Welcome to this Yoga Nidra which takes you on a journey through the five layers of consciousness to awaken bliss and to rear the ground of all being.
Lie on your back in Shavasana on a supportive surface.
Have your legs hip widths or wider,
Your feet naturally relaxing to the sides,
Your arms resting a few inches away from your body and palms facing upwards towards the sky.
If this is not possible for you,
Make whatever adaptions best support your body.
Use pillows as needed and a blanket for warmth and comfort.
We are aiming for stillness as this will allow your consciousness to blossom but do give yourself permission to move your body if you need to.
Melt your gaze inwards and rest your eyes in the welcoming space of Chidakash,
Your inner sky.
Meet your observing self here.
Soften into tenderness as you sink deeper into the space of I AM.
Move into beingness and breathe in and out in your own rhythm.
Relax into stillness.
Anamaya Kosha,
The first layer of consciousness.
Feel your body as a gentle vessel that allows you to be present.
Feel the contours of your form,
The outline of your limbs.
Notice any natural physical sensations through your body.
Beginning at your feet,
Slowly scan your body to the top of your head,
Noticing anywhere sensations are more vivid.
Feel the shape of your body within your skin.
Feel the shape of your body in your Shavasana pose or whatever other position you are in.
Feel how the pose invites calm and openness.
Feel how it encourages you to let go of all tensions and release fatigue.
Surrender your body a little more deeply into your posture.
Meet the surface beneath you all the way along your back body.
Feel how gravity pulls your body downwards.
Even more than resting the body,
The corpse pose is about surrendering your mind.
See yourself experiencing this moment as a symbolic death.
Let your whole being die to whatever came before this moment.
Open into tranquility where higher states of consciousness can emerge.
You might use the following sankalpa for this yoga nidra.
My body is still.
My consciousness is opening.
Repeat it three times to yourself,
Allowing it to resonate through your being.
Rotation of consciousness.
As you are guided from one part of your body to another,
Let your awareness flow effortlessly.
Sense each part and let your breath flow freely in your own rhythm.
Your right hand thumb.
Tip of your thumb and tips of all four fingers.
Tip of first finger.
Tip of middle finger.
Tip of third finger.
Tip of little finger.
Palm of right hand.
Sensations radiating outwards from the center of your palm.
Inside right wrist.
Inside right arm.
Inside your armpit.
Right shoulder joint.
Throat center.
Right side of your chest.
Right ribs.
Right waist.
Right thigh.
Top of right knee.
Right shin.
Circle of your right ankle.
Top of right foot.
Right big toe.
All right toes together.
Left hand thumb.
Left thumb and tips of all four fingers.
Tip of first finger.
Tip of middle finger.
Tip of third finger.
Tip of left little finger.
Palm of left hand.
Sensations radiating outwards from the center of your left palm.
Inside left wrist.
Inside left arm.
Inside left armpit.
Left shoulder joint.
Throat center.
Left side of chest.
Left ribs.
Left waist.
Left hip.
Left thigh.
Top of left knee.
Left shin.
Circle of left ankle.
Top of left foot.
Left big toe.
All left toes together.
Bring your attention to the top of your head.
Subtle sensations in your crown center.
Third eye center between your two eyebrows.
Throat center.
Heart center.
Solar plexus.
Sacral center at the pelvis.
Base center at your tailbone.
The right side of your face and head.
The left side of your face and head.
The front of your face.
The back of your head.
Right arm and right leg together.
Left arm and left leg together.
The front of your body.
The back of your body.
The whole outside of your body and any sensations on your skin.
The whole inside of your body and any subtle tingling or vibrations.
The whole outside and inside of your body dissolving into one field of energy.
If you feel drowsy at any point during this yoga nidra,
Lift your chin and take a refreshing breath.
Pranayama breath awareness.
Begin to notice your natural breath and the rhythm it has settled into as your mind has become calm.
Perhaps your breath has become a little slower and deeper.
Perhaps there are slightly longer spaces between each of your breaths.
As you breathe in,
Feel the cool vital energy of prana entering through your nostrils,
Flowing into your lungs and spreading throughout your body.
Observe any subtle sensations your natural breath creates.
The rise and fall of your stomach and chest.
Any gentle sensations in your chest.
The coolness of your inhale and the warmth of your exhale.
Keep your awareness steady and alert like a lighthouse beam fixed on your breath and prana.
Manamaya kosha.
Gently turn your attention inwards to your mental and emotional landscape,
Where we will explore the opposites of expansion and contraction into stillness.
Imagine expanding your consciousness out beyond your body like an open sky.
Feel this expansion as spacious.
It can embrace all thoughts and feelings and allow them to flow freely without judgment.
Now notice how still your body is.
Go deeper inside the stillness of your body.
Gently move your awareness between the expansiveness of your consciousness and the deep stillness of your body.
Outward expansiveness and deep inner stillness.
Sense the harmony between these opposites and let them settle inside you.
Now we move seamlessly towards the fourth layer of consciousness.
Vijnanamaya kosha,
The realm of intuitive wisdom.
Bring your attention to your ajna,
Third eye center,
Between your two eyebrows.
Imagine it as the central point of your consciousness.
Keep your attention focused here in this space behind your closed eyelids and breathe evenly.
Now direct the stream of your breath into your third eye and out from it.
Notice any light or energy sensations in your third eye.
Perhaps there are sensations in your forehead.
Eye sockets.
Ridge of your nose.
Your mouth or around your mouth.
Bring the observing part of your mind back into your awareness.
Steep your mind in I am.
Moving effortlessly to Anandamaya kosha,
The bliss layer.
Bring a gentle inner smile into your consciousness.
Sense your inner radiance.
Feel subtle vibrations around your body just above your skin.
Visualize bliss rising from within the depths of your being as profound peace.
Feel time cease and bask in the freedom of timelessness.
Allow the five layers of consciousness to gently dissolve,
Revealing the vast space of turiya.
Sink deep inside yourself.
Breathe as the essence of all life.
Rest in the vastness of eternity.
You are one with everything that has ever existed and will exist.
Sink deeper into the ground of being.
You are the eternal light that never fades.
Love touch the core of your being.
You and the beloved are one.
Gently prepare to return.
Gradually bring your focus back up to the surface.
With your eyes still closed,
Reconnect with the space around you.
Feel the atmosphere in the room.
Start making small movements with your fingers and toes and stretch gently in whatever way your body needs to.
Rest for a while in the afterglow of what you have experienced.
The Shogunidra is now complete.
