Welcome to today's practice of Yoga Nidra.
Come to lie down in a position where your body can be completely supported.
Allow the surface beneath you to receive your weight fully.
Make any small adjustments that allow the body to be still.
Maybe adjust clothing or maybe your head,
Your arms,
Your legs,
Anything at all to help you find the deepest possible comfort.
And then when your body feels ready,
Allow movement to gradually come to stillness.
For the duration of this practice,
There is nothing you need to do.
Nothing you need to make happen.
Nothing you need to accomplish.
You are not here to reach a future state.
You are here to notice what is already present beneath effort.
Allow your eyes to gently close and bring awareness to the simple fact that breathing is already happening.
You do not need to guide it,
To do anything for it to happen.
Notice the inhale arriving on its own and the exhale releasing naturally.
Feel how the body is being breathed,
How life is moving through you without instruction.
And let this remind you that not everything requires your effort.
Some things simply are.
There is something in you that is present before any thought arises,
Before any intention forms,
Before there is any sense of doing.
It is the simple awareness of being,
The quiet,
Undeniable sense of I am.
This sense of I am is not produced by the mind.
It is not something we generate through concentration.
It already is.
The body appears within it.
Thoughts arise within it.
Feelings move and change within it.
Every state we experience,
Every emotion we feel,
Every circumstance we encounter arises from this awareness of being.
This practice is not about changing the world.
It is about meeting the awareness from which the world is experienced.
As you rest here,
There is nothing to believe,
Nothing to adopt.
Only an invitation to notice the sense of being that is already present.
Now begin to allow your attention to turn inward.
Sounds may arise.
And rather than following the sound outward,
Notice how it appears in awareness and fades.
Bring awareness to sensations in the body.
Noticing areas of contact,
Pressure,
Temperature,
The subtlest of movement.
And let these sensations be exactly as they are.
Notice how they arise and dissolve without your involvement.
Now notice thought,
Images,
Words,
Memories.
And rather than engaging them,
Simply notice a thought has appeared.
And now it dissolves.
Everything you can observe is moving.
Allow this to be clear.
What moves is not who you are.
Let your attention rest with the noticing itself.
Be a witness.
Allow your attention to soften even further.
And instead of forming a sentence or choosing an intention,
Let awareness gently turn toward itself.
Notice the undeniable sense of being here,
Before any name,
Before any role,
Before any description.
Let the sense of I am become clear.
Not as thought,
But as presence.
This recognition is the sankalpa.
I am.
We now move awareness through the body.
There is no need to move or imagine.
Simply be aware.
Bring your full awareness now to your right hand and to your right hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
And little finger.
The palm of your right hand.
The back of your hand.
Your wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
The right side of your chest.
Your hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Ankle.
The sole of your right foot.
The top of your foot.
Your right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe and little toe.
Moving your attention now to your left hand and to your left hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger and little finger.
The palm of your left hand.
Top of hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Left side of your chest.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Ankle.
Sole of your left foot.
Top of your foot.
Your left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe and little toe.
Now bring your awareness to the back of your body.
To your heels,
Right and left.
Your calves.
And the spaces behind your knees.
The backs of your thighs.
And your glutes.
Your back.
Your whole back.
Your whole back.
Lower.
Middle.
Upper.
Your right shoulder blade.
Your left shoulder blade.
Your neck.
To your head.
Your whole head.
Your whole head.
Your awareness moves further to the crown of your head.
And to your forehead.
Your right eyebrow and left eyebrow.
And the space between your eyebrows.
Your right temple.
And your left temple.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Nose.
And the ridge of your nose all the way to the tip of your nose.
Your mouth.
Your teeth.
And your tongue.
Your jaw heavy and loose.
Your throat.
To your right collarbone and your left collarbone.
And the little valley between your collarbones.
The right side of your chest.
The left side of your chest.
Your whole chest.
Your right arm.
And your left arm.
Both arms together.
Your right leg and your left leg.
Both legs together.
The whole of your body.
Made whole with your awareness.
From the top to the bottom.
The right to the left.
The inside out.
Your whole body.
Your whole body.
Your whole body.
Sense your whole body at once.
The body is known.
That which knows it does not move.
Bring awareness back to your breath.
And notice where the breath in your body is most vivid.
Your nostrils.
Your chest.
Or your abdomen.
And allow your breathing to remain natural.
With each exhale notice a subtle settling of the body.
Let the breath breathe itself.
Now bring attention to where the body meets the floor.
The back of your head.
Your shoulders.
Your glutes.
Your legs.
And your heels.
Feel how the floor holds the body completely.
Allow this support to be fully received.
Stillness is not emptiness.
It is creative power at rest.
As awareness becomes steady notice where effort lives in the body.
Maybe the tiniest bit of tension.
A sense of trying.
Of doing.
Of holding.
And then notice effortlessness.
Ease.
Allowance.
Let the body be held.
And now invite a sense of control.
Of managing.
Anticipating.
Notice a feeling of control in the body.
And then trust.
A sense of being carried.
Of allowing life to unfold.
And move between these two states.
Control.
And trust.
Trust.
And control.
And then let go of both.
Remembering states change.
Awareness remains.
Now allow attention to gently gather inward.
Bring awareness to the inner space in front of you.
The open field of awareness.
This inner space is Chidakash.
The space of consciousness itself.
There is no need to see anything here.
Simply sense openness.
Spaciousness.
Awareness.
Within this space allow brief impressions to arise.
Experience begins here.
What I am aware of being.
Shapes what appears.
A quiet settled authority.
Not personal.
Not emotional.
Perhaps a sense of being seated behind experience.
Witnessing.
Sensations,
Thoughts and feelings arise and dissolve.
Allow these impressions to appear and fade.
Nothing to hold.
Nothing to manage.
Notice what remains.
The space itself.
The awareness itself.
That which knows itself as being is the source of all experience.
Allow all to now dissolve.
No breath to follow.
No body to scan.
No image to hold.
Only awareness aware of itself.
I am knowing I am.
Your awareness of being is the seed from which all experience grows.
Again gently notice the sense and presence of I am.
The sense of I am.
Begin to notice your breath again.
Be aware of your body resting here in this space.
Become aware of the room that your body is lying in.
Become aware of sounds.
Of sensations.
Allow small movements into your body.
Into your fingers and your toes.
Remembering the words of Thich Nhat Hanh.
You are here and life is beautiful.
It really is that simple.
So when you are ready gently open your eyes.
Welcome back to your world.
May the peace which passes all understanding keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and presence of love.
Thank you for taking the time to practice with me today.
