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part to body part corresponding with the instructions from your teacher. You should not imagine the next body
part before your teacher mentions it. Remain alert, but do not concentrate. The mind must be allowed to quickly,
silently and innocently move from body part to body part with no anxiety or expectation.
This is the sequence:
Become aware of the right side of the body. Take your awareness quickly to the right hand thumb, index finger,
middle finger, ring finger, little finger, palm, back of the hand, wrist, arm, elbow, shoulder, armpit, waist, hip,
thigh, kneecap, calf muscle, ankle, heel, sole of the foot, the top of the foot, big toe, second toe, third toe, four th
toe, little toe, all the t o e s.
Now repeat the previous step but this time with the left side.
Bring the awaren ess to th e l o w e r b a c k, middle back, upper back. Become aware of the shoulder blades, the
buttocks, the spine, the whole back together. Now go to the top of the head, the forehead, temples, the eyebrows,
the space between the eyebrows, eyelids, eyes, ears, cheeks, nose, the tip of the nose, lips, chin, throat, right
chest, left chest, navel, abdomen... the whole front. The whole of the right leg, the left leg, both legs together.
Th e wh ole of th e righ t ar m, th e left ar m, both ar ms. T h e wh o l e b o d y
Throughout this entire process you should have the resolve not to sleep. Say to yourself: "I am fully awake, I am
practicing Yoga Nidra”.
After rotation of consciousness comes awareness of breath. Become aware of your breath, either at the nostrils,
throat passage, lung area or abdomen and gently observe how naturally the breath flows in and out with no
conscious effort from yourself. Simply allow yourself to be “breathed”. Focusing the attention on the act of
breathing completes physical relaxation and concentrates the mind. It also allows the sense centres to withdraw
from their objects of sensations.
Now concentrate on your body, as if seeing it from the outside. Look at your body lying on the floor as an object,
a reflection in an imaginary mirror. Just innocently observe and watch; do not judge.
Now imagine a deep, dark well. Look into it. There is a bucket on a chain. Lower it into the well. It moves into
the darkness of the well. You cannot see it. Now pull the bucket up, out of the darkness, into the light. N o w a s k
yourself: "What am I thinking?" Do not deliberately think, but just become aware of the thought process arising,
b e c o m e an observer, a w i t n e s s to the natural, spontaneous movement of the mind. Now ask yourself “who am I”.
Do not try to answer this question; do not allow the intellect or ego to interfere. Just ask the question, let it go
and allow the mind to remain alert and clear.
Next comes relaxation at the level of feelings and emotions. Here we become aware of intense physical and
emotional feelings and their opposites such as hot and cold, light and heavy, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow.
First imagine your body is made of light, silky cotton. Your body feels as though it floats above the floor. Now
allow it to be heavy as though it is made of lead.
Now imagine you lie on a beach under the hot sun - awaken the sensation of heat. The whole body is hot. Now
imagine you are in a pool of cold, cold ice - experience bitter cold in the body. T h e b o d y s h i v e r s.
Try to remember an experience of pain, mental or physical - relive it, make it vivid. Don’t dwell on the image for
long, don’t try and judge or analyse it. Now try to remember an experience of a feeling of pleasure—relive it,
make it vivid but don’t try and judge or analyse it.
Th e last phase of Yoga Nidra relates to mental relaxation and involves a rapid visualization of nature images and
abstract symbols. This practice helps to develop self-awareness and concentration. Be relaxed and innocent and