Begin your practice by finding a comfortable lying position,
Feeling supported by the surface your body is resting upon,
Allowing your eyes to be gently closed.
Take the time to settle into a position that feels just right.
During yoga nidra,
You are guided to notice and feel physical sensations,
The breath,
Emotions,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
And to experience yourself as the witness of all of these comings and goings.
Whatever you experience,
It's perfect,
Just as it is.
Now simply rest at ease and follow my guidance,
Allowing my voice to become your voice.
During yoga nidra,
Welcome every experience as a messenger that is inviting you to explore sensations,
Emotions,
And thoughts without trying to change,
Fix,
Or make anything happen.
As you welcome whatever is arising,
Your body and mind are learning to remain at ease.
While you discover the place within that is always at ease and peaceful,
Experiencing yourself to be unchanging well-being,
Witnessing presence that is welcoming everything.
Now feel your body settling completely into stillness.
The practice of yoga nidra can start now.
Bring attention to your senses.
Notice the taste in your mouth,
The sounds around you,
The smells,
The colors behind your eyelids,
The touch of the air on your skin.
Your senses open and alive.
Allow your heart's deepest desire to arise within something that you want more than anything else in life.
This may be a desire for yourself,
For another,
Or for the world around you.
Whatever it is,
Allow this longing to rise up naturally as your deepest heartfelt longing.
Perhaps it's the feeling of being whole,
Healed,
And healthy,
The feeling of deep self-acceptance,
Peace,
Or well-being.
Whatever it is,
Welcome and affirm your heartfelt desire in the present tense with your entire body as if it's true right now.
Repeat it three times mentally with your inner voice.
Then set your desire aside and notice how it returns at the end of the practice or as you go about your daily life.
Let the sound of my voice be your guide and support you in experiencing sensations throughout the body.
As I name each area,
You may feel sensations that are present or nothing in particular.
But whatever you experience is just as it is in this moment.
Mouth,
Bring attention to sensations inside the mouth.
Roof of the mouth,
Floor,
Inside cheeks,
Left and right,
Back of the throat,
Tongue,
The entire mouth,
A field of sensation,
The ears,
Left ear,
Right ear,
Sensing both ears at the same time,
Welcoming the breath as pure sensation in the nose,
Left nostril,
Right nostril,
Both nostrils at the same time,
The eyes,
The left eye,
The right eye,
Both eyes together,
A field of radiant sensation,
Sensing the forehead,
Forehead,
The scalp,
Back of the head,
The neck,
Inside the throat,
Left shoulder,
Left upper arm,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Left palm and fingers,
The entire left arm,
The right shoulder,
Right upper arm,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Right palm and fingers,
The entire right arm,
Both arms together,
As one field of sensation,
Upper chest,
Upper back,
Middle chest,
Middle back,
Abdomen,
Lower back,
The entire torso as a field of sensation,
The left buttock,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Left foreleg,
Foot and toes,
The entire left leg,
Right buttock,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Right foreleg,
Foot and toes,
The entire right leg,
Sensing both legs at the same time,
Sensing the entire front of the body,
Back of the body,
Left side,
Right side,
Sensing the entire body,
Inside and outside,
As a field of radiant sensation.
Now bring attention to feelings that are present inside,
Such as warmth or coolness,
Heaviness or lightness,
Comfort or discomfort,
Allowing them to blossom fully into your body and if no feelings are present,
As it may happen,
Simply welcoming whatever is there.
Once you have defined what feeling is present,
Locate the opposite of whatever you are feeling.
If you are feeling warmth,
Find coolness,
Heaviness,
Find lightness,
Comfort,
Find discomfort,
Welcoming an opposite of feeling fully into the body.
Now welcome both opposites of feeling into the body at the same time,
Without thinking,
Simply experiencing how doing this affects your body and mind.
Now bring attention to an emotion that is present in your body or one that you are working with in your life.
You can also recall a memory that invites a particular emotion into your body,
Welcoming this emotion as a sensation into your body.
Invite this specific emotion to unfold fully as a sensation in the body.
If an emotion is present,
Find where you are feeling it in the body,
Allow it to blossom fully while welcoming sounds,
Images or memories that co-arise with this emotion.
Now allow an opposite emotion to emerge,
Perhaps recalling a memory that invites this opposite emotion into your body.
Where do you experience it in the body?
Taking your time,
Welcome this opposite of emotion.
And now moving back and forth several times between opposite emotions,
Experiencing the first one,
Then the other,
Sensing how each is experienced in the body.
Now invite both emotions into awareness at the same time,
Without thinking,
Simply experiencing how this affects your entire body and mind.
Release all efforts now.
Imagine yourself near a river in the middle of the nature.
Visualize your clothes,
Your hair,
Your face,
Observe everything around you.
Imagine the light reflecting off the water.
Contemplate the colors of the vegetation.
Smell the scents,
The scents of the earth.
Listen to the sounds,
The birdsong.
Be aware of all the details.
Now imagine animals coming to quench their thirst from the water source.
Secretly observe their movements.
Contemplate this show of which nature has the secret.
You meet the eyes of an animal.
Stay still so you don't frighten him.
Let him get used to your presence.
Imagine it coming slowly towards you.
Admire its beauty,
Its allure.
Extend your hand to invite him to come closer.
Feel the warmth of his breath.
Caress it delicately.
Feel the beating of his heart.
Enjoy this connection completely.
Now imagine this animal delivering a message to you.
Listen carefully to the words.
Let these words resonate within you.
Accept this message and close the eyes.
Become aware of the sensations arising within you.
Integrate these sensations.
Keep the message that you received within your heart and the sensations within you.
The animal has disappeared now and you are still close to the river.
Slowly put your hands in the water and feel the temperature.
Take some water in your hands and bring it to your face.
Feel the refreshing sensation on your forehead,
Your cheeks and your eyes.
Stay here a moment,
Relaxing after this experience.
Now it is the time to remember your resolve,
Your deepest heart desire.
Repeat mentally the same intention you had at the beginning of the practice.
Repeat it exactly as it was three times with full awareness and confidence.
Feel the sensations in the body as if it's true right now.
Slowly draw your mind outside and become aware of your natural breath.
Awareness of the whole body.
Awareness of the breath.
Feel the right hand,
The left hand,
The feet,
The back,
The shoulders,
The head.
Become aware of the position of the body touching the floor,
The body supported by the earth.
Visualize your surroundings.
Become aware of all sounds of life around you.
Maybe you can feel the sensation of the air on your skin.
You can reconnect with the smells of the room,
With the taste in your mouth.
Slowly deepen your breath.
Lie quietly and keep the eyes closed.
Slowly bringing back sensations all over the body.
Starting to move the fingers and the toes.
Sliding the head from one side to the other side.
Interlacing the fingers in front of the chest and extending the arms over the head.
Giving the body a nice and gentle stretch from the fingers to the toes.
And slowly bringing back the knees to the chest,
Interlacing the arms around.
Giving the body a hug and slowly sliding to one side,
Coming into a fetal position.
When you are ready,
Help yourself to come back into a sitting position with the eyes closed.
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
I invite you to pay attention to the sounds that will come to you after the practice,
To the dreams during the night.
Make sure that you drink enough water and take the time to come back,
Reopening your eyes.
