Welcome and good evening.
And so we'll be entering into the practice of yoga nidra and we'll be practicing this to support rest and support sleep and support peace during that time.
Yoga nidra is a method or a technique coming from one of the branches of Raja yoga as well as a tantric technique.
It's not just a methodology for dealing with insomnia or hypertension or coming down from anxieties and its sole purpose is not just emotional balancing.
These things are primary and they do take place of course but also purifies the body.
It purifies and balances our emotions and it helps us to calm.
So let's get prepared.
So let's lie down.
Come into a comfortable restful space that you can work with here and you want to be covered if you're cold and something supporting the head and the neck and if you're wanting something under your knees let's have that as well.
And we'll begin by taking a deep breath in and a deep breath out and so preparing for the practice of yoga nidra and so closing the eyes let your arms and shoulders relax allow your legs to separate gently and generously and so allow your feet to fall apart from each other.
We want to relax the body as best as we can.
If you need to make any adjustments let's do that here and we'll do that now and making the body steady and still and so while we're in the practice we try to remain motionless as best as we can and so taking our awareness inside inside our being inside our consciousness and we're going to investigate the entire body and so becoming aware of any where we might have some tension or tightness and so bringing the toes and the fingers to relaxation and so tightening a fist with the hands and then opening up wide and then letting them relax and the same thing with the feet so clenching a fist with the feet tightening the toes downward and then opening the feet lifting and spreading the toes and then relaxing the feet in the toes fully and so bringing awareness into the body the subtle awareness is in the body as well as the gross physical awareness and becoming aware of our breathing the breath coming in and out of the nostrils watching and feeling the breath rise and fall into the belly and into the chest and then bringing awareness of the breath coming in the throat and out of the throat and the movement of the breath may be felt coming into the nostrils or in through the mouth but bringing the consciousness in the awareness of the breath from the nostrils down to the navel and back up and out and so we'll continue to watch this movement and then bring into mind something that it is that we want to resolve whether it's a restful night or an expression of a higher aspiration and then bring that into focus bring it into our mental view bringing into our conscious landscape and keep that focus as we go through the practice and now visualize the right hand thumb second finger third finger fourth finger fifth finger all the fingers together your palm the back of the hand the wrist the forearm elbow upper arm shoulder armpit side waist hip thigh knee calf ankle heel sole of foot big toe second toe third toe fourth toe fifth toe all five toes together and now the left side and so taking our awareness to the left side of the body left hand thumb second finger third finger fourth finger fifth finger all five fingers together your palm back of hand wrist forearm elbow upper arm shoulder armpit your side left waist your hip knee thigh calf ankle heel sole of foot big toe second toe third toe fourth toe fifth toe visualizing all five left toes together now bring our awareness up the body from right to left alternatively right soul left soul both souls together right heel left heel both heels together right ankle left ankle both ankles together right calf left calf both calves together right knee left knee both knees together right thigh left thigh both thighs together right buttock left buttock both buttocks together your lower abdomen middle abdomen upper abdomen the whole abdomen right side of the chest left side of the chest center of the chest the whole chest right shoulder left shoulder right arm left arm right hand left hand right hand thumb second finger third finger fourth finger fifth finger all five fingers together left hand thumb second finger third finger fourth finger fifth finger all five fingers together right collarbone left collarbone throat chin lower lip upper lip both lips together right cheek left cheek right ear left ear right nostril left nostril tip of the nose hole of the nose right eye left eye right eyebrow left eyebrow the center of the eyebrows right temple left temple forehead whole face back of the head crown of the head whole head now go down the backside back of the neck right shoulder blade left shoulder blade right side of the back left side of the back upper back middle back lower back whole spinal column whole back whole right side of the body whole left side of the body whole back whole front whole right arm whole left arm both arms whole right leg whole left leg both legs whole body become aware of the whole body the whole body lying in your support try to feel the points of contact between your physical body and whatever you're lying upon feel the whole back part of your body absorbing energy from the earth feel the whole front part of your body absorbing energy from the air become aware of the currents of energy moving within your body creating vibrations and sensations the whole body is lying supported completely relaxed peaceful quiet still and harmonized now bring a sensation of heat to the body try to awaken the feeling of heat exactly has as if you have experienced it in the past on a hot summer day and then reversing the feeling try to feel cold shivering cold as if you are standing outside in an icy wind wearing only thin clothing how chilled you would feel try to produce the sensation of coldness through conscious effort and the experience of it now try to experience heaviness in the physical body the body is becoming heavier and heavier it has become so heavy that you are unable to move it you're not even able to wiggle the toes or the fingers the body is so heavy now experience the body becoming lighter and lighter as if your body has become weightless as light as a piece of cotton or a cloud and trying to experience the feeling of lightness throughout the entire physical body and once again experience the quietness the calmness and the stillness of the whole body and at the same time experiencing the calmness of the mind the calmness of the emotions which is becoming from the practice of yoga nidra you can feel the mind more steady and relaxed and your emotions more steady and relaxed and now see the whole physical body lying on your support as if you are standing outside of the body witnessing it become aware of the other bodies surrounding you and of yourself following the practice mentally experiencing this peace and quiet becoming aware of the whole environment in your whole body whole body whole body whole body you
