Welcome to Yoga Nidra.
Please lie down.
Close your eyes and prepare to relax.
Give yourself a few breaths out your mouth and tell your body,
Mind and heart to let go.
If there is any way that you can prepare to relax deeper or more effectively,
Please do that now.
As we go through the process of Yoga Nidra,
I invite you to welcome anything and everything that comes into your awareness.
From this point on and through the duration of our Yoga Nidra practice,
Abandon all assessment of things and become the observer only.
In the practice which follows,
You are going to develop the feeling of relaxation in the body.
You don't have to do any movement,
Just developing the feeling of relaxation.
It is a mental exercise that takes place in the mysterious borderland state between wakefulness and sleep.
By maintaining awareness as you relax and your body starts to fall asleep,
You can enter a profound state of consciousness with potentially profound psychological,
Spiritual and physical benefits.
I invite you to close your eyes and keep them strictly closed until you are invited to open them.
Now allow your inner resource to emerge.
A special place where you feel secure and at ease.
Perhaps a room or a place in nature.
An image of a favorite symbol or the feeling of deep peace.
Whatever your inner resource is,
Imagine it using all of your senses,
Noticing sounds,
Smells,
Tastes,
Colors,
Shapes that are present.
Sensing feelings of security,
Ease and well-being as you imagine your inner resource.
Experiencing feelings of security within you that are always available at a moment's notice.
As you do this,
Note in your body where you feel warm and relaxed,
Knowing that you can return to this secure place of well-being at any time during your practice or during your daily life,
Whenever you need to feel secure,
Calm and at ease.
Now come back to your inner resource,
Your place of ground,
Security and well-being.
Noticing your breathing easy and rhythmic,
Forehead at ease and cool,
Belly,
Hands and feet warm and at ease.
At this point you will bring to your mind an intention for this practice.
This intention is named Sankalpa.
A Sankalpa is formed by the heart and the mind,
Like a solemn vow,
Determination or will.
Check inside your mind and heart what is your special intention.
Formulate your Sankalpa clearly,
Now,
Mentally.
Repeat this Sankalpa three times for yourself with your inner voice and remember it,
Making your resolve firm and specific.
You are now going to focus on yourself,
Bringing awareness to your own body,
Drawing your attention to each part of the body that I will name,
One after the other.
As we go through this process,
Don't try to control your experience.
Simply pay attention to my words and welcome,
Recognize and witness everything that comes into your awareness,
Without the need to change or fix anything.
As awareness,
Experience yourself as sensation.
Follow my words as you become more aware of your body and as awareness,
Allow yourself to become increasingly more relaxed.
Bring your awareness to the sensation of your mouth.
Simply notice its presence.
Welcome,
Recognize and witness the sensation of your mouth,
Eyes,
Ears,
Entire face,
Entire head.
Now,
Feel the sensations of your neck and throat,
Your shoulders,
Arms.
Feel your left arm as a sensation,
From the top to the bottom.
Feel your right arm from the top to the bottom.
Left arm,
Right arm.
Feel both arms as sensation.
Feel both arms at the same time.
Bring awareness to the sensation of your trunk,
Your chest.
Feel your breathing,
Your belly,
Your back.
Simply welcome,
Recognize and witness the sensation of your trunk.
Simply notice its presence as awareness.
Now,
Bring awareness to the sensations of your pelvis,
The front,
Back and sides of your pelvis.
Simply notice it as sensation.
Simply welcome,
Recognize and witness anything that arises spontaneously,
Such as sounds,
Emotion or sensation.
Bring awareness to the sensation of your legs.
Feel your left leg from the hip to the toes.
Feel your right leg from the hip to the toes.
Left leg,
Right leg,
Left,
Right.
Now,
Feel both legs,
Both legs as sensation.
Now,
Feel the entire left side of your body,
From the head to the toes.
Feel the entire right side of your body,
From the head to the toes.
Left side,
Right side.
Now,
Feel both sides at the same time.
Feel your entire body.
Feel your entire body.
Begin to feel as if your entire body is very large.
Your entire body is very large.
Now,
Adopt the feeling of being very small.
Your entire body is very small.
Very large.
Again.
Now,
Small.
Now,
Adopt the feeling of being both large and small simultaneously.
This does not need to make sense.
Simply feel both large and small simultaneously.
What are you aware of in this moment?
Sensations will come and go.
In one moment,
You may feel small and another large.
Notice what is the part of you that can be both small and large.
Sensations reveal your unchanging,
Underlying awareness.
Be awareness itself.
Become extremely aware of all things in this moment as awareness itself.
Simply welcome,
Recognize,
And witness all things in this moment as awareness itself.
Now,
Bring to your mind a memory of the rain.
Take the time to remember,
Looking at the raindrop.
When raindrops fall upon the earth,
Do you notice its grace?
How meticulously it touches the land,
Each plant,
Each part of the ground,
Cleansing and washing away dirt,
Dust,
Debris.
Notice how big the droplets are,
How they splash onto the leaves,
How sparkly everything looks afterwards.
Imagine that each of these drops are droplets of kindness,
Droplets of compassion,
Droplets of whatever you wish to bring into your life.
As you watch the droplets,
Breathe deeply and slowly.
Watch the droplets that land upon the ground.
Imagine all the rain falling into the bodies of water.
The amount of water we have on this planet,
It is easy to feel powerful as a single droplet,
To notice its majesty and profound presence.
Continue watching the rain.
Experience the sounds,
The texture,
The smells.
Now it is the time to remember your Sankalpa,
Your resolve.
Repeat mentally the same resolve that you made at the beginning of the practice.
Repeat it exactly as it was,
Three times,
With full awareness and confidence.
In a moment,
We will hand our Yoga Nidra practice.
Because you've been experiencing yourself as deep awareness,
Be prepared to move back into your everyday life with more clarity,
Purpose and focus.
Be open to receive the answers to your questions,
To find presence in your relationships.
Be prepared to be more compassionate,
To invite serenity in your life.
Now bring your attention back to your breath,
Reconnecting with the sound of your breath and reconnecting with the sounds of life around you,
From the closest sounds up to the most distant sounds.
Allow your mind to jump from one sound to the other.
And coming back to the sound of your breath,
Back to your body,
Completely relaxed on the ground.
Notice the heaviness and stillness of your body.
Bring back all sensations in the body,
Starting to move your fingers and your toes,
Sliding your head from one side to the other side.
And interlacing your fingers in front of your chest and extending your arms,
Giving your body a nice stretch from the fingers to your toes,
Making any movement that your body needs now.
You can eventually bring the knees toward your chest,
Sliding side to side before coming on your side in your fetal position.
The practice of yoga nidra is now finished.
So just take the time to come back into your sitting position and reopen your eyes.
I invite you after the practice to contemplate your thoughts,
Your dreams during the night and also to drink a lot of water.
