Yoga Nidra is one of my great loves! I love to meditate in silence and stillness. Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation where you simply (yet not always easy) lay down comfortable and are guided to a deeper state of being.
Yoga Nidra invites you on a journey, a pilgrimage within your temple, your body. You relax your body deeply so it can replenish and heal itself in the stillness of a holy moment, and in this moment your consciousness can awaken. It is a process of learning how to listen, and welcome all of life as it is.
Yoga Nidra is called Yogic sleep. But it is not sleep, it is an awakening.
This is where I knew I wanted to learn everything I could on how to travel within, how to meditate and to reach that higher and deeper consciousness within. To experience that subtle yet powerful energy that we all have within our own Self brings a deep transformation.
I have studied Yoga Nidra with Uma Dilsmore Tulis and Rod Stryker, two amazing yoga teachers.
According Uma Dilsmore Tulis, Yoga Nidra is not a practice, but a state of being, a process for entering into this state of being.
In one of the Puranas (sanskrit texts) Yoga Nidra is personified as a Goddess. She is Nidra Shakti; the power of sleep itself.
You practice Yoga Nidra in a yoga pose called Shavasana. Shava meaning corps and asana posture, the dead mans post. It is a posture that helps your whole body to relax.
In the beginning it is VERY easy to fall asleep when you first start with Yoga Nidra – and that is probably what you need.
Don’t worry about it, just keep on. With time you will learn to stay “awake” and you can enjoy the journey.
In Yoga Nidra we use the practice of nyaasa. Nyaasa is Sanskrit and has many meaning, but there is a beautiful description that says;
“…nyaasa is an esoteric means of distributing psychospiritual power (shakti) in the body and thereby creating a new inner and outer reality for oneself.” (Feuerstein 1990).
In other words when you practice the attention in your body (which is one part in Yoga Nidra) you bless yourself.
You bring holiness into your body.
In each Yoga Nidra we use a Sankalpa.The idea of repeating a sankalpa is to create the state of being we wish to experience. It is an intention and affirmation.
Sankalpa comes from the Sanskrit roots san, meaning “a connection with the highest truth,” and kalpa, meaning “vow.” Thus, it translates to denote an affirming resolve to do something or achieve something spiritual. It is believed that when the mind is relaxed, the sankalpa can be written on the subconscious.
Studies show that one hour in yoga nidra is as restorative as four hours of uninterrupted sleep.A recent study showed yoga nidra seemed to be more effective in reducing anxiety than meditation. The study also suggested that yoga nidra can be a useful tool in reducing both cognitive and physiological symptoms of anxiety.
In Yoga Nidra you move from Beta brain wave state into Alpha and Theta Brain wave states. Theta waves are activated when we are being insightful or creative, and is often called the healing wave.Theta waves are also dominant frequency high creative states, remembering emotional experiences, and encoding new memories into thoughts.
I hope you will awaken to a peaceful state of your inner most beautiful Being.
may the moon softly restore you by night,
may the rain wash away your worries,
may the breeze blow new strength into your being,
may you walk gently through the world
and know it’s beauty all the days of your life.”
