Relaxation Resolve Rotation o f consciousness Breathing Feelings Inner space Visualization Resolve Finish A lternate visualization sequence An tar m ouna
Right side, left side, front, back, inner parts, m ajor parts
Eyebrow centre; 54 to 1 Cold/heat, pain/pleasure
Person in chidakasha, ocean, well, spontaneous thoughts, willed th o u g h ts
Eyebrow centre/Om O cean/tem ple
Psychic centres (location and form) Psychic symbols
Eyebrow centre/Om Rapid images
T ran sparent body Aura
Preparation: Please get ready for yoga nidra, you know the
position very well, (pause) Close your eyes a n d adjust yourself until you are comfortable. If you w ant to move o r m ake any final m ovements, do so now. O nce you have adjusted yourself finally, the body should n o t move until yoga n id ra is over, (pause) Slowly become quiet, as quiet as possible. T ake th ree long, deep breaths an d each time, as you breathe out, feel yourself 1-e-t-t-i-n-g g-o. (pause)
Ju st for an h o u r forget your cares and worries a n d concen trate on yoga nidra. (pause)
Relaxation: Become aware o f distant sounds, (pause) Move your attention from sound to sound...listening only, do not try to analyze, (pause) Bring your attention closer, become aware o f sounds outside the building; then become aware o f sounds inside the building, inside this room.
(pause) Develop awareness o f this room ...the walls, the ceiling...your body lying on the floor...see your body lying on the floor, become aware o f your physical existence.
(pause) Become aware o f the existence o f your physical body, concentrate on your physical body as a whole...total awareness o f the natural breath, (pause) Continue with this awareness an d feel yourself becoming relaxed, (longpause)
Become aware that you are going to practise yoga nidra, say to yourself: ‘I am going to practise yoga nidra; I am going to practise yoga nidra.’ Only two doors o f perception are open... feeling a n d hearing. Yoga nidra begins now.
Resolve: Resolve, resolve...state your resolve with feeling
a n d awareness th ree times, (pause)
Rotation o f consciousness: Awareness o f different parts o f
the body...as quickly as possible the m ind is to ju m p from p o in t to point.
Right side: Right h a n d thum b, second finger, third, fourth,
fifth, palm o f the hand, back o f the hand, wrist, lower arm , elbow, u p p e r arm , shoulder, arm pit, side, waist, hip, ham string, rig h t thigh, kneecap, calf muscle, ankle, heel, sole, top o f the rig h t foot, right toes, one, two, three, four, five...
Left side: Left h an d thum b, second finger, third, fourth, fifth, palm o f the h an d , back o f the h and, wrist, lower arm , elbow, u p p e r arm , shoulder, arm pit, side, waist, hip, ham string, left thigh, kneecap, calf muscle, ankle, heel, sole, top o f th e left foot, left toes, one, two, three, four, five...
Front: Go to the top o f th e head. T o p o f the h ead, forehead, rig h t eyebrow, left eyebrow, th e space betw een th e eyebrows, rig h t eyelid, left eyelid, right eye, left eye, rig h t ear, left ear, rig h t nostril, left nostril, rig h t cheek, left cheek, u p p e r lip, low er lip, chin, jaw , th ro a t, rig h t collarbone, left collarbone, right chest, left chest, m iddle o f the chest, navel, u p p e r abdom en, lower abdom en, rig h t groin, left groin, rig h t thigh, left thigh, rig h t knee, left knee, rig h t ankle, left ankle, rig h t toes, left toes...
Back: Now go to the back. Right toes, left toes, rig h t sole, left sole, rig h t heel, left heel, rig h t ankle, left ankle, rig h t calf muscle, left calf muscle, back o f the rig h t knee, back o f the left knee, back o f the right thigh, back o f the left thigh, rig h t buttock, left buttock, rig h t hip, left hip, whole spine, right shoulderblade, left shoulderblade, back o f the neck, back o f the head, top o f the head...
Inner parts: T h e in n er parts o f the body. T ake yo u r m in d to the brain, start with the brain. T h e brain, the nasal passage between the nose a n d throat; the tongue, th e teeth, the palate o r ro o f o f the m outh; the rig h t eard ru m , the left eardrum ; the th ro at thro u g h which the air passes; the alim entary canal o r food passage; the right lung, the left lung; the heart, feel the h eart by concentrating on the heartbeat; the stomach, which is above your navel towards the left side; the liver, above the navel towards the right; the rig h t kidney a n d the left kidney towards the back above waist level; a n d in the abdom en a very long, coiled tube called the small intestine an d an inverted U -shaped tube called the large intestine...
O nce again, faster. Start with the brain. T h e brain, nasal passage, tongue, palate, rig h t eardrum , left eardrum ,
throat, alim entary canal, right lung, left lung, heart, stomach, liver, right kidney, left kidney, small intestine, large intestine, whole abdom en...
M ajor parts: Now the m ajor parts o f the body. Whole o f the right leg, whole o f the left leg, both legs together...w hole o f the rig h t arm , whole o f the left arm , b o th arm s together...w hole o f the head together...whole o f the back together...whole o f the front together...all o f the internal organs together...the whole body...the whole body...the whole body...visualize the whole body as you say it. (pause)
Intensify your awareness. (long pause) Repeat one complete round.
Body/floor awareness: C oncentrate on the body lying on
the floor...your body lying on the floor...and become aware o f the m eeting points between the body an d the floor, (pause) H ead-floor; shoulders-floor; arm s-floor; back-floor; buttocks-floor; thighs-floor; calves-floor; heels-floor; the whole body and the floor, (pause)
Breathing: Bring your awareness to the breath; become
aware that you are breathing...becom e aware o f your breath in general...just become conscious th at you are b rea th in g , n o th in g else, (long pause) C o n tin u e your awareness o f breathing and gradually bring your attention to the eyebrow centre...im agine that you are breathing through the eyebrow centre and that the breath moves in and out from the forehead, (pause) Im agine that your breath moves thro u g h the eyebrow centre to a point in the centre o f the back o f the head, passing thro u g h ajna chakra...m aintain your awareness o f the breath. (long pause) Maintain your awareness o f the breath through the eyebrow centre a n d start cou n tin g yo u r breaths backwards from 5 4 : 1 am breathing in 54; I am breathing out 54; I am b reathing in 53; I am breathing out 53, and so on. (long pause)
Awareness o f counting an d breath...no sleeping...if you make a mistake you must go back to the start. (5 minute pause) B reathing thro u g h the eyebrow centre, be sure
that you are aware o f counting...if you reach zero, go back to 54 an d start again. (5 minute pause) Cease your counting, but m aintain awareness o f breathing...you are aware o f breathing, an d you are aware that you are lying in shavasana, n o th in g else besides these, (long pause)
Awareness o f sensations
C old: Awaken the feeling o f cold. C oncentrate o n your spinal cord a n d develop the feeling o f coldness a n d shivering.
(pause) C oncentrate on the breath in your left nostril an d develop the feeling o f cold in the whole body...every breath you take in makes the body cooler a n d cooler.
(pause) C o n c en trate on the left nostril a n d th e left b rea th ...w ith every b re a th you take in to th e body, experience the cold, (longpause) C oncentrate on vishud- d h i ch ak ra in th e n e ck ...it is th e seat o f th e cold experience...concentrate on vishuddhi. (pause) W hen your consciousness is located in this psychic centre, the whole body will be enveloped in the absolute feeling o f cold.
(long pause)
H ea t: C o n c e n tra te o n c re a tin g h e a t s u r ro u n d in g th e body...develop the m anifestation o f h eat in the body.
(pause) C o n c e n tra te o n b e co m in g e n v e lo p e d in an atm osphere o f h e at th ro ughout the body from head to toes, p erm eating the whole body, (pause) C oncentrate on the breath in the rig h t nostril...and with each inhaled breath, increase th e feeling o f h eat in the whole body from h ead to toe. (long pause) Develop the feeling o f heat in the body by concentrating o n m anipura chakra in the navel area...from this centre you can produce h eat an d distribute it th ro u g h o u t the body, (longpause) G eneration o f h eat in m anipura, the navel centre, an d in the right nostril, (pause) C oncentrate on the heat you have created aro u n d the body, (long pause)
Pain: Recollect any pain, recollect any pain...try to develop that recollection to such a d e p th that your m in d is infused by the pain, (pause) R em em ber the pain, feel that pain; you should awaken your will an d feel pain, real an d
imaginary, in any p a rt o f the body o r in all parts o f the body, (long pause) C oncentrate your m ind w herever you awaken the feeling o f pain...assemble the energy particles o f pain...m anifest the experience o f pain, (long pause) Pleasure: Recollect the feeling o f pleasure, maybe pleasure
belonging to the sense o f taste, pleasure belonging to h earing o r seeing, (pause) W hatever that experience is, w hether a big experience o r a litde experience, it should be concentrated and developed into a total ecstatic feeling.
(long pause) D eepen your awareness...assemble the total energies o f will...and manifest the experience o f pleasure.
(long pause)
Inner space: (person in chidakasha) Please b rin g your
awareness to chidakasha, the dark space in front o f your foreh ead , (pause) C o n cen trate on yourself seated in m editation with your legs crossed and your eyes closed. You are seated in m editation in a hall and there is someone seated in front o f you, an im portant person; this is an im portant event in your life, (long pause) You are sitting in m editation and he is sitdng in meditation; your eyebrow centre an d his eyebrow centre are one. Both o f you are b reathing through the eyebrow centre, bhrum adhya... when you breath out you touch his eyebrow centre, and when he breathes out he touches your eyebrow centre...a link is established, (long pause)
O cean: Now concentrate on chidakasha an d becom e aware o f waves surging over a large ocean, u n d e r a dark sky.
(pause) T h e waves are symbols o f your unconscious...see the dark sky, the vast ocean and the waves, (pause)
Well: Intensify your concentration and imagine a well...very deep. With the help o f a rope, go down as far as you can, then come out...have this experience, (longpause)
Spontaneous thoughts: Return now to chidakasha an d become aware o f any spontaneous thoughts, (pause) Become aware o f any spontaneous thought process for some tim e...and then without com pleting it, dispose o f it...detach yourself completely and go to an o ther thought, (long pause)
W illed thoughts: Now stop the spontaneous thought process, reject all sp o n tan eo u s th oughts, reject sp o n ta n eo u s thoughts. Instead, you must choose a thought an d develop it at will, (pause) Reject any spontaneous thoughts and develop a thought o f your own making...clearly see that thought and continue, (long pause)
Visualizations
E yebrow cen trelO m : C oncentrate on the eyebrow centre, concentrate on the eyebrow centre. Discover there a nerve pulsating in a rhythm ic way...and with the rhythm o f that pulsation become aware o f Om. (long pause)
C ontinue co n cen tratin g on the eyebrow c e n tre...a n d discover there a small circle...a small circle which becomes bigger an d bigger until it m erges with the infinite... discover circles growing from the eyebrow centre, (long pause) C oncentrate o n the symbol Om as it is written there...concentrate on the symbol Om. (pause) With the breath, see the expansion and contraction o f Om in a circle; in the eyebrow centre, with the rhythm o f the breath...expansion a n d contraction o f Om in a circle. C oncentrate on Om, see it clearly, (long pause)
O cean/tem ple: Intensify your imagination and concentration, and the power o f conception, (pause) Im agine an ocean, calm an d quiet...dark. Im agine you are on the surface... slowly start sinking, (long pause) Become unconscious... sink d e ep e r and deeper, (pause) Sink d eep er a n d d e ep e r and discover the secrets o f the body...in a w orld which is absolutely inside, (long pause)
Intensify your im agination an d the power o f conception.
(pause) See a d eep a n d d ark ju n g le , e n te r into the jungle...go deep into it, continue on. (pause) Go much d e ep e r into the jungle...see a lonely clearing with an aura o f light around...the light comes from a tem ple close by.
(pause) T h e tem ple is like a house lit from the inside at night...but as well, there is a great aura o f light aro u n d the outside...from far off you see that, (pause) You becom e aware that the tem ple is pulsating with the vibration o f
the sound Om...inside the tem ple there is the chanting o f m antras and the ringing o f bells...the smell o f incense.
(long pause) Draw closer to the tem ple a n d feel the atm osphere o f peace... the door o f the temple is open...you peep inside an d th ere is nothing there, (pause) N othing but a sannyasin m onk in orange robes...he is sitting in lotus posture with his eyes open. Sit in front o f him, and look at his face...find out who he could be...concentrate.
(long pause)
Resolve: Become aware o f the breath...becom e aware o f the
b re a th , (long pause) R e m e m b er yo u r resolve, y o u r sankalpa... repeat your resolve with absolute faith and awareness... please rep eat your resolve or sankalpa three times, (pause)
Finish: T h e whole body...the whole body...the whole body.
Relax all efforts a n d become aware o f the whole body.
(long pause) Bring your attention to the natural breath, the quiet breath...develop your awareness o f the quiet b reath . M aintain y o u r awareness o f the b re a th an d gradually deepen it...make it stronger, (pause) Become aware o f your physical existence...become aware o f the physical existence o f your body and your state o f physical relaxation...at the sam e time your breath is growing stronger, take a long, slow, deep breath in...and let it out.
(pause) Develop awareness o f your body...deeply relaxed lying on the floor...visualize the surrounding room ...let your m ind become completely external...start m aking small movements o f your body...bend your fingers, move your toes...move your arm s and legs, (pause) Keep your eyes closed, take a few deep breaths an d stretch yourself thoroughly three times, with your arm s above your head. Please take your time, there is no hurry, (pause) W hen you are sure that you are wide awake, sit up slowly and o p e n your eyes. T h e practice o f yoga n id ra is now complete.
A lternative visualization sequence: T h e following visualiz
ation sequence can be substituted for the visualizations ‘Eyebrow C entre/O m ’ an d ‘O cean/Tem ple’, a n d com p leted with ‘Resolve’ a n d ‘Finish’ as above.
Psychic centres: Discover the psychic centres o r chakras...
Speak with me mentally and feel the position o f the chakras as if you w ere to u ch in g th em with a sm all flower: m o o lad h ara...p erin eu m , cervix; sw adhisthana... spinal terminus; manipura...behind the navel; anahata... behind the heart; vishuddhi...behind the throat; ajna... behind the eyebrow centre; bindu...top back of the head; sahasrara... crown o f the h ead . Sahasrara...bindu... ajna...vishud dhi.. .anahata...manipura...swadhisthana... m ooladhara. Again: M ooladhara, swadhisthana, m anipura, anahata, vishuddhi, ajna, bindu, sahasrara. Sahasrara, bindu, ajna, vishuddhi, anahata, m anipura, swadhisthana, m ooladhara. O nce m o re: m o o la d h a ra , sw ad h isth an a, m a n ip u ra , anahata, vishuddhi, ajna, bindu, sahasrara. Sahasrara, bindu, ajna, vishuddhi, anahata, m anipura, swadhisthana, m ooladhara. (pause) C oncentrate on the form o f the chakras. As each chakra is nam ed, try to feel as if a lotus is springing u p from the centre.
M ooladhara...red lotus with four petals...in the centre is the beeja m an tra o r seed m antra lam. (pause) Swadhis thana...verm illion lotus with six petals...in the centre is the seed m antra vam. (pause) M anipura...from m anipura springs a yellow lotus with ten petals...in the centre is the beeja m antra ram. (pause) Anahata...blue lotus with twelve petals...the beeja m antra is yam. (pause) Vishuddhi...violet lotus with sixteen petals...the beeja m antra is ham. (pause)
Ajna...smoky lotus with two petals...the beeja m antra is
Om. (pause) B indu...no lotus, a crescent m oon, (pause)
S ahasrara...red lotus with one thousand petals an d a shivalingam in the centre, (pause)
Psychic symbols: C oncentrate on the symbols o f the psychic
centres...and develop definite images as they are nam ed: M ooladhara...inverted red triangle, sw adhisthana...the
unconscious, like waves on the ocean at night, m anipura... bright yellow sunflower, anahata...solitary yellow flame o f light, vishuddhi...cold dro p s o f nectar, ajna...seat o f intuition, bindu...crescent m oon at night, sahasrara... fireplace with bu rn in g fire, (pause)
Eyebrow eentrelO m: C oncentrate on the eyebrow centre.
(pause) With the breath, see the expansion and contraction o f Om, in a circle, (pause) In the eyebrow centre with the rhythm o f the breath, expansion and contraction o f Om
in a circle, (long pause)
Rapid images: Now we begin the practice o f dharana, the
m ental control o f the concept o f an object. As I nam e each o f the objects, intensify your imagination a n d quickly follow in the form o f vision o r awareness o f the item named...
Shivalingam , sta n d in g Christ, flickering lam p, large banyan tree, tall m ango tree, guava tree, car moving on a road, dead body bu rn in g on the fire, many coloured clouds forming, yellow clouds, smoky clouds, pink clouds, starlit night, m oonlit night, full m oon, dog standing, cat reposing, elep h an t moving, horse racing, rising sun, settin g sun, ocean waves, shivalingam in a tem ple, standing Christ, big p o n d with clear water, blue lotus, white lotus, pink lotus, spider’s golden web, sandy bank o f a river, boat sailing on the water, dead body on a fire, hum an skeletons, yourself lying down without clothes, completely naked, cross over a church, within the church a priest praying, w orshippers kneeling, chimney smoke rising from an old house, a cold winter, fire burn in g in the house, dawn o f the day, temple bell ringing, sannyasin with shaven head, yogi in m editation, B uddha in repose, Christ showing compassion, cross with illumination, an infinite ocean, calm an d quiet, dark green ju n g les on the shores, cobras, lions, a n d goats, living to g e th e r in friendliness; experience the sound, the vibrations o f Om
all aro u n d in the ju n g le, intensify the awareness o f Om. (long pause)
Transparent body: Go into your own body...go into your own body an d becom e aware o f your p ra n a o r life force...the life force which is in the form o f heat, (pause)
You are aware o f yourself, you are aware o f a kind o f heat, you are aware o f a comfortable sensation...become aware o f yo u r p ra n a , th e life fo rce ...e x p erien c e p ra n a as heat...experience it through the whole body, (long pause)
C oncentrate on your navel, a golden cord projecting upwards from your navel; at this end o f the golden cord is your physical body...at the other end o f the golden cord is your transparent body, (long pause) T ry to see it.
(pause) Try to see the transparent body...see it without distinction o f eyes o r o ther organs, (pause) T ry to see the physical body as distinct from the transparent body; the physical body may be smoky or else it may be well defined.
(pause) See both the physical body and the transparent body floating above it...connected by a shining golden cord at the navel, (long pause)
Aura: Become aware o f your own self...look to your own self.
(pause) Look to your own self as you would look in a m irror...or as I look at you, or you look at me. (pause)
Look to your own self and look to your own aura...look at yourself from different angles, from the front...from the right...from the left...from the top...from below, (pause)
Find out your own aura and see w hether it is yellow, golden, pink, red, purple, pure yellow, brown, green, burning yellow, black, white, blue, violet, (long pause) Golden egg: Become aware o f yourself. Find o ut by asking
yourself: ‘Am I aware o f myself? Am I asleep or awake?’ See your whole body from top to toe, as clearly as I see it...try to see your body by being outside it. Ask yourself: