Yoga Nidra Luminous Sleep

This Yoga Nidra practices invites your body into deep restorative sleep while your mind, like a night-blooming flower, opens to formless awareness. Based on the teaching of Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati, this includes a complete body relaxation, 61-point exercise, and ascending breath practice. Yoga Nidra deepens meditation and unhooks the neuro-conditioning that keeps you stuck. Studies show regular practice alleviates stress, PTSD and improves wellbeing.

Music: Christopher L Clarke.
Audio Editor: Eric Fischer of audio-refined.com.
Photo: Lucas Marcomini.

Transcript

In yoga nidra your body relaxes into deep restorative sleep while paradoxically your awareness opens like a night blooming flower. You can think of it like the light of the sun that is always streaming through space but only becomes visible when it shines on an object. In yoga nidra you open to the light of awareness that streams through the luminous darkness of sleep. You open to the light of awareness that you are. The practice starts with a complete body relaxation followed by a 61 point exercise and then an ascending breath practice. Together these three practices help to evoke a state of consciousness called yoga nidra. You may or may not experience yoga nidra itself. It doesn't matter. With practice you will arrive at this state of consciousness or rather be restored to it, To your pure essence which you may experience as an open field of awareness, Pure being, A fullness that's empty, An emptiness that's full, The recognition that you are not separate. So as your body sinks into relaxation set an intention for your awareness to open like a night blooming flower. Invite a seed of transformation into your life however it wishes to manifest. Your soul knows what it needs. Lay comfortably on your back in shavasana, The corpse posture. Lay in such a way that your head and neck and body, Spine are aligned left and right. Check the position of your head, Make sure it's comfortable, Straight and in alignment. Allow your feet to be a comfortable distance apart, Letting them fall away from each other at ease. Allow your arms to be at a comfortable distance from your sides, Palms up if comfortable. If not, Allow your palms to be down. Most important is to be comfortable and to let go. Now becoming aware of your body. Become aware of your whole body from head to toe and toe to head. However you experience your body is fine. You cannot do this wrong. Just gently be aware of your body. Be aware of the ability to move your body but you are not using that ability right now. You can move your body but you are choosing not to. Feel the stillness moving into your whole body. You can move but you are choosing not to move. Just resting in stillness. Noticing your body from head to toe and toe to head. However you experience your body is fine. You cannot do this wrong. Survey the body as if you are really curious, An explorer. Gently and non-judgmentally noticing your body. You may notice muscles, Bones, Sensations. You may notice energy in your body. Whatever you notice is fine. Just survey your body gently with your attention. From the top of your head to your forehead, Your eyebrows and eyes, Cheekbones and cheeks. Becoming aware of your nostrils, The feel of the flow of the air in and out of your nostrils. Your jaw relaxed. Becoming aware of your neck and throat, Releasing any tension. Move your attention to your shoulders, Your upper arms, Your elbows, Your lower arms, Your hands, Your fingers. Feeling relaxation move through you. Becoming aware of the tips of your fingers, Noticing any energy you may feel in your hands. Moving your attention back up to your elbows, Your upper arms, Your shoulders. Becoming aware of your chest and spine, Bringing your awareness down into your belly. Noticing with curiosity and tender, Intimate awareness. Moving your attention down through your hips and upper legs, Your knees, Calves, Your ankles. Letting everything relax. Bring your attention to your feet, Your toes. Noticing the tips of your toes, Any energy you may feel in your feet. Bringing your awareness gently back to your ankles, Your calves, Your knees, Your thighs, Your pelvis. Bringing your awareness to your belly, Feeling your belly rise and fall gently with your breath. Bringing your awareness to your chest and spine, Being curious, Noticing your shoulders, Your upper arms, Your elbows, And lower arms, Your wrists, And your hands, Your fingers, And the tips of your fingers, Being aware of any energy in your fingertips and hands, Your wrists, Lower arms, Elbows, Upper arms, And the shoulders. Becoming aware of your neck, Your throat, Your jaw relaxed, Your tongue relaxed inside your mouth. Feeling the air flow in and out of your nostrils, Cooler as it enters and warmer as it leaves. Becoming aware of your cheeks and cheekbones, Your eyes resting gently in their sockets, Your eyebrows relaxed, Tension leaving your forehead. Bringing your awareness to the top of your head, Be aware of the body as one whole being. Allow your attention to come to rest on your forehead, Aware of your forehead as a feeling sensation and awareness. You may see light, Such as a point of light, Like a blue star. Be aware of your throat, You may experience it in some physical way or as a feeling awareness or sensation, Point of light, A blue star. Becoming aware of your right shoulder, A feeling awareness, Sensation, Point of light, Blue star. Your right elbow, Noticing feeling awareness, Sensation, Point of light, Blue star. Bringing your awareness to your right wrist, Being aware of the tip of your right thumb, Aware of the tip of your right index finger, Aware of the tip of your right middle finger, Aware of the tip of your right ring finger, Aware of the tip of your right little finger, Aware of your right wrist, Aware of your right elbow, Your right shoulder, Your throat, Your left shoulder, Your left elbow, Your left wrist, The tip of the left thumb, The tip of the left index finger, The tip of the left middle finger, The tip of the left ring finger, The tip of the left pinky finger, The left wrist, The left elbow, The left shoulder, Your throat, The space deep in your heart center, Your right breast, The space deep in your heart center, Just below your breastbone, The left breast, Your heart center, Your navel, Your lower abdomen, Your right hip, Your right knee, Your right ankle, The tip of your right big toe, The tip of your right second toe, The tip of the right middle toe, The tip of the right fourth toe, The tip of the right little toe, The right ankle, The right knee, The right hip, The lower abdomen, The left hip, The left knee, The left ankle, The tip of the left big toe, The tip of the left second toe, The tip of the left middle toe, The tip of the left fourth toe, The tip of the left pinky toe, The left ankle, The left knee, The left hip, The lower abdomen, The navel, Your heart center, The front of your heart, The back of your heart, The space in the middle of your chest, Your throat, Your forehead. Breathe as though your whole body is breathing, As if you are exhaling from the top of your head down to your toes. Breathe as though you are breathing from the toes up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the toes. Inhale from the toes up to the top of the head. Continue to exhale from the top of the head down to the toes. Inhale from the toes up to the top of the head. Like a current moving up and down your spine. Exhale from the top of the head down to your ankles. Inhale from your ankles up to the top of your head. Feel the current slide back and forth. Continue to exhale from the top of the head down to the ankles. Inhale from the ankles up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the knees. Inhale from the knees up to the top of the head. Continue to exhale from the top of the head down to the knees. Inhale from the knees up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the base of the spine. Inhale from the base of the spine up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the navel. Inhale from the navel up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the heart center. Inhale from the heart center up to the top of your head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the throat. Inhale from the throat up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the bridge between your nostrils. Inhale from the bridge between your nostrils up to the top of your head. Exhale from the space between your eyebrows down to the bridge between your nostrils. Inhale from the bridge between your nostrils up to the space between your eyebrows. Continue to exhale from the space between the eyebrows down to the bridge between the nostrils. Inhale from the bridge between the nostrils up to the space between the eyebrows. Exhale from the top of the head down to the bridge between the nostrils. Inhale from the bridge between the nostrils up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the throat. Inhale from the throat up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the heart center. Inhale through the heart center up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the navel. Inhale from the navel up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the sacrum, The base of the spine. Inhale from the sacrum up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to your knees. Inhale from the knees up to the top of your head. Exhale from the top of the head down to the ankles. Inhale from the ankles up to the top of the head. Exhale from the top of the head down to your toes. Inhale from your toes up to the top of your head. Be aware of the space between your eyebrows. Breathe as though you are breathing from the space between your eyebrows. Breathe with tender intimate awareness. Be aware of the space at your throat. Bring tender intimate awareness to your throat. Visualize in your throat a moon. Be aware of the space in your heart center between your breasts. Go deep, Deep into this space. Deep into the silence. Empty, Empty, Empty. Go deep into the stillness and the silence in this space in your heart center. Empty, Empty. Emptiness is fullness. Fullness is emptiness. This voice will go quiet now and speak again in 10 minutes. Rest with tender awareness deep in your beautiful heart center. Be aware of the space in your heart center. Be aware of the deep stillness and silence that is in that space. Allow your attention to hold on to that stillness and silence. Be aware of the space in your throat. Bring with you that deep stillness and silence. Be aware of the space between your eyebrows. Be aware of the quietness of your mind while remaining in the deep stillness and silence that is beneath more subtle than the mind. Feel the presence of that stillness. Be aware of the smoothness of the breath. Be aware of the deep stillness and silence that is within the breath. Be aware of the stillness of the physical body holding awareness of that deep stillness and silence. If you need to, Gently move as you feel comfortable. Move however you wish to be comfortable. Bring that deep stillness and silence with you. Keep it with you while you resolve to return to this place of silence and serenity that is always here for you. Always available.

Reviews

Wonderful pace & guidance, there are many Yoga Nidra guides & then there are creative navigators who understand Nidra directives & are illuminative, Tess is one who is a gem with her orchestration. Thank you
✨🫶🏻✨

Another reviewer said it all - this is a quality yoga nidra. I feel like I’m a connoisseur and there are only a handful of teachers of this practice that I truly love. Tess is now one of them.❤️🙏

Loved the beautiful preface that pictured this amazing experience. Quality yoga nidra. Thank you 🙏

A beautiful practice with gentle guidance, most enjoyable.
Thank you