Yoga Nidra In The Himalayan Tradition

This yoga nidra sequence has Shavayatra, or the 61-point body scan exercise at its core, which is typical of the Himalayan-style yoga nidra practices. Experienced meditators will appreciate the slower pace of this version, which allows for a deeper inner exploration.

If you have trouble staying focused in the longer spaces, try the shorter, more traditionally paced version: 61 Points – A Traditional Himalayan Style Meditation.

Transcript

The traditional name for the 61-point practice is Shavayatra,

And as its name suggests,

It's best performed in the posture of Shavasana,

That is,

Lying on your back in the most comfortable way possible as you travel through the body using only your senses.

As your heart slows during the practice,

Your body will naturally cool,

So maybe place a blanket over you even if you don't quite need it yet.

Lie back and make any little micro-adjustments you might need.

Any discomfort will ultimately distract you from the practice.

I'll give you a moment now as you get settled.

Now close your eyes and begin to notice the sensation of your body where it meets the floor or your bed,

And allow the earth to receive the full weight of your body.

As you let go,

Trust that your entire body will be supported.

Feel the full weight of both feet settle into your heels,

And the back of your legs settling.

Now allow the whole of your pelvis to come to ground,

And the back of your chest,

Your shoulders,

Your arms and hands.

And finally,

The back of your head.

Your full awareness now with the breath.

With every exhale,

You settle a little more.

And if you still notice any pockets of resistance in the body,

Or anything that might hinder the natural flow of breath,

Let the breath permeate that area and dissolve the tension.

Your whole body breathing.

Observe the uniqueness of each individual breath.

Know that you are not merely the breather,

But the one that observes the breath.

And the more you stay with the breath,

The more your mind becomes still.

Shift your awareness to the bowl of the pelvis,

Allowing it to fill with breath.

And release it.

As you again breathe in,

Create a sense of spaciousness there,

And allow the breath to roam freely through that space.

Now be aware of your belly,

Creating that same open feeling.

And feel too,

The skin on the surface of your belly.

Now feel your ribcage and the subtle movement in the spaces between your ribs as you breathe.

And experience now the whole of your torso as it gently expands with the in-breath.

And contracts as you release it.

The breath,

A gentle whisper in the nostrils.

Sinuses.

And throat.

And you remain fully present as you breathe in and out.

The spaces between thoughts grow longer as your breath naturally slows.

Your mind peaceful and undisturbed.

As any stray thoughts arise,

Simply notice and let them dissipate,

Savoring the stillness.

And you feel a sense of expanded awareness.

We'll now explore the 61 traditional marma points in the body.

Bring your full awareness to each point as you hear it named.

Keep the focus on what you feel and perhaps even imagine that place bathed in a calming blue light.

We begin at eyebrow center,

The worry lines at your brow melting away.

Allow this feeling to radiate through the whole of your face.

Now experience the sensations in your throat,

The root of your tongue soft.

Move your awareness to the right shoulder joint and allow it to open from the inside out.

Now the right elbow joint and feel all the places your muscles attach there from above and below.

Feel your right wrist,

All of those little carpal bones open and spacious.

Now experience sensations at the tip of your right hand thumb.

The tip of your index finger.

Tip of the middle finger.

Ring finger.

The little finger.

And the whole of your right hand relaxed.

Move your awareness back to your wrist,

Your right elbow and again experience your right shoulder along with the whole of your right arm and hand.

And again your throat.

Move your full awareness to the left shoulder letting it soften from the inside out.

The left elbow and all the muscles that attach there.

The left wrist inside.

Now the tip of your left hand thumb rich with sensation.

Your index finger tip.

Your middle finger tip.

Your ring finger.

And the pinky finger tip.

And now experience sensations in the whole of your left hand.

Maintaining full awareness as you now move back through the left wrist.

Your left elbow.

And back to the left shoulder and the whole of your left arm and hand together relaxing even more.

Return to the throat.

Feel your heart center and imagine space around your heart inside.

Now focus sensations in the right side of your chest.

And again the heart center.

Now left side of your chest sensing your lung inside.

Return to your heart center feel and picture it bathed in blue light.

Feel your awareness to the solar plexus and notice how the breath naturally deepens as you open this area of your upper abdomen.

Now open the low belly center inside at the sacrum.

Shift your full awareness to the right hip and sense all the muscles that attach here.

Now your right knee the patella soft the back of the knee open.

Your right ankle the inner ankle the outer ankle.

Now discover sensations at the tip of your right big toe.

The second toe.

Third toe.

Your fourth toe.

And the little toe.

Be aware of sensations in the whole of your right foot.

And again your right ankle.

Your right knee.

And the whole of your hip joint on the right side.

And once again low belly center.

Now move your experience to the left side and the muscles surrounding your left hip socket.

Your left knee relaxing and softening.

Your inner and outer left ankle.

The tip of your left big toe.

The second toe.

Third toe.

Your fourth toe.

And your little toe.

Feel the whole of your left foot together now.

And returning through the left ankle.

Your left knee.

The whole of your left hip.

Again low belly center.

And imagine the breath easily filling the bowl of your pelvis.

Your solar plexus still fully open to breath.

Your heart center bathing in radiant blue light.

Your throat.

And finally returning home to eyebrow center.

Now experience all of these points together,

Each one luminous eyebrow center.

Your throat.

Both shoulders.

Elbows.

Your wrists.

And fingers.

And again your heart.

Solar plexus.

Low belly center.

Hips.

Knees.

Ankles.

And toes.

All of these points now merging and your whole body bathed in radiant light.

Healing light.

No impingements on your circulatory system or your nervous system.

Your whole body open,

Spacious.

Bathed in prana.

Bathed in grace.

Your life force strong.

That radiance now permeating every cell in your body.

And feel what it is to be truly relaxed.

Remember this feeling.

This is your natural state.

And during the next minute of silence,

Picture this feeling as your new norm.

Picture it as though it was already accomplished.

If you choose to stay here a while longer,

Lie back and continue to savor the moment.

Or to prepare for the possibility of movement,

Begin to expand the range of your attention,

Becoming aware of yourself here in this room.

Allow the breath to deepen,

Adding any stretches or small movements your body might need as you find your way back.

Maybe stretch your arms past your ears over your head,

Clasping your fingers and pressing your palms away.

Or even clasping your forearms overhead and stretching up through each elbow,

First one side then the other.

And when you're ready,

Hug your knees and pause for a moment to release your low back.

This is a counter pose for lying on your back in Shavasana.

Maybe even rock a little side to side to massage your low back.

And when you're ready,

Ease your way onto your side and pause for a couple of breaths.

And then find your way up to a comfortable seat.

And slowly allow your eyes to open.

This concludes the Shavayatra practice.

Namaste.

Reviews

Wonderful! The instructions are easy to follow and the pace is perfect.

Very clear and easy to follow…calming and caring…ThankyouandBless 🧸❤️🙏🙂🧸

Thank you Steve!
Extremely effective and beneficial!
Finally felt "settle body, speech and mind in their natural state".
A new favourite preliminary to Shamatha without a sign.
Awakening blessings to every one!

Wonderful practice! I liked the clear and calm guidance, and the sequence itself was very relaxing.

This meditation is so calming and peaceful. Thank you very much for sharing it with us. It’s a beauty.

Gentle, spacious practice--I plan to revisit often✨

Thank you

Thank you very much for the guidance towards subtle sensations and the space given to immerse in them.

One of my favorite nidra practices here on IT.
So well led and timed.

Fell asleep shortly after starting the recording. Thank you 😊 🙏🧘‍♀️🦋😴

Very relaxing experience, awesome voice. Thank you.

Slow, clear movement through the body points. More space between each so I had to apply a bit more effort to avoid wandering mind. Directions at the end for stretching and sitting up.

Absolutely love your work, all the tracks I've listened to have been deeply relaxing, profoundly nourishing and I really appreciate your skill, knowledge and beautiful voice. With gratitude ❤️🙏🏾

Straightforward, confident guidance. No fluff or long, wordy intro. A nice, slower paced rotation of consciousness through the body. Thank you.

Thank you. I feel so much better, and can resume my day finally.

This is a yoga nidra worth staying awake for! Namasté!

I have yet to listen to the whole meditation, it puts me to sleep so quickly.
Lovely calming voice and relaxing rhythm.

Best ever, my new GO TO practice! Thank you so much. NAMASKARAM 🙏🏽

That was lovely, but I found my body became really hot at one stage, for maybe five minutes! Then it cooled down again. Curious. I enjoyed the slow pace and the way we went back to certain points in the body.

Thank you for this slow, deeply relaxing guidance.