Welcome to Yoga Nidra to discover your Sankalpa.
In this heart-opening meditation,
Support the discovery of your Sankalpa,
The authentic heart's desire,
As you reaffirm your precious place in the powerful universe.
Rise realigned to your highest truth,
Trusting that it will come to fruition in this life.
Before we begin,
Please find a position of complete comfort.
You might try Shavasana,
Where the body is lying back on a mat or the surface beneath you and your legs and arms are extended loosely.
You'll be invited on a journey deep inside the heart,
So please take the time necessary to make any adjustments to your position to support your maximum comfort.
In Yoga Nidra,
You need only to listen with awareness to the instructions.
To support the inward awareness,
Try to remain as motionless as possible,
But know that you can make any necessary movements.
If you desire to end the practice for any reason,
You can disregard the instructions,
Open your eyes,
And bring something or someone who comforts you to mind.
Yoga Nidra takes us inward,
Beyond the noise and commotion of daily life,
Into the deepest parts of ourselves.
Here you can inhabit profound rest and reconnect with what matters most in this precious life.
The yogis teach we have an empowering tool called Sankalpa that we can use to manifest our heart's most genuine desires.
Once made,
Sankalpa is planted deep within the heart where it will grow and make itself known in our lives.
As you listen inwardly to discover your Sankalpa,
It may at first feel hard to narrow it down,
But you can trust your Sankalpa exists within you,
Waiting to be felt,
Seen,
And heard.
Memory comes from listening within,
To what is already there,
And trusting what unfolds.
Let's now begin the Yoga Nidra practice.
If it feels okay for you,
Please close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Bring awareness to the sounds around you.
You don't have to investigate or identify any of the sounds,
Only become aware of each as it happens.
Listen first for faraway sounds,
Sounds coming from the distance.
Listen now for nearby sounds,
Sounds arising from the space surrounding you.
Hear the closest sounds of all,
Any sounds happening from inside you.
Listen for the subtle sound of your quiet breath as you breathe freely.
Try to hear the sound of your blood moving inside you and the sound of beating of your beautiful heart.
You might momentarily place one hand on your belly and the other one on your heart.
Focus your attention on your body and how your breath flows beneath your palms.
Feel the breath moving in and out from the center of your chest,
In and out from the center of your belly.
Notice how the body gently expands as the in-breath happens and then relaxes with the very soft sighing sound of the out-breath.
Observe how the body relaxes more and more with each breath.
Feel softening,
Belly softening,
Heart softening.
Let go of any worries or concerns,
Allowing yourself to enjoy the simplicity of this present moment.
With each exhale,
Sense a greater and greater softening of your body and mind.
Sometimes our Sankalpa is already known and sometimes it is waiting for us to discover it.
Remember,
Sankalpa is not a dream,
It is a destiny.
It moves us from I wish to I am.
Inquire within your heart,
What is my authentic desire in life?
Examples of Sankalpa are,
I am whole.
I live in love.
I am open to grace.
I accept myself completely.
I am filled with loving kindness.
I am at peace.
Let your awareness linger in your heart space with great sincerity,
To help you connect with your Sankalpa.
As you breathe in,
You might say to your spirit,
I am the creator of my joy.
As you breathe out,
Think to yourself,
I deserve happiness,
Peace,
And love.
Allow these statements to resonate with you,
Saying these affirmations to yourself with courage and with confidence.
Let yourself believe them to be true.
Now let's take the attention through the body.
The method is simple.
I will name a part of the body and you can bring your awareness there.
No physical movement of the body is necessary.
Go there in your mind only.
Keep your awareness going from part to part as each is named.
There's no need to linger in any one place.
To honor your spirit as deserving of all joy,
You might wish to bring the energy of joy to each part.
You can repeat the word joy in your mind as you visit each part,
Sensing the energy of joy resonating from deep within your heart to each part of your body.
In this way,
We will relax the body completely and bless it with the bright wishes of your spirit.
We will begin at the crown of the head.
The crown of the head,
Infuse the crown of the head with the energy of joy.
Forehead,
Joy.
Right temple,
Left temple.
Right eye,
Left eye.
Right ear,
Sense joy.
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Joy.
Left cheek,
Joy.
Nose,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Joy.
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder.
Right upper arm,
Left upper arm.
Right elbow,
Left elbow.
Right lower arm,
Left lower arm.
Right wrist,
Left wrist.
Right palm,
Joy.
Left palm,
Joy.
Right fingers,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Left fingers,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Right chest,
Joy.
Left chest,
Joy.
Center of chest,
The center of joy.
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen.
Right hip,
Left hip.
Right thigh,
Left thigh.
Right knee,
Left knee.
Right ankle,
Left ankle.
Right foot,
Left foot.
Right toes,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Left toes,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Now the main parts.
The entire right arm.
Become aware of the entire right arm.
Entire left arm.
Entire right leg.
Entire left leg.
Entire face.
The entire head,
Joy.
Entire right side of the body.
Entire left side of the body.
Entire back side of the body.
Entire front side of the body,
Joy.
Entire body,
Joy.
The whole body,
The whole body.
Sense the whole body resonating with the energy of pure joy from deep within your heart.
Now we will focus the awareness on the breath by moving the breath from the body to the crown of the head,
A doorway to the divine universe.
To begin,
Rest your attention on the tip of the tailbone at the base of the spine.
As you breathe in gently,
Feel or imagine you're inhaling from the tip of the tailbone up through the spine and into the heart.
Exhale slowly from the heart up through the spine to the crown of the head.
Breathe effortlessly as you stay with this approach.
Inhale from the tip of the tailbone up the spine and into the center of the heart.
Exhale from the heart up the spine to the crown of the head,
Doorway to the universe.
Keep on like this.
Inhale from the tailbone up the spine and into the heart.
Breath fills the heart.
Exhale from the heart up the spine to the crown of the head.
Breath touches the sky.
Inhale from the tailbone up the spine into the heart.
Heart expands.
Exhale from the heart up the spine to the crown of the head,
Opening to the divine.
Continue breathing in this way,
Slowly,
Deeply,
Easefully for some more moments,
Heart expanding,
Heart opening to the divine universe.
Allow the breath now to come back to its natural flow.
Next,
As I describe a feeling,
You might imagine it very vividly in your mind and let your body experience it as though it was happening in this moment.
Try to remember or imagine a time when you felt doubtful and how this feeling of doubtfulness felt in the body.
Perhaps it was a time you experienced doubts about a particular outcome or a sense of doubt while waiting for the potential of something to happen.
Use your mind to recreate that feeling of doubtfulness,
Of being unsure and skeptical in your body.
Allow yourself to feel doubt in the face and sense how the muscles around the mouth respond.
Perhaps you feel a slight frown forming.
Feel doubt in the chest.
You may sense your heart,
Too,
Is heavy with doubt and skepticism.
Notice any feelings of doubt settling in your belly.
Sense the feeling of being doubtful all through the body.
Allow the feeling of doubt to go and replace it with a feeling of absolute trust.
Recall a time when you felt completely confident.
Replay a memory in your mind when you experience trust and complete confidence,
A time you trusted yourself or someone else,
Perhaps a time you took a leap of faith to fulfill a dream.
Recreate the feeling of absolute trust and belief.
Sense it in the body,
Perhaps as lightness in the heart and a brightness in the eyes.
Feel a great sense of trust and confidence well up within you.
Maybe there's an opening of the chest,
Ease in the belly,
Or the deepening of your breath.
Feel deep trust and clear confidence all through you.
Now release your awareness of these feelings and feel the body totally relaxed,
The breath easy and deep.
Allow all thoughts to drift away.
Enjoying the fullness of this moment.
You might now create in your mind the image of a white dove perched on a tree branch.
See the dove's bright eyes shining as it points towards possibilities in the vast sky.
Its feet fast and firm hold the rough brown curve of the branch.
Watch this dove.
Watch for the moment,
This moment.
See how the white dove sets itself free,
Flies high into the infinite blue sky,
And becomes possibility.
Move your awareness back to the place of the heart and feel the breath once again entering and expanding the heart space,
Opening the doorway of the heart.
Sense how the breath so naturally flows up through the crown of the head to connect with infinity.
The breath joining the energies of the heart with the energies of the divine universe.
Say to yourself,
I am the creator of my joy.
I deserve happiness,
Peace,
And love.
Ask yourself,
What is my sankalpa?
Listen deep inside yourself and let any messages rise of their own accord.
No need to force anything.
Invite yourself to open to your deep inner knowing.
Ask your spirit to share it with you.
Whatever arises,
Let it come.
Trust and welcome whatever it might be.
Let your sankalpa tell itself to you.
If nothing arises,
Do not worry.
You might affirm this with confidence.
May I be truly happy and live my authentic truth.
See your sankalpa now as a seed in your hand.
Plant this seed in the fertile soil of your heart.
As you plant it,
Say your sankalpa to yourself.
Repeat it three times to yourself with absolute faith and complete trust.
Let each breath fill you with gratitude,
For sankalpa cannot help but come true.
Watch as the seed of your sankalpa sprouts and grows in your heart.
Powerful and true,
Your sankalpa rises to manifest through the crown of your head,
Reflecting itself in the sky of the divine universe.
See the details of your sankalpa high above you in the infinite sky.
Let your mind create a very clear picture of your sankalpa,
Already true in the world.
You may see a moment in time that embodies this energy.
What do you see?
Feel the power and meaning of this image.
Invite yourself to experience this fully,
Your sankalpa already realized.
Perceive your sankalpa on any level of imagination,
A picture,
Feeling,
Sensation,
Sound,
Or color.
See it reflected in the mirror of the sky above.
Sense the universe aligning with you,
Divine aligning with divine.
Feel each beat of your heart resonating with the rhythm of the universe.
Experience an immense trust filling you.
Feel yourself a loving piece of the loving whole,
Boundless,
Connected,
Infinite.
Rest here for some moments,
Enjoying the deep connection and pure joy,
Resting in complete comfort,
Complete bliss,
Held,
Secure,
And cherished by the divine and loving universe.
Return your awareness to your breath and the places where your body touches the floor.
Sense each part of your body,
Head,
Back,
Arms,
And legs.
Sense your body as a whole.
Begin to make gentle movements in the toes and fingers.
Slowly make small movements of waking as it feels right for you.
Come to a seated position,
Sitting comfortably,
And recall what you've experienced.
Let it imprint itself on your mind and heart.
Perhaps you say to yourself,
My sankalpa is already manifesting in my life.
You might seal your practice with a bow,
Bowing to the divine universe and the precious place you hold within it.
Here we close this practice of yoga nidra.
