Preparing ourselves now for this very short practice of yoga nidra,
Or non-sleep deep rest.
Laying down on your back and settling into a comfortable position on the floor on a yoga mat,
Or on your bed,
Palms facing up and allowing the feet to fall gently out to the side.
Getting your head into a comfortable position,
Perhaps with a blanket or small pillow under the neck,
A bolster under your knees and a light blanket to cover the body.
Allowing the eyes to close down and allowing the body to just slowly relax and settle into the posture.
Bringing the body to a place of stillness and remaining as still as you can throughout the practice.
Any discomfort arises in the body,
Make any necessary adjustments needed to get back to a place of stillness.
And with the eyes closed down,
Taking a deep breath in through the nose,
Into the belly,
And just having a sense of letting go with the exhale.
Taking a deep breath into the belly,
Holding the breath at the top and letting the breath go with a sigh,
And allowing the body just to let go.
Breathing in through the nose for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Holding at the top and letting the breath go for six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Taking long,
Slow,
Steady breaths in through the nose,
Out through the nose,
Allowing the body to relax further with each exhale.
Now observing sounds,
Sending the awareness outside of the room,
Becoming aware of the most distant sounds,
Just noticing them without creating any disturbance in the mind,
Just allowing consciousness to become aware of sounds.
Becoming aware of sounds now within the room,
Bringing awareness closer to becoming aware of the sound of your breath,
Hearing the sound of the breath in the nostrils,
Following that sound,
Becoming aware of your body from the crown of the head to the tips of the toes,
Becoming aware of your whole body in this posture,
And just allowing the body to completely let go.
Bringing in now the sankalpa.
The sankalpa is a present tense,
Concise affirmation,
Something you'd like to bring into your life.
You may just want to simply say to yourself,
I am at peace,
I am calm,
Or I am connecting to my deepest self.
Repeat your sankalpa in your mind three times,
With full awareness,
With full sincerity.
Go over the sankalpa now,
And taking awareness to our body.
As I take you through this body rotation,
Allow your mind to transition from one part of the body to the next,
Doing your best to stay alert.
You can think of the body part in your mind's eye,
Or just have full awareness on that body part,
Trying to remain still and listening to the sound of my voice.
Drawing your awareness now to your right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
To the palm,
Back of the right hand,
To the wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the body,
The waist,
The hip,
The right thigh,
The knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
The sole of the right foot,
Top of the right foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Awareness now to the left side of the body,
With full awareness to the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
To the palm,
The back of the left hand,
The left wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the body,
Waist,
Hip,
Left thigh,
The knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
The sole of the left foot,
Top of the left foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Moving now to the back body,
Becoming aware of the right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade,
To the lower back,
Mid back,
Back of the shoulders,
All of your spine and back together,
The back of the legs.
Awareness now to the front body,
Taking awareness to the crown of the head,
To the right temple,
To the left temple,
To right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
The right eye and eyelid,
To the left eye and eyelid,
To the right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Throat,
The right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Middle chest,
The navel area,
Abdomen,
Pelvis,
Pelvic floor,
Whole right arm,
Whole left arm,
Both arms together,
Whole of the right leg,
Whole of the left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole of the back body,
The whole of the front body,
Whole body,
Whole body,
Whole body.
Taking awareness now to your breath,
Feel the gentle rise and fall of the abdomen,
With each slow breath,
Feeling that nourishment of the breath,
Allowing it to just flow through you,
Deeply relaxing with each breath,
Long slow steady breaths.
Now taking awareness to the space behind the closed eyelids,
To the sky of the mind,
Or Chittikash,
To this space that extends high and wide,
As far as the eye can see,
Imagining the mind as a screen,
Perhaps while you're looking at this screen,
Seeing yourself happy,
Healthy,
Perhaps imagining yourself in a place where you feel calm,
Centered,
Allowing that to just play out on the screen.
Now coming back to your Sankalpa,
Or your resolve,
Gently repeating that to yourself three times,
Feeling that Sankalpa resonate throughout your being,
Repeating it with full sincerity and awareness,
And letting the Sankalpa rest now,
And returning your attention to the rhythm,
The soft sound of your natural breath,
Feeling it as it flows in and out of the nostrils,
Maintaining full awareness of your breath,
Slow and steady,
And awareness of each breath,
Becoming aware now of your body resting on the floor,
Noticing the parts of the body that are touching the floor,
Your head,
Upper back,
Elbows,
Hands,
Thighs,
Calves and heels,
Noticing those points of contact,
Or the sensation of air on your skin,
Noticing sounds outside of the room,
Noticing sounds inside the room,
That you've been practicing Yoga Nidra,
This practice is coming to an end,
Visualizing your body laying on the floor,
Just imagining your body within the room,
Becoming aware of the room which you're in,
Bringing consciousness to the body,
Making some subtle movements,
Perhaps wiggling the fingers and toes,
Moving the hands and feet,
Slowly stretching your arms,
Your legs,
Perhaps bending the knees one at a time,
And slowly rolling over to your side,
And use your hands to press yourself up from the floor,
Allowing your head to come up last,
Giving yourself a hug,
This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
