YOGA NIDRA
Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice that leads to inner freedom. Yoga Nidra means “dynamic yogic sleep” and refers to awakening in all levels and states of being, called 'koshas', including physical, energetic, mental, emotional, intuitive and spiritual. Of all practices, Yoga Nidra is the easiest, least expensive or time consuming and most inviting practice that brings us into our bodies own healing state. In the twentieth century, Swami Satyananda Saraswati developed Yoga Nidra practice from an older Tantric practice, and other teachers have since added their knowledge and wisdom to its ongoing evolvement.
Yoga Nidra is an inviting practice that everyone can practice because all that is required is to lie down and listen. Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of complete relaxation and peace, not only for the physical body, but also for the deeper emotional and mental systems; it works at the root of stresses, allowing the release of subconscious tensions and tendencies that inhibit us from living to our full potential. Yoga Nidra brings us to a place of calm, quiet and clarity. It is one of the deepest of all meditations, in fact goes beyond meditation, as our awareness is led through all levels of body, mind and spirit, into a state of supreme stillness and insight. Yoga Nidra is relaxing, however it takes us far beyond relaxation alone, into the healing place and awareness of our true nature where we are always at peace.
BENEFITS
Yoga Nidra, by inducing the "relaxation response", offers a swift entry into the layers of our being, where healing and regeneration occur. Our bodies know exactly what to do to attain and maintain perfect health and equilibrium, but we need the necessary conditions for that to happen, and Yoga Nidra creates these very conditions. The complete occupation of the mind during Yoga Nidra reduces or eliminates our habitual thought patterns. This is key for both relaxation and healing processes as habitual thought patterns are largely unconscious and trigger the "fight or flight" response, promoted by the sympathetic nervous system. During Yoga Nidra, the "flight or fight" response is switched off, and the "relaxation response" (parasympathetic nervous system) is switched on. Most illnesses today are stress related. Not only does this practice switch us into the relaxation response, Yoga Nidra relieves stress patterns by retraining the nervous system how to relax.
Research conducted in the last thirty years at well recognized universities and medical centers including Stanford, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Ohio State University, Medical College of Ohio, Banaras University and others, show that regular Yoga Nidra practice offers a viable means of prevention and reversal of numerous ailments and diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stress, heart ailments, pain, insomnia and psychosomatic conditions.
EFFECTS
-proven to permanently lower high blood pressure and cholesterol levels
-induces the relaxation response (Parasympathetic nervous system mode that promotes regeneration, healing, digestion, and integration occur)
-proven to strengthen immune system
-increases helper cells that defend against infectious disease
-increases blood flow to the heart
-balances autonomic nervous system
-proven to relieve pain and reduce or eliminate the need for pain medication
-balances and strengthens the endocrine system
-revitalizes and recharges vital energy
-conditions are set for body to heal and repair itself
-stabilizes mind and emotions
-enhances creativity
-meditative
-heart opening and helps cultivate self-compassion
-leads one not only towards health and well-being but also towards self-knowledge
CONDITIONS YOGA NIDRA ADDRESSES (and many more)
-Stress (the cause of most illness today) 
-Insomnia
-Insomnia-Heart disease -High blood pressure
-High blood pressure-Asthma -Eczema
-Eczema-Diabetes -Digestive conditions
-Digestive conditions-Multiple sclerosis -Cancer
-Cancer-Ulcers -Pre and post surgical conditions
-Pre and post surgical conditions -Behavioral challenges with children -Geriatric psychological challenges
-Geriatric psychological challenges-Healing for specific parts of the body or organs
-Anxiety, depression, aggression, addiction, ADD, ADHD, PTSD
PRACTICING YOGA NIDRA
Both enjoyable and easy, Yoga Nidra is more accessible than most forms of yoga since all it requires is to lie down and listen. Yoga Nidra can be practiced at any time and is most beneficial as a regular practice done every day or second day. Wait one and a half hours or more after a meal to practice Yoga Nidra. 15-45 minutes of Yoga Nidra is all that is required. Yoga Nidra can be done in savasana pose on your back, or lying on your side for pregnancy, snorers, or a cough. It can also be done seated as for meditation. It is best to practice on the floor on a mat or blanket, rather than on a bed or couch, where the state of sleeping lingers. What is important is to make sure your body feels supported, comfortable and warm. Place a cushion under the knees and a towel folded to 1 or 2” under the head, rather than a pillow, for proper alignment of the spine. Use an eye pillow if you like and cover up with a blanket. Practice in a quiet place where you will not be interrupted.
YOGA NIDRA IS FOOLPROOF! You cannot do it wrong.
The instructions are simple: with eyes closed, relax the body and listen. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do, except to stay attentive in a relaxed way without mental struggle. There is no need to worry or become agitated if you do not hear everything that it guided. It is natural to flow in and out of the experience of conscious hearing. In fact, rarely does anyone hear absolutely everything that is being guided. Whatever your experience, the practice of Yoga Nidra will still work. There is no way to do this wrong. Simply listen without trying too hard. Even if you think you fell asleep, or you felt fidgety, or your mind wandered, the part of you that is always awake is also always listening. “Even when you sleep your self is awake and aware.” (Saraswati, 5)
It is best to listen to a teacher guiding Yoga Nidra in person or on a Yoga Nidra CD. Once one is familiar with the preliminary stages (listed below) they may be self-guided. This is challenging to do because the part of you that is relaxing during Yoga Nidra now has to work at leading. Although challenging, it is worth while, as we are able to strengthen the mind’s ability to focus (dharana) and feel a sense of self reliance on our own ability to relax and to heal. Eventually it becomes effortless because our neuro-memory knows the pathways of the practice, and we are guided from within ourselves. Our nervous system remembers the sequence and, like a cascade effect, awareness streams through the other body parts without effort.
THE 8 STAGES OF YOGA NIDRA
The 8 Stages are the complete practice of Yoga Nidra that takes a person systematically through each layer, or kosha, of their being: physical anamayakosha, energetic/breath pranamayakosha, mental/emotional manomayakosha, wisdom/intuitive vijnyanamayakosha and spiritual/True Nature anandamayakosha. True healing occurs because Yoga Nidra brings balance to each level of our being.
1. Initial Relaxation: Settling into the meditation experience.
2. Intention, Sankalpa: This is a short statement created by each individual. This statement is in present tense and is based on the heart's deepest longing. E.g.: "I flow through life with ease and peace. I am relaxed."
3. Body Scan: The physical body is sensed as one is guided to witness each body part
4. Breath and Energy Awareness: Meditation on sensations and the unaltered breath.
5. Sense Perception: Awareness of sensations or emotions and can be done in opposites. E.g.: heavy/light, joy/grief, contraction/expansion.
6. Images, Visualization, Journey: This can be a series of unrelated images, or a guided journey. It can include symbols, archetypes, chakras, elements, and guided healing.
7. Sankalpa: Reaffirm the intention statement.
8. Return: Guiding back through the layers of being, back to the body.
Modifications may be needed for those suffering from psychological conditions, especially if medication is being used. (For these students, Stages 1-4: initial relaxation, sankalpa intention, body scan, and breath awareness can be used. Beyond these stages, it is best to consult a yoga therapist).
Resources
Yoga Nidra book by Swami Satyanada Saraswati
Deep Relaxation: Guided Yoga Nidra CD, Jennifer Reis
Copyright 2009 Sacred Fire Yoga: Yoga Meditation CD. All Rights Reserved.
