Darshan, Pranayam & Nidra

A short inspirational reading coupled with a Pranayam practice that focuses on Dirga-Ujjai breath and Nadi Shodhana. It finishes with a 35-minute Yoga Nidra that is meant to balance the hemispheres of the brain and calm the nervous system. This practice can be done during the Ayurvedic Vata time of the day.

Transcript

So,

Welcome everybody to Pranayama and Yoga Nidra today.

If you could find a comfortable seated position,

You can sit with your legs crossed or your hips on your heels,

And just give the eyes a close.

And I'd like to begin with a reading,

Which is a darshan from Swami Kripalu,

On sattvic giving.

We are all travelers on the same path,

So your questions are mine too.

The only difference between you and I is that I have traveled a little more,

And some of my questions have been answered.

So the solutions I have found can be useful to you.

In India,

The Upanishads are considered to be encyclopedias of knowledge.

The word itself means to sit near a guru to attain supreme knowledge.

Every statement in the Upanishads contains scientific validity and pristine truth,

Because the words are from the sadhanas of great realized masters.

One of the beautiful truths expressed in the Upanishads is this.

The supreme spirit is found in everything that exists in the universe,

Be it animate or inanimate.

Treasure and worship it,

And do not covet the wealth of anyone else.

This is excellent advice.

We should care for our family first,

And then give what we can to others.

Whatever is left,

We should use for ourselves.

In other words,

We renounce in the beginning and enjoy in the end.

When we give a portion of what we have with love to others,

Our life becomes a global life.

We become as vast as the Lord.

Selfishness invites pain.

Remembering others invites bliss.

Those with wealth are considered rich,

Yet if they aren't generous,

They are paupers because they're behaving like paupers.

Conversely,

Those who are poor but generous are wealthy because they are behaving like wealthy people.

Someone who gives to others according to their capacity is truly a wealthy cultured person.

Many people hoard what they have and use it only for themselves.

Some people are even more selfish than that.

They not only hoard what they have,

But they also try to take everything they can from others.

To equate wealth with material abundance is false.

Anything we consider valuable is an asset—our time,

Our knowledge,

Our understanding,

Our ability to love and care for others.

These are all forms of prosperity.

Some portion of whatever we are capable of giving should be set aside for others.

Only then should we wholeheartedly enjoy what remains.

So as you sit there and allow the words of Swami Kapalu to wash over you,

Let's begin our pranayama with dirgha breath,

Three-part complete breath.

Inhaling through the nose,

Inflate the belly like a big balloon,

And then pull it up to the chest and then the collarbone.

Inhales at the top and exhale back down from collarbone to chest to belly.

Inhale belly,

Chest,

Collarbone,

And exhale back down collarbone,

Chest,

And belly.

And just continue at your own pace.

As you inhale,

Pulling the breath deep and full into the belly,

Traveling all the way up through the chest,

Over the heart and to the collarbone,

And exhaling back down in this deep rhythmic cycle,

Keeping the eyes closed and the focus inward.

Breathing in love and breathing out gratitude.

If you would like to layer ujjayi breath onto your dirgha breath,

You can do so on the exhale by slightly restricting the back of the throat,

Engaging the glottis,

Creating an ocean sound as you exhale.

Deep,

Expansive exhale.

Deep expansive inhale.

Letting all stress and tension just wash away on each exhale.

Exhaling the shoulders and the jaw,

The neck,

And the belly.

Breathing deeply into the back of the heart and exhaling,

Feeling the lungs and the rib cage deflate.

And take five more cycles of breath.

Keeping the eyes closed and the focus inward,

Drawing your attention to the eyebrow center,

The third eye,

Adshana chakra.

And upon the exhale of your fifth round of breath,

Just release dirgha ujjayi and return to normal breathing.

And allow that to land.

Just notice.

Be the witness.

Nothing to judge and nothing to hold onto.

And transition to nadi shodhana,

Alternate nostril breathing.

We're going to do two different techniques today for nadi shodhana.

So let's begin by bringing the right palm up,

Middle and index finger touching the third eye.

Take your right thumb and close off your right nostril.

Inhale through the left nostril fully.

And exhale through the same nostril.

Inhale left nostril.

And exhale through the left nostril.

Just continue to inhale and exhale through the left nostril,

Keeping the right one closed with your thumb.

Do eight more rounds.

Keeping the left side hemisphere.

Clearing out the channel.

Keeping the lips sealed and the focus on the third eye.

And upon your eighth round exhale,

Gently release the right nostril and now switch.

Bring your right ring finger,

Close off the left nostril and inhale through the right and exhaling back down through right.

Continuing to keep the eyes closed,

Focus inward on the third eye,

Inhaling and exhaling through the right nostril.

Allowing a sense of peace and calm to wash over you.

And upon the exhale of your eighth round of breath,

Release the left nostril and keep the middle and index finger at the third eye.

We're going to combine both nostrils together.

If your right arm becomes fatigued,

You can always place your left palm underneath your right elbow to support it.

Bring the right thumb to the right nostril,

Inhale fully through the left.

Close off the left nostril with your right ring finger and exhale through right.

Inhale through the right nostril.

Close off the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale through the left.

And continue with eight more rounds of both sides of Nadi Shodhana.

Gently inhaling and exhaling,

Filling the lungs and exhaling fully.

Bring the eyes closed and the focus inward.

Exhaling the jaw and letting the tongue float to the roof of the mouth.

Breathing in fully and exhaling fully.

Surrounding the nervous system.

Filling your entire being with life force.

And upon your next exhale from the left nostril,

Release Nadi Shodhana and keep the eyes closed,

The spine long,

And just allow that to land.

And again just notice,

Witness how that feels inside of you.

Let's take a deep breath in together through the nose and exhale with a deep sigh.

And breathe in together one more time and exhale.

Now let's transition into Yoga Nidra.

So find a comfortable lying down position.

You can cover yourself with a blanket if you would like.

Perhaps you would like some height under your knees or padding under your head.

Whatever feels comfortable for you,

The whole point is to be very comfortable and not feel distracted by discomfort.

And when you're ready,

Close your eyes and quiet your mind.

Be still.

Let go of all thoughts,

Worry,

And tension.

Give yourself fully to a higher power.

Relax.

Trust and let go.

Breathe in fully and exhale with a deep sigh.

And again,

Breathe in fully and exhale with a deep sigh.

And let go even more.

Feel a deep sense of contentment and peace in your heart.

Extend both arms out to the side at right angles to the body as much as possible.

Exhale and bend both knees and bring them in towards the chest.

Exhale and press both knees to the right.

Turn your head to the left.

Keep the shoulders pressed to the ground.

Do not force.

Use breath and breathe into any resistance felt in the body.

Relax and let go.

Breathe deeply and let go even more.

To release,

Bring the knees up,

Wrap the arms below the knees,

And roll back and forth once or twice.

Now extend both arms out to the side at right angles to the body as much as possible.

Inhale and bend both knees,

Keeping them at your chest.

Exhale and press both knees to the left.

Turn your head to the right.

Keep the shoulders pressed to the ground and do not force.

Relax and let go.

Breathe deeply and let go even more.

To release,

Bring the knees up,

Wrap the arms below the knees,

And rock back and forth once or twice.

Turn the legs onto the floor and bring the arms down to the side.

Feel yourself descending down into the stillness beneath the mind.

Feel what is present without labels or comments.

Feeling more,

Thinking less.

Feel a deep sense of stillness expanding everywhere.

As we enter this next phase of yoga nidra,

Remain as motionless as possible.

If you need to move or make an adjustment,

Do so mindfully and return to stillness as soon as you are able.

Resolve to remain awake,

Staying in touch with the sound of my voice.

Allow your entire body to respond to my words directly and non-mentally.

Allow any disturbances,

External or internal,

To draw you more deeply within.

In yoga nidra,

You enter the subconscious pranic field.

Let your mind merge and melt into the energy body and go beyond the boundaries of body and mind.

Now shift from thinking and doing to feeling and being.

Do absolutely nothing from now on.

Carefully relax.

Drop into the deepest state of tranquility,

Stillness and peace in the third eye.

Now your consciousness is in direct communion with your energy body.

As you breathe in through your nose,

Fill your lungs fully and completely without straining.

Now start exhaling through softly pursed lips as if you are blowing through a straw.

Let it be prolonged,

Steady stream of breath and empty your lungs completely.

As you inhale,

Fill your heart with joy.

Each time you exhale,

Empty your mind of all anticipations and empty your body of all tensions.

Each time you inhale,

Drop into a deeper level of silent awareness and experience the balancing and relaxing impact of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Continue to breathe with constant attention and detached awareness.

Turn to your normal breathing and turn your attention inward.

Experience the powerful impact of vibratory energetic pulsations in the form of sensations in your body.

Let your detached awareness embrace all experiences unconditionally.

Let your mind melt and merge into it.

Now bring your total undivided attention to the eyebrow center and drop into the deepest level of silent stillness,

Peace and harmony.

Let go.

Let go even more.

Enter an effortless state of being.

Feel my guidance as we move our attention through different parts of the body.

Let the penetrating power of consciousness instantly dissolve any blockages and holdings as you move through different areas of the body.

As I guide you from point to point,

Remain in non-doing silent awareness.

Resolve to yourself that you will stay alert and awake.

Now bring your undivided attention to the brow center.

Pit of the throat.

Right shoulder.

Elbow.

Wrist.

Thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

Wrist.

Elbow.

Shoulder.

Pit of the throat.

Left shoulder.

Elbow.

Wrist.

Thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And little finger.

Wrist.

Elbow.

Shoulder.

Pit of the throat.

Middle of the chest.

Right peck.

Middle of the chest.

Left peck.

Middle of the chest.

Navel point.

Middle of the pubic bone.

Right hip.

Knee.

Ankle.

Big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And fifth toe.

Ankle.

Knee.

Hip.

Middle of the pubic bone.

Left hip.

Knee.

Ankle.

Big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And fifth toe.

Ankle.

Knee.

Hip.

Middle of the pubic bone.

Navel point.

Middle of the chest.

Pit of the throat.

And back to the brow center.

Gather your attention at the brow center.

Let the non-doing presence fully manifest in your brow center.

Observe the vast stillness and silence.

Resting in this vastness.

Allow whatever comes into your field of awareness to be present without comment or judgment.

Witness it as it floats by like clouds in the sky.

Bring your attention to a constricted or dense part of the body.

Though you may not consciously recognize the cause of this feeling,

The innate intelligence of your body knows how to resolve it.

Breathe into this area.

Make space for it.

Give it room to move.

Listen.

Disperse.

Dissolving.

Lightening.

The body releases whatever it no longer needs.

Now sense the body's healing energy streaming towards this area as if it were attracting it like a magnet.

Watch this part of your body returning to wholeness,

Vitality,

As it is surrounded by this healing light.

With each inhalation,

Begin to sense the body is more energy than density until the whole body is felt as a pulsating,

Tingling energy field.

Any emotions,

Thoughts,

And fears that may have contributed to the imbalance can now be released and resolved.

See and feel the whole body healed and whole.

Bring your attention to the center between your eyebrows and drop into the deepest level of relaxation.

Here there remains nothing to do or achieve.

You have entered the domain of grace.

In this domain of integration,

You are witness of all that is happening but doing nothing to make it happen.

People that can never be done by your doing can happen only in the non-doing presence of your being.

Feel completely safe and comfortable as you hand yourself over to the power and protection of presence.

Feel it.

Experience it.

Be it.

Stand over all fear,

Apprehension,

And anxiety about all that you want to change and control and manage.

Let go of all doing.

Replace it with trust and faith in a higher power.

Let your mind merge and melt into the presence and enter the sanctuary of silence.

Remain empty and free from all doing.

Feel yourself as time transcendent presence right now.

Allow your entire self to respond spontaneously and effortlessly to what I say.

My source is silent stillness.

I rest in peace.

I go to the source within that heals all conflicts and restores my health and peace of mind.

I let the radiant light of love melt and disperse the energy blocks in my body and mind and I replace them with total acceptance and forgiveness.

Establish yourself firmly in faith and trust to receive the grace,

Protection,

And guidance of the higher self within you.

The more often you go to your source,

The easier it will be to return there and longer you can stay there.

Feel the presence of your own spiritual guides surrounding you and blessing you.

Accept their blessing and grace,

Embody it,

And spread it wherever you go.

Now you have prepared the base from where you can carry out interactions with life and interpersonal relationships with the integrative power of love and the source within.

You are the emissary of light and love.

Carry it everywhere you go and to everyone you meet.

If you have an area that you feel needs healing,

Physical,

Mental,

Or emotional,

Allow this light and love to flow into that area now.

Now begin to become aware of the rising and falling of the breath.

Slowly feel yourself beginning to rise to the surface of awareness.

Notice the body resting on the floor,

The quality of the air as it touches the skin.

Gradually you can move as if you are waking from a restful sleep.

Bend your knees and pull them closer to your chest.

Rock sideways gently.

Take your time.

Do not hurry.

Then turn onto your right side and curl into a fetal position.

Feel the safety,

Comfort,

And protection of the womb of existence.

Now you can gradually move and begin to sit up with your eyes closed.

Begin to stay deep in this deep inner experience.

Regardless of what you consciously recognize that has or has not changed,

Know that something deep within has shifted to connect you with your intentions.

Become aware of your body and bring a deep sense of peace and contentment with you as you bring your attention back to the body.

Notice how relaxed the body is,

How soft the breath is,

How silent the mind is,

How quiet the heartbeat is.

Be still and be grateful.

Know that you can easily enter here again and again.

Now you can gradually open your eyes.

Reviews

Profound. Centering. A good way to enter the stillness that underlies existence. Good for healing.