Yoga Nidra Meditation, Sun & Moon Journey

This time is set aside only for you,

Allowing this time to be solely yours,

A soothing and relaxing time and space,

Making yourself as comfortable as possible,

Extending the legs and allowing your feet to relax open,

Allowing your eyes to close,

Keeping them closed for the duration of our practice,

Taking a deep breath in,

And as you breathe out,

Feeling the cares and the worries of the day flow out of you,

Focusing your attention,

And follow my voice,

And any thoughts that come in that may disturb you,

Just let them pass by like clouds in the sky,

Allowing yourself to be calm and steady and remaining that way throughout the practice.

Now becoming aware of any sounds in the distance,

Allow your hearing to radiate outward,

Noticing the most distant sounds that you can hear,

Searching out those distant sounds and following them for a few seconds,

Moving your attention from sound to sound without attempting to identify the source,

And now gradually bringing your attention to closer sounds,

Sounds just outside,

Sounds just inside,

To sounds inside the room you're in,

And the sounds of your own body,

And now develop your awareness of the room you're in without opening your eyes,

Allow yourself to visualize the walls of the room,

The ceiling,

The floor,

And your body laying wherever it is,

Visualize your body laying down,

Becoming aware of the existence of your physical body,

Resting wherever it is,

Laying in perfect stillness,

Noticing all of the points where your body touches the surface beneath it,

And now becoming aware of a natural spontaneous breath,

Follow the in-breath,

Notice the out-breath,

Just gently continuing with this breath awareness without any effort,

Allowing your breathing to guide you into a state of total relaxation.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now,

And at this moment you can make your resolve,

Which is Sankalpa in Sanskrit,

Asking what is it that you desire for yourself,

For your life at this moment in time,

Allow yourself to choose a resolve,

A resolution that you would like to embrace,

That resonates for you in this moment,

Trying to discover this naturally and gently,

And phrase your resolve as a short positive statement using simple language in the present tense,

And once you discover your intention,

State it three times with clarity,

Awareness,

And feeling,

State it in your mind,

Doing so now.

Bringing your attention now to the natural quiet breath,

Becoming aware of the breath moving through the nostrils,

The natural breath flowing through the nostrils,

Meeting at the top of the nose,

Forming a triangle,

A spontaneous breath entering through the opening of the nostrils,

Moving up,

Drawing together to form a triangle at the eyebrow center,

Becoming aware of the breath passing through both nostrils simultaneously,

Becoming aware of both nostrils separately,

Thinking of the breaths starting separately from a distance and drawing near,

Uniting in the eyebrow center like a triangle,

Now concentrating on each breath.

In yoga we say the left nostril is Aida,

Moon,

And the right nostril breath is Pingala,

Sun.

Aida,

The left breath is cooler,

Pingala,

The right breath is warmer,

Noticing these differences while you breathe,

And continuing your awareness of breathing,

But imagine that you are now breathing through alternate nostrils,

Breathing in through one nostril and out through the other,

Up and down the sides of the triangle and back again,

Breathing in through the right nostril and out through the left,

And now breathing in through the left nostril and out through the right,

Continuing to ride the breath up and down the sides of the triangle and back again a few more times,

Maintaining your awareness of breath,

Counting each breath with full attention,

And continuing to count the breath backwards from five,

Inhale,

54321,

Exhale,

54321,

Inhale,

54321,

Exhale,

54321,

Inhale,

54321,

Exhale,

54321,

Allowing yourself to have total awareness of your breathing,

Counting as you go,

And now allowing yourself to remain aware of the breath only,

Inhaling and exhaling deeply through both nostrils with total awareness,

And now bring your awareness to the eyebrow center,

Remaining on this point until told otherwise,

I will name a variety of objects,

And as I name each one,

Try to visualize it very quickly,

Allowing yourself to do so gently and without worry,

Sometimes we will go slowly,

And sometimes we will move quickly,

We may revisit an image more than once,

Trying not to think too much about any of the words or images,

Just continuing to follow my voice,

Darkness,

Pink rose,

Waves on the ocean,

Blue sky in the evening,

Dark night,

Tiny stars shining in the heavens,

Tall mountain range with snow capped peaks,

Ships sailing on the open seas,

White sandy beach,

A pristine forest with tall dense trees,

A galloping horse,

A small hut in the woods,

A burning fire in the brush,

A stormy night,

A full moon,

Mountain stream,

Lonely rock in the mountains,

Big garden of blooming flowers,

Rising sun in the evening,

Now keeping your awareness focused at the eyebrow center,

Visualizing a large lake with lotus flowers,

A sailing boat,

People swimming,

A quiet wooden hut in the mountains,

An empty valley,

A high mountain with snow capped peaks,

Quiet evening,

A beautiful sunset,

Chirping birds,

Tiger in the jungle,

Elephants,

The sound of a bell ringing,

Waves on the ocean,

Ship at sail,

Full moon,

Calm quiet evening in a moonlit valley,

Mountain stream,

Refreshing cold dip,

The experience of exhilaration,

Now coming back once again to the middle of the eyebrows,

Visualize the rising sun,

Bright orange with clouds gathering in the sky,

Drizzling rain,

Fog all around,

Pink rose,

Sunflower,

Apple,

Lettuce leaf,

Hot water spring,

Tall pine tree,

Cluster of grapes,

Quiet wooden hut,

Snow capped peaks,

Mountain stream,

Cold dip,

Ship at sail,

Lotus on a lake,

Swimming.

Now it's time for us to return to your original resolve or sankalpa that you established at the beginning of the practice.

Please repeat your sankalpa three times with clarity and focus.

Having faith that it will come to pass,

Believing that it will be and knowing that it is so.

It is now time to complete our yoga nidra practice together.

Becoming gently aware of the whole body,

Visualizing your whole body and where you are in the room,

Becoming aware of your position,

Laying in shavasana,

Completing the practice of yoga nidra.

As a result of this relaxation,

The whole body,

Physical,

Mental,

Emotional,

And spiritual levels have become so quiet,

Tranquil,

Peaceful,

And peaceful.

As a result of this relaxation,

The whole body,

Physical,

Mental,

Emotional,

And spiritual levels have become so quiet,

Tranquil,

Peaceful,

And yet alive,

Revived,

And energetic.

The whole body,

Tranquil and peaceful,

Alive and energetic,

The whole body.

Coming back to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils,

Maintaining your awareness of breath while developing an awareness of your physical body,

Relaxed and lying still.

Feeling the container of your skin and clothes and the props that are touching you,

Noticing the heaviness of your body as it rests,

Taking your awareness into all the points that are touching down the backs of your heels,

Thighs,

Buttocks,

Shoulder blades,

Arms,

Hands,

And head.

Do not yet open your eyes,

But visualize the surrounding room,

Imagining where you are in the room and the other objects that are around you,

And lying quietly until you feel ready to move.

You can start by slowly moving your hands and feet,

Wiggling your fingers and toes,

Taking your time,

There is no hurry.

And when you are ready,

Gently drawing your knees to your chest,

Rolling over to whichever side is most comfortable,

And staying on your side for a few more moments.

And when you are ready,

Using your hands to gently press yourself up,

Coming into a comfortable seated position,

Bringing your hands to your heart center,

Taking a few deep breaths,

Where the joining of all opposites heals all opposites,

And bowing your head to your heart.

Allow yourself to seal in your intention and move gently into your day.

Namaste.