Yoga Nidra: Merging With The Earth Element: Tattwa Shuddhi 1

Elemental purification (tattwa shuddhi) is a very important tantric meditation practice mentioned in texts such as Mahanirvana Tantra and Srimad Devi Bhagavatam. It is the means by which you can purify the most basic components of your existence in preparation for higher awareness and self-realization.

Transcript

Prepare for yoga nidra by returning your awareness to the body and take the next few moments to make any final preparations.

Quickly scan your awareness from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

Feel the stability of the body.

Visualize deep grounding roots spreading into the earth beneath you.

Visualize the rich moist dirt,

The dense hard stones and the feeling of stability and security.

Now,

Bring your awareness to the breath and just observe the natural ebb and flow of the breath.

Listen to the natural sounds of the breath.

Allow the sound of the breath to be your guide.

Now,

Look at all the BalORN sounds,

And RIP!

Follow the sensation of air flowing within the breath through the nasal passages.

Back of the throat.

Pit of the throat.

Feel the air entering into the lungs.

Expanding the whole chest and rib cage,

Causing the belly to gently rise and fall.

Just remain a detached witness to the wave-like motions of the natural breath.

Now formulate your sankalpa,

Your intention for doing this practice.

Or you can silently repeat a positive affirmation three times.

Now return your awareness to the body.

Feel the heaviness of the body.

Surrender the weight of your body to the surface beneath you.

And feel the various points of contact.

Starting with the back of the head.

Right shoulder blade.

Right hand.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Right calf muscle.

Left calf muscle.

Right heel.

And the left heel.

All these points of contact together at once.

Now bring your focus to the right hand.

Feel the heaviness of the right hand sinking down into the floor.

A wave of heaviness flowing from the right hand thumb to the second finger.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

And shoulder.

Right armpit.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Knee cap.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Ankle.

Heel.

And sole.

Top of the right foot.

The right big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth toe.

The whole right side of the body.

Bring your awareness to the left hand.

Feel the heaviness of the left hand sinking down into the floor.

A wave of heaviness flowing from the left hand thumb to the second finger.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Left wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

The left armpit.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Knee cap.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Calf muscle.

Ankle.

Heel.

And sole.

Top of the left foot.

Left big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

The whole left side of the body.

Bring your awareness to the top of the head.

And feel a wave of heaviness descending to the forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The brow center.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right ear.

Left ear.

The nose.

Tip of the nose.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

And the chin.

Throat.

Pit of the throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right chest muscle.

Left chest muscle.

And the sternum.

Upper abdomen.

Navel.

Lower abdomen.

And groin.

Feel the heaviness of the whole right leg.

Whole left leg.

Both legs together.

The heaviness of the whole right arm.

Whole left arm.

Both arms together.

The front side of the torso.

The back.

Both the front and back sides together.

Shoulders.

Neck.

Face.

And head.

The whole body.

The whole body is now as heavy and as still as stone.

The entire body has become like petrified wood.

Now sensitize your awareness to the breath.

And become a passive observer.

To the natural rhythms and flow of the easy breath.

Now visualize that you are alternating the breath between the right and left nostrils.

Inhale right.

Exhale left.

Inhale left.

Exhale right.

Continue mental alternate nostril breathing as you extend the visualization to include your entire body.

Inhale from the right toes all the way up to the right nostril.

Exhale from the left nostril all the way down to the left toes.

Inhale from the left toes all the way up to the left nostril.

And exhale from the right nostril all the way down to the right toes.

This is one round.

Continue with the natural pace of the breath while counting each round backwards from 21.

Exhale from the left nostril all the way down to the right nostril.

Exhale from the left nostril all the way down to the right nostril.

Now drop the counting and the breathing visualization and become aware to the silence and stillness you have developed thus far.

And become aware to the silence and stillness you have developed thus far.

Within this silence and stillness become aware to the space of the body.

Experience the space which pervades the entire body from the top of the head to the tips of your fingers and toes.

Develop total awareness of inner space.

And within inner space become aware to the earth element which is related to the sense of smell.

Bring your awareness to the sense of smell.

And observe what sense are currently in the environment right now.

Become aware of the smell of a rose.

Recall the scent of a rose and recreate that smell right now as if you had just picked it.

Now change to the smell of jasmine.

Recreate the smell of jasmine.

Intensify the awareness of the scent of jasmine.

As the different objects are named,

Become intensely aware of each smell as if the object was right in front of you.

The smell of fresh strawberries.

Ghee frying.

Mustard oil.

Hot rice.

Be intensely aware of each separate smell.

The scent of fresh wood.

Sandalwood.

Basil.

The smell of gasoline.

Soap.

And smoke.

The smell of tobacco.

Incense.

The wet earth right after the rain.

The smell of the ocean.

The smell of camphor.

Now leave the sense of smell and bring the awareness back to the physical body.

Become aware of the whole body and feel the stillness of your body.

Become aware to physical heaviness.

Feel the body becoming heavy like the earth.

Be aware of the stillness and heaviness of the body.

Create the feeling of your body sitting inside of the earth.

The earth is surrounding the entire body.

Above you,

Below you,

And on all sides is earth.

Become one with the earth.

You are the earth.

Allow yourself to smell the earth.

Within this awareness of the earth,

Visualize clearly a deep red lotus flower.

See the deep red color of the lotus flower and the details of the petals.

The awareness of the red lotus fade and visualize a heavy yellow square.

See a large bright yellow square.

See the four sides of the square,

Enclosing the brilliant bright yellow color.

Let go of the image of the yellow square and visualize a smoky gray Shiva linga.

See the smoky gray Shiva linga encircled by a serpent.

See the serpent coiled around the smoky gray Shiva linga.

This coiled serpent represents the dormant Kundalini or spiritual force.

As the image of the Shiva linga and the serpent fade,

Visualize an elephant in the space of the body.

This elephant has seven trunks.

Visualize this image of the elephant clearly.

Feel the heaviness and solidity of this elephant which is symbolic of the earth element.

Bring the awareness back to the space which pervades the entire body.

Within inner space,

See the image of Bhu Devi,

The earth goddess,

Whom is black in color.

Visualize the graceful form of Bhu Devi and see her adorned with many ornaments.

Bhu Devi has four arms.

In one hand,

She is holding sugar cane.

In her second hand,

She holds a bow.

In her third hand is freshly harvested corn.

And in her fourth hand is a pitcher.

All symbols of the abundance we receive from the earth.

Visualize clearly the image of Bhu Devi.

Now let the image of the earth goddess fade away.

And clearly visualize the image of Ganesha.

See Ganesh sitting on a low stool.

Visualize his elephant head with the large ears,

Representing the continuous and intelligent listening ability required by seekers of the truth.

See both tusks,

One of which is broken.

And see the long trunk flowing down between them.

He has four arms.

In one hand,

He holds an axe,

Which he cuts the attachments to the world with.

In the second hand,

He holds a rope,

Drawing the seeker nearer and nearer to the truth.

In his third hand,

He holds a rice ball,

Which represents the reward of constant yoga sadhana.

His fourth hand is in a bai mudra,

By which he gives strength,

Fearlessness,

And removes all obstacles.

His right foot is resting on his left thigh,

And his left foot is on the ground,

Representing the integration of mind and intellect.

In front of Ganesh is a bowl of sweets,

Symbolizing all the glories of existence,

Which are always at the service of great yogis.

Sitting near Ganesh is a little mouse.

See the whole image clearly and vividly.

Be aware of each and every detail,

And experience the feeling of contentment and harmony which Ganesh radiates.

Continue seeing and feeling the inner vision of Ganesh radiating contentment and harmony.

See the whole image clearly and vividly.

See the whole image clearly and vividly.

Now,

Again recall your sankalpa.

Or the same affirmation from earlier,

And repeat it mentally three times with enthusiasm.

Now begin to extrovert your awareness back to the physical body and the waking state of mind.

Externalize your awareness through the five senses,

Creating a mental image of your surrounding environment.

Feel the stability of your body lying in shavasana,

And the points of contact between your body and the earth.

And whenever you are ready,

Take a deep breath in and sigh out loud,

Stretching and opening your eyes to end this session.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hari Om

Reviews

It took me three times to stay awake through your entire beautiful meditation. The first two I fell asleep after the body rotation. I know my subconscious picked up what I need, but willed myself to stay awake during the 3 rd practice.

This is such an incredible experience. The scent visualization is really creative and a wonderful experience. Thank you so very, very much for another truly profound experience.