It is now time for yoga nidra.
Lie down on your back,
On the floor or on the bed and adopt the pose called shavasana.
In this pose the body should be straight from head to toe,
The legs slightly apart and the arms a little bit away from the body.
With the palms of the hands turned upwards allowing the fingers to curl inwards.
Adjust everything,
Your body,
Position and clothes until you are completely comfortable.
During yoga nidra there should be no physical movement.
Close your eyes and keep them closed until you are told to open them.
Take a deep breath and as you breathe out feel the cares and the worries of the day flow out of you.
In the practice which follows you are going to develop the feeling of relaxation in the body.
It is not necessary to make any movements or deliberately relax muscles,
Simply develop the feeling of relaxation.
It is like the feeling you have just before sleep,
When relaxation becomes deep.
Sleep does come but you should try to keep yourself awake,
This is very important.
Make a resolution to yourself now that you will not sleep.
Say to yourself,
I will not sleep,
I will remain awake throughout the practice and repeat it,
I will not sleep,
I will remain awake throughout the practice.
During yoga nidra you are functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness and the only important thing is to follow the voice.
Following my voice,
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to achieve,
Just following the instructions and following my voice.
Do not intellectualise or analyse,
As this will disturb your mental relaxation.
Just simply follow the voice with total attention and feeling.
If thoughts come to disturb you from time to time,
Do not worry,
Just continue the practice.
Now bring about a feeling of inner relaxation in your whole body.
Concentrate on the body and become aware of the importance of complete stillness.
Keeping your awareness of the body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.
Become aware of your breath,
Cold and dry on the inhale,
Warm and moist on the exhale.
Follow the natural flow of the breath,
Not changing or forcing anything,
Just follow the flow of the natural breath.
Become aware of the fact that you are going to practice yoga nidra.
The practice of yoga nidra begins now.
It is now time to make your resolve.
The resolve will have to be very simple,
Try to discover one naturally.
You must develop a resolve to say at this time.
It should be a short positive stated sentence and in a simple language.
Making your resolve now and repeat it three times mentally with awareness and a feeling of emphasis.
The resolve you make during your yoga nidra is bound to come true in your life.
Your resolve must be in line with your deepest heart desire.
See if you can align your resolve with your deepest heart desire and repeat it three times mentally.
And we now begin the rotation of consciousness.
The rotation of awareness by taking a trip through the different parts of the body.
As quickly as possible the awareness is to go from part to part.
Repeat the part in your mind and simultaneously become aware of that part of the body.
Keep yourself alert but do not concentrate too intensely.
Become aware of the right hand.
Become aware of the sensations.
The energy and the feelings in the right hand.
Relaxing,
Becoming aware of your right hand thumb.
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Become aware of the palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpits,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
The kneecap,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Become aware of the left hand.
Become aware of the sensations in the left hand.
Relaxing the left hand.
Relaxing and becoming aware of the sensations in the left hand thumb.
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpits,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
The kneecap,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now to the back.
Become aware of the right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
The spine,
The whole back together.
Now go to the top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center point.
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Nose,
Tip of the nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Throat,
Right chest,
Left chest,
The middle of the chest,
The heart center,
The navel,
The abdomen,
The whole of the right leg,
The whole of the left leg,
Both legs together,
Whole of the right arm,
Whole of the left arm,
Both arms together,
Whole of the back,
Buttocks,
Spine,
Shoulder blades,
The whole of the front,
Abdomen,
Chest,
The whole of the back and the front together,
The whole of the head,
The whole body together,
Feeling the whole body together,
The whole body,
The whole body lying and resting.
Your body is lying down,
See your body lying perfectly still in this room.
Visualize this image in your mind,
Your whole body resting in perfect stillness.
Now become aware of your breath,
Feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs.
Do not try to change the rhythm,
The breathing is natural,
Automatic,
You are not doing it,
There is no effort.
Maintain awareness of your breath,
Continue,
Complete awareness of the breath.
Now concentrate your awareness on the movement of the navel area,
Concentrate on your navel movements.
Your navel is rising and falling slightly with every breath,
With each and every breath it expands and contracts.
Concentrate on this movement in synchronization with your breath.
Keep going practicing but be sure that you are aware.
Now start counting the breath backwards from 21 to 1 like this.
21 navel rising,
21 navel falling,
20 navel rising,
20 navel falling,
19 navel rising,
19 navel falling and so on.
Say the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths.
Be sure that you don't make a mistake,
If you do you must go back to 21 and start again.
Counting your breath backwards,
One breath at a time.
Go to awareness that you are counting,
Go and counting from 21 to 1.
Keep on with the practice,
No mistakes.
Now letting go of the breath and counting of the breath.
And start to awaken the experience of heaviness in the whole body.
Become aware of heaviness in each part of your body,
In your toes,
Your heels,
Ankles,
Calves,
Knees,
Thighs,
Buttocks,
Back,
Abdomen,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Palms.
Head,
The whole body,
Heavy,
The whole body is heavy,
Heavy.
Experience the feeling of heaviness in the whole body,
No skin,
No blood,
No bones,
Just heavy like stone sinking into the earth.
And lightness manifesting the experience of lightness in the body,
Manifest the feeling of lightness from the top,
From the top of the head,
The whole head.
The torso,
Legs,
Buttocks,
Feet,
Toes,
The whole body is light manifesting the experience of lightness in the whole body from the tip of the toes to the tip of the nose to the crown of the head.
Your whole body is light as a feather,
So light that it can almost just float up into the sky.
Continue this experience of lightness.
Now experience and awaken the experience of being closed,
Completely closed up,
Constricted,
No opening,
Boundaries all around you,
Your mind is closed,
Your heart is shut,
Your body and soul completely closed up,
No opening,
Completely contained,
Constricted and closed.
Now manifest the feeling of openness,
Conjure up the feeling of being completely open and unbounded.
See if you can expand your boundary as far as your awareness can spread.
Feeling open,
Completely open,
Unbounded.
Manifest the feeling of complete openness and unboundedness.
No restrictions,
Expand it,
Open,
Unbounded.
With the inhale feel yourself expand,
Open and free,
Experience the boundless and on the exhale feel closed up,
Contained,
Bounded.
Inhale,
Feel yourself to be open,
Wide open,
Inclusive.
Exhale,
Closing up,
Shutting out.
Inhale,
Feel your body and your mind as open and free as the universe itself.
Exhale,
Feel your body and mind closed up and shut.
Letting go of the opposite feelings,
Withdraw your mind and concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyes,
The space we call Jidakash.
Imagine before you a transparent screen through which you can see infinite space,
Space that extends as far as the eyes can see.
Concentrate on this dark space and become aware of any phenomena that might manifest within it.
Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.
Continue awareness of the space but do not become involved.
Practice detached awareness only.
Now bring into your awareness a forest,
A lush green forest of wild,
Big,
Century old trees,
The leaves rustling in a gentle breeze,
Thick barks,
Deep roots.
Walking through the forest you can feel how welcome and safe you are,
Held by the presence of the gentle giants.
You notice how free and beautiful the leaves are dancing in the wind and you can see how sturdy their stumps are and how firmly rooted they are planted in Mother Earth.
Walking deeper into the forest,
Knowing you are safe and held and cared for.
There is a warm breeze and you feel completely held and supported by the forest.
Completely held and supported by the forest,
The trees and all the creatures.
And as you walk deeper into the lushness of the forest you can almost hear the whispers of the trees.
Listening very closely you can hear what they are saying to you.
It might not be in words but maybe in the form of an image or sensation.
The loud of whatever the trees are telling you to find its way into your mind and into your heart.
Thankful for this message you find a comfortable spot on the floor,
Lying yourself down onto the coziness of the Earth.
You can feel our eternal Mother's heartbeats underneath you,
While your gaze travel up the trees,
Past the dancing leaves and into the depths of the skies.
You see birds soar way up high,
Clouds drifting by and sun rays beaming through the green canopy.
Closing your eyes you allow yourself to become heavy on the Earth,
Allowing yourself to rest and surrender to the nurturing forces of Mother Earth and the soft forest floor.
Completely safe you allow yourself to let go,
You can feel the heaviness of your body on the forest floor.
Imagine yourself lying on the forest floor,
Heavy on the forest floor.
Imagine now that you are sprouting roots just like these majestic trees,
Sending your roots deep into the soil,
Using your breath to guide the roots.
Let your breath find its way through the cool topsoil,
Past the worms and other critters.
Visualise it as it continued down,
Down into the belly of the Earth,
Past the bones of our grandmothers and ancestors,
Down deeper into the Earth,
Through the bedrock,
Through the underground caverns and rivers and lakes,
Growing and pushing down,
Down,
Down.
And as the tendons or the tendrils and roots of the tree seeking the warm heart of the Earth,
So are your roots,
Full,
Filled by your breath.
Now your roots are entering the fiery core of Mother Earth and you are now grounded into the Earth.
Let your roots take up residence in a wide circle,
Touching this heat,
Letting it warm you.
And feel the channel between you and the Earth opening.
Now it is time to release.
Send with your breath anything that doesn't serve you.
Breathe it down into the fiery cauldron of the Earth.
Mother Earth will transform it and return it to you when it will help you again.
Release all of your troubles,
All of your worries,
All of your fears to her and be free.
Notice the immense pressure of the core of the Earth.
This pressure will send the Earth energy up to you when you allow your roots to open.
Do so now.
Let the Earth energy flow in through your rootless,
Effortlessly.
Let it move up,
Up,
Up through the reaches of your root system,
Moving up through the underground waters,
Up through the bedrock,
Past the bones of your ancestors,
Up through the rich topsoil and right up into the soles of your feet.
Up through your root chakra,
Filling it and overflowing it into your sacral chakra,
Filling it and overflowing into your solar plexus,
Filling it.
And it keeps filling you up more and more and more.
The energy field around your body filled with this power.
And it still keeps increasing until you feel full like a stretched balloon with this intense expansion of energy.
This fiery Earth energy continues flowing up,
Up,
Up,
Filling your heart chakra and your entire torso,
Your shoulders.
The heat relaxes and energizes it and fills the muscles.
It's built down your arms,
Into your hands and right through to you with your fingertips.
It flows up through your roof throat chakra,
Filling it overflowing and filling your entire head with brilliant energy.
It fills your third eye chakra and continues flowing up to the top of your head where it fills your crown chakra too.
Now let this energy flow out through the top of your head,
Through your crown chakra and into the sky where it touches the stars and mingles with their light,
Spreading out like leafy branches into the sky.
Noticing now that it's dark,
Noticing the stars in the sky,
The leaves of the tree,
You are lying on the forest floor,
Safe and whole.
You are expanded with the Earth energy.
Slowly you hear the message of the trees,
That it's now time to go home.
Gently you start to rise.
Back on your feet you feel filled,
Expanded and yet grounded and earthed.
You move your feet and you walk back to where you entered into the forest,
Feeling strong,
Rejuvenated,
Held and nurtured,
Grounded and earthed.
And letting go of the image of the forest and the trees,
Bring your awareness back to the Chitta Kus.
Bring your awareness to the dark space you see in front of your closed eyes.
This space can also be visualized in front of the forehead,
So if you want to explore a little bit,
You can shift your gaze slightly upwards but do not strain.
Watching the darkness you see before you very carefully,
With no attachment,
Do not become involved.
Rest your mind in this warm and friendly darkness.
If any subtle phenomena manifest,
For example colors,
Patterns,
Simply take note of these and continue with your awareness.
If thoughts occur,
Let them come and go but continue watching the dark space.
Continue this with detached awareness.
It is now time to remember your resolve.
Remember your resolve and repeat your sankalpa.
Repeat your resolve with absolute faith and awareness.
Repeat your sankalpa three times mentally with the same wording.
The whole body,
Feeling your whole body.
Relax all efforts and become aware of your body.
Bring your attention to the natural breath,
The quiet breath.
Develop your awareness of the quiet breath.
Maintain your awareness of the breath and gradually deepen it,
Making it stronger.
Expanding your belly like a balloon,
Deepening the breath.
Become aware of your physical existence,
Become aware of your physical existence,
Of your body and your state of your physical relaxation.
At the same time,
Your breath is growing stronger.
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in and just let it out.
Develop awareness of your body,
Deeply relaxed,
Lying in perfect stillness.
Visualize the surroundings of the room and let your mind become completely external.
Start making small movements with your body,
Bending your fingers,
Moving your toes,
Moving your wrists and your ankle.
Ramping the thumb into the tip of each finger,
Activating each of the elements.
Release your head from side to side.
Stretch your arms up above your head,
Point your toes.
Coming into full body stretching out the whole body and release with a sigh.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Take a few more deep breaths.
Hugging your knees into your chest,
Rocking from side to side,
Rolling onto either side.
When you are sure that you are awake,
Sit up slowly,
Gently,
Doing a round of palming and then slowly opening your eyes.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Ariyom Tat Sat.
