Explore what exists beyond all activity. Descend into the core of your inherent Self.
Abide in the tranquillity of your own Being.
Recommended Practices Before and After:
Prepare for or conclude with a few repetitions of chanting “Om,” holding Chin Mudra or any meditative hand gesture to establish a connection with the fundamental nature of the Self.
Prepare for or conclude with a mantra signifying completeness, such as:
Om Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnat Purnam Udacyate Purnasya
Purnamadaya Purnamaivavashisyate
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
(Meaning: That is full, this is full. From that fullness, this fullness emerges. When this fullness is taken from that fullness, what remains is still full.)
Ensure ample time is preserved following this session to allow participants to integrate the experience and gently re-enter their daily routine. No Yoga Nidra should ever feel rushed, but this specific type, which connects individuals to their most subtle level of existence, warrants even more unhurried completion.
Setting Up
Achieving physical comfort – settling onto your back, or alternatively, resting on your side, or sitting upright with support if preferred.
Preparing the physical form for this sleep-like Yoga Nidra practice while maintaining a subtle degree of awareness.
Perhaps constructing a nurturing resting space using pillows, blankets, supports – whatever is necessary for your body to feel maximally at ease in this precise moment. (extended interval for settling)
Preparing to engage in zero action. (brief pause) No obligations requiring execution.
No identity you must project.
No sensation you must enforce. No one demanding gratification. Only your singular presence exists.
Absence of anticipation. Absence of a predefined objective.
No set pathway. No possibility of mismanaging this process.
There are no thoughts you must engage with.
Simply arranging yourself now for this practice of relinquishing control.
Making any required modifications to your posture or supportive materials so you can effortlessly settle into comfort. (pause)
Gently check in with your present feeling state.
Your arrangement should foster ease, but concurrently prevent the descent into deep sleep.
Should sleepiness arise, consider slightly reducing warmth or dimming the environment minimally.
You can also evaluate the position of your head. If the chin is drawn inward, it can promote drowsiness. Try repositioning your head to a neutral alignment—chin neither held close nor tilted back—and observe any shift in your vitality and alertness. Aim for a head placement that supports relaxation without inducing sleepiness. (pause)
Position yourself so you can remain awake and conscious, yet simultaneously experience profound, peaceful repose.
Confirm that your feet and ankles are thoroughly relaxed. (pause) Calves, knees, and thighs are relaxed. (pause)
Hips are relaxed. (pause)
Lower back, mid-back, upper back are relieved of tension. The entire spine is softening, yielding. (pause)
Hands and arms finding relaxation. (pause) Shoulders and neck releasing tension. (pause) Jaw, tongue, and facial muscles relax. (pause)
Eyes, brow area, and scalp soften. (pause) The entire physical form is utterly devoid of tension. (pause) Nothing requires attention. (pause)
The body is settled in ease. (pause) Awareness persists onward. (pause)
The Yoga Nidra process has now commenced. (pause)
Consciousness Rotation
Direct your attention inward, into the physical form.
Engage with the energetic quality rather than the concrete structure. Several locations will be named.
These function as energetic conduits.
Permit your concentration to drift naturally between each location. There is no need for forceful focus, simply allowing awareness to flow. Without exertion.
Should the impulse arise at any juncture to release the verbal guidance and sink into silent meditation, allow yourself to do so.
If the need to shift posture emerges, permit the movement. Maintain an unforced approach.
Commence by focusing awareness on the energetic nexus situated between the eyebrows. Effortless focus upon the area between the eyebrows.
The resonating space within the throat Shifting seamlessly, unattached
The right shoulder articulation
The elbow joint
The wrist joint
The right thumb
The termination point of the index finger
The termination point of the middle finger
The termination point of the ring finger
The termination point of the smallest finger
Experiencing this energetically The right wrist joint
Elbow articulation
Shoulder articulation
The resonating space within the throat
Transitioning over to the left shoulder articulation
Elbow articulation
Wrist joint
The left thumb
The termination point of the index finger
The termination point of the middle finger
The termination point of the ring finger
The termination point of the smallest finger
Returning up to the left wrist articulation
Elbow articulation
Shoulder articulation
The resonating space within the throat
The central core of the heart
The right quadrant of the chest
The central core of the heart
The left quadrant of the chest
The central core of the heart
The center at the navel
The apex of the tailbone
The right hip articulation
The right knee articulation
The ankle joint
The right big toe
The termination point of the second toe
The termination point of the third toe
The termination point of the fourth toe
The termination point of the smallest toe
Returning up to the right ankle articulation
Knee articulation
Hip articulation
The apex of the tailbone
Guiding awareness across to the left hip articulation
Left knee articulation
Ankle articulation
The left big toe
The termination point of the second toe
The termination point of the third toe
The termination point of the fourth toe
The termination point of the smallest toe
Returning up to the left ankle articulation
Knee articulation
Hip articulation
The apex of the tailbone
The center at the navel
The central core of the heart
The resonating space within the throat
The center between the eyebrows
The center between the eyebrows
The center between the eyebrows (pause)
Observation of Respiration
Envision as though respiration is occurring solely through the point located between the eyebrows. (pause)
In a direct trajectory, from the point between the eyebrows to the nucleus of the brain. (pause)
Maintaining this pattern of breathing for several cycles now. (pause for 4-5 breaths)
Allow the breath to thin out in quality. (pause)
Inhaling along a straight vector, from the point between the eyebrows to the core of the brain. (pause)
The breath is becoming progressively more subtle. (pause)
Until the respiration is nearly unnoticeable. (long pause)
Imagery/Inner Vision
(Read at a slow tempo)
Nearly all active engagement has ceased. Only the act of hearing remains.
Preparing to let even the act of listening recede, to touch upon what lies beyond.
When all endeavors conclude, what persists is pristine cognizance. Forever unbound, perpetually present.
Residing equally within action and inaction. Unchanging. Timeless.
Awareness is the residue when all doing dissipates. Pure cognizance. (pause)
This constitutes your fundamental nature.
THIS is the identity you inhabit.
You, the state of awareness, are manifest throughout your hours of wakefulness, your periods of dreaming, your deepest sleep, and once again upon awakening.
You are the continuous thread.
You are the knowing presence.
Conscious amidst pleasure and discomfort, triumph and setbacks. Yet, eternally free and untouched by any of it.
Free and unaffected.
You are the original awareness.
Beneath all the thought processes and activities, you reside in calm. You *are* calm.
You are the serenity you have sought through all this time. You, your essential Self.
(pause)
There is nothing to pursue. Nothing to attain.
No separation between what you seek and what you already embody.
You are that.
So now, grant the brain permission to rest. Nothing remains to be accomplished.
Release the mental apparatus. Like a tool you are currently gripping—let it drop. Relinquish the mind.
Let it go completely.
Sink into the deep quietude and silence that fills the void. Descend into the stillness and the silence.
Rest within the serenity of your authentic Self. (pause for 4-10min.)
Returning to External Reality
Ommmmmm
Bringing consciousness back to the physical respiration. Register your body breathing. Sense your body breathing.
Take a moment to appreciate the passive nature of your breath, the non-doing involved in breathing. (long pause) Now, draw in a deep inhalation.
Allow vitality and awareness to flow back into the physical structure.
The Yoga Nidra period is now concluded. (pause) Take another breath. (pause)
And if you feel inclined to prompt minor movements within your body, initiate them. If larger motions feel desirable, allow those. (pause)
Attuning to internal cues and moving when and how feels appropriate. (pause) And should you be reclining, gently turn onto your side if this alignment feels correct.
And if it aligns with your current ease, take a moment to reflect upon your experience. (pause) What element from this time will you carry forward into the rest of your day? (pause) Facilitate your transition to a seated, upright posture.
Maintain the closure of your eyes if comfortable.
Perceive the rising energy as you maintain this vertical position. Feel the physical body beginning to re-engage.
The mental function starting to reactivate.
And yet, retaining a background sense of calm.
I will conclude by intoning “Om” and “Shanti” three times each. Feel free to join the vocalization if you wish.
Observe the energetic surge accompanying the chant. Om Om Om Shanti Shanti Shanti (pause)
Slowly, gently allow your eyes to open when the moment feels right, reorienting yourself back to the immediate surroundings and the flow of your day, reconnected with the core of your being.