Yoga Nidra is the art of mindful sleeping.
In Yoga Nidra,
The body sleeps,
But the mind remains awake and aware of my voice.
To prepare for the practice,
Lie down on your back,
Legs stretched out about a foot and a half apart from each other,
Arms about eight inches from the body,
Palms facing up.
Make any final adjustments now so that you can be completely still and comfortable throughout the practice.
As we begin,
We're going to set an intention for ourselves.
Setting an intention in the deep meditative state of Yoga Nidra allows for change on a profound level.
To set an intention,
Take a look at where you are in your life right now and identify one aspect you'd like to change or improve.
Then formulate a positive statement of intent.
Some examples could be,
I eat healthy,
I get enough sleep,
I'm patient.
Mentally formulate and repeat your intention three times now.
Now,
We're going to rotate the consciousness over the body.
Whatever body part you hear me say,
Mentally repeat or echo it.
Simultaneously,
Take your awareness to that part of the body.
The body remains still,
Only the mind moves.
Take your awareness to your right thumb.
Right finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Back of the right hand.
Center of the right palm.
Right wrist.
Right forearm.
Right elbow.
Right upper arm.
Right shoulder.
Right side of the torso.
Right hip.
Right thigh.
Right knee.
Right calf.
Right ankle.
Right heel.
Soul of the right foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Now move your awareness to the thumb on the left hand.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Back of the left hand.
Center of the left palm.
Left wrist.
Left forearm.
Left elbow.
Left upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Left side of the torso.
Left hip.
Left thigh.
Left knee.
Left calf.
Left ankle.
Left heel.
Soul of the left foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Bring your awareness to the glutes,
The right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The entire spine,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheekbone,
Left cheekbone,
Tip of the nose,
The lips,
The chin,
The throat,
The chest,
The abdomen,
The navel.
Now become aware of the entire right arm.
Become aware of the entire left arm.
Become aware of both arms simultaneously.
Become aware of the right leg.
Become aware of the left leg.
Become aware of both legs simultaneously.
Become aware of the right leg.
Become aware of both legs simultaneously.
Now become aware of the entire body,
The entire body,
The entire body.
Now bring your awareness to the breath in the abdomen.
As you breathe in and out,
You'll notice the abdomen naturally makes a small movement up and down.
Don't try to control the movement.
Just be a witness.
We're going to mentally count the breath backwards from 27 to 1.
If you reach 1 before you again hear the sound of my voice,
Start over again from 27.
If you fall asleep or drift off and wake up or otherwise lose your place,
Just start over again from 27.
Mentally repeat 27 navel up,
27 navel down,
26 navel up,
26 navel down.
Continue at your pace down to 1 now.
Now I want you to use the creative power of your mind and imagine your body is becoming extremely heavy.
It's as if you were made of lead and your body is sinking down,
Down,
Down into the ground.
Allow heaviness to come into the body now.
And now I want you to imagine that your body is lighter than air,
As if you're weightless enough to float up into the sky above the clouds.
Allow lightness to come into the body now.
Float up into the sky,
Floating up,
Up,
Up,
Out of the Earth's atmosphere and into space,
All the while looking down at Earth,
Watching it get smaller and smaller until it's a pale dot in deep black space.
Now turning and looking ahead,
You pass some of the outer planets of our solar system.
You float past the gas giant Jupiter and see its great red spot,
Which is a persistent storm that's roughly the size of Earth.
You keep floating out and Saturn comes into view.
You fly over the rings made from ice particles and rock and you take a minute to look at Saturn's largest moon,
Titan.
When it rains there,
The drops are bigger and fall more slowly than on planet Earth.
Farther out into space,
You encounter the ice giant Neptune,
Where it rains solid diamonds.
Now past the planets,
You're leaving the sun's orbit and out into the stars,
Where you shimmer along the Milky Way.
On your journey,
You carry with you all the memories that tell the story of the sweetness of life on Earth.
A sunset,
The sound of the ocean,
Laughter,
A baby's smile,
A rain forest,
Birdsong,
Blue skies.
The sound of a heartbeat,
A horse running across desert sands,
People dancing,
The sound of rain,
A seashell,
Dolphins playing in the ocean,
The sound of whales singing,
A school of fish,
A scuba diver.
Now take a minute to mentally add a few more positive images and sounds that represent the best of life on Earth for you.
As you float in deep interstellar space,
Where it's quiet and peaceful,
I now invite you to gaze into your own inner space.
Focus your attention at the center between the eyebrows,
The mind space,
And try not to think of anything.
If random thoughts come up,
Just witness them in a detached manner.
And if no thoughts come up,
Enjoy the inner silence.
As we come to the end of the yoga neutral practice,
I invite you to mentally repeat the positive intention you set at the beginning three times now.
Slowly bring your awareness back to the body,
Moving the fingers and toes,
Stretching your arms up over your head,
Stretching first the right side from the fingers all the way down to the toes,
And now the left side from fingers to toes.
Gently rock your head back and forth from side to side.
Now bend your left leg and put your left foot on the floor and slowly roll to your right side and just remain here for a minute,
Reflecting on the practice and any changes you might feel.
Now press yourself up to a comfortable cross-legged position,
Keeping the eyes closed.
Take your time.
Bring the palms together at the center of the chest in a gesture of gratitude.
And open your eyes.
Now close your eyes.
You
