(In order to guide this Yoga Nidra, you will need some experience teaching Yoga Nidra. All the timings are not outlined in this script. If you wish to study Yoga Nidra with me, visit my store www.artyogafusion.com to see when my next Yoga Nidra training is offered).
Notice if there's anything you can do to make yourself a little bit more comfortable. Maybe putting a pillow under the knees or the head. Maybe a blanket over the body. The body temperature tends to drop during Yoga Nidra.
Take a deep breath in, and on the exhale, think letting go. And do this several times. Taking a deep breath in, and on the exhale thinking letting go. (pause)
Let go of disappointments, doubts, tests, obstacles. Let them all blow away like leaves in an Autumn wind. And say to yourself mentally, I am practicing Yoga Nidra. And say to yourself mentally, I will stay awake for Yoga Nidra.
Connect to the weight of the body. Feel the heaviness of the body. The head is heavy. The shoulders are heavy. The back is heavy. The arms are heavy. Feel the whole body heavy. Let the heaviness of the body allow you to relax more deeply.
Begin to take slow deep breaths. On the inhale, the belly rises, and on the exhale, the belly falls. Inhale, the belly rises and exhale, the belly falls. And then find the place between the belly, the navel and the heart. It's called in yoga, the solar plexus chakra. (pause) Maybe you put a hand on it and start to notice the breath at this solar plexus chakra. This area between the navel and the heart is the area considered by Yogi's and meditators as the place where confidence, willpower, courage and self-esteem dwell. Get connected to this chakra. Feel the breath, the energy body, the prana activating in the solar plexus. This is the chakra connected with the first quarter moon.
Take a deep breath in. And in the exhale think first quarter moon. Deep inhale and exhale, thinking first quarter moon. Do this several times. (pause)
Begin to listen in all directions for sounds. Listen for sound outside the room where you're situated. Listen for sounds inside the room. Listen for any sounds of the body, any gurgling or activity. Listen for the sound of the breath. And listen for the sound of the heartbeat. Or feel the heart beating within the body.
In the heartbeat, hear the heart's desire. In Yoga Nidra, it's called the Sankalpa, a Sankalpa is a short positive statement and the present or future tense. It's an affirmation or a resolve. If you don't have a Sankalpa you're working with, for today try the statement “I take responsibility for my actions”. That's the affirmation of the first quarter moon. Using the statement “I take responsibility for my actions”, or your own personal statement, repeated three times mentally, with full awareness and the confidence that it will come true.
Moving on to the rotation of consciousness through the body, the body scan. A body part will be named and either repeat the name of the body part mentally, bring awareness to the body part, or visualize the body part being touched by moonlight. It's important to choose one of these strategies. Either repeating the name of the body part. Bringing awareness to the body part or visualizing the body part being touched by moonlight.
The body remains still and the instructions will be with moonlight. But the other possibilities are there. Feel or see moonlight touching the right-hand thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger. And feel or see the moonlight on the palm of the hand, the back of the hand, wrist, touching the forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit. Feel or see the healing moonlight in the armpit, the side of the right rib cage, touching the right waist, hip, upper leg, kneecap, lower leg, moonlight at the ankle, heel, instep, sole of the foot, top of the foot, and see the silver moon light touching the right big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe and fifth toe.
Now the right side of the body is lit, is illuminated with silver moonlight. Bring the moonlight to the left-hand thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger. See or feel the silver light and the palm of the hand, on the back of the hand, at the wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit. And see or feel the moonlight brushing against the side of the left rib cage, left waist, left hip. Silver light at the upper leg, the kneecap, lower leg, ankle, heel, instep, sole of the foot, top of the foot. And moonlight lighting the left big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe and fifth toe.
Stay awake and aware and bring the moonlight to the top of the head, the forehead, the right temple, the left temple the right eyebrow, the left eyebrow. Light shining on the eyebrows center, the right eye lid, the left eyelid, the right lashes, the left eyelashes, the bridge of the nose, the tip of the nose. Moonlight in the right nostril, the left nostril, on the upper lip, the lower lip, chin, throat. Moonlight touching the right collarbone, the left collarbone, the hollow between the collarbones, the right chest, the left chest, the heart center.
Stay awake and aware, and feel the moonlight on the upper abdomen, navel, lower abdomen, pelvis, buttocks, lower back. Moonlight in the middle back, upper back. And feel the healing light on the right shoulder blade, the left shoulder blade, the back of the neck, the back of the head and the top of the head.
And see a silver shimmering light up and down the whole right arm. And feel or see the silver lining up and down the whole left arm. And feel or see the moon lie up and down the whole right leg. And feel or see the moonlight up and down the whole left leg. And see the moon light on the arms and legs together. And feel the moon light illuminating the whole front of the body. And feel or see the moonlight lighting the whole back of the body. And feel or see the whole body together being lit by the light of the moon. The whole body together lit by the light of tonight's first quarter moon.
Let go of the body scan, let go of the body rotation and come to natural breathing. And in the natural breath, find that place between the navel and the heart known in yoga as the solar plexus, and on the inhale, feel the solar plexus rise and expand. And on the exhale, feel the solar plexus deflate and contract. Bring awareness to the breath of the solar plexus, that place between the navel and the heart. And begin counting backwards from 18 to zero, with awareness of the breath of the solar plexus. Inhaling 18, exhaling 17, inhaling 17 exhaling 17. And continue counting mentally backwards from 18 to zero with awareness of the breath at the solar plexus. If the count is lost, start again at 18. If the count reaches zero, begin again at 18. Stay with the counting and stay with the awareness of the breath of the solar plexus.
Let go of the counting and let go of the awareness of the breath at the solar plexus and come back to natural breathing. Notice the natural breath, notice the coolness of the breath as it goes into the body through the mouth or nose. And notice anywhere else the body feels cool, perhaps on the exposed skin. And spread the coolness across the entire body. Let the body be cool. Experience the body as coolness. The body is cool.
And now let go of the experience of coolness and come to the opposite experience of warmth. Notice a place in the body where the body is warm, perhaps under a blanket or clothing or at the core of the body. Find the place where the body is warm. Look for warmth in the body. Find that place of warmth, under the blankets or the clothing or at the core of the body. Find that warmth and spread the warmth across the entire body. Let the body be warm. Experience the body as warmth. Spread the warmth across the entire body. Let the body be warm.
Let go of warmth and come back to coolness. Notice where the body is cool. Notice the exposed skin, the fingers or the toes. Connect to wherever the body is cool and spread it across the entire body.
Know the body as cool.
Let go of coolness and come to the opposite experience of warmth. Feel the warmth under the blankets, clothing, connect to the warmth across the entire body. Let the body be warm. Know the body is warmth. And now let go of the warm thing come back to coolness. Feel the body cool.
Add in the sensation of warmth. Maybe the front of the body is cool and the back of the body is warm. Maybe the top of the body is warm and the bottom of the body is cool. Although this is difficult to do, attempt to be both warm and cool simultaneously. And now let go of the coolness and let go of the warmth.
Remember an experience of being busy, of being busy, of doing too much, of being exhausted from so much action. Remember that experience of being busy as if it were happening right now. See yourself busy. See yourself doing, see yourself doing too much. And experience the whole body as doing, as busy. And then let go of that experience of doing, of busyness, and come to the opposite experience of being of slowing down. See yourself relaxing, being, slowing down and spread this idea, this experience of being, of slowing down across the entire body. Let the whole body slow down.
Remember an experience of slowing down, of being and connect to it as if it were happening right now. Let the body slow down. Let the body just be. Now, let go of being of slowing down and come back to the opposite experience of doing, of being busy. And let go of doing and being busy and come to the opposite experience of slowing down and being. And then let go of being and come back to doing and add in being. Perhaps the front of the body is doing and is busy and the back of the body is being and slowing down. Maybe the top of the body is doing and being busy and the bottom of the body is being and slowing down. Although this is difficult to do, attempt to be busy and slow down at the exact same time. Attempt to do and being simultaneously. Now let go of being and doing, let go of busyness and slowing down and come back to natural breathing.
And bring the awareness to the chidakasha the mind space in front of a closed eyes. Bring awareness to the chidakasha the mind moving. And in the chitakasha, the mind space in front of a closed eyes, visualize these simple images that will be suggested.
A half circle
A half circle
A white lotus
A white lotus
The yin yang symbol
The yin yang symbol
An arrow being pulled back in a bow
An arrow being pulled back in a bow
Spring transitioning to summer
Spring transitioning to summer
Moving forward in life after you have become clear about where you're going
Moving forward in life after you have become clear about where you're going
(pause) Bring awareness to the chidakasha, the mind space in front of a closed eyes, and notice if there are any patterns or colors there.
In the chidakasha the mind screen in front of the closed eyes, visualize a small seed, and plant that seed and fertile earth. Plant it in fertile black rich soil. Place the seed in the soil. Cover the seed wither, water the seed in the soil. Place your hands on the earth and smooth down the place where the seed lies. Pay very close attention and see a seedling start to emerge from the dark soil. A little Green sapling seedling pushing through the earth. It struggles as it pushes through the obstacles of the dirt, but it makes it, it stretches through reaching for the sunlight. Now see it grow. The seedling transitioning into a beautiful white flower with a long stem, elegant petals and curvaceous leaves. See this white flower that has emerged from the seed you planted and watch it there by the light of the first quarter moon.
And bring the awareness back to the chidakasha, the mind space in front of the closed eyes and let go of the visualization practice. Bring the attention back to the breath, and in the whisper of the gentle breath, hear the Sankalpa, the statement that was made in the beginning of the Yoga Nidra practice. Perhaps it was your own personal statement or the statement I suggested, “I take responsibility for my actions”. Using your own personal statement affirmation or my suggested statement, once again repeated three times mentally with full awareness and the confidence that it will come true.
Notice the heart beating inside the body. Notice the breath coming in and out of the nose or mouth. Connect to any sounds of the body and gurgling or bodily noises that suggest deep relaxation. Listen for sounds inside the room. Listen for sounds outside the room. Find the furthest sound that you can hear outside the room.
Become aware of the room. Remember the walls. Remember the ceiling, the color of the ceiling and remember the floor. Ask yourself, what's the texture of the floor. Even remember what you're wearing.
Come back to the breath. Make each inhale deeper and deeper (pause). Make each exhale fuller and fuller. Inhaling and exhaling, deeply and fully. Inhaling and exhaling deeply and fully. (pause) Say to yourself mentally. The practice of Yoga Nidra for the first quarter moon is now complete.
Keep the eyes closed but begin to wiggle the fingers and the toes. Roll the wrists and ankles one-way, like tiny lunar orbits. (pause) And then the opposite direction. (pause) Take any kind of intuitive movement the body is asking for, being aware of your environment. Maybe you're stretching, perhaps you're wiggling. When you're ready and there's no need to rush or hurry, roll over onto your right side in the fetal position. And in this position of rebirth and renewal, I'll once again say that characteristics of the first quarter moon.
This evening, this first quarter moon is a time for commitment, confidence, willpower, activity expression, movement, challenges, new solutions, doubts, tests, obstacles and actions. (pause) When you are ready, push yourself up to a seated position. (pause) Perhaps you bring your hands into prayer, Anjali Mudra, to acknowledge this time that you’ve taken to relax, to meditate, to practice. Bring your hands to your heart center to honor yourself. Perhaps you bow in as a sign of reverence to yourself and this practice of Yoga Naaidra. And I say to you Hari Om Tat Sat. Thank you for practicing with me. Namaste!
