleep comes on,
But you should try to keep yourself completely awake during today's practice if you can.
This is very important and you can do this by making a resolution to yourself right now like this.
And if it helps you could repeat it to yourself three times.
I will not sleep.
I will remain awake throughout the practice.
I will not sleep.
I will remain awake throughout the practice.
During Yoga Nidra,
You are functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness.
And the only important thing is to follow the guidance of my voice.
I will not sleep.
I will remain awake throughout the practice.
Don't try to intellectualize or analyze the instructions.
Simply follow the guidance of my voice with total attention and feeling.
And if thoughts arise from time to time,
Don't worry.
Just continue the practice.
Allow yourself to become calm and steady.
And now bring a feeling of inner relaxation into the entire body.
Concentrate on the body and become aware of any sensations in the body without trying to change or fix anything.
Simply notice.
And develop your awareness of the body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes and mentally repeat the mantra Aum.
Aum.
Complete stillness and complete awareness of the whole body.
And again,
Aum.
Aum.
And continue your awareness of the whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body.
And become aware of the fact that you are going to practice Yoga Nidra.
You can say mentally to yourself,
I am aware.
I'm going to practice Yoga Nidra.
And you can repeat this to yourself again.
I am aware.
I am going to practice Yoga Nidra.
Your practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.
And at this moment,
Allow yourself to repeat an intention for today's practice.
This intention should be very simple and let it arise naturally.
This intention you make during Yoga Nidra is bound to come true in your life.
It should be a short,
Positive statement in simple language,
Something like,
I am calm and steady.
And you can repeat it now three times with awareness,
Feeling,
And emphasis.
We now begin a rotation of consciousness,
Rotating awareness by taking a trip through the different parts of the body.
As quickly as possible,
The awareness is to go from part to part.
If it helps,
You can repeat the part in your mind while simultaneously becoming aware of that part of the body.
Keep yourself alert,
But don't concentrate too intensely on any one part.
Let's begin.
Become aware of the right hand.
Right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Become aware of your palm.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
The lower arm.
The elbow.
The upper arm.
The shoulder.
The armpit.
The right waist.
The right hip.
The right thigh.
The kneecap.
The calf muscle.
The ankle.
The heel of the foot.
The sole of the right foot.
The top of the foot.
The big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Shifting awareness now to the left side of the body.
Become aware of the left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
The lower arm.
The elbow.
The upper arm.
The shoulder.
The armpit.
The left waist.
The left hip.
The left thigh.
The kneecap.
The calf muscle.
The ankle.
The heel.
The sole of the left foot.
The top of the foot.
The big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And fifth toe.
Shifting awareness now to the back of the body.
Become aware of the right shoulder blade.
The left shoulder blade.
The right buttock.
The left buttock.
The spine.
The whole back together.
And shift awareness now to the front of the body,
Starting with the top of the head.
The forehead.
Both sides of the head.
The right eyebrow.
The left eyebrow.
The space between the eyebrows.
The right eyelid.
The left eyelid.
The left eyebrow.
The right eye.
The left eye.
The right ear.
The left ear.
The right cheek.
The left cheek.
The nose.
The tip of the nose.
The upper lip.
The chin.
The throat.
The right side of the chest.
The left side of the chest.
The chest.
The middle of the chest.
The heart center.
The belly button.
The abdomen.
The whole of the right leg.
The whole of the left leg.
And both legs together now.
The whole right arm.
The whole left arm.
And both arms.
Together now.
The whole back,
Buttocks,
The spine,
Shoulder blades.
And now the whole front of the body.
The abdomen and the chest.
The whole body back and front together.
The whole head.
The whole body together now.
The whole body together now.
The whole body together now.
And try not to sleep if you can.
Remain in total awareness.
Try not to sleep.
Try to stay still if you can without moving.
Become aware of the whole body on the surface beneath you.
Become aware of your body lying on the surface.
Beneath you.
And as your body is lying on the surface beneath you,
See your body lying perfectly still.
On the surface beneath you.
In the space that you are in.
And visualize this image of your body lying there in complete stillness in your mind.
And now become aware of your breath.
Feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs.
Don't try to change the rhythm.
Allow the breathing to remain natural and automatic.
There's nothing to do.
There's no effort.
Just notice how the breath arises naturally without any trying.
Now maintain awareness of your breath.
Complete awareness of breath.
And now concentrate your awareness on the movement of your belly area.
Just concentrate on the movements of your belly.
Notice how your belly is gently rising and falling with every breath.
And with each and every breath,
It expands and contracts.
And concentrate on this movement in synchronization with your breath.
Now start counting your breaths backwards from 27 to 1 like this.
27.
Belly rising.
27.
Belly falling.
26.
Belly rising.
26.
Belly falling.
25.
Belly rising.
25.
Belly falling.
Just like that,
Continue to count from 27 to 1 backwards at your own pace,
Saying the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths.
And if you make a mistake in counting,
Just go back to 27 and start again.
Total awareness that you are counting.
Continue counting from 27 to 1.
And now stop counting the belly breath and shift your attention to the chest.
And notice how the chest is gently rising and falling with each and every breath.
And become aware of this gentle rise and fall.
Now move your awareness to the throat.
And become aware of your breath moving in and out of the throat,
Noticing,
Bringing full awareness to air moving in and out of the throat.
And now move awareness to the nostrils.
And become aware of the breath moving in and out of the nostrils.
Just concentrating your attention right now on the movement of the breath in and out of the nostrils for a few moments.
And now let go of the breath.
And we'll begin now a rotation of images.
A number of different things will be named.
And try to create an image of them in your mind and on all levels,
Feeling,
Awareness,
Emotion,
Imagination,
Doing the best that you can.
A burning candle,
A burning candle,
A burning candle,
Endless desert,
Endless desert,
Endless desert,
Egyptian pyramid,
Egyptian pyramid,
Egyptian pyramid,
Torrential rain,
Torrential rain,
Torrential rain,
Snow-capped mountains,
Snow-capped mountains,
Snow-capped mountains,
A beach at sunrise,
A beach at sunrise,
A beach at sunrise,
Birds flying across a sunset,
Birds flying across a sunset,
Birds flying across a sunset,
Red clouds drifting,
Red clouds drifting,
Red clouds drifting,
Stars at night,
Stars at night,
Stars at night,
A full moon,
A full moon,
A full moon,
A smiling baby,
A smiling baby,
A smiling baby,
Wind from the sea,
Wind from the sea,
Wind from the sea,
Waves breaking on a deserted beach,
Waves breaking on a deserted beach,
The restless sea,
The eternal restless sea,
The eternal restless sea,
Waves breaking on a deserted beach.
And now it's time to repeat your intention for today's practice.
You can repeat the same intention that you made at the beginning of the practice.
And you'll repeat it now three times with full awareness and feeling.
And now relax all effort and draw your mind outside of you and become aware of your breathing.
Become aware of the natural breath in the body.
And bring awareness now to the whole body and awareness to your breathing.
Notice that your body is lying completely relaxed in this space and you are breathing quietly and slowly.
Develop awareness of your body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes and mentally say in your mind,
Aum.
And you can repeat the Aum mentally to yourself twice more.
Become aware of points of contact with the surface beneath you and the position of your body lying there.
And as you do this,
Visualize the room around you and become aware of your surroundings.
You can lie quietly for some time and keep your eyes closed for just a few moments more.
And now begin to bring some gentle movement to your body,
Perhaps wiggling the fingers and the toes.
Maybe taking a full body stretch if that feels right for you or bringing your knees into your chest and rocking back and forth a few times.
Please take your time.
There's no hurry.
Waking up the body at your own pace.
And when you're sure that you are wide awake,
You can sit up slowly and open your eyes.
Your practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Thank you so much for your practice today.
Thank you for being here at the Ripple of Rest.
It's my pleasure to guide you in this practice.
