Noticing
In your imagination, see the air going in and out of your nose. Notice the breath going in. Notice the breath going out. And notice the little transition point between the ingoing and outgoing breath. Keep your awareness focused on your breath. Let the thoughts come and go. If you notice feelings in your body, just let them go. Notice the thoughts, let them go and come back to your breath. Let the thoughts go, like leaves floating on a stream. Thoughts! Let them come and go and bring your awareness back to your breath – deeper, deeper, quieter. Follow the breath carefully. Follow the breath, the moment of turning – the out breath, the moment of turning. The silence in the room – notice it. Come back to the breath. The breath is the focal point. It is the primary object. The rest of the universe comes and goes. Problems come into the mind. Notice them. Bring your awareness back to the breath. Stay right in this place, in this moment, in the now.

This is a first method of meditation that you can use in order to become aware of who you are. You can do it anytime, anywhere! You don’t need beads, you don’t need ashrams, you just need your breath!

Letting Go
Focus your attention in the middle of your chest. Now, just as if you had two nostrils attached to your chest, breathe as if you were breathing in and out the middle of your chest. Let your nose breathe in or out the oxygen and imagine that your chest is simultaneously breathing in a very soft, very delicate mist. Breathe in… breathe out… When you breathe in, imagine the mist pouring through your body. Let it pour up into your head – into your arms, into your torso, into your legs and, when you breath out now, breath out all the heaviness – all of the tightness, all of the guardedness, all of the disappointment, all of the pain and then, once again, fill the breath with this very, very soft mist – letting it wash through you, just as if it were a “drain cleaner”, cleaning through all the tubes. When it dislodges something – a sadness or fear – just breathe it out. Breathe deeply and then, once you have loosened some of the stuff that holds you back from knowing who you are, you can, in this moment, then become like a director of energy and take in this fine mist and breath it out and send it towards those beings who suffer, whether their suffering be physical, psychological or spiritual. Just as if you were surrounding them with a loving space that says “do what you must do, but know that I am here with you”. Use the power of your own thoughts and the openness of your heart to give love to all beings. You can get it so that every in breath is a blessing you receive and every out breath is a blessing you transmit…

With this exercise, follow your breath to quieten your mind. Breathing in and breathing out of the heart to deepen your receiving of love and developing deep compassion, you become an environment of quiet – of love, of presence. Have compassion for yourself, allow yourself to be beautiful and all else will follow.

By Wendy Sheppard
Article first published, Complete Yoga, October Issue, 1991

State One: A state of deep relaxation. Very commonly these days the term yoga-nidra is used for the processes/exercises preparatory to yoga-nidra. These are often also being taught by many teachers in a fragmentary manner.

There are many different such preparations in complete sets, each exercise fitting at a certain place in the sequence in the set.

During these practices the brain produces alpha waves which in higher exercises then verge on theta.

These higher exercises may also be used for self-healing.

State Two: An interim state between One and Three. Used for creativity, invention, ‘receiving’ decisions and solutions to problems, composing lectures and research papers and poetry and constitutions or minutely detailed action plans and such other purposes. Here the brain produces theta sometimes verging onto delta.

State Three: The preparations taught in State One lead to the true yoga-nidra, entry into abhava-pratyaya, cognition of negation (Yoga-sutra 1.10) in a cave in the heart centre.

This may require an advanced teacher initially leading the aspirant into this depth. Swami Rama of the Himalayas recommends that one not remain in this state more then ten minutes at a time.

During this state the brain may initially produce theta and then, in depth, go into delta waves. Here the yogi is in deep non-REM sleep, so far as the brain wave activity shows, but is aware of his surroundings.

State Four : This is not limited to a ten minute experience. It is the kind of sleep that yogis sleep even up to three and half hours. Here the mind simultaneously remains at two levels: (I) One layer of the mind in sleep in the ordinary sense of the word, and (II) a deeper layer of the mind remaining in conscious a-japa japa and meditation which, here, is awareness of the person-wide awareness of kundalini. Some yogis take half of their sleep in the common sense of the word and the other half in this level of yoga-nidra. Here one may alternate between theta and delta.

One who practices such sleep may remain looking younger than his/her years.

Only when the Sates One and Three are fully mastered, one will learn to glide into the State Four.

Turiya : When States Three and Four have been mastered, one is at the gates of turiya (pure consciousness) and may slide into it.  Then, not earlier, yoga-nidra becomes turiya, the two becoming indistinguishable; brain waves become a flat rate.

By Swami Veda Bharati

Peace to all beings, whether near or far
Known or unknown, real or imaginary
Visible or invisible, born or yet to be born
May all beings, be well and happy
And free from fear

Peace to all beings
Within and beyond the imagination
In the world of ideas, in the world of memories
And in the world of dreams
May all beings be well and happy
And free from fear

Peace in all elements
Of earth, air, fire and water
Fulfiled in space
Peace

Peace in all the universes
From the smallest cells in our bodies
To the greatest galaxies in space
Peace
And light rising

Peace to all beings
Within each being here
To those beings that have been in the past
And to those beings that are yet to be in the future
May all beings, within each being here
Be well and happy
And free from fear

Buddhist Prayer

I am the New Year.
I am an unspoiled page in your book of time

I am your opportunity to practise
what you have learnt about life in the last twelve months.
All that you have sought and didn’t find is hidden in me,
waiting for you to search it out with more determination.
All the good that you tried for and didn’t achieve is mine to
grant you when you have fewer conflicting desires.
All that you dreamed about and didn’t care to do, all that
you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed
but did not have – these slumber silently, waiting to
be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.
I am your opportunity to renew your
commitment to start afresh –
I am the New Year.

Anonymous

Yoga Nidra – yogic sleep or conscious deep sleep is a method of Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), the 5th limb of yoga. During yoga nidra all the senses are withdrawn except the auditory sense as one is listening to the teachers’ voice and following the instructions given.  When the senses are withdrawn like this it allows for experience of one’s inner world without the distraction of outside elements. This is the first step towards meditation.

As one falls asleep the senses withdraw in this specific order – smell, taste, sight, touch and lastly sound. As the sense of hearing is the only link to the outside world the practitioner of yoga nidra is suspended on the bridge between waking and sleeping known as hypnagogic sleep.  This is the time when the conscious mind takes a backseat and the unconscious mind becomes dominant. At the time of yoga nidra we consciously reside in our unconscious mind.  Stored in the unconscious are the imprints of all of our experiences.  These are known as samskaras and they colour the way we see and experience our external environment.  They are unconscious memories through which we filter all of our perceptions, thus preventing us from seeing things as they really are.  Through the techniques practiced in yoga nidra we can release these samskaras.  Not only can we over time eradicate deep-seated issues that are ‘hiding’ in the unconscious and therefore remove their influence from our lives, we can also access the infinite well of creativity and knowledge that exists there.

Yoga nidra induces deep physical, emotional and mental relaxation.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of this method of meditation is that one lies absolutely still for the duration of the practice.  There is no need to be active in any way and no special skills are needed to participate. You are discouraged from actively concentrating. All you have to do is listen to the voice of the teacher.  In fact the most challenging aspect of the practice is in staying awake!

1. Quieten the senses

Ether lie down or sit with a straight back to enable your body to settle and so you can begin the process of internalising the senses to help bring the body and mind into a relaxed and receptive state. The mind unchecked has the tendency to wander outwards so we use techniques such as awareness of the senses, body awareness and breath awareness to reign it in.

2. Sankalpa/your personal resolve

This is a short positively worded statement repeated at the beginning and at the end of yoga nidra and is a very powerful aspect of the practice.  Your resolve should describe your intent that reflects your highest aspiration.  It may take some time for an individual to realise what their resolve is.  The process of discovery need not be rushed. The resolve is a direct order from the conscious to the unconscious mind which makes it much more powerful than an affirmation that is made on a conscious level only. Once decided upon, the resolve and the language used should not be changed, as it is the repetition of the same resolve in the subtly unconscious state that is so powerful.  To quote Swami Satyananda  “Anything can fail you in life but not the resolve made in yoga nidra.” All faith and belief should be placed in the resolve to ensure its success. It is a seed that is planted and will surely grow.

3. Exploring consciousness

This is how you explore each part of your body with your mind,  becoming aware of the body as a whole.  This deepens the process of physical relaxation and builds awareness of the body.  Often our mind is separated from our bodies due to too much mental activity. Through this practice we are able to focus on and experience any individual part of the body we choose just by thinking about it.

4. Conscious breathing

This is the final part of the physical relaxation process. We are now moving into the more subtle realms of consciousness.   There are a variety of breathing exercises that can be used here, like alternate nostril breathing, navel breathing and ujjayi (deep yogic breath).  Counting the breaths is also commonly used to ensure the practitioner remains aware.

5. Exploring opposites

Polarised feelings are explored in order to develop emotional relaxation and to harmonise the left and right sides of the brain.  It enables us to experience the extremes of emotions and to witness ourselves doing so.  This brings a greater sense of equanimity into our lives.

Often during this part of the practice people relive deep emotional experiences and are able to release them.  A few examples of the opposites that are explored are sensations of weight and lightness, of heat and cold; pain and pleasure; hunger and satisfaction.

6. Visualisation

This enable one to cleanse the mind of toxic contents.  Allegories, chakra visualization and images of great universal significance all are used. These bring the contents of the unconscious mind to the surface to be released.

7. Externalisation

After repeating the Sankalpa or resolve, the student is then slowly and gently brought back into the physical world through the methods of breath and body awareness.

By Jackie Ivory of Jai Yoga (www.jaiyoga.co.za)

Article first published by Life in Balance.

“We suffer tension when we stray from our own centre,” says Wendy Wood (Nandiva) of the ISHTA School of Yoga and Health. Learn to think positively and constructively as you find inner meaning when you go within. A wonderful calming 15-minute meditation and guided relaxation for discovering the inner potential.

Click the “play” button below to begin listening.

You can also download the meditation to your computer by right clicking the link below and pressing “Save As”
http://www.yoga-sa.com/downloads/Neti-neti.mp3

“True love opens impossible gates within and opens great secrets to the universe,” says Wendy Wood (Nandiva) of the ISHTA School of Yoga and Health. Through this beautifully guided 15-minute relaxation, discover the inner sun that is always shining…

Click the “play” button below!

You can also download the relaxation by right clicking and pressing “save as” on the link below

www.yoga-sa.com/downloads/I-exist-I-am.mp3

Guided Relaxation in Corpse Pose

Make sure that you are comfortable on your back and that your head, neck and shoulders are comfortable and relaxed and that you are in a warm place with no draught.

Now close your eyes. Your arms are at your side with the palms turned slightly up and your feet slightly parted.

Practise the full yoga abdominal breath, slowing down the rate of your breathing, which is about five heartbeats to each inhalation and five to each exhalation. This will help you relax further. Slowing down the heart and rythm of the whole body, you pacify the nervous system.

Try to detach your mind and send it as far away as you can from your normal life and surroundings, leaving behind all your worries, work and responsibilities, and enter your own special quiet space.

Try to think that nothing matters, that you have completely let go, that your body is grwoing heavier and heavier, that your limbs are leaden.

Then, when you are ready, take your attention down to your toes, wriggle them becoming aware of your toes and then the soles of your feet and relax them. Now, slowly curl your toes up as far as you can, feel the tension in your foot.  Hold it. Now, slowly, slowly let go. Feel the relaxation flowing into your toes and just feel this, flowing.

Now your calves. Tense your calves as hard as you can. Tense them and hold it for a few moments. Now, gradually relax the calves, just relax them, relax them and feel the difference. Move slowly to the knees and feel them relaxing. Now the thighs. Stretch your thighs out in front of you as far as you can. Stretch them and feel the muscles tense. Now, gradually relax the thighs. Feel warmth flowing into your thighs.

Now your abdomen. Tense the abdominal muscles as hard as youcan. Now, tense them even further. Hold the tension. Concentrate your mind on the tension and then gradually relax the abdomen. Relax it even more.

Now, the chest. Tighten the chest muscles. Press them together as hard as you can and hold for a few moments. Now gradually relax the chest muscles. Relax them, feel them relaxing, a little further and a little further.

Feel this relaxation spreading through your whole body. Through your arms, head, face, tongue, jaw, newck, chest, abdomen, thighs, calves.

Now the neck. Tense the neck. Feel the neck tensing, bulging. Tense it further and hold for a few moments and then gradually begin to relax the neck. Fell the release.

Now tense your jaw. Tense it as much as you can and hold it for a few moments. Gradually relax the jaw and feel the difference. Feel the warmth spreading.

Now the tongue. Push your tongue as hard as you can against your teeth. Gradually relax it. Feel the difference.

Scrunch the nose and tense the nose, holding it crinkles for a few moments and then relaxing it. Release and let go. Feel the relaxation spreading, flowing through your whole body.

Now your eyes. Shut your eyes as tight as you can. Tense them and when you have reached your peak, let go, relax them and feel your eyes sink into the head.

Gently lift the eyebrows and drop them, feeling the forehead relax. Fell your face relax and your cheeks relax, letting go as if the skin was melting off your body.

Now become aware of your whole body. Scan the body, relaxing again through each part in turn – feet, calves, thighs, pelvis, buttocks, abdomen, arms, chest, back, neck, face and feel the free flow of energy through the body. The body is relaxed, open and whole.

Now, gently coming out the asana, gently massage your fingertips with your thumbs, move your head from side to side. Stretch your arms above your head, taking in a deep breath. Bend your knees towards your chest and gently rock from side to side, rolling onto your right side and coming back slowly to a sitting postion.

By Gilda Berzen

You are not looking at it from afar, as something outside of yourself.

It is in your heart, softly glowing.

The petals are gently opening to receive the golden warmth of the sunshine from above.

There is a light from the heart of the rose too.

The light from above and the light of the rose blend as one …

White Eagle

a meditation on meditation

Maybe meditation is a day dream of the soul and the divine – their meeting and yearning for one another after parting and being united again. Or, maybe it is watching the whole of the cosmos before your mind as one is filled with the ecstacy of seeing the whole and oneself as a part of it.
All of life is in continuous motion, like sunlight proceeding from the sun, without any effort from the sun’s part. See yourself being filled like a bucket into the sea, filled with water. At this moment, picture yourself as being filled with life, effortlessly.

Om Jaya Jaya Ram
Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger