Yoga Nidra: Freedom From Fear (With Nature Sounds)

Namaste and welcome.

Begin by taking this time to relax on your back in shavasan.

Allow yourself to become perfectly comfortable by just trusting your body to relax the way it knows how the best.

Just your body,

Allowing it to surrender to the earth beneath you.

Just release your entire physical body to the gravitational pull of the earth.

Observe the blissful ebb and flow of the breath.

And as you trust your body's natural abilities to defend itself and the deep inner knowing that you are okay,

You can feel a wave of peace now rushing over you.

And the more you trust your own body,

The more peace you now enjoy.

Knowing you are not the effect of the world but the cause.

Allow yourself to experience the dimension of prana and the self-born bliss flowing within each breath,

Expanding from the core of your being,

The heart center directly back from the sternum.

And as you continue to release all muscular tension and silence the mind,

You can enjoy total serenity and deep peace.

And the more you trust your body to do what it does best after billions of years of evolution,

The more you can relax and enjoy inner peace.

Returning to that place deep within yourself where you already know you are safe.

From perfect trust comes perfect peace.

You are now feeling safe,

Enough to release that last little bit of muscular tension.

Remind yourself that it's okay to relax.

In fact,

You deserve this much-needed moment of total peace to be at one with yourself.

There is only this present moment,

This current breath.

There is only each inhalation and exhalation.

Now observe the natural spontaneous flow of the breath.

Allow the duration of the exhalation to be longer than the inhalation.

Breathe in to a count of four and breathe out to a count of eight.

As you exhale,

Release all the muscles of respiration.

Allow the exhalation to extend.

As the exhalation is extended,

The mind also dissolves back into its source,

Pure consciousness.

Breathe in,

Roughly four,

And breathe out,

Roughly three.

Eight.

Now enjoying that perfect bliss at the very core of your being.

Total contentment.

Happiness of its own cause.

And self-born joy.

You don't have to recreate serenity.

It's your own true nature.

Just let go of everything else.

Let go of your body.

Release all thoughts.

And just give yourself this moment to be at one with yourself.

Oneness with the air on your skin.

Oneness with the sounds all around you.

All sound is just energy.

It is neither good nor bad.

Barely energy.

Allow the mind to become completely silent now by listening to the ambient sounds in your environment.

Listen to silence the mind.

And silence the mind to listen.

Have no concern for the source of the sounds that surround you.

Just allow whatever will arise to arise.

Whatever shall persist to persist.

And whatever shall subside to subside.

With neither attraction nor aversion.

And never Now repeat your own personal sankalpa three times silently.

If you don't have a sankalpa,

You may repeat the following.

I dwell in that perfect peace of my own inner state of being.

I dwell in that perfect peace of my own inner state of being.

I dwell in that perfect peace of my own inner state of being.

Now let's begin body scan.

Bring your awareness to the right hand.

The right hand thumb.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

Right side of the abdomen.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Knee cap.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Half muscle.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the right foot.

Top of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

The whole right side of the body.

Now for the left hand.

The left hand thumb.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Left wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Left side of the abdomen.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Left knee cap.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Calf muscle.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the left foot.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

The whole left side of the body.

The top of the head.

Forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The space between the eyebrows.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

The right eye.

Left eye.

Right ear.

Left ear.

The nose.

Tip of the nose.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

The tongue.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

The chin.

Throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right chest muscle.

Left chest muscle.

The sternum.

Abdomen.

Navel.

Lower abdomen.

The groin.

The whole right leg.

Whole left leg.

Both legs together.

The whole right arm.

Whole left arm.

Both arms together.

The front side of the torso.

Back side of the torso.

The shoulders.

Neck.

Face.

And head.

The whole body together.

The whole body.

From the top of the head to the tips of your fingers and toes.

Now bring your awareness to the breath.

Observe the natural and spontaneous movements of the breath.

Go to that place deep within your heart.

Connecting now to your inner divinity.

To your highest truth.

Experiencing yourself as the indwelling soul.

Residing in the core of your heart.

Now,

Experience your body lying against the surface beneath you.

Being cradled by the earth which supports you.

Nourishes you and protects you.

Be a vision now of Mother Earth.

Healing rays of the sun.

Cool beams of moonlight.

Nourishing waters of the ocean.

Purifying flames of fire.

And refreshing gusts of air.

Glacier capped mountains watching over you.

And the eternal spirit in your heart,

The real you,

Which is unborn,

Complete,

And unaffected by constant change.

Experience the entire manifest world as a mandala,

With pure consciousness at the center.

Three from the illusions of name and form.

Three from all attachments.

Pure consciousness.

Say to yourself now,

I am not this body.

I am not this mind.

I am not the senses.

Immortal self.

Am I?

Again,

Remind yourself,

I am not this body.

I am not this mind.

I am not the senses.

Immortal self.

Am I?

Experience yourself as the silent witness within,

Whom observes the thoughts of the mind and the actions of the body,

But is unchanged,

Content,

And perfectly whole.

Full.

That true you that has always been you.

As the body has changed.

As the mind has changed.

The silent witness within has remained unchanged.

Experience yourself now as Atma,

The inner knower,

The experiencer,

The witness,

Co-pilot,

Consciousness beyond the body and mind.

Right.

Silently say to yourself now.

I am a mortal eternal spirit.

Bring your awareness back to the body.

Release any groups of muscles where habitual tension may have crept in.

Release the muscles of respiration,

Allowing the breath to flow easily.

Bring your awareness to the madhya,

The center point directly back from the sternum,

Where the inhalation merges into the heart space.

And listen to the natural mantra of the breath.

Hum with the inhalation,

Saa with the exhalation.

Hum saa,

Hum saa,

With awareness focused at the heart.

Hum saa,

Hum saa,

With awareness focused at the heart.

Hum saa,

Hum saa,

With awareness focused at the heart.

Hum saa,

Hum saa,

With awareness focused at the heart.

Continue releasing your physical body,

Observing the smooth ebb and flow of the breath and the serenity of inner silence.

Allow yourself to dwell in the perfect peace of your own true nature for the next four minutes.

Should you find your mind has strayed from the practice,

Bring it back to the body.

Release every muscle and focus on the serenity of inner silence.

Four minutes of silence begins now.

Now,

Bring your awareness back to your body and the easy breath.

Feel the points of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.

Again,

Remember your sankalpa,

The same exact sankalpa from earlier.

I dwell in that perfect peace of my own inner state of being.

I dwell in that perfect peace of my own inner state of being.

I dwell in that perfect peace of my own inner state of being.

Now,

Extrovert your senses back to your physical surroundings.

Whenever you are ready,

Begin by moving just a single finger at first.

Slowly stretch your body,

Open your eyes and arise in tranquility.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Om shanti shanti shanti