Yoga Nidra

(June 30, 2010)

what is yoga nidra

Concept of Yoga Nidra: Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means “union” and Nidra simply means “sleep”. Hence in Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep) the individual’s mind, body and intellect are in a complete state of relaxation and he may even appear to be sleeping but in actuality his consciousness is active and functioning at a deeper level. In yogic sleep an individual is taught how to get out of the Waking State, go beyond the dreaming state and even go into Deep sleep but yet remain awake.
Benefits of Yoga Nidra: Yoga Nidra or Yogic sleep tends to give a positive direction to the lives of those who practice it and helps in eliminating the root cause of most negativities such as medical ailments like depression, hypertension, asthma, insomnia, digestive disorders, stress related problems etc which tend to drain our life energy. Yogic sleep is considered to be the key to penetrate into the dormant realms of the mind and train and groom one’s mental faculties to access and use the incredible powers of the unconscious and subconscious minds. Yogic sleep or Yoga Nidra tends to also make an individual experience a sense of tremendous quietness, calmness and clarity.
Steps involved in performing Yoga Nidra:
1. Lie on your back in the corpse posture in such a manner that the spine is aligned and the arms and feet are lying comfortably by one’s sides.
2. Slowly allow your attention to move through the head, face, mouth, neck, wrists, hands and the rest of the body.
3. Then exhale and inhale in such a manner that it should seem that the entire body is exhaling or inhaling.
4. Concentrate on your breathing that should be slow, smooth and serene that is guided by the mind without any jerkiness or noise.
5. This process of experiencing or surveying the entire body must be continued while concentrating on ones’ breathing.
6. One should allow their awareness to get completely free of any distraction in the form of images or thoughts and then remain in the deep silence and stillness for at least 10 minutes.
7. After remaining in this stillness one may experience that the thoughts or images may start coming back into ones awareness, at this time allow your mind and body to slowly return to the conscious state.
8. After practicing yogic sleep, one should slowly return to their daily activities or even practice meditation for some time to derive maximum benefits.

Submitted by A on June 30, 2010 at 04:58

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