Advanced Cosmic Body Yoga Nidra To Access The True Self

Most people come to the practice of Yoga Nidra for relief from stress or anxiety,

For rest and restoration,

Or to help us manage the nervous system and challenges of daily life.

And that is completely valid.

However,

Yoga Nidra also grants us direct access to an embodied experience of oneness,

Of the true nature of reality and the true sense of self.

Cultures of productivity result in an idea that if you get it all done,

Everything will be okay.

Creating a fear around sleep.

It feels like a mini-death.

There can be a fear of sleep because there is a fear of death,

A fear of losing a sense of control or a sense of I or connection to a material world that you believe is the only way to truth.

So this eternal death practice of Yoga Nidra teaches you what it feels like to let go of the character and still experience awareness in Turiya.

It teaches you to feel safe within that experience.

And in that way,

We begin the journey of addressing the fear of death through Yoga Nidra.

You learn how to release attachment to desire or pleasure or avoidance.

So,

With that said,

Now preparing for the practice of Yoga Nidra.

This technique is typically done laying in Shavasana on the floor or on top of a bed with a thin cushion beneath the head to angle the chin down and the neck long.

Feet are placed evenly from the midline,

Hips with distance.

Arms down by your side,

Palms facing up,

Down or inwards.

A warm covering,

Blanket or socks are welcome as the body temperature will drop in this technique.

If there is any other position or shape that serves you better today,

Take that.

And once you settle in,

Allow your eyes to close and to come into the awareness of yourself.

Sounds may travel to you,

Through you or by you in this fully guided technique.

There is no wrong way.

We'll begin by releasing the tensions first of the day.

Allow yourself to review everything that has happened within the previous 24 hours and name it.

You may think about what was preceding your decision to practice.

Think about the events that occurred leading up to them.

Keep going.

Allow your mind to review everything that has happened up until now within the past day or so.

Continue to name it.

Another moment cataloging your experience up until now in recent events.

And become still and centered.

Shift your awareness to feeling the earth beneath you.

Shift your awareness to the sky above you.

Have the sense that you are the space between earth and sky.

Become aware of the base of your body and the top of your body.

Attuning to sensations and perceiving these boundaries of your form.

Invite in Ujjayi Pranayam.

Breathing in and out through the nose with a gentle constriction in your throat.

Slowing the breath down and creating an audible sound of the breath.

Oceanic sound.

Slow,

Long,

Deep Ujjayi breaths.

As you continue breathing with Ujjayi,

Become aware of all the contact points that your body rests upon.

Become aware of sound.

The sounds around you and how they're landing within you.

The sound of your breath.

How the sound of your breath lands within you.

Letting each breath soothe you into a greater sense of ease.

Now invite in Sankalpa.

If you have a Sankalpa that you're already working with,

Invite it in at the level of thought,

Repeating it three times silently to yourself.

Sankalpa is a short,

Positive intention of your heart's deepest longing for your life or for the season of your life.

You might wish to invite in the Sankalpa of,

I am pure awareness or I am totality.

Repeating it three times at the level of thought internally.

Let Sankalpa go.

The awareness will now go on a rotation of consciousness throughout the body.

A sacred pilgrimage of sorts.

As each of the following body parts are named,

Feel into it and reverberate the mantra OM at each body part internally.

Beginning with the right hand thumb,

Feel into the right hand thumb,

Reverberate mantra OM at the right hand thumb.

Right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of right foot,

Sole,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Whole right side of the body reverberating OM.

Left side,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of the foot,

Sole,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Whole left side of the body reverberating in OM.

Awareness to the back side of the body,

Right heel,

Left heel,

Right calf,

Left calf,

Back of right thigh,

Back of left thigh,

Spinal column from tailbone to midbrain,

Midbrain to tailbone,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

The space between,

Back of neck,

Back of head,

Top of head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Eyebrow center,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Bridge of nose,

Tip of nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

Right side of jaw,

Left side of jaw,

Chin,

Front of neck,

Pit of throat,

Right side of chest,

Left side of chest,

Heart center,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

The pelvis,

Whole right leg and foot,

Whole left leg and foot,

Both legs and feet together,

Whole right arm and hand,

Whole left arm and hand,

Both arms and hands together,

Whole torso,

Neck and head,

Torso,

Neck and head together,

Whole right side,

Whole left side,

Whole back,

Whole front,

Whole body together,

Whole body together,

Shift awareness to the breath,

Natural rhythm of the breath,

Notice the inhale,

Notice the exhale,

The rise of the inhale,

The landing of the exhale,

Locate awareness at the base of the spine and trace the breath up the spine as the inhale occurs,

Trace awareness down the spine with the exhale,

Inhaling up the spine from tailbone to midbrain,

Exhaling down the spine from midbrain to tailbone,

A golden current of energy travels with the breath up and down the spine,

Shashumna Nadi,

Inhaling tailbone to midbrain,

Exhaling midbrain to tailbone,

Golden current of energy along the spine illuminated with the breath,

Shashumna Nadi,

Glowing,

Inhaling up,

Exhaling down,

Allow that awareness to dissolve,

Feeling a rise of energy from the heels through the back to the crown of the head with each inhale,

Inhaling awareness from heels to the backside to the crown of the head,

Exhaling down the front side of the body,

Down from the crown of the head,

Front line to soles of feet,

Inhaling up the back of the body,

Exhaling down the front of the body,

Return to a natural breath,

Releasing Drishti,

Internal gaze of the breath,

Maintaining presence with duality,

Feel into the expanded self,

Visualize yourself expanding,

Bigger and bigger,

The size of a house expanding to the size of earth,

Expanding as vast in your essence as possible,

Infinite expansion merging with the expanded sense of totality,

And return back to neutral sense of self,

From the neutral sense of spaciousness,

Begin to contract into the smallest sense of self,

Infinity in the opposite direction,

Contracting to the size of a small grain of sand,

Small as a subatomic particle,

Experiencing infinite smallness,

And return to neutrality in the sense of self,

Blending the two,

With an inhale getting bigger,

Exhale getting smaller,

Expanding with an inhale,

Contracting with an exhale,

Infinite totality in both directions,

Let that go,

Returning back to the neutral sense of self,

Become still and centered,

Feeling the earth beneath and the sky above,

Have the sense that you are the space between earth and sky,

Become aware of the base of your body and the top of your body,

Attuning to sensations and perceiving these boundaries of your form,

Coming back to a neutral space between,

Visualize your sense of self,

The body resting in the room you're in,

See the body from above,

Notice the contents of the room,

Then withdraw your awareness back and see the house or building your body rests in,

Visualize the surrounding environment outside of the structure that contains your body,

Withdraw awareness,

Taking in the city,

The topography,

The surrounding country,

Continental land structure,

Oceans,

Infinite and vast,

Withdraw your awareness,

Pulling back through the atmosphere,

Seeing the whole earth,

Withdrawing back beyond the moon,

Further and further back to see other celestial bodies,

Mars,

Venus,

Jupiter,

Mercury,

Saturn,

The Sun,

Further and further back,

Seeing the whole solar system,

Expanding awareness to the whole galaxy,

Witnessing distant galaxies,

The whole universe,

Whole universe from above,

Begin to feel a sense of gravitational pull on the body,

Pulling you towards your home galaxy,

The familiar solar system,

Orbiting,

Surya,

The magnificent sun,

Organizing it all,

Gravity pulling you towards the earth,

All life,

All individuals you've ever known,

Passing through the atmosphere,

Returning towards your continent that the body is located in,

Closer and closer towards those landmarks,

Narrowing in,

Back towards your locale,

Locate the structure your body is resting in,

Locate the room or space containing your body,

And see it from above once again,

Rest within your body and feel your intention come back to life within you,

I am pure awareness,

I am totality,

Reconnect to the sounds,

Sounds beyond your intention reverberating though it maintains within you,

Locating the sounds of the space around you,

Hearing,

Searching in a wide arc for sounds,

Sounds close by and sounds in the distance,

Welcoming in all sounds,

Unanimously,

Know that you have been practicing Yoga Nidra and the practice is now coming to a close,

Locate your body within the room that surrounds you,

Recognizing the sounds that you're hearing,

With the gaze still inwards,

Visualize that which is surrounding your body,

That which is containing you,

Whether that's clothing,

Comforter,

Blankets,

Wherever your body is resting,

Visualize what it is touching,

What is on the earth below you,

What is above you,

Where your body is in space,

Recall the time of day,

Recall the day of the week,

Placing yourself in time,

Know that you have been practicing Yoga Nidra and the practice is now complete,

As you continue to be aware of sounds,

Deepen your breathing so you can hear the sound of your own breath coming back to life,

Big deep breaths as you feel it into your body as it breathes,

Expanding and contracting naturally,

Taking up space,

As you feel ready,

Start to invite small movements back into your hands,

Small movements back into your feet,

There is truly no rush,

This is a practice of integration,

Of bringing that which was established in consciousness into your day and into your life,

So take your time as you start to bring yourself back into this waking state of consciousness,

This relative sphere of reality,

You may wish to make larger movements now,

Perhaps stretching and feeling the boundaries of your body coming into contact with the surrounding environment,

Taking your time,

You might then find yourself to one side,

Rolling into a little curled position,

Or you can stay resting,

Just breathing deep,

Taking your time,

As you're ready,

Press yourself up towards a seat or stay just as you are,

Tuning into the awareness of your self-practicing and giving thanks and honor for yourself to connect to an alternate state of understanding,

An expanded sense of self,

You can blink your eyes open as you are ready,

Re-emerging in this new expanded way,

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hari Om Tat Sat