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May there be auspiciousness, fame, and well-being; may there be prosperity and wealth; may the destruction of enemies occur. I bow to the lamp that dispels darkness. Make yourself completely comfortable now for the next exercise of today: the practice called Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra, the sleep of the yogi, is a deep relaxation technique. Prepare yourselves for this Divine Sādhana. Find a position that is comfortable for you, where you can completely relax your body. If you start feeling a little cold, perhaps take another blanket to cover yourself, or a cushion for your head to make yourself comfortable. We will now practice Yoga Nidra. Try to remain motionless throughout the entire practice, not moving, while at the same time staying awake and not falling asleep. When sleep comes, do not struggle against it either. We are now practicing Yoga Nidra—a deep relaxation, but different from ordinary sleep. You remain completely aware, completely relaxed, yet at the same time completely conscious. At the beginning of Yoga Nidra, you have the opportunity to make a Śaṅkalpa. If there is a desire that you want to fulfill, to direct all your energy in that direction, then feel it and think about it. Make a brief Śaṅkalpa with a short sentence. Of course, it should be a positive desire, positive not only for you, but also for others. Śaṅkalpa is a wish or resolve. If you want to achieve something, for example, to take more time for your spiritual practices, you can now express it in a short, simple sentence. Imagine how this wishful desire is fulfilled. And now repeat your Śaṅkalpa three times. After repeating your Śaṅkalpa three times, relax completely. Let your entire body sink into your support. Take a deep breath into your belly and out again. Especially with the exhale, like a deep sigh of relief, let yourself sink into your support and relax. Relax your whole body. Feel your breathing in the area of your abdomen. Once, a deep inhalation and a deep, long exhalation. Feel how your whole body is sinking into your blankets. Just relax. Relax on the physical level. Relax also on the mental level. All your inner tensions, desires, problems, or whatever else—now release them. Relax inwardly as well. Now take the freedom to gradually detach yourself from these things, more and more with every exhalation. Relax. Just relax, withdraw yourself from the outer world, still conscious of everything. Relax your whole body, from the toes up to the top of your head. Feel and relax your entire body, from the tips of your toes all the way up to the crown. With each exhalation, relax more and more. Slowly bring your awareness to your right arm, to your right hand, and feel your right thumb. Feel and relax the thumb of your right hand. Feel and relax the second finger, third finger, fourth, and fifth finger of your right hand. Feel and relax the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger of the right hand as well. Also feel your right palm, the back of your hand. Relax your right wrist. Feel also your right palm, wrist. Relax your forearm, right elbow, upper arm, and right shoulder. Feel your right forearm, right elbow joint, the upper arm muscles, the right shoulder joint. Feel also your right armpit, right side of your upper body, right hip, right thigh, right knee, calf muscle, right heel, the top of your right foot. Feel also your right big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth, and fifth toe of your right foot. Completely relaxed. Feel the entire right side of your body at ease. And now slowly bring your awareness to your left hand. Feel the thumb of your left hand. The second finger, the third finger, the fourth, the fifth finger of your left hand. Feel and relax your left palm and the back of your left hand as well. The left wrist, forearm muscles, the left elbow joint, upper arm muscles, the left shoulder joint, and the lateral muscles of the upper body. Feel and relax the left hip joint, thigh muscles, the left knee, shin and calf muscles, the left ankle, the left heel, the sole of the foot, and the top of the foot. Feel your left big toe, the second toe, the third toe, the fourth toe, and also the little toe of your left foot. Your entire left side of the body pleasantly relaxed. Bring your awareness to the backside of your body. Feel and relax your right shoulder, your left shoulder, the right shoulder blade, the left shoulder blade. Feel and relax the right side of your back muscles, as well as the left side of your back muscles. And now relax your right buttock and your left buttock as well. Feel and relax the entire backside of your body. Focus your attention precisely on the back of your skull. Now sense and feel the entire back side of your body as well. Very pleasant. Relaxed. I'll bring your awareness to the top of your head. Feel and relax the crown of your head. Relax your forehead. The right temple. The left temple. Relax your right eyebrow. Relax also the left eyebrow. Your eyebrow center. Feel and relax also your right eyelid, left eyelid. Relax the entire right eye, and also the left eye. Feel and relax the right ear as well, the left ear. Feel your right cheek, your left cheek. Feel and relax also your nose, the right nostril, the left nostril, the tip of your nose. Feel and relax your upper lip as well, and the lower lip. Relax the right jaw and the left jaw. Relax your throat as well. Feel your right collarbone, your left collarbone. Feel and relax the right part of your chest, the left part of your chest, and the center of your chest. Bring your awareness to your abdomen. Relax the area of your navel. Feel also the entire front side of your body. Now direct your attention to the head. Feel and relax your head. Relax your forehead, your right temple, your left temple, the right eyebrow. Relax the left eyebrow. Feel and relax your eyebrow center. Relax your right eyelid, your left eyelid, the right eye muscles, the left eye muscles. Feel and relax your right ear as well, your left ear. Also feel your nose, the bridge of your nose, the right nostril, the left nostril, the tip of your nose. Also feel your upper lip, the lower lip. Relax the right corner of the mouth, the left corner of the mouth, the tongue and the palate area. Relax your jaw muscles, your temporomandibular joint, the right temporomandibular joint, the left temporomandibular joint. Feel also the area of the larynx, feel your throat pit. Feel and relax the right half of your pectoral muscles, also the left half of your pectoral muscles. Feel and relax the center of your chest. Relax your navel, loosen your abdominal muscles, and also relax your lower abdominal muscles. Now feel the entire front side of your body, pleasantly relaxed. Feel your whole body completely relaxed. Bring your inner awareness now to your breathing process. Be aware of your inhalation and exhalation. Direct your attention to your breathing process. Feel your relaxed breath. Inhale and exhale. With each exhale, deepen your relaxation. Go deeper into your letting go. With the inhale, consciously take in the energy, the prāṇa, that is contained in your breath, and absorb it into yourself. Feel your inhalation and exhalation. And deepen your letting go with each exhalation. Simply relax. The process of breath. Now especially feel the area of your stomach, the area of your abdomen. Feel the inhalation and exhalation here. Here is the energy flow of your prāṇa. With every inhalation that you take in, with every exhalation that you relax more, the entire environment of your mid-section. The flow of energy that now encompasses the entire area of your navel, your abdomen, the area around your stomach. Now sense and feel your breath flow very specifically in your abdominal area. Feel here the rising and falling of the abdominal wall with each breath. With each exhale, relax deeper and deeper. And with the inhalation, consciously perceive the flow of prāṇa. The prāṇa that flows into you with the inhalation. And now the entire body in the area of your navel is regenerating. Relax completely, but remain fully aware, conscious of the energy flow in the area of your navel. Be completely relaxed, yet remain aware. Feel your energy flow, your prāṇa flow in the area of your navel. Then continue to wander a little further up to the area of your chest. Feel the flow of your breath in the center of your chest. Feel here the subtle touch of the center of your chest with each breath. Now bring your awareness to the area of your chest. Feel your inhalation and exhalation also in the area of your chest. Every inhalation and exhalation. Feel the expanding and contracting of the area of your chest. Every inhalation and exhalation. This gentle movement on the physical level. Slowly, slowly expand this awareness. And thus your feelings with the inhalation. And return to the center of your chest with the exhalation. Feel your breath in the area of your chest circle. The subtle movement with each inhalation and exhalation. Expand and contract. Do not let this subtle movement remain only on the physical level now. Refine your consciousness more and more. Feel this subtle movement of expanding and contracting, also on the emotional level. With the inhalation, also let your feelings expand. Exhale, return once again to your innermost being. Inhalation and exhalation. Feel the flow of energy, right in the center of your body. And the recharging of all the organs in this area. On the physical level, also on the mental level. Full of energy, now recharged. Feel this flow of energy, the prāṇa current in the center of your chest. And how you can now once again recharge yourself more and more in this area of your body. You can recharge your energy in the vicinity of your heart center. Feel here also your inhalation and exhalation. And again, with your exhalation, go deeper and deeper into your relaxation. Now bring your attention to your throat sphere, to the area of the larynx, and feel your breath there as well. Inhale and exhale. Now feel your breath between the navel and the throat as you inhale, and between the throat and the navel as you exhale. Feel your inhalation and exhalation between the navel and the throat. Inhalation and with the exhalation from the throat down to the navel. The breathing process. Listen to this subtle sound within your body. For inhalation and exhalation. The divine sound. Listen and feel this inner sound. As you inhale, bring your awareness from your navel upward to the throat. Exhaling, listen to this inner divine sound, this nāda of so'ham, moving with your awareness from the throat back to the navel. Listen to the inner sound of your breath, so'ham as you inhale, when you travel from the navel upward to the throat, haṁ, when you travel back from the throat to the navel. Consciously perceive the sound of the breath. Finally, remember your Śaṅkalpa. Fulfill your desire. Like this, the energy flows now in this direction. Feel this Śaṅkalpa. Now also remember your Śaṅkalpa once again. Now direct this flow of energy within you towards this Śaṅkalpa. Mentally repeat your Śaṅkalpa three times again. Then silently repeat your Śaṅkalpa three times again, the one you made at the beginning of Yoga Nidra. The same Śaṅkalpa as at the beginning of the Yoga Nidra. Become aware of your whole body, from the toes up to the top of your head. Feel and sense your entire body again, from the tips of your toes all the way up, to be sure that you are not falling asleep—check yourself if you are falling asleep or if you are still awake. Slowly, slowly, also hear more and more the sounds here in this hall. Be aware of your being here in this hall. Once again, consciously perceive the sounds here in this room. Just remember this hall. We are practicing now Yoga Nidra. Remember also the altar before you, the divine light. Also remember again here the objects in this room. Also remember the altar at the front. Slowly, a few times, deeper inhalation and exhalation. And start to move your fingers and your toes. Slowly move your whole body. Slowly begin to move again, your toes, your fingers, your feet, your hands, your arms, your legs. Stretch and extend yourself in the way that feels right to you. Just relax yourself in the way that feels most comfortable to you. With closed eyes, please sit up slowly. With closed eyes, slowly sit up, please, and turn toward the altar. Deeper inhalation and exhalation. Breathe in deeply once and out. And we will chant Oṁ together once and afterwards Śānti three times. We will now sing Oṁ together once and Śānti three times. Breathe in deeply. Rub your palms together. Bring your palms together again.