Welcome everyone.
I'm Kate Colby Nelson and I am your guide for this Yoga Nidra meditation practice.
I wanted to open this practice with this beautiful verse from the Samadhi Pada or the foundations of bliss.
It states that steadiness of the mind is gained when the mind is pain free.
And luminous.
So what does it take to have a luminous mind?
We're reminded that there are always three forces or qualities.
In life that are always present called the Gunas.
And they are always at play in every aspect of our being.
They are Thomas,
Rajas,
And Sattva.
Thomas is prone to inertia.
And You might say laziness or inactivity,
Procrastination.
Rajas,
On the other hand,
Is overthinking and over activity,
Overdoing.
And Sattva.
Is really that quality of our truly luminous and blissful nature.
The Gunas make up Prakriti.
The original substance that is not limited to matter.
But it also includes the emotions and psychological makeup.
All the attributes of the mind.
Which with meditation.
Becomes radiant like the sky.
So Edward Bryant has a commentary on this particular sutra.
And he goes on to say that there is a skill in keeping the mind stable.
In this lotus or sattvic nature.
That makes the mind radiant like the sun,
Moon,
Planets,
Or gems.
In this skill,
Is meditation.
So sattva is characterized as happiness,
Bliss,
Or being wonderfully pain-free.
And this Pada explains that when our sense and activities are illuminated with sattva,
It is not only light,
But also the illumination of knowledge.
Made available for manifestation.
So that means for us,
Meditating is our true nature.
Our luminosity and our bliss.
Meditation frees us from Thomas and the limits of our potential.
And rajas,
Which is always driving it away.
When we are free from Rajas and Tamas and more balanced in our Sattvic nature,
We become calm and unlimited in this state like a waveless ocean.
Where object and subject become one.
And we are aware of a sense of I am a hum.
A hum is a Sanskrit word.
For I Am.
And the Sanskrit word for light is jyoti.
And I'll use Ahamjyoti as a mantra during our practice.
As always,
We will set our intention during our practice.
And you might want to consider using this theme.
Of building sattva,
Bliss,
Luminosity to a certain area of your life or perhaps a condition prevalent in the world around you.
So begin to settle in.
And make your nest.
Lying on the floor,
Using bolsters and blankets if needed to make yourself completely comfortable.
And try your nest on,
Move around in it.
We want to be completely still for our yoga nidra practice.
Take a couple stretches if you like.
And then begin to settle in.
As you relax.
Allow the body to feel completely supported by the floor.
Feel the weight of the head against your mat.
Feel the softening of the jaw.
The cheeks.
The forehead.
Soft.
Relaxed.
Letting go.
Let the ears feel heavy.
Feel the scalp and all of the connecting muscles releasing now.
The face relaxing.
The head.
Heavy.
Sense the muscles in the back of the neck.
Letting go.
Feel the back of the shoulders,
The back of the arms,
The back of the hands.
Imprinting against the earth.
Feeling the imprint of the body against the earth.
Feel the ribs.
The spine.
The width of the pelvis.
Happy.
Melting.
Relax.
Let the legs feel heavy.
Feel the weight of the thighs.
The calves.
And feel the weight of the heels.
Imprinting on the earth.
Allow the body to melt.
And now take your awareness to your sense of hearing.
Begin to listen for any sounds that you might hear.
Listen for sounds that are furthest away.
Perhaps sounds outside.
The movement of the wind.
Opening the sense of hearing and listening for sounds.
Gradually draw your sense of hearing.
Into the space around you.
Begin to listen to the sounds of the room.
My voice.
Your breath.
Listening for the sounds closest to you.
And listening to my voice.
Begin counting your breaths.
From 10 to 1.
If you lose count,
Begin again with the number 10.
Say to yourself,
Inhaling 10.
Exhaling 10.
Inhaling 9 Exhaling 9.
.
.
Inhaling eight.
Exhaling 8.
.
.
Continue counting down on your own.
And when you reach the number one.
Breathing naturally.
Now it is time to set an intention.
A Sankalpa.
From this place of deep quietude,
Ask your heart.
To reveal its desire.
It might be a sankalpa related to expanding your bliss.
Or alleviating pain.
Allow it to be revealed to you in the language of your heart.
You may have a felt sense of your desire.
Or it may come to you in colors or shapes or sounds and feelings.
Allow the revealing of your desire.
Your intention.
Your Tsongkhapa.
To come fully into your awareness.
Feel as though this desire is fully present within you.
Feel as though it is expressing in your life now.
Cultivating this felt sense.
Of your Sankalpa.
And from this felt sense of your desire.
Formulate your Sankalpa.
Into a short,
Repeatable affirmation.
That is in the present tense.
Formulating your Sankalpa.
Into a short,
Repeatable affirmation.
That embodies your desire.
When you have that affirmation.
Repeat it gently in the voice of your mind.
Three times.
And now simply rest.
Welcome every experience in the practice as it arises.
Becoming aware of that within you that is always at ease and always at peace.
Experiencing yourself to be unchanging well-being.
A witnessing presence that is welcoming everything.
Let the sound of my voice be your guide.
And support the sensing and awareness of your body.
Knowing that whatever arises is just perfect in this moment.
Let all sensations be welcome.
And now take your awareness.
As a point of light.
A point of luminosity.
To the crown of the head.
Moving this point of light,
Your awareness.
To the space between the brows.
The center of the throat.
Noticing.
Awareness.
The center of the right shoulder.
Relax.
Letting go.
The center of the right elbow.
Point of light.
The center of the right wrist.
Relaxed.
Heavy.
The tip of the right thumb.
The tip of the right index finger.
Awareness.
Point of light.
The tip of the right middle finger.
The tip of the right ring finger.
The tip of the right smallest finger.
Noticing.
Awareness.
The center of the right wrist,
Letting go.
The center of the right elbow.
The center of the right shoulder.
Point of light.
The center of the throat.
The center of the left shoulder.
Heavy.
Relax.
The center of the left elbow.
The center of the left wrist.
Noticing point of light.
The tip of the left thumb.
The tip of the left index finger.
Noticing.
Letting go.
The tip of the left middle finger.
The tip of the left ring finger.
A point of light.
The tip of the left smallest finger.
The center of the left wrist.
The center of the left elbow.
Relaxed.
Awareness.
The center of the left shoulder.
Point of light.
The center of the throat.
The center of the heart.
Noticing.
Awareness.
The center of the solar plexus.
The center of the navel.
Point of light.
The base of the spine.
Relaxed.
Heavy.
Letting go.
The center of the right hip.
Point of light.
The center of the right knee.
The center of the right ankle.
The tip of the right big toe.
Awareness.
Relaxed.
The tip of the right second toe.
The tip of the right third toe.
Noticing.
Relaxed.
The tip of the right third toe.
The tip.
Of the right fourth toe.
The tip of the right smallest toe.
Awareness.
Letting go.
The center of the right ankle.
Point of light.
The center of the right knee.
The center of the right.
Noticing.
Relaxed.
Letting go.
The base of the spine.
The center of the left hip.
Point of light.
The center of the left knee.
Letting go.
The center of the left ankle.
The tip of the left biggest toe.
The tip of the left second toe.
Point of light.
The tip of the left third toe.
Noticing.
Awareness.
The tip of the left fourth toe.
The tip of the left fifth toe.
Relaxed.
Letting go.
The center of the left ankle.
Point of light.
The center of the left knee.
The center of the left hip.
Point of light.
The base of the spine.
The center of the navel.
The center of the solar plexus.
Point of light.
The center of the heart.
Awareness.
Noticing.
The center of the throat.
The space between the brows,
Point of light.
The back of the eyes.
The roof of the mouth.
The back of the throat.
The front of the chest.
The center of the heart.
The upper back.
The sides of the rib cage.
The area around the navel.
The low back.
The whole front body.
The whole back body.
Sensing the entire body.
Sensing the body.
Inside and outside.
As a radiant field of sensation.
And find the center point of the heart.
Not the anatomical heart.
Of the center of the spiritual heart.
And notice the front of the heart.
The back of the heart.
And notice how the heart expands 360 degrees.
And how the ribs hold the heart.
In a protective embrace.
Feel the center of the heart.
As a luminous.
Radiant field of awareness.
See and feel the heart.
As a radiating point of light.
Experiencing yourself now as this field of radiant light.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Without changing anything,
Just notice the breath.
Witness the rise and fall of the abdomen.
Just noticing the breath.
As witnessing consciousness,
Cultivate gratitude for this breath.
Observing the breath.
Sensing the breath.
Grateful for that which moves the breath.
And now draw the breath in through the crown of the head on the inhale.
All the way to the base of the spine.
And as you exhale,
Move the breath upwards as if it exits through the crown of the head.
Inhale from the crown of the head.
To the base of the spine.
Exhale from the base of the spine.
To the crown of the head Full channel breathing.
Inhaling the breath downward to the base of the spine.
Exhaling the breath upwards to the crown of the head.
Full channel breathing.
As you breathe,
Allow the quality of the breath to be full and rich.
Allow it to reach into the corners and hollows of your body.
Allow it to fill every nook and cranny on the inhale.
And purify and release on the exhale.
Full channel breathing.
Take one more deep circulating breath.
And as you exhale,
Sink into the back body.
Feel the back of the body.
The back of the legs.
Feel the support against the back body.
As you feel heavy and relaxed.
Feeling the weight of your body.
And bring your awareness to the solar plexus.
The area below the heart and above the navel.
With your awareness,
Imagine a golden light filling this space with every breath.
Inhaling golden light.
With each breath fill the space around the solar plexus.
With warm,
Luminous light.
With each breath,
Begin to feel the warmth of this light.
And the intensity of its golden color increasing.
Like a fire in the belly.
Become aware of a warming sensation.
Filling the area around the solar plexus.
This luminous golden light.
And as you continue to deepen the breath,
Allow this luminosity.
This golden light.
To begin radiating outward and upward,
Warming the shoulders,
The neck.
The upper back.
This luminous warming light.
Building heat with each breath.
Metabolizing,
Purifying,
Detoxifying.
Illuminating.
Svaha.
Let this warm golden Luminosity of light travel down the arms to the palms of the hands.
And with each breath,
Imagine the hands filling.
With this luminous gold warm light.
Feel the heat in the tips of the fingers.
The whole upper body filled with warm luminous light.
Take your awareness to the solar plexus.
Experiencing this warmth,
This luminosity.
With each breath.
Begin to move the light through the lower body.
Across the navel.
The low back.
The hips,
The thighs,
All filling with this warm golden light.
The lower legs.
The feet and feel the warmth of your toes.
Becoming warmer.
And infused with light.
And luminosity.
And once again,
Focus your awareness on the solar plexus.
Fingertips.
And the tips of the toes.
With every breath now,
Turn up the intensity of the light.
The warmth of the body.
As if turning up a Bunsen burner.
The whole body luminous light.
Releasing.
Cleansing.
Purifying.
Digesting old memories in the body.
Letting go.
Surrendering to this light.
This warm energy.
That permeates both the mind and the body.
And as you notice this.
.
.
Warm,
Golden luminosity.
Throughout the body.
Notice the waves of your breath.
Notice the swell of the inhale.
And the retreat of the exhale.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Like an ocean wave.
The breath like an ocean wave.
Coming in.
And going out.
The flow of water moving in and out.
Allowing the breath to become oceanic.
Fluid,
Soft,
Supportive.
As if you are floating in this warm ocean of water.
This warm surround of water.
Feeling weightless now.
Light as a feather.
Just floating warm,
Luminous,
Held,
Experiencing a sense of profound belonging.
Here in this fully supported light.
Floating in the ocean of your breath.
Take your gaze to the center of your brows.
Feel the warmth of your body.
The ocean of your breath.
While taking your inner gaze to your brow chakra.
And imagine a two-petaled lotus.
At the center of the brows.
As the petals open.
And gently close.
They reveal a luminosity.
At the center of the lotus.
Allow your breath to open the Lotus petals.
The lotus of the center of your brows.
And reveal the luminosity.
At the brow chakra.
Float in the warmth of this ocean of being.
Allowing the space behind the brows.
To fill with the light of the sun.
The moon,
The stars.
Float in the oceanic bliss of your being.
Your true nature.
Your sattvic nature.
And in the voice of your mind.
Repeat after me.
As you invite the entire body to be illuminated and filled with light.
Ah hum.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Aham Jyoti.
Aham Jyoti.
Aham Jyoti I am.
I am.
I am.
I am light.
I am light.
I am light.
Aham Jyoti.
I am light.
Gently take your awareness to the space between the brows.
To Chittakasha,
The screen of your consciousness,
Where everything is coming and going.
The sky of your awareness.
We're the happening that is happening.
Is happening.
All happenings coming.
And going.
Light clouds across the sky of your awareness.
Allow experiences to unfold and pass through the sky of your consciousness.
Just noticing the thoughts.
With witnessing awareness.
Observe what is coming and going.
All experiences passing through the screen of your awareness.
Dissolving like clouds into the blueness of the sky of your consciousness.
As experiences,
Memories,
And sensations spontaneously move through Chittikasha.
The body and the mind become lighter.
And lighter.
Lighter.
And lighter.
Releasing the weight of experiences,
Memories,
Sensations,
And feelings.
Let them move lightly through the gaze of your awareness.
Feeling so light.
So free.
So fluent.
So warm.
Feeling the essence of sattva.
In the body and the mind.
Honoring all that has been held.
All grief,
Sadness,
And loss.
Honoring and acknowledging all joy,
Connection,
Love,
And peace honoring all and allowing it to move through your consciousness.
Just noticing.
Seeing all that has come and gone.
Allowing it to move through.
To be purified.
To be released.
Notice the body and mind as light.
Notice the essence of your being.
As blissful,
Sattvic.
You as a radiant effulgence.
Of peace,
Wholeness.
And total well-being.
And stay in this blissful state of being.
Allowing the sensation of bliss to permeate the entire body.
Allowing the sensation of bliss.
To permeate the mind.
Feel the earth below the body.
Safe and supported.
And feel the warmth and luminosity.
Of your inner fire.
Completely at ease.
Fully supported.
And deeply peaceful.
And from this sattvic essence,
Your blissful nature.
Once again,
Return to your Sankalpa.
Your intention for your practice.
Allow the resonance of the Sankalpa.
To rise up within you.
Returning to that felt sense of your sankalpa.
Returning to your heart's desire as a feeling.
And resonant sensation.
That is here and now in this present moment.
And recall your affirmations.
That embody this sensation.
Of the fulfillment of your sankalpa.
Recalling your affirmation.
That fully embodies the felt sensation.
Of your Sankalpa.
Fully experienced and embodied.
And gently say it to yourself.
In the voice of your mind.
Three times.
And now bring your awareness back to your breath.
Back to the center of the heart.
And notice your body resting in your nest.
Noticing and welcoming all that is arising.
Noticing present sensations,
Emotions,
Beliefs.
Just noticing yourself.
Just as you are.
Whole.
Complete.
Healthy.
And bathed in pure radiant light.
Bring your hands over your heart.
And gratitude for your practice.
And slowly begin to enliven your body.
Staying completely relaxed.
But now,
Fully awake.
And take your time as you roll gently over to the right side of your body.
And take a few moments to just integrate here,
Waking up fully.
Yet completely relaxed.
Our Yoga Nidra practice is complete.
Thank you for your practice.
May this practice serve you in wonderful ways.
As you bring light into the world and share it with others.
Your practice serves you and serves everyone and everything around you.
So I am so grateful for your practice.
Thank you for joining.
Until next time.
Take good care.
