Kosha Balancing Yoga Nidra

This Yoga Nidra practice is designed to balance the Kosha’s. The Kosha’s being the different layers of consciousness throughout the body. We travel through physical, as well as energetical layers, in your entire being to invite a harmonious and connected feeling throughout. I hope you enjoy this healing journey.

Transcript

Welcome to this yoga nidra practice to balance the koshas.

The koshas being the different layers of consciousness throughout the body will travel through physical as well as energetical layers in your entire being to invite a harmonious and connected feeling throughout.

Now first come to lay down in shavasana.

Support the knees with a bolster or a pillow,

The head with a blanket and place a blanket over you to stay warm.

Let the arms lay alongside the body with the palms facing up.

Let the feet flop out.

Let the knees come apart and ground the hips into the mat.

If comfortable,

Place an eye pillow on top of the eyes and now feel how your whole body is warm and supported.

To help the body relax,

We'll first build some tension in the muscles and then after letting go of this tension,

You'll notice the relaxation even more.

So feel your resting body and bring the awareness to both feet.

Inhale and tighten the feet and muscles in both legs.

Feel the tension in your thighs,

Your lower legs and feet and hold this tension for a moment.

On the exhale,

Release the tension.

Feel the relaxation spread through your feet and legs.

Now repeat this process with your hands and arms.

Inhale and make fists of both hands.

Tighten the arms and feel the tension.

Feel the tension spread throughout the shoulder blades and hold it here.

Now on the exhale,

Fully relax the hands,

The arms,

The shoulders.

Notice the softness spreading.

Inhale again and consciously tighten your abdominal muscles,

Pulling your belly towards the ground.

Hold this tension.

On the exhale,

Release the tension and feel the relaxation spread through the belly and the lower back.

Now tense all of the muscles in the face,

The corners of the mouth,

Muscles between the eyebrows,

The nose.

Hold,

Make a silly face.

Exhale and relax.

Now inhale and tense the feet,

The legs,

The belly,

The arms,

The hands,

The back and the face while holding the tension in your legs and hands.

Lift your back off of the floor and feel the tension in the entire body.

Hold this tension.

Exhale and release.

Let your back rest on the floor.

Let the feet flop out to the sides.

Relax the shoulders away from each other and let the hip bones sink down.

Now take a few moments of silence to notice the sensations in the body.

Feel how the deep relaxation now has a chance to settle.

Take a deep inhale,

Long exhale and if needed you can now make any final adjustments to your pose if needed so that you're 100% comfortable.

When you've done so,

Let yourself sink down completely and imagine yourself laying still for the entire duration of the Yoga Nidra practice.

Visualize it in your mind's eye because remaining still throughout this practice makes the experience deeper and more effective.

So even if sensations arise,

Just let them wash over you without paying too much attention to it.

If you do notice that you want to move somewhere,

First take the time to notice whether the movement is what your body wants or what your head wants.

If you are sure that your body needs it and it's not comfortable otherwise,

Then move quietly and consciously until you can feel yourself coming back to stillness.

Now if lying on the back does not feel comfortable after a while,

Then gently pull up the knees and come to lay on a side of your choice.

Support yourself and then stay there until the end of the Yoga Nidra practice.

So wherever you've landed,

Let your body become still and motionless.

Take another long inhalation and as you exhale,

Deeply surrender your body to gravity.

Soften the entire body.

Release the jaws and become aware of the stillness within yourself.

At this time you can also set an intention,

Your sankalpa,

Keeping it short,

Simple,

Positive and in the present tense.

Make sure that it feels good and personal to you.

Repeat this intention three times to yourself.

If no intention arises,

You can just enjoy the silence.

We'll first start with protecting our energetical body.

We'll do that by inviting a sense of safety into the body using a visualization.

Imagine drawing a circle of protective energy around your body.

Visualize how this circle is made of a matter that you feel nourishes you,

Such as water,

Moonlight,

Earth or perhaps sand,

A matter that you feel a natural connection to and that gives you a sense of security.

Now make this large continuous circle around your energetic body as it rests on the ground here now.

Feel as if this circle radiates healing power towards you.

Feel its cocooning presence.

You're being bundled in the vibrational energy of healing.

Now draw another circle around that circle and visualize how this second circle protects you from unwanted energy from others.

Create that continuous circle with whatever you want,

Such as fire or white light.

Now imagine a third circle of protective energy around the second one.

This circle protects you from thoughts that might disturb your yoga nidra practice.

So leave these disturbing thoughts outside of the third ring around your body.

They cannot pass through the rings no matter how hard they try.

Watch them being neutralized,

Put to sleep by the rings of energy and vibration around you.

Now tap into a sense of peace and security as you visualize yourself in the midst of these protective three circles and know that these rings remain around you throughout the entire practice of yoga nidra.

We'll now guide our awareness throughout the different body parts.

Don't try to change or imagine anything.

Just become aware of the sensations you feel coming up,

Big or small.

Starting in the mouth,

Bring the awareness on the tip of the tongue,

The top row of teeth,

The bottom row of teeth,

The gums,

Lower lip,

Upper lip,

Points of contact between the two lips,

Awareness on the lower jaw,

The upper jaw,

The entire mouth,

The nose,

Tip of the nose,

Center of the forehead,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Center of the forehead,

Right ear,

Right earlobe,

Center of the forehead,

Left ear,

Left earlobe,

Inside of the forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Right eye socket,

Left eye socket,

Back of the head,

Crown of the head,

The whole head,

Back of neck,

Throat,

Bottom of the throat,

Collarbones,

Right shoulder,

Right upper arm,

Inside of the elbow,

Right forearm,

Right wrist,

Top of right hand,

Right palm,

Thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

All five fingers,

Attention on the whole hand,

The whole right arm,

Collarbones,

Left shoulder,

Left upper arm,

Inside of the elbow,

Left forearm,

Left wrist,

Top of the left hand,

Left palm,

Thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

All five fingers,

Attention on the whole hand,

The whole left arm,

Collarbones,

Right side of the chest,

Right hip,

Right thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Calf,

Right ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And the little toe,

All five toes,

Awareness on the entire right foot,

Right foot and leg as one whole,

Left side of the chest,

Left hip,

Left thigh,

Left knee,

The shin,

Calf,

Left ankle,

Heel,

Sole of left foot,

Top of foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

All five toes,

Attention on the entire left foot,

Left foot and leg as one whole,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Right side of the back,

Left side of the back,

The whole back,

The chest,

Abdomen,

Pelvis,

Pelvic floor,

Awareness to the whole spine and head,

The whole body,

The whole body relaxed,

The whole body relaxed.

We'll now start our journey through the Koshas.

The Koshas are the layers of consciousness throughout our physical and energetical body.

You can easily compare them to peeling an onion.

Each layer is different in texture and structure.

And some layers are slightly thicker and more present,

While other layers are like a membrane and more subtle.

Similarly,

Your body has these different layers,

Which we now focus our awareness on to feel more connected as a whole.

We begin this journey through the Koshas with the Outmost Kosha,

The Annamaya Kosha.

This is the outer layer of our physical body.

So now bring your awareness to your entire skin.

Notice the temperature underneath the skin.

Feel the texture of the clothes on your skin.

The points of contact between the mat and the skin.

And notice the muscles and bones resting inside of the body.

Notice whether you feel a lightness or heaviness in your physical body.

There's nothing you need to adapt,

Just observe.

Now shift your awareness to your breath and the prana,

The life energy flowing through you.

We're moving on to the Pranamaya Kosha,

The energy body.

Notice the gently undulating movements in the body that the breath evokes.

Observing a sense of aliveness.

Is there a particular spot where you feel this vibrant energy more?

Now we're moving even deeper towards the Manomaya Kosha,

The mental body.

So bring the awareness to the space between the eyebrows.

What thoughts and emotions are present with you now?

Observe how your thoughts come and go,

Like clouds passing in the sky.

A constant stream on a deep blue canvas that reflects your ever-present awareness.

Observe the emotions that come with these thoughts and the feelings they evoke.

What is present in your Manomaya Kosha?

Entangle yourself from these thoughts,

Feelings,

Emotions and drop into the Vishnanamaya Kosha,

The body of wisdom.

The Vishnanamaya Kosha is the realm of intuition,

Inner wisdom and higher consciousness.

It represents our ability to go deeper than our thinking and connect with universal truth and insights.

So to get to that place,

First think of a place or a space or even a person in your life that makes you feel safe.

Truly safe.

It can be real or imaginary.

Visualize and feel the sensations of moving into that space or being with that person or animal.

Now allow that space,

Person,

Animal to remain present in your energetic body so that it can guide you through the rest of this Nidra in peace and safety.

Now with this sense of peace,

Dive even deeper into the Anandamaya Kosha,

Our last final Kosha that represents the realm of pure consciousness and infinite happiness.

Let all of your physical and energetical layers be bathed in a sense of purity and infinite happiness and contentness.

You are one and part of the whole,

Free from all duality.

Now take a few moments of silence to rest in this sense of wholeness and connection with all aspects of your radiating being.

Ever so gently,

You let your awareness float back to the surface.

While I count down from 10 to 0,

You become more clear and awake with each count.

6.

.

.

5.

.

.

4.

.

.

3.

.

.

2.

.

.

1.

.

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0 You are now fully awake and present.

In your mind's eye,

Repeat your intention to yourself.

The sankalpa you made at the beginning of the practice,

In the same words,

Repeat it three times.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Become aware of the breath again,

The rising and the falling within the body.

Relaxed and gentle.

Notice how the whole body breathes.

Become aware of the environment you are laying in.

Feel the breath gliding across the upper lip,

The clothes on your skin.

Visualize the space around you,

The walls,

The floor,

The ceiling.

Hear the sounds inside of the room you are in.

The sound of your own breath.

Become aware of the presence of the feet.

Gently start wiggling the toes.

Awareness on the hands.

Wiggle the fingers.

Make small movements without haste.

When you are sure your attention is fully back,

Gently roll yourself onto a side of choice.

With the help of the hands,

Guide yourself back into a comfortable sitting position.

Gently blink open the eyes and let the light come in.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Reviews

A wonderful yoga nidra that put me back to sleep in the middle of the night. Thank you so much for this one.

Hannah, after the three layers of protection, I fell into a deep sleep. I will revisit this again as after I awoke, I felt wonderful so I know that this is a profound nidra. Thank you for a beautiful practice.