Yoga Nidra.
Prepare yourself for Yoga Nidra by lying down on your back on the floor in Shavasana.
With the legs slightly apart,
The arms a short distance away from the body.
Adjust anything one last time.
Position your clothes,
Let nothing disturb you.
Now allow yourself to remain absolutely still for the entire duration of the session.
Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out,
Feel all your cares and worries leave your body with the exhalation.
Formulate your Sankalpa,
Your resolution.
Determine your resolution and deepest intention for practicing Yoga Nidra.
Then state your Sankalpa as a short positive affirmation three times silently.
We now begin rotating the awareness through the various body parts.
Allow the awareness to move quickly from body part to body part with full awareness.
Beginning with the right side of the body,
First bring your awareness to the right hand.
Right hand thumb,
Feel a wave of relaxation spreading from the right hand thumb to your second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger and fifth finger,
The palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpits,
The right side,
Hip,
Thigh,
Back of the thigh,
Right kneecap,
Back of the knee,
Right shin,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth and fifth toe.
Awareness of the whole right side of the body,
Bring your awareness to the left side,
Left hand,
The thumb,
Feel a soothing wave of relaxation flowing from the left hand thumb to the second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger and fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Right hand,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpits,
The left side,
Hip,
Thigh,
Back of the thigh,
Left kneecap,
Back of the knee,
Left shin,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth and fifth toe,
The whole left side of the body.
Bring your awareness to the crown of the head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between the two eyebrows,
The right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
The nose,
Tip of the nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Chin,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
The sternum,
Abdomen,
Navel and the hips,
Groin.
Now the major parts of the body.
Feel the whole of your right leg,
The whole of the left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole of the back,
Buttocks,
Spine,
Shoulder blades,
The whole of the front,
Abdomen,
Chest,
The whole of the front and the back together,
The whole body together.
Remain alert and aware of your body lying on the floor in Shavasana.
See a mental image of yourself lying on the floor in the room.
Now bring your awareness to the spontaneous rhythm of the breath.
Watch the breath flowing in and out.
Observe the belly gently rising and falling with each incoming and outgoing breath.
Bring your awareness to the navel.
On the inhale,
Feel the entire body filling with air.
And on the exhalation,
Feel the release,
The letting go.
Watch the breath.
The breath is flowing from the navel to the throat on the inhalation and from the throat to the navel on the exhalation.
Watch the breath flow.
Feel the back of your throat into the sinuses.
Allow each breath to flow spontaneously.
One breath may be deep and long,
Where another may be shallow and short.
Just continue watching the wave-like motions of the breath flowing from the throat to the navel and from navel to throat.
Now,
Cease the focusing of the breath and bring your awareness to the warm dark space in front of your closed eyes,
Chidakash.
Listen to the various scenes and objects I will now describe.
Experience each vision on as many levels as possible,
Utilizing feeling,
Emotion,
Imagination.
If you have any difficulty visualizing,
Just ask yourself what it would be like if you could visualize and because there are no pretend experiences,
Once you are pretending to visualize,
You are already there.
Imagine the black dark screen in front of your closed eyes.
Feel the emptiness,
The silence and on the screen of the mind,
Picture a burning candle.
Endless desert,
Egyptian pyramid,
Torrential rain,
Snow-capped mountains,
Greek temple at sunrise,
Corpse burning on a funeral pyre,
Birds flying across a sunset,
Red clouds drifting across the horizon,
Stars at night,
The brilliant full moon,
The smiling face of Buddha,
Christ consciousness,
Waves breaking on the beach,
The refreshing sea breeze caressing your face,
Rolling ocean waves,
Infinite eternal ocean,
Infinite eternal ocean beneath a dark and cloudy night,
Infinite eternal ocean beneath a dark and cloudy night.
Observe silence,
Continue remaining perfectly silent and still,
As you enjoy the rare state of absolute physical relaxation.
Now we come back to the Sankalpa.
Remember the exact wording you used earlier for your resolution.
Again,
Silently repeat your Sankalpa three times with firm faith and conviction.
Bring your awareness back to your physical body lying in Shavasana.
See your body lying on the floor in this room.
Visualize the four walls,
Ceiling,
Floor,
And see your body lying in this room.
Become aware of the sounds in your environment.
And then when you are ready,
Slowly and gently begin moving and stretching your body.
Open your eyes and end the session.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Hari Om Tat Sat Hari Om Tat Sat Hari Om Tat Sat Hari Om Tat Sat
