This guided session designed to harmonize and integrate the activity of both hemispheres of your brain. This concise yet impactful practice offers a gentle way to cultivate mental equilibrium, promoting clearer and more balanced thinking patterns throughout your day.
Recommended Practices for Before and After:
Integrating this into your routine can be particularly beneficial when paired with a yoga class or other therapeutic sessions. Alternatively, if you choose to make this a standalone activity, it is advisable to ease into the practice by engaging in a brief warm-up that targets physical relaxation and releases tension in the body. Spend one to two minutes performing gentle stretches that may include seated or standing shoulder rolls, a spinal twist, a side bend, and forward folds. These movements can help create openness and prepare the body for deeper engagement.
Additionally, dedicate a few moments to practicing Hakini Mudra as part of your preparation. This effective hand gesture can assist in promoting better communication between the brain hemispheres while enhancing intuitive capabilities—setting an optimal mental state for the practice ahead.
Settling
Settling into comfort—whether lying down or sitting with support—choose a position that feels right for you at this moment. Prepare yourself for a practice aimed at fostering a more balanced state of mind.
If it feels good, place a thin pillow or blanket under your head, or drape a blanket over your body for warmth. Do whatever you need to make yourself as comfortable as possible. Take time to notice any lumps or bumps in your clothing, jewellery, or anything else that might distract you. Adjust them now if necessary.
Gently scan your entire body to ensure it feels relaxed and supported—feet, legs, hips, back, arms, shoulders, jaw, forehead. Take this moment to make any adjustments that would deepen your comfort.
Allow yourself to settle fully into relaxation. Release any worries about what happened earlier or what awaits later. Let these moments be entirely for you and this practice. Bring your full attention to the next 15 minutes, setting aside everything else to find balance and reset.
Breathe deeply, and with each exhale, release tension. Let go of thoughts and the urge to act—just be. This is your time, free of effort or expectation. There’s no destination here, only a peaceful experience.
If you haven’t already, make any final adjustments that may enhance your comfort. Begin to embrace the stillness within and around you. Knowing you can move if needed, immerse yourself fully in this quiet moment if it feels right.
Rest deeply in whatever way suits you best. Allow the words to gently reach you—not through mental effort but through an effortless sense of presence. Let even your mind take a break, replaced by effortless awareness and calm. Feel this serenity settling into every part of your being, making all experiences light and natural. Allow yourself to become more immersed in this tranquillity—effortless, serene, and restful.
Yoga Nidra has now begun. (pause)
Rotation of Consciousness
The process is now beginning, directing a sweeping flow of energy through the body to encourage balance and connection. Focus is being drawn to establish energetic links between specific points within the body, akin to designing pathways of electrical currents, streams of radiant light, or whatever form resonates with your experience of energetic flow.
Gently shift your awareness to the right hand. Pay attention to the right thumb, followed by the tips of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and finally the little finger. Allow the energy to smoothly transition over to the left hand, beginning at the left thumb. Feel the flow or sense of connection moving to the tip of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and then the little finger.
Guide this energetic experience further to the right wrist and then across to the left wrist. Let it flow onward to encompass the right elbow, followed by the left elbow—creating a continuous connection. Extend this flow to the right shoulder before shifting focus to the left shoulder. With care, bring attention now to the hollow of your throat.
Gently direct energy toward the back of your head near its topmost part. Allow it to travel upwards to the crown of your head, then softly rest at the center space between your eyebrows. Transition now to each eyebrow individually—the right eyebrow first and then the left. Let your attention settle simultaneously on both eyes before moving outward to focus on the ears—the right ear first, and shortly afterward, the left ear.
Feel this energy expand further to include the right cheek, followed by the left cheek. Gradually refine your awareness on the tip of your nose before inviting a sense of energetic presence into your upper lip, lower lip, and tip of your chin. Return briefly to the hollow of your throat before shifting awareness toward the heart center.
With purpose, let energy radiate through the regions surrounding the heart center—the right side of the chest first, then flowing back into the heart center itself, followed by awareness of the left side of the chest. Gradually, draw attention into the navel center before extending this connection down toward the tip of your tailbone.
Expand awareness through both hips—the right hip leading first, then transitioning smoothly into connection with the left hip. With intention, allow focus to settle on both knees in sequence—the right and then the left—before directing energy toward each ankle: right to left. Guide this flow all the way down through each toe on either foot. Start with your right foot: notice your big toe first, followed by your second toe, and moving delicately through the third, fourth, and the little toe. Continue with equal care through each corresponding toe on your left foot.
At this point in the practice, shift toward perceiving energy across larger scales—embracing first the whole right side of your body as an integrated unit before doing so for the entire left side. Slowly advance into perceiving both sides together in harmony. Allow yourself to fully experience this sense of wholeness radiating throughout your body in its entirety.
Pause for a moment here, as you become immersed in welcoming this state of profound energetic unity—a symphony of interconnectedness expanding through every corner and layer of your being. Let it unite as one cohesive presence that holds every point simultaneously yet effortlessly. Pause again here in stillness and connection, acknowledging this complete integration of energy across the whole body.
Breath Awareness
Shift your awareness to the breath at the nostrils. Simply observe it as it is, without altering anything. Be present with the natural flow of your breath. Notice the breath entering, like twin streams passing through the nostrils. Pause for a moment to feel this sensation. Follow the streams as they glide in along the base of the nasal passages, and notice them flowing out again. Streams of air gently moving in and out—calmly, continuously.
Next, bring your focus to the right nostril. Observe the inhalation traveling through it, and on the exhalation, feel it gently pass out through the left nostril. Now shift your awareness fully to the left nostril. Inhale through the left, and as you exhale, sense the breath leaving through the right.
Engage in mental alternate nostril breathing: inhale through the right nostril, then exhale through the left. Inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right. Continue this flow—inhale right and count 1, exhale left and count 2. Inhale left for 3, exhale right for 4. Maintain this rhythm, counting up to 26. If you find your attention drifting or lose track of the count, simply begin again without judgment.
Pause here for a minute and rest in this practice. Now let go of the counting entirely. It doesn’t matter what number you reached or if your mind wandered along the way. Release any need to hold on to the count.
Shift focus now to specific points in your body:
Feel into your left shoulder, then bring awareness to the hollow of the throat. Move to the back of your head, near its upper area, and from there go to the crown of your head. Bring attention down to the centre of your eyebrows, then shift to these areas in sequence: right eyebrow, left eyebrow, right eye, left eye, right ear, left ear, right cheek, left cheek.
Continue now with: tip of the nose, upper lip, lower lip, tip of the chin. Move once more to the hollow of the throat, then drop into the heart centre. Feel the right side of your chest, back to the heart centre, then travel to the left side of your chest and return again to the heart centre. Shift lower—navel centre, tip of the tailbone, right hip, left hip, right knee, left knee.
Allow yourself to sense a sweeping energetic flow: from right ankle to left ankle, through all toes starting with your right foot—big toe through little toe—and repeating on the left foot.
Now expand that awareness outward: sense the entire right side of your body, then the entire left side of your body. Envelop both sides together into one unified feeling—the whole body as a single entity. Rest deeply in this connection for a moment. Finally, welcome the fullness of all energetic connections within your body at once. Breathe into this wholeness and allow everything to settle here as it is.
Externalization
Redirect your focus inward, gently guiding your awareness towards the centre of your heart. Pause here for a moment and observe this sacred space. Allow yourself to notice the subtle movements—feel the gentle rise of your heart centre as you inhale and its tender fall with each exhalation. Take a moment to be fully present with this rhythmic flow.
Gradually, bring your awareness back to your physical being, tuning into the sensations within your body. The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete, yet its calming embrace lingers. Sense the peaceful stillness enveloping your body, and acknowledge the steady support beneath you that holds you securely in place.
Take a brief pause to notice the atmosphere surrounding you. Let your awareness expand to detect the temperature in your chosen space and any ambient sounds that may gently echo around you. These observations help ground you further into the present moment.
Begin to reintroduce movement into your body by inviting deep, conscious breaths into your lungs. Feel each inhale invigorate you and each exhale encourage relaxation. Slowly start by wiggling your fingers and toes, feeling the light sensation that comes with this gentle motion. Stretch or move in a way that feels intuitive and soothing—listen to what your body asks for in this tender state of transition.
If you’ve been resting in a lying position, gradually shift to rolling onto your right side when you feel ready. Linger here for a few tranquil breaths, absorbing and carrying forward any positive energy fostered during your practice. Let these restful moments settle deeply in both body and mind, nurturing the inner calm cultivated today.
When it feels right, begin pressing yourself up into a seated position, moving with care and gentleness. If possible, keep your eyes softly closed to maintain the inward focus as you sit comfortably upright. Take a deep, grounding breath here, allowing it to symbolize the closure of your practice while also preparing you for the next phase of your day.
To formally complete our journey, we’ll close by chanting Om three times followed by Shanti three times—a ritual of collective harmony. Om embodies a universal vibration that connects us all, while Shanti invites peace into our minds, hearts, and lives. Together we begin—Om, Om, Om… Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Let each resonance ripple through every layer of your being.
As you feel ready, gently open your eyes, letting the balanced energy of your practice seep into the room around you. Carry this sense of harmony with you as you transition into the rest of your day, embracing its gifts of clarity and peace.