Not Just Another Type of Yoga The thing that makes yoga nidra so different from any other style of yoga is the fact that you don’t move, there is no physical practice. Yoga nidra is maybe easiest described as a meditative practice, but is so much more than that.
Yoga nidra is a practice that allows us to connect with our deeper self. It allows us space to work through difficult or challenging times in our life. It promotes rest and relaxation, both mentally and physically. Importantly, it gives us permission to stop.
The benefits of yoga nidra include: ➢ Alleviating stress and anxiety ➢ Helping with insomnia, improving sleep ➢ Relief from physical pain and fatigue ➢ Helping to build resilience ➢ Growing our connection to our true self ➢ Developing intuition and insight ➢ Enabling clearer thinking and sound decision making ➢ Promoting physical relaxation and decreasing muscle tension
➢ Time for yourself
So What is Yoga Nidra?
There is no one correct definition of yoga nidra, like all other styles of yoga it has evolved over hundreds of years. The term was originally used to describe a state of being rather than a practice but nowadays it is thought of as a process which can lead us to a higher place spiritually, mentally or as a state of being.
Yoga nidra is often translated to ‘yogic sleep’ but yogic sleep actually refers to the state of being fully awakened on a spiritual level. As a result of the ‘sleep’ translation you may hear that an hour of yoga nidra is equivalent to four hours of normal sleep. While the benefits of practicing yoga nidra cannot be understated, and it is a very relaxing practice, it is not a replacement for a good night's sleep and is a very different experience.
Is it Just Meditation? It depends on the definition you use for meditation. I look on meditation as ‘taking the time to focus on one specific thing, to shut out all other thoughts and distractions’, so yes in a way yoga nidra can be thought of as a meditation practice. However when we look at the different layers of consciousness, meditation and nidra are very different.
Meditation keeps you in the waking state of consciousness while the layers of unconscious (dreaming) and subconscious (deep sleep) become apparent.
In nidra we move to the deep sleep state of consciousness, but all the time remaining fully awake. Yoga nidra allows us to access the subconscious mind.
The space between waking and deep sleep is called the dreaming state or liminal state and is the place you may often find yourself when you first wake up in the morning, half aware and half not or what is going on around you. The liminal state isn’t the goal of yoga nidra but may form part of your practice as you move deeper to the subconscious.
Meditation often happens in the liminal state, and can work well when combined with yoga nidra to travel through and explore all the different states of consciousness.
Different Styles of Yoga Nidra Yoga nidra as it is recognised now originated in around the early 1960’s and has undergone several evolutions through different schools of yoga. While some styles allow quiet space to explore, others are very wordy in their delivery and allow little or no time for reflection. Some styles reflect yoga philosophy while others are very secular. You will discover the styles you connect with and resonate with as you practice.
iRest Yoga Nidra iRest is one specific style of yoga nidra and personally is the one I connect with more as it is a modern day adaptation of the ancient practices. Developed by a yoga practitioner and psychologist, it combines Eastern and Western influences in a way that I feel doesn’t exclude ‘non yoga people’. iRest has been developed alongside the US military and with modern day challenges in mind. It is widely used for PTSD, anxiety and depression. There are ten stages to iRest and we will delve into these more later on. These stages can be used to build a whole 40 minute practice or independently of each other whenever you need to spend just a little bit of time connecting with or addressing a particular issue.
Yoga nidra is not about changing anything in the moment, or trying to fix things there and then, but to take a snapshot of your body and mind as it is in order to recognise the changes you may need to or want to make. Nidra is not about having a specific thing happen, a certain experience but to just be, to be open to whatever may arise and be open to let it arise.
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