Go ahead and find yourself in a comfortable position,
Lying down on your back,
On your yoga mat,
On a blanket,
On the floor,
Or on your bed.
You should have a light blanket to place on top of you,
Because after a while,
During the practice,
You may get cold.
You should have something underneath your knees to create a slight bend in the knees.
You may want to place a very small pillow under the back of the head to relieve the pressure points,
Perhaps under the neck to support the curve of the neck,
And you may find that you'd like some cushioning or bolstering in other places as well.
As you practice over time,
You'll figure out exactly what works for you,
So that you remain perfectly comfortable throughout the practice,
Having to move as little as possible.
So take the next minute or two to situate yourself in a Shavasana position,
On the back with the legs and arms rolling out to the side,
The palms facing upwards,
The spine and back of the neck long.
Position your blanket so that it's covering your body,
You can't feel the edges.
One of our goals is to lose as much body sensation as possible during the practice,
So make sure there are no objects around you touching you,
And that you feel as comfortable as possible,
Becoming more and more still from the outside in.
Feel your body now sinking down into this position.
Notice your muscles releasing any tension.
The whole body just settling,
Melting down.
No need to move.
Any final adjustments being made.
If you like,
You can imagine your body from your toes all the way up to the top of the head.
Imagine a warmth and a softness washing over it.
Any final remnants of stress,
Fatigue,
Physical tension being washed away as you sink down deeper into this Shavasana position,
Preparing yourself for the deeper practice of Yoga Nidra.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Notice it moving there all by itself.
Bring your awareness to your breath at the tip of the nostrils.
Notice the air there as it comes in and as it leaves.
All of your attention situated there.
Awareness of breath at the nostrils.
Now move your awareness to the center of the chest.
Notice the breath rising and falling in the chest.
And finally move your awareness to the belly.
Observe the breath moving to the belly,
Lifting and falling.
Now notice the entire breath,
The whole of the breath as it moves naturally in and out.
And begin to count your breaths,
Allowing them to just flow in and out on their own.
And observing as each breath exits,
Counting mentally,
Starting at one and counting as high as you can.
If for a moment you forget what number you're on,
Just start again at one.
All of your awareness residing with your breath.
Still just gently watching them go by,
Counting to yourself.
Don't be concerned with any distractions,
Physical or mental.
Just keep returning your focus to the breath as they move in and out.
And now release the counting of the breath.
Leave it by itself.
It's time now to create your sankalpa.
Your sankalpa is your personal resolution or intention.
Something that you'd like to create in yourself,
For yourself,
For your life moving forward.
So it's important to take a moment to really consider it.
It should be positive in nature.
It should be short and concise.
And it should be stated as if it was already happening in the present moment.
And take a moment to consider what it is you'd like to change or transform or create in your life and create a short,
Positive,
Present moment statement now.
If you've already created a personal sankalpa,
You'll be using that same one.
So recall it and just state it to yourself mentally once,
Clear and concise.
This sankalpa,
This intention,
Is like the seed that we'll be planting deep in the layers of our consciousness.
So keeping this statement in mind,
We'll continue to move forward with the practice.
Following the sound of my voice mentally,
We're going to rotate the consciousness,
The awareness around the physical body.
When I call the body part,
Place all of your attention there internally.
Imagine that body part.
You may feel some sensation.
You may feel a reaction.
Notice it.
And when the next body part is called,
Immediately let it go.
We're going to rotate this consciousness rather quickly around the entire body now.
Bring your awareness to your left thumb.
Only the left thumb exists.
The left index finger,
Left middle finger,
Left ring finger,
Left pinky finger,
Left palm and back of hand,
Left forearm,
Left elbow joint,
And the upper arm on the left side.
All of your attention to left shoulder joint,
Armpit region on the left,
The left side of the chest,
Left side of the ribcage,
Entire left torso,
The left hip and buttocks,
Left thigh,
Left knee joint,
Left lower leg,
Ankle joint,
The heel of the left foot,
The sole of the foot,
The top of the foot.
Now left big toe by itself,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the little toe on the left side.
Moving the awareness now to the right thumb,
Right thumb,
Right index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
Palm and back of the hand,
Right forearm,
Elbow joint,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder joint,
Armpit region,
Right upper chest,
Ribcage,
The entire right side of the torso.
The right hip joint and buttocks,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
The right heel and ankle joint,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the little toe on the right foot.
Move your awareness up to your back,
Focused on your lower back alone.
Lower back and spine now,
Middle back and spine,
Upper back and spine.
Now the entire left side of the body,
The entire left side of the body by itself,
And the entire right side of the body,
Entire right side of the body.
Both legs by themselves.
Now both arms by themselves.
Starting from the neck down,
And now move the attention to the neck and throat area.
Just the neck and throat,
And to the jaw,
The cheeks,
The nose,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
Both lips,
The inside of the mouth,
Just the tongue,
The eyes,
The eye sockets,
Just the right eye,
And just the left eye,
Eyebrows,
Temples,
The whole of the forehead,
Forehead,
The left ear,
The right ear,
Both ears together,
The entire scalp,
The brain and brainstem,
Brain and brainstem,
The spinal cord,
The heart,
Physical heart sitting in the chest,
The lungs,
The stomach,
Spleen,
Liver,
Kidneys,
Colon,
And all the rest,
Remaining awake and alert,
Following the instructions mentally.
Imagine now that the body is getting extremely heavy,
Quickly heaving down until it's almost sinking through the floor.
Recall the feeling of extreme heaviness,
Sinking down now like lead,
Very,
Very heavy.
Now awaken the feeling of lightness.
The body is rapidly becoming lighter and lighter,
The qualities of effervescence like a feather lifting off of the ground,
Almost floating upwards,
Extremely light.
Remember the feeling of lightness in the body.
And now the body is becoming colder,
Very cold,
Freezing cold.
Recall the feeling of freezing cold in the physical body,
As if you were lying beneath a pile of snow,
Extremely cold now.
Now notice the body becoming warmer,
Rapidly becoming hotter and hotter.
Awaken the feeling of heat,
Extreme heat throughout the body,
Extreme heat as if you were in the midday sun,
In the desert,
On the beach,
The sun touching every inch of the skin,
The sweat coming from every pore,
Extremely hot.
Remember what it feels like.
And now the body is becoming very comfortable,
Rapidly equalizing,
Becoming the perfect temperature for you,
And you find yourself lying down in a grassy,
Green field.
Notice what it looks like.
Notice the sound of the wind and the surrounding trees through the grass,
Tall,
Wispy,
Green grass.
The temperature of the earth is cool,
Firm but soft,
Supporting your body fully,
Very comfortable.
Notice the color of the sky above.
Notice if there are clouds,
Or if it's clear.
What do you see?
Remain awake and alert.
Are there any birds in the sky?
Can you hear the sounds of crickets?
Is there water flowing nearby,
A stream or a creek?
Do you feel the presence of anyone else around you,
Any people or any animals?
Are there any scents in the air?
Can you smell the grass or the flowers,
The crispness of the breeze?
As the body relaxes into this position,
Fully supported by the earth,
Just noticing and observing the surroundings,
Completely awake and lucid,
Allow the body to rest here,
Where it's safe and comfortable,
And take your inner attention into the third eye space at the back of the forehead,
All of your attention one-pointed at the back of the forehead.
Notice what it looks like there.
Is it dark?
Is there any color?
Is it pure blackness,
Or are there shapes and lights?
As you focus there,
Do images present themselves?
Do shapes take form,
Or do lights light up?
Just notice,
Not trying to make anything happen,
Observing only.
Now let's empower our imagination.
Let's use our capacity to visualize the following images.
I will state an image and just create it there,
Where your focus is already resting in the mind's eye.
Try to see it in as much detail as you can.
All of the details.
Use all of your senses,
If it's possible,
As if you were right there,
Watching,
Holding,
Listening,
Envisioning this image.
And if the image should fade,
Just simply recreate it,
Redraw,
Repaint it in your mind.
Begin with a full moon in the dark sky.
See all of the details,
The color,
The brightness,
The size and shape.
Can you see craters on the side of the moon?
Try to see every detail.
Full moon,
Dark sky.
And releasing that image,
Creating a babbling brook or stream.
Very noisy,
Full of rocks and sticks,
Fallen trees.
Listen to the sound of the water.
Visualize the color.
How wide is the river or the brook?
It's on either side.
Now a busy city street.
Imagine a street in Times Square,
The middle of New York City,
Extremely crowded,
All kinds of people there,
Very busy,
Noisy,
Active.
Now see yourself walking through a deep,
Quiet forest.
A deep,
Quiet forest.
It's turning into evening.
Soft forest floor underfoot.
The sound of crickets.
What does the air smell like?
What do you see around you?
And now the sound of church bells ringing far in the distance.
Church bells ringing in the distance.
Awake and alert.
Find yourself now right in front of a beautiful temple.
And in your heart of hearts,
You realize this temple represents your highest self,
The inner temple of your being.
That place that's at the right side of your physical heart,
Where a little piece of God or the universe or spirit resides.
See this temple in front of you,
Bright,
Lit up by candles and sunlight,
Stained glass windows casting beautiful colors throughout,
The scent of soft incense.
And walk inside and see the people there in deep meditation,
Peaceful,
Connected.
Notice all the details of the interior of this temple and find a spot that feels comfortable for you to sit down and join in meditation.
Taking this seat inside your own physical heart.
Once you feel comfortable,
Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.
It's time to recite your sankalpa,
Your personal resolution,
Three times mentally.
Go ahead,
Reciting with faith,
With love,
And then let it be.
Notice yourself lying back in this temple,
Resting on your back now,
Still very comfortable,
Supported.
We will slowly begin to bring our consciousness back into the physical body,
Back into the room where we're practicing,
Remaining perfectly still with the eyes closed.
Begin to notice your breath again moving in and out,
Moving at the nostrils,
Moving in the chest,
And moving in the belly.
Notice the weight of your body against the ground again,
Observing all of the pressure points,
The parts that are in contact with the yoga mat,
The ground,
Your bed.
Feel the body very,
Very gradually waking up from the inside out in the space of your practice.
Bring a little energy to your toes,
Your fingertips,
And you can start to take conscious control of your breath now,
Making it a little bit stronger.
Noticing that oxygen traveling down the legs and the feet,
The arms and the fingertips,
And all the way out to the edges of the skin,
Waking everything up.
Just begin to make larger movements,
Stretching the legs in one direction and the arms in the other,
Rocking the head right and left,
But keeping all of the attention inward.
Gather your knees in softly to your chest and roll to one side,
Using your arms to help yourself come up very gently with the eyes closed,
Attention inward.
Go ahead and help yourself rise up.
Find a comfortable seat where the spine is straight and tall,
The head balanced right on top,
And the attention refocusing in at the third eye center behind the forehead.
