What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of guided relaxation that has a profound effect on the
body, mind and emotions. During the practice, you lie down in a comfortable position and are
asked to remain awake and relaxed. The instructor will guide you through various stages of
deeper relaxation where you turn your awareness to the inner landscape, away from
external experiences.

During Yoga Nidra, you will enter the hypnagogic state between wakefulness and dreaming
which we usually only spend a few minutes in daily as we are drift off to sleep at night.  Here,
he effect on the mind can be very powerful because as the mind becomes more relaxed, it
also becomes more receptive. The practice can help us to increase our creativity, aid in  
memory retention, reduce stress, overcome past traumas, release our samskaras (mental
impressions), and more fully embody our true nature.
Yoga Nidra Sessions
Click the links below to listen to recorded Yoga Nidra practices that were taught at Piedmont
Yoga Studio in Oakland, CA.
There are ten steps in the practice of Yoga Nidra which include the following:

  1. Preparation - Yoga Nidra is done while lying in Savasana. It is important that your
    body is completely comfortable and as symmetrical as possible. Use a flat support under
    your head if necessary, and a rolled blanket under your knees. If the heels touch the
    floor, it can create a sore place on the heel and therefore a smaller ankle roll is helpful
    to keep the feet from touching the floor. Please be sure that you are warm and that the
    room is neither bright or dark. Do not cover your eyes with an eye bag as this can cause
    discomfort after the practice.
  2. Relaxation - You will be asked to consciously relax the muscles of your body.
    Sometimes you will be asked to begin listening to sounds outside of the body in order to
    place the mind in an attitude of observation.
  3. Sankalpa or Resolve - Please choose your sankalpa very carefully. It should be a
    short, positive statement that you will repeat to yourself three times. You will use the
    same sankalpa until it comes to fruition. Some examples are as follows:
  • "I will awaken my spiritual potential"
  • "I will achieve total health"     
  • "I will be successful in all of my endeavours"
  1. Rotation of Consciousness - During this portion of the practice, you will be asked to
    rotate both your conscious mind and physical feeling throughout the entire body in a
    very specific way. You will listen to the instructor say the body part, repeat the name of
    the part to yourself, and feel the body part at the same time. Within the motor cortex of
    our brain there is a neuronal map of the parts of the body called the motor homunculus
    or "little man". As you go through the rotation of consciousness, you are activating parts
    of your brain associated with parts of your body which in effect, relaxes the mind by
    relaxing the body.
  2. Awareness of the Body - You will be asked to concentrate on specific parts of the
    body. Sometimes this is done in relation to the floor, or certain body parts in relation to
    each other.
  3. Awareness of the Breath - You will be asked to observe the breath in different parts
    of the torso, including the belly, the chest, the throat, and the nostrils. This is unlike
    pranayama where we attempt to change the breath. Here we are only asked to observe
    the natural breath without effort.
  4. Feelings & Sensations - You will be asked to recall intense physical or emotional
    experiences such as heat and cold, anxiety and calm, heaviness and lightness. You are
    usually asked to recall a sensation clearly for a short period of time, then asked to recall
    the opposite sensation which enables you to experience an intense feeling without
    reacting emotionally. It also makes us aware of the duality of our experiences.
  5. Visualization - Here, you will be asked to visualize a list of images that are named by
    the instructor. Sometimes these are pleasant images, and sometimes they are not.
    Again, it is your aim to visualize these images as clearly as possible while the mind and
    body are relaxed and often you will make connections between what the instructor says
    and things that you have experienced in your life.
  6. Repeat Sankalpa - You will repeat the same sankalpa that you created at the
    beginning of the practice three times to yourself.
  7. Coming Back - You will be brought back into a waking state very slowly so that you feel
    calm and comfortable after the practice.
More About Yoga Nidra