What is Yoga Nidra + Benefits + How to Practice it
- Meghan Lockhart
- Aug 20, 2019
- 4 min read
Yoga Nidra is cosmic sleep - the state of remaining awake and aware within the dream in an expanded state of freedom. It is awakening to your sovereignty as co-creator with the Universe.
Infused with teachings from sages through the ages - Yoga Nidra is powerful medicine for the body, mind and soul. Yoga means union and nidra means sleep. So one lens to view this practice is as the ultimate union of Self through deep sleep.Â
Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness - the state that is in between individual and Ultimate awareness, that space that lingers between night and day, inhale to exhale and one dimension to the next.Â
The systematic and ritualized tools that guide one into the state of Yoga Nidra take the practitioner on an inward journey through the realms of the unconscious and subconscious mind and enable an intimacy with the internal landscape of Self.
The practice will experientially take you through your multi-dimensional aspects, as you journey through each kosha (layer of self), so that you can viscerally feel the truth of who you are and witness the Universe within, as it co-creates through you.
At the essence of Yoga Nidra is an inner awakening to truth and an expansive awareness of who you are. The best way to understand how this practice can be a tool of self-realization and conscious co-creation is to experience it for yourself.
This practice can seriously blow your mind. And by that I mean that it can open up doorways that you never knew existed, leaving you awakened to a state of reality that you had never known before.
If you truly open yourself to the practice, the practice will open itself to you, and you will leave changed.
The state of yoga nidra has been practiced by mystics through many spiritual traditions and can be attained through a plethora of tools.
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What are the benefits of yoga nidra?
The practice can enable deep emotional, mental and physical healing. It takes you through the psyche, while you are in a state of homeostasis, totally receptive to spontaneous healing, as you lay in the surrendered and receptive state of natural flow in your body.
Yoga Nidra is a process of emptying the body and mind of tensions, and as such, the benefits are in abundance. It allows you to reprogram self-limiting beliefs, to heal the body, and to expand into freedom and bliss. 45 minutes of this practice is equivalent to 4 hours of deep sleep.
Yoga Nidra Can help with: PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, substance misuse, chronic illness and pain, Arthritis, and much, much more...
Tips to Practice Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is practiced lying down on the back in savasana, supported by props to remain still and at ease. The state of surrender in savasana and the feeling of relaxation are the gateways into the expanded dimension of Yoga Nidra.
1.) Gather props: yoga mat, blanket, eye pillow, and bolster for under your knees. You are welcome to gather more, if needed. It can be nice to have cushion underneath the heels and hands. If you have sandbags or weights, it can be nice to put those in the palms. It can also be comforting to have an extra prop or blanket on the belly to create a sense of deeper safety.
2.) Find a time and place in which you will be in an enclosed room and undisturbed for the duration of the practice. It is better not to practice in bed, so as to train the brain that yoga nidra is a practice to remain awake and aware within.
3.) Create sacred space - turn off the lights, close the door, light some incense or a candle and listen to a recording that is resonate with your soul (there is a free one here that you can listen to)
4.) Get totally comfortable - the key is to get into a savasana (posture lying on your back, palms face up, supported by the ground and toes splayed out) that you can remain still in for the duration of the practice. Gather your props and attend to your body's needs.
Do you wish to go deeper?
Because Yoga Nidra takes you into a state in which your mind is highly receptive to downloading new programs and it enables a space in which your body can recalibrate to a place of natural healing - you have an incredible opportunity to heal different traumas, ailments and illnesses with this practice.
I have crafted a unique offering in which I individually craft a Yoga Nidra recording specifically for you to aid you in the healing process of any ailment that you are experiencing.
I will co-create your recording through intuitive guidance that I receive when I tune into your energy field & with attention to your needs, by incorporating the direct feedback from your assessment form.
My style of guiding one into this expanded state of consciousness is through the teachings as formalized by Swami Satyananda Saraswati through my teacher Tanis Fishman.