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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), cultivate our witness consciousness, and more fully embody our true nature.
It is best to practice yoga nidra in a quiet, comfortable room in your home where you can rest undisturbed for 30-40 minutes. Unplug your telephone, turn off your cell phone, television and radio. Some amount of background noise is to be expected for those of us living in an urban envrionment so absolute quiet is NOT necessary. Make yourself as comfortable as possible lying on your back. Support your head, the backs of the knees and the heels with bolsters or rolled blankets (the heels should not touch the floor). You may want to cover your eyes with a bandana or scarf but avoid a flax-filled eyebag as these are a bit to heavy for the eyes for this length of time. Also, make sure that you are warm, the body temperature will drop a few degrees due to the stillness of the practice, so a light blanket is a nice addition to your Yoga Nidra set-up.
The most important part in preparing for Yoga Nidra is the physical set-up of your space, but you also need to be in the mood to find deep relaxation. Sometimes the brain will be a whirlwind of thoughts and the emotions will be in turmoil. At these times, take a few minutes to practice some gentle asana warm-ups, or grounding mudras to be sure that you are present for the practice. Do not worry if you fall asleep or miss some of what is said, just continue to listen to my voice which will help to anchor you into the hypnagogic state of consciousness where the witness to all of our experiences resides.
To get a preview of yoga nidra, listen to the free Body Scan below. This practice can be used by itself as a tool to alleviate insomnia and find deep relaxation. As you are lying in bed, recite the different parts of your body systematically so that you the brain focuses on the body and not on the swirling thoughts in the mind.
| Body Scan |
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| Yoga Nidra: Living with Cancer |
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Yoga Nidra: Pain Relief |
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| Yoga Nidra: Insomnia |
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| Yoga Nidra: The Five Koshas |
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| Yoga Nidra: The Chakras |
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| Yoga Nidra: The Yamas |
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| Yoga Nidra: The Niyamas |
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| Yoga Nidra: Pitta Dosha |
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| Yoga Nidra: Vata Dosha |
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| Yoga Nidra: Kapha Dosha |
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Coming soon... |
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- Preparation - There will be a short introduction describing the body's position (Savasana) and that you should make yourself comfortable. Take this time to adjust the body, the props and your clothing so that fidgeting is minimized during the practice.
- 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.
- 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 am present"
- "I am healthy"
- "I am successful"
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Repeat Sankalpa - You will repeat the same sankalpa that you created at the
beginning of the practice three times to yourself.
- Coming Back - You will be brought back into a waking state very slowly so that you feel
calm and comfortable after the practice.
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