Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra, which literally means sleep of the yogis, involves deep physical, emotional, and mental relaxation in order to reach supreme consciousness and greater awareness. Though Yoga Nidra was popularized by Swami Satyananda only around 40 years ago, it was known to yogis and sages for thousands of years.

Yoga Nidra is a daily relaxation technique that is done as a guided practice. Eight stages are included in a Yoga Nidra practice as taught by Swami Satyanada. These are internalization, sankalpa, rotation of consciousness, breath awareness, manifestation of opposites, creative visualization, sankalpa, and externalization.

One Yoga Nidra session takes between 20 to 40 minutes. This starts off with doing a few Asanas before lying on the back in a relaxed posture. While breathing quietly, the practitioner has to set his or her resolve or sankalpa. Sankalpas can vary, though it is recommended to set higher intents.

After setting the sankalpa, the practitioner begins the rotation of awareness, which has a particular sequence. The practitioner is asked to transfer his or her awareness from one body part to another by an instructor, if not, by a voice record. Drawing the focus to the breathing process is another part in achieving physical relaxation.

Then, intense feelings are resurfaced. Emotional relaxation is reached by letting go of various feelings or burdens after making them surface voluntarily. A pair of opposites, such as pleasure and pain, is usually used. The practitioner will then visualize an object among others that is described by the instructor.

This will enhance self-awareness, as well as help in increasing concentration. Lastly, the sankalpa is again visualized at the end of a Yoga Nidra practice. Yoga Nidra is considered as one of the deepest of all forms of Meditation. This is because deeper awareness is achieved through its different stages.

Yoga Nidra helps ease physical and mental tension induced by the pressures of everyday life, as well as in releasing emotional burdens, long standing fears, and destructive habits. Moreover, karmic patterns are resolved for Yoga Nidra is also used to purify the driving force behind karma called samskaras.

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