| 3 | Exploring the Magic of Yoga Nidra: Awakening the Heart and Embracing Impermanence

9:02PM Jul 24, 2024

Speakers:

Myra

Keywords:

relax

rainbow

body

slogans

mind

imagine

questions

coming

heart

energy

inhale

open

little bit

arms

put

yoga nidra

feel

shoulder

intention

left

Hello, you guys can hear me good

so maybe you little marks but I'm trusting that you all can hear me. Yes, thank you there's a couple of people that are still coming in. And I'll do that it was kind of funny because today I had so much like energy me looking forward to tonight and in our oldest son, I realized that I was like a little nervous, because I had all this information or ideas that I wanted to do. And then I just sat back and took a one breath meditation. And I imagine all of you out there planning to join me tonight and and I felt a stream gratitude for the privilege of having this opportunity with all of you. And I would like to begin with the same poem that we are because remember that from this perspective of this student, that's where I am I'm just a student. This is an invitation. And this is Chelsea Silverstein. So if you're a dreamer, come in, if you're a dreamer a wisher a liar. A helper a prayer in magic beam buyer if you're a pretender come sit by my fire for we have some flax golden tails to spin come in and come in and maybe just close your eyes and maybe have the sensation of calming in it maybe imagine it in disguise this big welcome coming home

maybe bringing the sensations the area of your chest around your heart

with a sense of gratitude of all the preciousness of this human life bringing to mind all the teachers parents friends pets books lessons that allow us to be here today that inspire us to be here today

and bringing them also to the room letting go of any expectations

it may be with intention that the next hour or so be the benefit not only to us but to all sentient beings

and any mistakes I make They're all mine and my interpretation

so with that with smile so again welcome before we begin with the program any information anything that you'd like to share from the last month maybe the you have a good night's sleep after dinner last Nidra was a completely different these any dreams any dream let's anything that you would like to share

just I began in my case it takes me a little while to go to sleep because I feel like all that energy on my body just like turn the light because sometimes that's what happens

nothing well thank you it's okay to ask yes

it was Lloyd. I missed last month, but I'm

trying to mute yourself or it was just that I saw your hand. It was not.

Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, you're

good. I see you're racing. He should be here. Okay, go ahead.

Can you hear me?

Yes, I can. Okay,

I just I was not here last month. But I just wanted to say that I'm excited about being here this time. I've appreciated being with you before. Thank you. Oh, thank

you so much. Thank you for saying that. Yes, I, the reason to ask those questions, it goes back to a little bit of what we're doing before is because sometimes we just have to stop and ask, in the end the answer to the question. So whatever is not as important as the stop in the presence of asking the question. And in a way, that's what we do with these teachings all the times we have questions that we want to answer. Sometimes we have very strong experiences in live in, we're looking for understanding or relief, or maybe we had some mystical experiences of consciousness that we're trying to, to find our way. Or maybe we had a pre cognitive experience, or maybe wasn't experienced on church in prayer. But we're looking for an explanation. We're looking for a sense of peace within ourselves. In in that way, we always are seeking out and when we ask the question, we have to stop.

And, and in that stop by itself, that is that one little gap, there is a Bardo there. And if you notice that Bardo, there is awareness there. And he's an awareness that doesn't need explanation. Sometimes it goes really, really fast. And in a way, in this practice, that's what we do, we begin to get more familiar with those gaps, because we start leaning forward that much. And we that's where we ask the questions. So as part of the yoga nidra, as we've been talking about the slogan, so a teacher's slogans, and we had the first one. So the first we'll begin with a preliminaries and the preliminaries are more important. In fact, I was listening to some old classes from Andrew. In the heat, he names every bush I think, is one of the brothers are Menger Rinpoche says, if you get these four thoughts that turn the mind, you have 50% there. And sometimes we just keep them over. And if we remember was the although he has a more beautiful way to put in, but without going into the whole explanation would be first the preciousness of the human life, then would be the certainty of death, but also is many times so many versions is impermanence, and how everything changes, and then the causes and effect relationships, so they inhibit the inevitable, oh, they innovated Oh, my goodness, the Spanish is coming out, how karma is always working. So how we cannot

just go about or turn around, the karma is always there. And then there is a suffering. So those suffering not only for the good things that happen to us, or the bad things that happen to us. And the reason that suffering is the way that it is, is because everything changes. And because everything changes, we try to make it solid and permanent to stay there. And once we realize those four thoughts to turn the mind. Some teachers say that we're halfway there with so if you remember the way that he experienced the perimeter of the mother and the child where the child is sitting towards the outside, looking in any when we get to the great moment way phases in that's what those thoughts are, they are turning the mind in. We're coming in to to our heart, their heart mind to bodhichitta to the ultimate compassion. So the wisdom of these thoughts, their wisdom that we get to know when we get to know how reality does work. The ultimate result of that is the ultimate compassion for the schita. So the second one was also looking out so Drake old thoughts are all phenomena or dharmas as dreams or dream lives, illusory body. So when we're looking out, one of the ways that they teachings tell us to just come to

understand that impermanence is to know that what is going out there is dreamlike. So that was the second slogan, also a way of turning the mind in the way that the mind goes about just projecting, making things solid, thinking that things are going to be there all the time, or grasping to them, because otherwise you feel like you are not going to be able to survive. And then the third one that would be today, that turns the mind, it goes back into ourselves. And then we are examining the nature of those thoughts, examining the nature of mind. And to examine the nature of mind, we have to ask the questions. That's the way we began, where the thoughts come from, how do I feel? Where did they arise? Are they always there, and many times in that is that the passion and the inside meditations help us to do that. And when we do, then yoga nidra, we come into expectrum, that we can choose one of those or two of those, so we can go to the process. Because in the yoga nidra as well we do is that we relax the body in a way where we do not go to sleep, but we are working more with the subtle body and maybe be a little bit more free to come into contact. That's why sometimes we just asked a question. In whatever comes it comes because it's not. It's not It's communist spontaneously. And that's what we're trying to do. Does that make a lot of sense? Any questions or what I have said so far. So wearing slogan three, training the mind training the mind to do what to make a serviceable, so we do be reified, and understand the impermanence and the lack of solidity of the phenomena outside of our bodies, and eventually of the mind, it's gone into that pure awareness that we have glands, glimpses once in a while. So let's do some breathing to begin to work with the subtle body. Right, do I see another question? Yeah, you do. Okay. Let me get your muted

Am I here? Yes. Okay. I apologize. But I missed the overall topic, I guess there there you said there were three aspects to this. Would you would you mind just repeating what the slogans are? Part? Oh,

yes. Yes, yes. When we began and you can go back and they all can be taken by itself is self standing in a way but they do they leave the wishes the goods.

Color in a Buddhist teacher, also one of the disciples of Shogun Trumper Rinpoche has a PDF of the 59 slogans of our teachers 59 slogans. And those slogans are low yawn slogans are mind training phrases and, and sometimes they spent weeks in just one of the slogans in terms of the teachings and what I thought about doing with the meditations this once in a while just tying these things together, because we take a lot of lessons from many teachers and many books, but I think that all of them, all the rays go back into the sun and one of the ways to train the mind and using the yoga nidra. When we get into that little more deeper, different wavelength if we relaxed, allowed that information to just kind of permeate and perfume the body. For whatever you don't have to believe in or believe in body somehow just season our practice with the inspiration of those slogans. So the first one is straining the preliminaries in many in many times If Andrew says that the preliminaries are more important, so and the preliminaries on those four thoughts to turn to mind, and there are different ways to phrase them, but basically are those four things that I mentioned before the preciousness of human life the certainty of impermanence or death, karma and the truth of suffering. In the second slogan is to consider all phenomena or dharmas as a dream, meaning the illusory nature of reality, that in Dream Yoga, the illusory reality is the daily practice of Dream Yoga. So during the day, the way to practice Dream Yoga is consider all phenomena as illusory, and there's different exercises to do that. And today, instead of going out, we're going to come in and then looking for who is seen who is who is doing in coming into the awareness that we think sometimes this in the brain or consciousness, or what I'm do talks a little bit about the eight consciousness where you go through, you know, the sensory page, and then you go back to consciousness. Does that make sense? Make a lot of sense.

Yes, thank you. That's a tissue slogans.

Yes. Thank you. Nice slogans. Yes. So it's certain that several was a lot a little bit of for a review anyway, why to review because I think that repetition ties the story, it just makes the story. So we're going to do a lot a lot of breathing. And we're going to go again, left and right, there's two different ways to do it, you can use your index finger and it's easier. Or some people that have done it before you take your thumb and ring finger right and left and it's easier for some people like they'll do they dad, sometimes they put their left hand below their tummy their palm up, but sometimes if you have never done it before, or if you had done it before, but it's easier this way left and right. The reason for that we're working with a subtle body in the channels. You can even if you have not heard it or now it allows you to calm the nervous system. So let's come again and close our eyes before we do anything else.

We're ready got a lot of little information

notice how you feel and notice your room where you're at

go back to an intention and then take an inhale through the nose, both nostrils

let it go to your mouth. Inhale through your nose and let it go. And we're doing hail Now inhale through your nose but notice whether one size a little bit more constricted than the other inhale. This time hold 223456 exhale through your nose 6543 to one so now we go to the alternator nostrils. Inhale to your left close your left exhale to your right Inhale right

exhale left

inhale left

exhale right

now we're going to hold a little bit in here right close right Wait 234 Extra left. Clothes left to Three, four, inhale close hold. Exhale lap one more hair lap X era right x you're left inhale left exhale, right. Place your hands on the lap and just breathe normally

then open your eyes, we're going to bring a little bit of money we have limitations with the body do not do can just imagine you don't have to do it. But if you can lift your right foot, and circle your right foot, maybe three or four times one way and then three or four times the other. If you're really laying down just imagine or just move your toes, it's just to kind of moved the energy analyst to the left. making little circles with the ankle. And then the other way

now doing your hands and make his circles with your hands doesn't matter what way you go. And then the other way. Then open and close

now plays your hands over your shoulders and move and little circles and bows. And if your right hand is on top and change and let's go the other way.

Put your hands on your lap and bring your shoulders up. Roll the back and do a couple more of these roles. So we're working a little bit of the stress they are now let's go forward

and now we are in a chair. Just twist a little bit to the right maybe looking behind you.

twists are very good because we're bringing the energy towards the center. So if you can visualize your center your spine just imagining the energies coming that way. And let's do it the other way. Looking over your left shoulder

and then we gently gentle gentle gentle and moving the head right and left

and then left and right

allow your chin to dry up extending the back of the head without doing anything. Maybe you feel a little bit stretched there

and then coming back to the center. We're going to do one more breath. Just inhale to four. Excelling to six both nostrils. If you have visualize the energy imagine like a mist of air coming to the nostrils of the forehead all the way to the area more or less below your belly button above forefinger with ink coming up. So inhale exhale when you think that you exhale completely exhale a little bit more. Inhale, two, three. For exhale 54321 do three more of those on your own for six

then chicken

imagine the moment that you were joined the meeting today when you were just what they call admitted into the meeting

that little memory does it feel like a dream

what about the moment that you woke up this morning

What about what you're planning to do after this hour

when you see it from that perspective how does it feel now in this present moment

usually when we slow down a tiny bit the mind comes really active

so who is thinking those thoughts

where do they come from

do they come from the left from behind from their front do they have a place of origin?

And now see if you can get into your full supine position if that is the position you're going to get tonight. You can also do it sitting. If you can find that supine position, please feel as comfortable as you can. Maybe sometimes we need to put a bolster or a pillow under the knees. If you have a small pillow for your head, make sure that you are not looking just straight up just crunching your cervical behind your neck. Your arms may be to this size palms up. Sometimes for the sessions when I'm doing or on my own, I like to place my hands on the area around their belly button kind of grounding me a little bit

so we're coming in

feeling the solidity of whatever surface you're sitting on aim

back

so maybe you feel the heaviness of the head or shoulder blades the back of the arms, paddocks eyes. Heels just notice how slowly the body keeps coming down

feeling a sense of being welcome and grounded

notice the areas or if you have a blanket maybe you feel the weight of the blanket on maybe your clothing and your skin the edges of your clothing maybe at the neck or the arms sort of pants

tingling sensations achiness soft word just scan your body for any sensations, tactile sensations that become present at this moment

check your toes making sure they're not curling or grasping relaxing the spaces between your toes

whatever your fingers are they relaxed

maybe you begin to feel some more into the palm of your hand

the wetness and your mouth

sounds maybe become more obvious when becomes quiet sounds outside and sometimes are oh my

maybe you send smells freshness

letting go of your shoulders down

imagine it at this point and little point of light in between your eyebrows maybe a couple of fingers up and back. Just a motor point of light

maybe has a little bit of blue around. You don't have to feel anything else. You don't have to see anything else just a point of light

and if the mind gets distracted that's it just fine. Your comeback

Now a red pro in your throat

sometimes we cannot see the pearl but just the word red means something to you Joe was softness placing your attention on your throne

now a Blue Star in your heart area

notice they were in that area you feel a sense of space or constant contraction sometimes a little dull pain or maybe we don't feel anything just see a little bit of blue star heard your heart area

relaxing your body completely and maybe setting an intention for this Nidra

peas have a specific goal in answer to a question in the teachings once you find what is the intention just repeat it to yourself three times

telling yourself that you're going to not fall asleep but be present

be present to the magic of the moment feeling the subtle body assists relaxes and releases even further

to that we bring the attention to the right thumb. index finger, middle finger ride ring finger little finger relaxing releasing and letting go. The palm of the right hand the top the wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm right shoulder their front of that right shoulder that back and from your shoulder to the tips of their fingers or ride or feels relaxed releases and let's go

the right side of your ways from your arm that to your waist

the spaces between your ribs open relax The size of your stomach and your hip

the right by all around

right knee, lower leg right ankle. The top of the foot, the heel open the bottom big toe. Second, third four a variety of detail from your right head to the toes to your legs open, relax and let it go

the left arm index finger metal ring left little finger open

and relaxed.

The palm the top your wrist lower arm left elbow upper arm shoulder the front of the left shoulder they back from your shoulder to your fingers in the left arm your body's vibrating relax and let go. underneath the arm left side of your waist the spaces between your ribs side of your stomach and your hip open and relax that by me knee lower leg ankle. The top of the left foot the heel to bottom your toes big toe. Second, third fourth left letter toe open and relaxed from your hip to your toes so home

now both legs from the hips to the toes open and relax your torso from your neck to the lower stomach melting and relax your back from the neck to your box. Letting Go. Open and relax your whole body from your neck, torso, arms and legs this solving pure energy relax The back of the head

the back of your eyes

the back of your mouth

the muscles of your face

Madigan Imagine your eyebrows going up a little bit and why releasing your forehead

inner corners and outer corners of your eyes

your lips have a little bit of an opening your jaw forms the back of your tongue the size of your tongue open

and relax.

Any sounds any sensations that may arise they come and go

maybe thoughts that may come where do they come from? Who is thinking though

is there someone behind the thoughts

and where do they go?

The next thought would come

the next sound will come where does it come from

and it is a hole to them where do they go

now let go of any of those questions if they were still in your mind stream and just relax even further notice the contraction that comes sometimes with the questions

relaxing your face shoulders the back of their head becoming heavier arms torso buttocks legs beat

coming to the center of the center the center of your head

almost like looking to revered for staring night

no left no right no up no down

your body's pure vibration pure energy start last

put the next few minutes just relax and let it go.

Coming back to the sensations around your heart area and remembering your intention, Joseph culpa and maybe repeating your intention three more times in your mind to yourself.

To bring a little bit more earnest to the body, we're going to imagine like we have this little bowl of ducks in the bottom of our feet and we hail through that Voltex all the way to the crown of the hat. And we exhale from the crown of the head to the feet. So inhale

and exhale

inhale from the bottom of the feet up the spine opticron a bed

and exhale

two three more on your own.

Distressed

now imagine in the room where you're at the walls, maybe appliances are furniture will see your life coming in that illusory way with direct maybe with your eyes close. And how these objects come to life

you imagine that emoji by the beam maybe six feet from where you are coming to three feet from your skin, noticing the contraction you're skin maybe you're a little bit more solid muscles, nerves bones maybe your body begins heavier your organs the ears on your stomach your heart area

then he like roll to your right side here for three breath, just checking in how do I feel

allowing the process to kind of just permeate every cell of your body

didn't come into a certain pose or you can stay laying down if you like opening your eyes very slowly and move as slow as you can.

So any comments, any thoughts we have, I have a little bit one more thing that I wanted to tell you. But I just would like you to go slowly to tell me how you feel. If you'd like.

When we work with yoga nidra and we work with the subtle body is that thank you. It will work with a little bit of magic. Because we all want to justify it in the story that I had to tell about magic. Just forgive me to tell you a little bit of a story. But here in Detroit, as you know, we develop a reputation in Detroit went through some very, very hard time. So one of the buildings in Detroit, there used to be the train station and this majestic, huge building that was in the city that closed a long time ago. And they wanted to just take it down and the windows and it was just a structure that reflected the the energy of the city on the way. So all of a sudden they began to put a lot of money in big companies decided that they were going to just do something and bring it back to life. And he happens that I work from in Detroit in a street that for three or four minutes, I had to go by there very frequently. So I didn't think that anything could be done with this building to be honest. And slowly I began how they took all the windows in they put new windows and they kept investing and I kept seeing the work had been done. And in a way it almost like the building was coming to life.

And you can see the energy and the love of those that we're putting in trying to bring that as a symbol of your life. A city that was being reborn in a city that had the roots, you know those days, and it wasn't new blood, and all this stuff. And maybe two months ago, I realized that they would put in the grass and the trees and all the windows would shine in the new they look almost like diamonds. In it's almost like the building had a personality that had a gratefulness for being taken care of. And then, so happens that Eminem had this big concert to reopen the building. And there was all these big artists and people that were very known for a night and they were fireworks and they were going to reopen. And now we can all go and see the building. And I was at six in the morning thinking of him in my meditation. And I turned the news in the local news. And there was this news reported, the one younger guys that you sent to the news at quarter to six, when the other ones do not want to go. And he was there with his camera. And he was about 10 to six, and he was the sunrise. And all of a sudden this beautiful rainbow comes across the back of the building. And he took the picture. And he was like a little boy that just saw a rainbow for the first time. And we all watched and it felt that was that's a big Omen a big moment of magic, because the timing of the rainbow with the moment in the news meant something to anybody whose heart was open. And I think we're all looking for the rainbow, we are all rainbows. And then we see the magic of those moments. And we want to justify it and then we go into quantum physics and, and we read books and we meditate and we do on money, buy my home and all those things are important to break through. But the magic is when you see the rainbow and you feel for that moment that gap. And that is the gap that we come into contact when we do what we're doing here. And if we don't have the heart open, then we would not appreciate the rainbow I mean going to begin a well was because the humidity and the time of the day and the wind was not very strong and all the physical conditions were right. And that's the only way where the rainbow did happen. Or you can just smile and enjoy the rainbow. And think that there was a good luck for this beautiful building there was dancing like he was alive. So we have a choice to make. Are we going to have a heart open so we can see the smiles and see rainbows, that we can see the sunshine and see rainbows that we don't have to we can trust our heart and when we feel and that's a true awareness and as it through knowledge. And when we go into this meditations, we also have glimpses of those remotes. And that magic, if your body for a little bit felt a little less solid. That's a subtle body. If there's something that makes you smile or not smile, that's also your knowledge and your awareness. So I guess my invitation when I say there were we'd have tails to spin is that I invite our hearts to open to see the magic to feel the magic. And in the bottom of our heart, that's all we want. We are just afraid to just be called fools. We're all looking to trust in the magic. And that was basically what I wanted to tell you guys today. Any other questions or comments? Welcome

you all felt the rainbow body and when you were doing it, even for a split second even we placed one breath and you filled your breath going down. Do you have lungs in your stomach? No. So you feel the breath in your stomach? What is that? Can somebody tell you that you did not feel it? No you did. Breathe through your nose. No you don't breathe through your nose necessarily. Where do we breathe from? So all those are the questions

well

you fight didn't put you all to sleep. You're going to have sweet dreams tonight anyway. So I think next Tuesday we have maybe Dr. Ed. If you did not see it, I don't know if the recording is out. We had a fabulous last week. Mia Lux, her energy, teaching us the same thing that we have heard before. But that's another rainbow. Why do we feel it differently? What's her energy and the way that she made us feel? But that was fabulous and good assets. So there's a lot of things going on. And I think the reading of the drain to dive now preparing today the book. Yeah, the preparing today. Book is this time, it's Friday, because we have the Fourth of July. So

do I see a hand up? Yeah, let me get barrel I needed.

I didn't put my hand up. I don't know. Okay, but anyway, I'm happy to hear your voice. Session. Beautiful. Thank you. Okay, so let's also finish the way that we always do. So. Do you know what, last time I did a little mantra that I learned from Michelle Lowe,

maybe let's do that, or the add to the end. And he said purification of the body. And it's with the letter R and I think it was, for me, it's always very exciting. So I'm just teaching something that she, she teaches us so we're going to do 21 hours. I'm going to do it once and we do it together. And then the last one just runs a little bit longer. And the theory is almost like imagine that the as I just shaking inside your body and just cleansing your body have anything that you don't want in the real in the more adept in depth explanation, they imagine like a triangle that comes to your throat, and there's nectar that comes through the cleanses the body just feels the triangle and just base your body inside with this nectar just purifying all your body. So we're talking about magic, so why not that? So that's perfect rainbows, magic cleansing.

So the way that we do is we do it 21 times and then the last one is

when is it decision whatever it doesn't feel well, we're just getting go. So we're playing Let's do it. So, stick any hill to the nose.

Let it go through your mouth. Inhale through your nose and let it go. Inhale one more and let it go. If you want to imagine the triangle go ahead otherwise AR AR AR AR AR AR

AR AR AR AR AR AR AR

two more times

AR AR AR AR AR AR AR AR AR AR AR

completely cleansing now if you like to do it with your mind's eye or you can do it at home Ah

ah ah ah ah

ah

and then we inhale their arms up, the Palms come together and towards the heart

thank you for your presence here tonight. And for allowing me to facilitate this practice thinking about others and maybe dedicating this practice to the benefit of everyone Somebody else here and afar maybe why May your awaken heart is grow and flourish ever more and more. Emma stay sweet drinks. Thank you. Thank you. Bye bye bye