Relaxation Resolve Rotation of consciousness Body/mirror awareness Breathing Awareness of sensations Inner space Visualizations Resolve Finish Alternate visualization sequence O m /brea thing
Right side, left side, right side reverse, left side reverse, w hole back down, whole back up, whole front down, whole front up, m ajor parts
M ental alternate nostril: 54 to 1 Heaviness/lightness, pain/pleasure Ocean, well, spontaneous th o u g h t Asana, m ovem ent in time, rap id
image, ocean/jungle, golden egg
Psychic centres (location) Psychic symbols
Preparation: Please get ready for yoga nidra. Lie down in
shavasana, your body stretched out, feet apart, the palm s o f the h ands tu rn ed upwards a n d your eyes closed, (pause)
Make all the necessary adjustm ents so th at you are as com fortable as possible, th ere m ust be no m ovem ent, n eith e r conscious n o r unconscious, (pause) R em em ber th at you are about to practise yoga nidra, psychic sleep, a n d th at you have only to m aintain awareness o f hearing a n d feeling, (pause) T h e body sleeps but the m in d rem ains awake...you m ust rem ain alert so th at you do n o t sleep. Say to yourself mentally: ‘I will n o t sleep, I will rem ain awake’, (pause) T ake a deep breath a n d as you b reath e in feel coolness a n d calmness spreading th ro u g h o u t the body...as you b rea th e out, feel your cares a n d worries flowing out o f you, d ro p p in g away, (long pause)
Relaxation: Become aware o f your body a n d relax yourself
completely, m ake yourself physically calm a n d steady.
(pause) Feel th at the legs are relaxed, the trunk, the head, die arm s a n d hands, (pause) Develop the awareness o f your physical body rig h t from the top o f your h e a d to the tips o f the toes, a n d say in your m in d O-o-o-m-m-m. (pause) C om plete awareness o f the whole body...say to yourself again O-o-o-m-m-m. (pause) Relax y o u r whole body mentally, relax yourself mentally, relax yourself by b reath in g norm ally a n d becom ing aware o f th e b reath as it moves between the navel an d throat, (pause) Awareness o f your natural breath , no forcing, (pause) Navel to th ro at breathing, please go on with this awareness a n d slowly feel yourself becom ing m ore relaxed, (long pause) Now leave your b rea th in g a n d becom e aware th a t you are g oing to practise yoga nidra. Yoga n id ra begins now.
Resolve: Now is the tim e to m ake your resolve, (pause) Be consistent, p lan t the resolve at one place a n d do n o t change it. Certainly the resolve will come true if the soil is perfect, (pause) R ep eat your resolve with feeling an d awareness th ree times, (pause)
Rotation o f consciousness: Awareness o f the parts o f the
body...the consciousness should move a ro u n d the body a n d keep on moving, (pause) As it moves it changes into prana, the vital energy, in the form o f a c u rre n t o f energy. Do n o t concentrate on any one part, but let your m ind ju m p freely from o n e p a rt to the next, (pause)
Right side: R ight h a n d thum b, second finger, third , fourth,
fifth, palm , back o f the h an d , wrist, lower arm , elbow, u p p e r arm , shoulder, arm pit, waist, hip, rig h t thigh, kneecap, calf muscle, ankle, heel, sole, top o f the foot, rig h t toes, one, two, three, four, five...
Left sid e: Left h a n d thum b, second finger, third , fourth, fifth, palm o f the h an d , back o f the h an d , wrist, lower arm , elbow, u p p e r arm , shoulder, arm pit, waist, hip, left thigh, kneecap, calf muscle, ankle, heel, sole, top o f the foot, left toes, one, two, three, four, five...
Right side reverse: Go to the rig h t toes, an d start from the
bottom . R ight big toe, second toe, third, fourth, fifth, top o f the foot, sole, heel, ankle, calf muscle, kneecap, thigh, hip, waist, arm pit, shoulder, u p p e r arm , elbow, lower arm , wrist, back o f the h an d , palm o f the h a n d , rig h t thum b, second finger, third, fourth, fifth...
Left side reverse: Go to the left toes. Left big toe, second toe,
third, fourth, fifth, top o f the foot, sole, heel, ankle, calf muscle, kneecap, thigh, hip, waist, arm p it, shoulder, u p p e r arm , elbow, u p p e r arm , lower arm , wrist, back o f the h and, palm o f th e h an d , left thum b, second finger, third, fourth, fifth...
Whole back dow n: Go to the back o f the body. Go to the back
o f the head, w here it touches the floor. Back o f the head, right shoulderblade, left shoulderblade, whole spine, right hip, left hip, rig h t buttock, left buttock, back o f the rig h t thigh, back o f the left thigh, back o f the rig h t knee, back o f the left knee, rig h t calf muscle, left calf muscle, rig h t ankle, left ankle, rig h t heel, left heel...
Whole back up: R ight ankle, left ankle, right calf muscle, left
back o f the rig h t thigh, back o f the left thigh, rig h t buttock, left buttock, right hip, left hip, whole spine, right shoulderblade, left shoulderblade, back o f the head...
Whole front down: Go to the front o f the body, go to the top
o f the head. T o p o f the head, forehead, rig h t eyebrow, left eyebrow, the space between the eyebrows, rig h t eyelid, left eyelid, right eye, left eye, right ear, left ear, right nostril, left nostril, rig h t cheek, left cheek, u p p e r lip, low er lip, c h in , jaw , th ro a t, rig h t c o lla rb o n e , left collarbone, right chest, left chest, m iddle o f the chest, navel, u p p e r abdom en, lower abdom en, right groin, left groin, right thigh, left thigh, right knee, left knee, right toes, left toes...
Whole front up: Right toes, left toes, right knee, left knee,
rig h t thigh, left thigh, rig h t groin, left groin, lower abdom en, u p p e r abdom en, navel, right chest, left chest, m iddle o f the chest, rig h t collarbone, left collarbone, throat, jaw, chin, lower lip, u p p e r lip, rig h t cheek, left cheek, right nostril, left nostril, rig h t ear, left ear, right eye, left eye, rig h t eyelid, left eyelid, right eyebrow, left eyebrow, eyebrow centre, forehead, top o f the head...
M ajor parts: Now the m ajor parts o f the body. T h e whole o f
the rig h t leg, whole o f the left leg, both legs...together. Whole o f the right arm , whole o f the left arm , both arm s...together; whole o f the back...together; whole o f the front...together; whole o f the head...together; the whole body, whole body, whole body. Visualize the whole body, (pause) Intensify your awareness...the whole body, the whole body, the whole body, (long pause)
Body/mirror awareness: Become aware o f th e m eeting
points between your body an d the floor, (pause) Feel the m eeting points between the body an d the floor , sharp m eeting points...body an d floor, (pause) Feel the floor holding you to its bosom, like a baby in arms, (long pause)
Now concentrate on your body as if you are seeing it from the outside, look on your body as an object, (pause)
bottom , lying in the d e ad m an ’s pose on the floor, (pause)
See your body as an object, a reflection in an imaginary m irror, (pause) You are looking at your own reflection in the m irro r an d you see your self lying on the floor...your feet, your legs, abdom en, chest, arms, hands, clothing, nose, closed eyes, forehead, hair...everything reflected in that m irror, (pause) Awareness o f your body as an object.
(pause) Make sure you are n o t sleeping, (long pause)
Breathing: Bring your attention to the natural, quiet breath.
Become aware o f the breath through the nostrils, (pause)
T h e natural breath flows through both nostrils...and meets at the top o f the nose to form a triangle, (pause) T h e spontaneous breath enters through the nostril openings... moves upwards an d draws together to form a triangle with its apex in the eyebrow centre, (pause) Be aware o f the breath passing thro u g h both nostrils...becom e aware o f both breaths, separately...and simultaneously, (pause)
T h in k o f the breaths as starting separately from a distance, draw ing near...and u niting in the eyebrow centre, (pause)
Now concentrate on each breath an d try to d eterm in e its tem perature...m ove back a n d forth an d com p are the tem peratures, (pause) In yoga we say the left nostril breath is ida, m oon, an d the rig h t is pingala, sun. (pause) Ida, the left breath, is cooler; pingala, the rig h t breath, is warmer, (pause) C ontinue your awareness o f breathing, but imagine you are now breathing th ro u g h alternate nostrils...in through one nostril, an d o ut th ro u g h the other; up a n d down the sides o f the triangle an d back again, (pause) M aintain your awareness an d start counting each breath with full attention; inhale left 54, exhale r ig h t 54, in h a le r ig h t 53, e x h a le left 53, a n d so on...continue counting an d b reathing to zero, (longpause)
T otal awareness o f counting an d breathing. I f you m ake a mistake o r reach zero, start again from 54. (long pause)
Stop your counting an d rem ain aware o f th e breath o n ly ...in h a lin g evenly th ro u g h b o th n o strils ; to ta l awareness, no sleeping, no sleeping please, (long pause)
A w areness o f sensations
H eaviness: Heaviness; awaken the experience o f heaviness in the whole body, (pause) Become aware o f heaviness in each p a rt o f the body as it is nam ed: toes, heels, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, buttocks, back, abdom en, chest, sh o u ld e rs , a rm s, p a lm s, h e a d , eyelids, th e w hole body...heavy, the whole body...heavy, the whole body... heavy, (pause) E xperience this feeling o f heaviness in the whole body, (pause)
Lightness: Lightness; m anifest the experience o f lightness in the body, (pause) M anifest the feeling o f lightness from the top...from the top o f the head, the whole head, shoulders, palms, back, chest, abdom en, thighs, knees, calves, heels, soles, toes. M anifest the ex p erien ce o f lightness in the whole body from top to toe. (pause) T h e lightness o f the body can be developed by feeling the m eeting points betw een the body an d the floor...point by point, o r as a whole, a whole surface o f body-floor m eeting.
(pause) C oncentrate on this area o f m eeting a n d gradually experience lightness, (pause) Feel yourself floating up from the floor...you are so light that you are floating to the ceiling, drifting back a n d forth, (pause) C ontinue this experience until lightness is manifest, go on. (pause) Pain: Pain; recollect the experience o f pain, any kind o f pain
you have ex p erienced in your life...head pain, stomach pain, any physical pain o r m ental pain, (pause) Everyone has e xperienced pain at some time in his life...rem em ber th a t p ain , feel th a t p ain , (pause) T ry to m ak e th a t experience o f pain as clear as possible...deepen your awareness an d feel th at pain intensely...acutely, (pause)
C ontinue to concentrate on the experience o f pain, (pause) Pleasure: Pleasure; try to experience the feeling o f pleasure,
any pleasure, (pause) C oncentrate an d rem e m b e r the feeling o f pleasure...it may be according to your sense of touch, smell, taste, h earin g o r sight...any kind o f m ental pleasure, (pause) Recall th at pleasure an d try to develop it into an intense ecstatic experience, (long pause)
Inner space
O cean: T h in k o f an ocean...think o f a dark blue ocean and become aware o f the waves, (pause) T h a t ocean lies within the in n er space, th e chidakasha, an d the rolling waves rep resen t sleep...the m anifesting unconscious state o f your m ind, (pause) Become aware o f sleep an d try to visualize this state o f unconsciousness within you, like waves on an ocean, (pause) Above is a beautiful blue sky an d below is the vast ocean with infinite waves...the m anifesting process o f unconsciousness, (long pause) Well: Im agine a well, im agine a well and that you are looking
into it. T h e well is d ark an d deep...a cylindrical tunnel into the depths o f the earth, (pause) T h ere is a bucket on a chain; you lower it into the well...and it moves into abysmal darkness...you can feel it on the chain, in the depths...but you cannot see it. (pause) Now pull the bucket up, u p out o f the darkness an d into the light...let’s lower the bucket again, but this time if you wish, you can get into the bucket, a n d I will lower you down a n d pull you u p again, perfectly safely, (pause) Now th e bucket is w inding down, you are descending slowly th ro u g h the light and moving into darkness...unknown, all-pervading darkness, (pause) C om plete darkness an d em ptiness all around...so dark you cannot see yourself, b u t you can know an d feel that you are. (pause) You descend a little further, with com plete awareness that you are. (pause)
Now I am winding you up, up through the darkness...and into the dim light; from the dim light into daylight and out o f the well, (pause)
Spontaneous thought: Now ask yourself: ‘What am I think ing?’...do not ‘think’ but become aware o f the spontaneous thought process...become a witness, do not suppress any thought, (pause) T ry to witness your thoughts and ask yourself again and again: ‘What am I thinking?’ (pause) At the same time, m aintain total awareness o f any thought that is passing through the visible frame o f your conscious ness. (long pause)
Visualization
Asana: Now you have to concentrate on yourself as if you are doing asanas, yogic poses. You should try to visualize yourself from the outside doing the poses with psychic awareness only...do n o t move your body, (pause) Practise mentally surya namaskara, salute to the sun. See yourself in each o f the poses, 1,2,3...to 12. (pause) Now you are lying down, visualize yourself in shavasana, d ead m an ’s p o se ...fro m sh av asan a you m ove to sarvangasana,
shoulderstand; halasana, plough; an d the counterpose
matsy asana, fish; now paschimottanasana, forward bend;
bhujangasana, cobra...turning over, padmasana, lotus; and th en sirshasana, h e ad sta n d . C heck th at you are n o t sleeping, (long pause)
M o vem en t in tim e: Now you are going to travel into your past, in the same way you have travelled from the past to the present...retracing the steps o f your m em ory and consciousness backwards from this time. T h e past is p art o f time an d time is p a rt o f your m ind. Normally you walk forward in time...this time try an d walk backwards. By rem em bering your past you are going into the d eep er recesses o f your consciousness, (pause)
Try to rem em ber w hat h ap p en ed from the p resen t time to the time you got up this m orning...you have to go back in time as if you were watching a film run n in g in reverse, o r if not a film, a series o f slides, (pause) R em em ber back to the start o f the yoga nidra, then recall what you were doing in the half h o u r before that, (pause) R em em ber the im portant objects a n d feelings in that time, and then keep on proceeding in half hour o r one h o u r stages, to when you woke up. (long pause) Stage by stage, with full awareness, visualize a n d recall what you w ere doing, thinking an d feeling, (pause) When you have finished, b ring your m ind directly back to the present, (long pause) R apid image: Bring your awareness to the p resent an d make
sure you are not sleeping, no sleeping please. I am going to nam e a few objects an d you should try to visualize
them on the levels o f feeling, awareness, em otion and imagination as best you can. (pause) You should move as fast as I go, ju m p in g your m ind from image to image; do not waste your time concentrating on any one image, but keep moving.
Shivalingam ...standing Christ...flickering candle...w eep ing willow tree...tall palm tree...car moving on a road...dead body b urning over a fire...coloured clouds gathering... yellow clouds...blue clouds...starlit night...full m oon...dog standing...cat reposing...elephant moving...horse racing... rising sun...setting sun...ocean with waves... shivalingam... sta n d in g C h rist...a big p o n d with clear w ater...b lu e lotus...white lotus...pink lotus...golden spiderweb...sandy bank o f a wide river...boat sailing on the water...see the ripples...dead body burn in g on a fire...hum an skeletons... yourself lying down without clothes...completely naked... golden cord extending from your navel into the sky...cross over a church...w ithin the church a priest praying... w orshipper kneeling...chimney smoke rising from an old house...a cold winter...a fire burning in the house...dawn o f the day...tem ple bell ringing...a m onk with shaven h ead ...a yogi sitting in d eep m ed itatio n ...B u d d h a in repose...Christ showing compassion, (pause)
O cean/jungle: Intensify yo u r aw areness, intensify y our
awareness and go to an infinite ocean, calm and quiet...and try to discover a sound there, (pause) T h ere is a sound, an infinite ocean, dark green jungles on the shore, snakes, lions, and goats living in friendliness, (pause) From the shore a path leads to a lonely cottage in the jung le...an d a yogi is sitting outside in lotus pose, (pause) T h e re is a fire and a smell o f incense, the fragrance o f flowers, and an atm osphere o f tranquility, (pause) All around can be heard the sound o f Om, the chanting o f Om over the infinite ocean, (long pause)
Golden egg: Become a witness o f your awareness...not the
body, not the senses, n ot the m ind, n o th in g but the different awareness, (pause) Become aware th at you are
observing yourself, (pause) Look within and try to be aware o f the one who is looking, who is aware o f what you have been doing so far. (pause) Go into chidakasha...go into the cave o f chidakasha. Within that cave there is a flam ing light...find th at light, (pause) Find that light and find a small golden egg in the centre o f the light...a small golden egg. very bright, with light all around, (longpause)
Resolve: Resolve, resolve, resolve...now you should rem em
b er your resolve a n d repeat it three times, (pause) With m axim um feeling a n d awareness, three times, (pause)
Finish: Now relax all efforts an d bring your attention to the
natural breath, the natural breath flowing in a n d out of the nostrils, (long pause) Maintain your awareness o f the breath an d at the same time develop your awareness of physical relaxation, (pause) Awareness o f relaxation...and awareness o f your physical existence; becom e aware of the physical existence o f your body, (long pause) Develop awareness o f your body an d visualize your body lying on the floor, (pause) T ake your m ind out and visualize the surrounding room , let your m ind become completely external...do not open your eyes, (pause) You are practising yoga nidra, become aware o f this fact, (pause) Lie quietly until your atten tio n is completely externalized. Start moving, moving your body and stretching yourself...please take your time, th ere is no hurry, (pause) W hen you are sure that you are wide awake, sit up slowly and open your eyes. T h e practice o f yoga nidra is now complete.
H ari Om Tat Sat
A lternative visualizations: T h e following visualization
sequence can be substituted for the visualizations from ‘Rapid Im ages’ to ‘Golden Egg’ an d com pleted with ‘Resolve’ and ‘Finish’ as above.
Psychic centres: Visualization o f chakras in the physical body, starting from the bottom an d progressing upwards. First th ere is m ooladhara chakra, situated in the perineum in
m en, between the anus a n d the genitals, a n d in w om en at the cervix. C oncentrate on the m ooladhara psychic centre.
(pause) T h e second chakra is called sw adhisthana an d is located at the bo tto m o f the spinal cord, in the coccyx. C oncentrate on sw adhisthana. (pause) T h e th ird chakra is m anipura, located in the spinal cord b e h in d the navel. C oncentrate on m an ip u ra directly o r indirectly, breath in g back a n d forth in a straight line from the navel, (pause)
A nahata chakra is th e fourth, situated in the spinal cord directly b eh in d the h eart a n d sternum . C oncentrate on an ah ata direcdy...or indirecdy by b rea th in g back a n d forth in a straight line from the heart. V ishuddhi is the fifth chakra, a n d is located in the neck. C o n centrate on v ishuddhi. (pause) T h e sixth chakra is ajna, situated b e h in d the brain a t the top o f the spinal cord...in the sam e place as the pineal gland. C oncentrate on ajna