Hello everyone and welcome to the Awaken Together podcast. I am Jenn and today's episode is going
to feature a very special guest. Allie Bright is a meditation guide, a teacher of yoga philosophy
and a retreat host and a friend. So welcome Ali.
Hi Jen, it's so nice to be here and talking with you.
I am so happy to have you. Ali puts meditations out and I have fallen asleep to your voice
so many times because it's so soothing and we not only are going to break down and talk
about yoga in so much more depth and the benefits of different meditation techniques, but Ali
is also going to share with us a full guided yoga nidra.
I'm so excited and you're always full of compliments.
Easy to compliment. So why don't you share with our guests, our listeners first, just
how you kind of fell onto the spiritual path because I was even shocked to hear bits of
your life story along the way. Like you've been on a journey.
Yeah, who hasn't though? You know, everyone.
I don't know.
Well, my story, I suppose, starts when I'm really, really young. I actually could not
speak when I was a little girl. I had so many speech impediments that I could not express
myself at all. So that created, and I'm very introverted by nature, but it created a very,
very shy human that was terrified to talk to anyone, even a school teacher that would
call on you, even my mom, it did not matter. So I did actually 10 years of speech therapy
and it taught me so much about accepting myself. And it was interesting because being a child,
you know, you're in kindergarten, starting your speech therapy or five years old. And
I didn't really understand. I just understood I had to make weird noises. I got pulled out
of class and I had to make weird noises with a different teacher. I didn't know. And I
felt really stupid. I felt like I was like something was wrong with me, of course, because
I couldn't express myself and I was being pulled out of class every day. So I didn't
really understand why until really until I graduated speech therapy, which was in middle
school and I understood like, oh, okay, this wasn't to inhibit my growth was actually to
help prepare me for the world. So my math skills may be absolutely shit, like absolute
total and other shite. But because I was pulled out of math every day to go to speech therapy,
but I could. So don't ask me division, please, or multiplication, nothing. But yeah, it created
in me a being who was scared to speak, scared to express themselves. And so I delved into
the body. And I became really obsessed with athleticism. And I was fearless, because I
was so afraid to speak, I was fearless in my body. So I did gymnastics and I would,
you know, it was the way to express myself to my friends, for instance, would be like,
I'm going to stand on this picnic table and do backflip off and everyone's going to be
amazed. I couldn't impress people with my thoughts. So I was like, I'm going to impress
them and I'm going to be accepted in my community with my peers through the athleticism. And
I did gymnastics, competitive gymnastics for many years. And that's what led me to yoga.
Because once I quit gymnastics, because it's so hard on the body, and it's so time consuming,
you know, I didn't, you know, I didn't get to go to football games or any of the things
that quote unquote, normal kids would be able to do because I was doing four hours of gymnastics
practice four days a week after school. So but that made me really comfortable with yoga
asana. When I first found it, which was in high school, which I know is pretty late for
people nowadays. But I was born and raised in West Virginia, and we just didn't have
any yoga around. It was not a thing. And my best friend's dad actually took me to a
yoga class at the YMCA when I was 16. And my best friend's dad, me and my best friend
did this yoga class, and they never went back. And I just started going every time they offered
it. I was like, Oh, this is great. I can do all this. It's easy. I feel good in my body.
I feel impressive. You know, very ego filled my yoga practice to start. Because of body,
I was obsessed with the body. And after, after I discovered yoga asana, I of course started
to do a little bit of research into what yoga was its history and things. And I realized
meditation was such an important part of the practice. And I actually had a friend who
was an active meditator, and he would actually practice japa. So, you know, you have your
mala your beads, and you practice mantra recitation. And he taught me how to do that. And so that's
where I started with my meditation practice was with mantra recitation, which is such,
I mean, it's revolved around voice as well. So it was interesting how, you know, it ended
up it ended up coming full circle from when I was a little tiny girl, trying to find my
voice to full circle in high school, senior year of high school, I discovered meditation.
And of course, the style of meditation I discover is mantra recitation, which a lot of meditation
is silent, I wouldn't have to evolve around the voice. But for some reason, I was latched
on to mantra. And it helped me even more I found this language, the Sanskrit language,
and how beautiful it was and how the sounds came up gutturally, they start deep, and they,
it just made so much sense where the sounds are coming from. And I started getting deep
into that. And then once I got into my meditation practice, I realized that a lot of yoga classes
that were all familiar in the West with our Asana base, which I loved. But once I started
meditating, I realized there's more to this practice. And so I was a little antsy to find
my teacher. And that's a hard thing to do, especially when you're seeking one usually
happens you're not looking. Yeah, we all know that, that story. But I decided, actually,
it's kind of funny and a little embarrassing. I watched the Walter Mitty movie. Do you remember
that Jim? Yeah, the secret life. Yeah, secret life of Walter Mitty. And for some reason,
that movie, it was kind of like the cherry on top. I had been thinking about going to
India. And then that I watched that movie. And I was like, if I'm going to teach yoga,
I have to, I have to learn in India. I just knew for myself, and this is not for everyone,
but I knew for myself, I needed to go. It's strong, Sagittarius spirit energy that you
have. That's funny. It is. But yeah, so I went to India in 2014, which is funny, because
I know that's when you started teaching to Jim was yeah. So that I find that really interesting,
especially because we didn't know each other back then. Absolutely. And in India, I went
to this yoga school, it was called Vinyasa Yoga School is very asana based for sure.
But we had, of course, India, a lot of philosophy, a lot of mantra. And even our asana classes
were structured differently than the ones I would attend here in the West. Like for
instance, the asana classes, it was very, very warm when I was there, because it was
summertime, and you weren't allowed to use any sort of artificial cooling. They said,
if you really feel like you're going to pass out, you can turn a fan on. But the idea is
to be in like, one with your environment, to be in the in the space you're in, quite
frankly, like it's just to accept it, and to move beyond the fact that yeah, maybe you're
hot, or maybe you're freezing because it's cold outside. But you adjust your asana to
fit. And yeah, that's, that's that. So I found that really interesting, especially with here
in America, in the US, especially we're obsessed with heating and cooling. You know, if it's
snowing outside, we're going to keep our house inside at 75 degrees. If it's at 90 degrees
outside, for some reason, we're going to keep our house at 64 degrees. I'm not sure why
it changes that much. But at least at my dad's house that is how it is. But anyways, I'm
rambling hardcore. I love it. India, and at that yoga teacher training school I went to,
we had a quote unquote in house guru, which is kind of the silly thing I know. But in
India, at every yoga school you go to, you're going to have a quote unquote in house guru.
And our guru's name was Omo. So Omoji and I immediately hit it off. We just had this
connection. And after us after our mantra classes, because he would teach us mantra,
he would take me aside because we would have a break after that he would take me aside.
And he is actually the one who said, I have this practice for you that I think you would
really like. And I think you would actually be very good at and I want to guide you through
it slowly. So over the span of two months, he slowly taught me yoga nidra. And nobody
else I felt so special. Because everyone else was like off doing their own thing, you know,
or exploring other parts of the city or going to a cafe and just hanging out or having a
great time for sure. But I got the quote unquote secret knowledge from Omoji of yoga nidra.
And ever since then, which was 2014 again, can't believe that's a decade now. I have
just been absolutely obsessed with this practice. It is so beneficial for the mind, the body
and the spirit. I just cannot recommend it enough. Like it's good for everyone. It is
the one meditation practice I think that everyone can practice can practice sitting and closing
your eyes and trying to be still is very, very, very difficult. And I'm not personally
ADD or ADHD. But almost everyone in my family is I know you are a gin. The mind will just
keep on you know, like a pinball machine. Yeah. And this is the practice that took me personally
out of the darkness in my mind, got a lot of Scorpio nature in me. I'm very dark person.
Out of the darkness and into a sense of beingness. That's, that's it. Existence, whatever. I
don't want to because I by no means I don't think personally I don't think enlightenment
for instance is like this crazy thing that is unattainable. I think that we can each
reach little tiny moments of moksha in everyday life. Maybe you're staring at a sunset. Maybe
you're playing with your kitty and you're just totally immersed in that moment. And
you're not thinking about anything. You're not doing anything. You're just being and
yoga Nidra taught me how to just be. And it's so beautiful that came as such a seed for
what would be so much of your path. And I love the synchronicities in your story even.
Yeah, what you came in with and then what your calling ended up being in so many deeper
ways. It's beautiful to see how each step mattered in its own way to kind of create
this. Blueprint for everything. Totally blueprint. When you're in it, you don't know it, right?
You got to look back. Yeah. Absolutely incredible. And yeah, to bring it back to your, yeah,
your points of actually I love that you like went and actually saw like the world's and
its steps instead of just kind of taking it like West Virginia, especially Oh my gosh,
so behind. So I lived there for yeah, three and a half years and I found a lot that was
definitely when I was in a more reflective state of my life. Life had just been really
chaotic and I found a lot of my like self practices there. But there was also there
was such a different mindset there. So it was yeah, there wasn't a whole lot. It was
tough to kind of I had to find a lot within at that time to kind of figure it out. But
it's it's crazy how yoga is being perceived. And Kat and I have talked about this on the
podcast before that yoga. Yes, there's the asana practice and moving your body that you
see, but it's so much more than just those classes. The body movement is really disposed
to be even another guide to help you tune in deeper. And I remember in teacher training,
actually getting to do my first yoga nidra. And I was blown away. I think it was the first
meditation practice, where I got into a state that wasn't, yeah, sleeping or awake. I remember
that was like the first practice where I was like, Whoa, like I am in a true state. And
it was beautiful because yeah, with my ADHD, it's hard to find, I definitely have had to
get way more exploratory and finding what works. And a lot of times, having the physical
practice to kind of wear my body out is like important for me to be able to drop in more,
which is really the main point of the flow is to help you in the final posture, to be
able to be more present. And I need that often a lot. So the actual flow practice is really
good for me. But I also was blown away when I took my first meditation class, like, okay,
I can get into this state. And there is such a cadence and a guide to it. But yeah, let's
share a little bit too about what you've kind of I know you've delved so much deeper into
yoga philosophy, just what you think listeners should know about some of the like depth because
we are so far from yoga philosophy in the US, like it's been taken very far away. So,
yeah, some of the points you've kind of learned along the way of that I loved even what you
said about matching the environment because yeah, we are deeply scared of being uncomfortable
over here. That's a huge part of it. Absolutely. And that's where you really start to actually
when you set in some levels of discomfort. That's where you really learn how to release
emotion and feel into so much deeper you were given this as a quest from, you know, the
very beginning. Yeah, I wasn't quite ready philosophically, but in retrospect. Yeah,
no, it's this has been a really big journey for me actually, because when I first came
back from India, I was so dogmatic and so upset with the yoga community here in the
US. I lived in Los Angeles for 10 years, and that is a very difficult yoga community as
well because it's yoga has been there for so long compared to the rest of the US. Yeah.
That it's rampant. It's everywhere. It's literally around every corner on every street corner,
you've got yoga studios, right? You've got places of worship like Hindu worship that
have become completely westernized as well. And so these things used to really upset me
when I came back from India because I was like, this is not how it's supposed to be.
But then as I continued studying and learning, I discovered yoga has been evolving since
the dawn of time. Like any other practice or philosophy, it's just these things evolve
over time. Scholars argue how old yoga is, right? They're like between 2000 and 5000
years old. So it's like old. Let's just say that. It's friggin old. And over that time
period, it has morphed and evolved and grown and become less secretive, which was a big
part of it used to be very secretive because it was an oral tradition yoga. And so it was
not written about. And yoga is a Hindu practice. It is so coupled up in its history with Hinduism.
And that's not to say if you're a Christian or if you're Muslim or if you're Pagan or
whatever, an atheist, that you cannot practice yoga because you can separate it from your
own practice. But its roots are in Hinduism. And we can't deny that. You can practice asana
and not be a practicing Hindu, of course. That's a body practice. But it's important
for us to recognize that it is from India. It is Hindu, like full stop, period. It's
interesting because I work, this is so weird, but I work at a church and the church I work
at has yoga classes. And I'm not a religious person at all. It's just, it's a great job,
to be honest. It's very, very lovely. It's got great hours. The people I work with are
awesome. But I'm not a religious person. I kind of am more agnostic or maybe believe
a little bit in all religions. I think every religion has this trinket of truth in it,
that it's depth, that it's heart. And a lot of times we just, we talk too much. And so
our vocabulary doesn't know how to, our language, we don't know how to express these deep inner
meanings and truths that are universal and that are within every religion. I'm rambling
again. So I apologize. I love it. Oh yes, yoga philosophy. I'm trying to remember where
we've gotten. But yeah, so it was a really hard journey for me because of my dogmatic
view of it. And now I'm coming to terms with the fact that there are different kinds of
yoga and there is the yoga that some people practice that's all about getting a nice butt.
You know what? Let them have it. You're nice, but you know, great, awesome. At least your
body is healthy. That's not what I used to be able to say. I used to be like, just call
it Pilates. Just call it. I mean, I love Pilates. It's great, but like, don't call it yoga.
But now I'm like, okay, I'm way more accepting because that's what yoga is. It's a practice
of acceptance. So if I'm over here just getting angry that these people aren't doing it right,
like, no, let go.
I think where I've evolved in some of that thinking as well is just when you see how
disconnected, you know, I do physical therapy so I can see how disconnected I have so many
patients that if I ask them to feel into their body to describe something like how challenging
that can be, like some people's baseline is so, so detached from body sensations that,
you know, giving the multitude layers of what I believe will inevitably come out if you
do a consistent practice even on the mat. I don't think you can avoid the layers if
you show up long enough. It happens because what you're doing is tapping into this deeper
internal truth and knowing that we all have, which I love how you worded that, that like
language can't even fully capture the depth of that. But there is a magic that happens
and you, yeah, it really ends up meeting you where you're at. And I also very ego-y, and
I would say it was the perfection aside of myself. Like I, it took probably a year and
a half of yoga to like actually get out of the, like head and actually be like in a flow
state and then having the layers of emotions start to release and having these deeper truths
just start to come out. Like I was so neurotic about getting posture right that like I bypassed
the, I intellectualized the practice to the point of not even being able to cultivate
a feeling. So this is also why I'm just like, if I can get people on the mat to at least
start creating a basic blueprint of tune in with the body, I honestly do believe that
the practice itself with its breath and its pacing and its slowness, regardless of how
it's being taught, I think it's the energy of it and just the sacredness of the actual
depth of yoga as a whole will shine through in the way it's meant to.
I couldn't agree more, but I, since the first time we spoke, I found that really admirable
about you is you're really, you're really willing to meet your students, your clients
at their, at their point, at the beginner stage. And I really respect that because I
don't feel the same way personally. And so that's actually why I stopped teaching Asana
is because I, I wanted to know that when someone came my class, that they were looking for
what I wanted to teach them, what I wanted to share with them. I just got so frustrated
and I realized I don't have to teach Asana. Nobody says I have to teach Asana. And I was
so sick of people walking out of Shavasana because I need these 30 minute Shavasana because
they're essentially yoga nidras. And that's how I would always do my classes. And so many
people would just leave. They wouldn't stay for it. And it just, it was starting to, I
was starting to get jaded and I didn't want that for my, my, myself, for my practice,
for my yoga. And so I just kind of removed myself from teaching Asana. But I've always
respected you for just being able to meet people where they are.
This is a thank you firstly. And this is also why the variety of teachers and past is so
important because we need people that can meet on all levels. So what you're sharing
is also so deep and there are, there are people that getting to experience that level of depth
from the get go, it works for them and it really like, yeah, has a blooming effect of
everything. And I think, you know, for some there's just different levels that have to
be met, which is showing why the variety of teachers is so important. But I'd love to
hear when you first started, yeah, that transition and started teaching in that way, I would
love to hear some of the experiences that came up for you just like stepping into that
integrity for yourself.
I actually got really lucky. I was living in Los Angeles. I had a job where I didn't
have to work all that much. I would work a couple of days a week. And then the rest of
the time, I was very privileged in that sense, trust me, like I hated my job so much, but
it gave me a lot of free time, which I dedicated to my yoga studies. But I was teaching with
another teacher at that this point in time. And she is still a very close friend of mine.
She's absolutely wonderful. Her name is fairy, but not like a fairy, like she's Persian.
So it's a traditional name. And she would teach Asana and then she would let me guide
a yoga Nidra asker. And so that's really how I transitioned out of Asana. And then I still
practice Asana. I just don't teach it. So that's really how I began my transition out
of teaching Asana and into mainly being a meditation guide. I was just so I was so lucky
to have met her. I went to one of her classes and we just immediately connected. And she
actually is the first teacher I started hosting yoga retreats with. And I at the yoga retreats,
that's what I got to do. I got to guide yoga Nidra's every day. And that's all. It was
great. It was glorious.
And it's beautiful. You're bringing that practice and class to West Virginia now and
gonna get to share and teach actually the depths of of it as well.
Well, actually one thing that's very interesting about West Virginia, and I think it's because
we have a lot of pain here. We have a lot of loss. We have a lot of poverty, we just
have a lot of dukkha. We have a lot of suffering here. And so when I taught for about six months,
I had to come back to West Virginia to finish my college degree. And so I taught at a local
studio here for that period of time. And it was one of the best experiences I have ever
had. I taught mysticism. So I taught about Hindu deities. I had the biggest classes I've
ever had people would stay at I would always bring tea, and people would stay after class
for three to four hours, because I'll make sure my class was the last of the day. So
I wouldn't get out of that studio till 11 o'clock at night. And let me tell you, I am
not a night person. I like mornings. I turn off at nighttime. And so there are just all
these people that are looking searching for meaning for deeper meaning for accepted for
acceptance. I think that's probably the best way to put it. Because we deal so directly
and from such a young age here with mortality. And it's so rare. It's so rare to at age 20,
you know, have already lost three or four friends. Yeah. You meet people from other
places and they just don't have those experiences. My partner's like, I don't like it's crazy.
Like, I am 10 years older than you. And I don't know even like, a tenth amount of the
people you know, that has passed. I really do think that's why yoga and Appalachia is
going to have such I think the future of yoga and Appalachia is really important, actually,
really, really important. And for me, yoga, over time, and once I started delving deeper
into my studies, it's a practice as are all religions, to be honest, it's a practice of
accepting mortality. It's the greatest suffering any of us will experience losing
someone we love. And starting to lose ourselves too, you know, I haven't had to start to confront
that yet. But that is such an important aspect of yoga practice is just coming to terms with
mortality, with the fact that when there is life, there is death, and they come together,
they they can't have one without the other. It's impossible.
Yeah, the dance of duality. So real. I love that. And yeah, you're so so right. It's,
it's potent and powerful. And I definitely experienced so much in that area too. And
very shocking for me to not being from there. And I commend you on, yeah, sharing what you
do in the area you do. Before we dive into your meditation, which I'm so excited to experience,
can you just give us some of the main overview and points of Yeah, this meditation practice,
what you recommend for our listeners who maybe this is their first time getting to do it.
And just some of those points. And thank you for all the stuff on your story to it. We've
shared so much wisdom. So thank you for that too. Glad you put up with my rambling. I feel
like I love it everywhere. I think it's it's there's so much wisdom, your story. I love
it. Thank you. So yoga Nidra is such a richer and more meaningful practice than so many
of us realize it has such a rich history. Let's just talk about what is yoga Nidra?
What is the state of Nidra? Yoga Nidra induces a deep non-rem sleep state. So you're not
in dream state. But you're not completely it's it's deep sleep. But you're still conscious.
It's a very interesting in between being and non being waking and sleeping or even waking
and death, you know. And actually, when we're practicing yoga Nidra, most of us 99.99999%
of us are not actually practicing yoga Nidra, we're practicing a preliminary practice. Yoga
Nidra is the state. The practice of yoga Nidra is trying to get to that state, you know,
you're trying to allow your consciousness to relax so much that you can be from EEG
scans, you can see delta brainwaves, which are characteristic of deep, deep sleep. But
you are able to hear and listen to everything that's being said. And when you're woken
up, you you remember everything. So you know how a lot of people when they have babies,
they like play Beethoven to their baby, because when they're sleeping, that's the argument
for yoga Nidra to you practice yoga Nidra. So when you're in the state, you can download
information, you know, while sleeping, while while rejuvenating body and mind. One of the
fun facts that teachers and people and books like to throw around is that yoga deep yoga
Nidra state is care is as beneficial, like one hour of yoga Nidra state is as beneficial
as four hours of deep sleep. That's like the thing people love to throw around. One hour
is equal to four hours. I don't know how accurate that is. But I feel it. I feel so oh my gosh,
I feel so incredible after it's like something you haven't felt. Yeah, I am so energized
after I do Nidra practice. It's like, I just woke up in the morning. I'm just bouncing
off the walls like my cats. So yeah, so that's the state of yoga Nidra. So again, pretty
much with all meditation practices. Meditation is the state, what we practice is trying to
reach that state. It's subtle, it's a subtle difference. But I always find it's a really
important difference. Because people are like, I can't meditate. And I'm like, well, pretty
much none of us can meditate. Like not really, you're just you're practicing one pointed
concentration. So maybe your breath, maybe your mantra, maybe counting, it could be all
sorts of things, right. But I always just like to make that differentiation, especially
because there's multiple words for meditation in Sanskrit. So you know, you have the eight
ones of yoga. And it ends with three different types of meditation, Dahana, Dhyana and Smaghi.
Those are all types of meditation, but it's just you're practicing Dahana is, you know,
you're practicing that one pointed concentration. So that is one point of concentration is what
that means. And then Dhyana is meditation, which is when you don't have to practice any
sort of concentration, you just are. And then Smaghi is enlightenment, right, which I think
is a very subtle difference between Dhyana and Smaghi. That's unimportant right now.
Anyways, reverse, reverse, going back. The interesting, one of the most interesting things
I find about yoga Nidra practice is when it was first researched in the West. So there
was this guru of the Himalayas, this this yogi named Swami Rama. And he was the very,
very first person to undergo trials and EEG studies of this yoga Nidra state. And this
was not that long ago. Yes, me. This was in 1971 in Kansas, believe it or not, at the
Meninjur Foundation. It was just this place that happened to be like, yeah, let's research
this, you know, Indian guru. And he put himself in a state of yoga Nidra through the rotation
of consciousness in the body, which if you practice Nidra, you know, that's how the practice
is one of the beginning starts for the practice is you rotate consciousness in your body,
you do a body scan, in other words. And while he was doing this, he fell into a deep sleep
showing only delta brain waves on the EEG scan. And when he woke up, he was able to
recount everything that was said while he was asleep, demonstrating full awareness.
So that was the first time anyone had ever seen this. It was unheard of. And it's worth
noting that during these trials, they also did things like they asked him to raise his
blood pressure and then drop it and he would do it on command or speed up his heart rate
and then slow it down or just do these things that were like, you can't control that. That's
not something you have. Like how am I supposed to make my heart beat in a different way other
than practicing cardio or, you know, not just sit there and will it too. And so that kind
of shows like this yoga mitra stays is not an easy state to get to. But even scientifically,
it has such strong, beneficial qualities. Yeah.
It shows it's so much deeper. We can go so much deeper at this existence than what so
many tap into. It's so incredible to hear stories like that. And then to actually be
able to throw what was proven before. I love that they so believed we couldn't control
our autonomic nervous system. They're like, no, heart rate, you can't control like, you
know, these beliefs. And then yeah, what the yoga meditation community and people that
have spent time, you know, going into the layers and depths of that these different
practices, they knocked where science was at fully off the map and had to create a whole
other blueprint for what was possible for our human bodies. And I think the layers of
that will keep expanding too. I could not agree more. Like it really truly
is incredible the amount of scientific knowledge there is in these systems without there being
the background of science to back it up. You know, we have to catch up. We're learning.
Oh my gosh, they were right. How? How did they know this?
Yeah. And I love when something has to expand because of an individual person's story, because
there's so much, so much magic in that. I love that so much.
And the best part about this is it's not only Swami Rama, right? So Swami Rama was just
the first person to undergo these trials. And then there were other people who under
underwent them. And while they like they would do EEG scans on just serious meditators, and
while they would reach these states, they wouldn't be quite as deep where versus someone
who a lot of the meditators who are getting research done on them now are Westerners simply
because of the community that we live in and you know, the country that we live in and
everything they just happen to mainly be Westerners. And so they haven't been practicing meditation
since they were born. Yeah.
Versus Swami Rama and then all of these people under Swami Rama, who has a bunch of his disciples
were then like Swami Veda Bharati. He was a disciple who then underwent the same very
similar EEG studies and trials in 2004. And he reached the same state and they reached
the same conclusions in the research study, but they haven't been able to do any successful
research on Westerners to where they have reached this state yet, which I find really
interesting. And I wonder if as as a people, as we grow more conscious of meditation practice
and we start teaching it to our children when they're babies, when they're little kindergarten,
you know, if maybe that will change and start to, you know, we'll be able to reach these
really deep, beautiful, unified states. I love it.
I mean, why not? But I see the vision and we need it. And it honestly says so much in
itself that we are so far from what our essence can be over here just in how our system is
designed and the expectations that, you know, have been kind of funneled through it shows
why that disconnects there. It says a lot in its own, you know, it says a lot in itself.
And yeah, I am so honored to be able to share with our listeners this practice. Like, I
hope that you guys can return to this meditation and support Ali. Share a little bit, Ali,
how people can support and find your stuff so that our listeners know. And then we can
go into this incredible meditation. Thank you. I feel like I just rambled my way,
my my my my way through this. I feel like I didn't get to share any of the textual history
of yoga nidra, but that will just be for next time. Or if you want to take part two, yeah,
we're going to take my university class. You could always sign up. I love that. But yeah,
I share my yoga nidras now. I don't use social media. I am trying to decide whether or not
I'm going to get back on. It's been about four years now since I've used it. Other than
just to like post something that's, you know, if like my mom passed away. So I posted her
obituary, you know what I mean? Like come to my mom's funeral. But other than that,
I haven't used social media in four years. And I'm trying to decide if I want to use
it again to share the meditations. But for now, I use insight timer. So I don't know
if, you know, your listeners are familiar with insight timer, but I'm sure they are.
It is one of the best apps for meditation, free meditations. It's just phenomenal. And
what do they search on there to find you on that app? Um, you would search my name, Ali
bright and pretty easy. A L L I E and bright like the sun is bright. I have all your meditation
saved. I highly recommend and I did not find this to be one bit of a ramble. I so appreciate
all the wisdom and words spoken. I so appreciate you sharing even just a little couple main
points on this practice. And yeah, we appreciate all the listeners for coming and thank you
Ali for being here. Thank you Jen for having me. It really, it meant a lot. You just asking
me, you know, I wanted to do this. I was like, yeah, I so appreciate having you. I love the
work you're doing. And with that, let's dive into this meditation. Please come to a comfortable
lying position. Perhaps with a pillow under your head to release the cervical spine and
a pillow under the knees to release the lower back. And once you found your comfortable
lying position, bring your awareness to your breath, your inhalations and exhalations.
Inhaling deeply and fully in through the nose and exhaling, sighing out of the mouth.
Inhaling in through the nose and exhaling, sighing out of the mouth.
One more time. Inhaling and exhaling, sighing.
Allowing your body to melt into the ground, the floor, the bed beneath you.
Letting go of the external world, of any stress or tension.
Freeing yourself from the worries of the outside world.
And allowing yourself to delve inward, becoming one with your breath, your natural breath,
in and out of the nose.
Bringing
your awareness to your face, to your mouth. Relaxing and releasing the jaw, the lips,
the tongue. Relaxing, releasing.
Moving up to the nose. Feeling the breath in and out of the nose.
And on up to the eyes, the eyelids, the eyebrows.
Relaxing, releasing.
And all the way up to the forehead.
The top of the head, the crown.
Feeling the back of your head against your pillow or the ground.
And all the way to your ears. Relaxing, releasing.
And moving down to your neck and your shoulders.
And from your shoulders down your biceps, triceps.
Elbows and wrists.
Relaxing, releasing both arms.
And moving on down to your hands, your thumbs, index fingers, middle fingers,
ring fingers, and your pinkies.
Relaxing and releasing each and every finger.
And moving this restorative energy back up the arms, back into the shoulders, into the chest.
The heart, the heartbeat.
Feeling the gentle, steady beat of your heart.
And moving on down, down to the diaphragm.
The mid-back.
Down to the belly, feeling the belly, the diaphragm rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.
And moving to the hips.
Relaxing and releasing the hips.
And bringing your awareness to the legs, the thighs, the knees.
The shins and calves. All the way down to your ankles. Relaxing, releasing.
From the ankles to the feet.
To each and every toe. Relaxing, releasing.
Allowing your entire body to melt.
Relaxing and releasing.
Moving this restorative energy from the feet back up the legs, the hips, the belly, the chest.
The neck.
The head.
And bringing your awareness back to your breath.
And moving to the feet.
Relaxing.
If you are familiar with Shambhavi Mudra, you can now take your inner gaze to between the eyebrows at the third eye center.
You are welcome to keep this Mudra for the rest of the practice.
Relaxing.
To stay awake and aware. To prevent us from drifting off into deep sleep.
And to keep us just on the edge of consciousness. Just between sleep and wakefulness.
A state between the conscious and the unconscious.
Relaxing.
The ego exists in the sphere of duality. In a state of identification with the physical body.
And its heeds and desires.
Because of this, it becomes subject to a series of kleshas or afflictions. Such as pride, egoism, competitiveness, hate and jealousy.
And this only brings about dukkha or suffering.
Relaxing.
The Self is universal, eternal, one.
Relaxing.
The Self is rooted in the sphere of oneness, of unity.
And this expansive awakening does not constitute egoism. But quite the opposite.
This awareness brings one to the realization of the wholeness, the unity of all beings, of all things.
The ego is the feeling, the thought that I am this or I am so-and-so.
The ego sees itself as a whole separate entity, not unified, not one with all.
And while we perceive subject and object as dual, the fact that they must interact makes them non-dual.
Up does not exist without down. Left without right.
These seeming dualities do not exist alone, but only together.
It is this sense of duality, this false perception of oneself as a separate being
that creates the suffering in our world today.
Egoism manifests itself in many ways, such as ownership, desires and attachments, pride and arrogance.
Selfishness, aggression, judgment, and lack of acceptance and understanding.
Any feeling, thought, idea, action or response, which arises in a state of duality, has the ego at its source.
The ego is the barrier that prevents us from seeing the world.
The ego is the barrier that prevents us from seeing the truth of ourselves.
It is the wall, the cell, which keeps one locked inside, in the prison of one's mind.
When we remove the separation,
the duality, we will see the world as an extension of ourselves,
and we will enter the vast feeling of oneness with all.
The vast feeling of oneness with all that is seen and experienced.
This awareness of self, this unity with all, manifests in ways such as kindness, compassion,
empathy, bliss, knowledge, improved skills in listening and silence,
sight and awareness, and a lack of desires and attachments,
and ultimately, a lack of suffering.
As we unveil the self,
the ego dissipates, becomes less powerful, and we live humbly in wonder.
There is no more hatred or war, no jealousy or pain harbored within our bodies.
Life becomes a universal understanding and acceptance for all.
And so, to free ourselves from the drama, the neurotic emotions and judgments,
our clinging to the I thought, we must first become aware that it is there at all.
To remove our attachment, our clinging to the I thought,
we must go within, not without.
We must sit with ourselves in reflection, and as in Ramana Maharshi's spiritual teachings,
we must ask ourselves, Who am I?
Not the I of the ego, but who you really are,
not the societal standards or the projected self, but the deepest, truest you,
the self that extends infinitely, and that is one with all.
A self of understanding and compassion.
Sat, Chit, Ananda.
Truth, Consciousness, Bliss.
Sat, Chit, Ananda.
You are welcome
to continue this meditation for as long as you'd like,
or perhaps even drift off into sleep.
But if you're ready to come back to the physical space around you,
please bring your awareness back to your breath, your natural breath in and out of the nose.
Bringing your awareness back into the physical body
by gently wiggling the fingers and the toes.
And if you're ready, gently rolling over to one side and pushing yourself up to a comfortable seat.
Thank you for meditating and contemplating the ego with me.
Namaste.
Thank you.