Welcome to the practice of yoga nidra.
This is the practice of the altar of the heart.
Begin by creating your sacred space.
Take your time,
Feather your nest.
Make yourself comfortable,
Feeling supported,
Feeling warm and safe.
Become aware of the parts of the body connected to the earth.
Palms are face up,
Feet relax out to the side.
A slight tuck of the chin,
Creating extra length in the back of the neck.
As we start the practice with a sankalpa,
A seed of intention,
A heartfelt desire,
Something that you wish to cultivate in your life.
Repeating it to yourself three times.
Here is an offering of a sankalpa.
I connect with my inner light of knowing.
In stillness and surrender,
Presence leads me to my truth.
The eternal flame inside me that is the essence of knowledge and wisdom.
In gratitude I honour that eternal light.
And bring your attention to the centre of your chest,
Your spiritual heart as your attention rests here.
Notice what you feel.
Without judgement,
Just notice.
Is there a lightness,
Heaviness,
Constriction or space?
Feel acceptance arising as you observe and acknowledge whatever you discover.
Feel the body soften.
Keeping your attention at the heart,
Feel as though you could breathe in and out through the heart centre.
Taking any last minute adjustments for comfort.
Feel the connection between the body and the earth.
Notice each point of the body that connects with the earth.
Feel yourself grounding into the earth through these points of contact.
Notice the body rising and falling with the breath.
The inhale,
The abdomen expands.
The exhale,
The abdomen softens.
As you bring your awareness to the crown of the head,
Soften any tension at the crown.
At the forehead,
The eyebrows,
The eyes,
The nostrils and cheeks,
The mouth and the jaw.
Relax the throat,
The shoulders,
The arms,
The wrists,
The hands,
The fingers and thumbs.
Relax the shoulders,
The chest,
The abdomen,
The navel.
Relax the pelvis,
The legs,
The buttocks,
The knees,
The calves,
The feet and the toes.
Feel the whole body relax.
Observe the breath.
Feel the whole body breathing.
As you connect to the inner light of knowing,
Instil,
Nose and surrender,
Presence leads you to the truth.
The eternal flame inside of you that is the essence of knowledge and wisdom.
In gratitude,
I honour that eternal light.
Feel the body breathing.
Imagine you could draw breath in through the top of the head.
Feel the breath moving from the top of the head as you inhale,
Down and out of your navel as you exhale.
Feel from the top of the head and exhale out of the heart centre,
The spiritual heart at the centre of the chest.
Inhale from the top of the head and exhale out of the throat.
Inhale from the top of the head and exhale out of the third eye.
Inhale from the top of the head and exhale through the throat centre.
Inhale from the top of the head and exhale through the heart centre.
Now feel the breath coming in through the heart centre and going out through the heart centre as though the spiritual heart itself was breathing.
Feel the breath guiding you deeper into a place within you that is sacred.
Feel the breath guiding you deeper and deeper inside towards the cave of the heart.
Each breath draws you deeper inside,
Deeper within,
Deeper and deeper.
In your mind's eye,
See,
Sense,
Feel a door to the innermost cave of your sacred heart.
Notice the door frame,
The doors,
The handles,
The colour,
The material,
The texture.
Inhale and as you exhale push the doors to the cave of the heart open.
Once inside this inner cave you see an altar.
Walk towards the altar and take a comfortable seat in front of it.
Notice all of the items on the altar.
There is a single candle flame.
See its colour,
Its vibrancy,
Its light.
Take a few moments to connect with this inner flame of the heart.
Connect to the light,
The warmth,
The knowing.
This flame is the part of you that knows and knows it knows.
Ask the flame any question that is in your heart.
Listen carefully for the answer.
Be with the light of the heart.
Offering a prayer to the flame and asking for anything you desire in your life.
Be here with the flame keeping your awareness of the heart.
Sitting in front of the altar of your heart feel the walls of the cave expand with each inhale.
Exhale and contract with each inhale.
To you with this practice.
The flame has a gift for you.
Accept this gift and offer your gratitude to the flame.
Your gratitude to the part of yourself that is free from doubt and the stains of the mind.
Remember that this is always within you.
Let go of doing and rest your awareness deep in the cave of your heart.
I connect with my inner light of knowing in stillness and surrender.
Presence leads me to the truth.
The eternal flame inside me that is the essence of knowledge and wisdom.
In gratitude I honour that eternal light.
As you begin to awaken and deepen your breath imagine this eternal light is guiding you.
It will guide you to take your next breath.
To move in a way that is supportive for you to come out of this practice of yoga nidra.
To either come fully into the waking state or to rest on your side.
Listen to your inner knowing.
When you're ready to sit up take a moment to welcome yourself back.
Spending a few moments free writing about the answers to the questions you asked,
The gift you received and anything else you'd like to remember.
Blessed be.
