THE FIVE GIFTS OF YOGA NIDRA

We are living in an epidemic of chronic stress and trauma.

Yoga Nidra is a meditative practice that has a positive effect on our entire physiology and psychology. This practice can bring us into the deepest state of healing relaxation, or give us access to the highest states of consciousness. Either way, the benefits are many.

The word yoga is often translated as union or merging. Nidra means sleep, or to reveal a place beyond mental construct. Together they imply sleep with awareness, and bring the wisdom of thousands of years of meditative exploration by the ancient yogis into one very accessible practice.

As a practitioner, all you have to do is lie down comfortably in a quiet place where you feel safe and undisturbed, and give yourself permission to

relax as you listen to my voice guiding you through the process. The goal is not to sleep, but to bring you into a place of deep stillness, sometimes called conscious or enlightened sleep.

The first outcome of a Yoga Nidra practice is healing. The sense of physical embodiment and deep, effortless release of tension allows the body to relax and heal. The parasympathetic nervous system comes into play, and the fight, flight or freeze symptoms of sympathetic arousal are replaced with feelings of calm and ease. Practitioners sleep better, feel calmer and more rested. In a deep state of relaxation the body heals, repairs, restores and strengthens.

From here we begin to notice improvements in cognition. We think more clearly, have better focus, sustain our attention, and process information more easily. Anxiety decreases, mood improves, and an overall feeling of wellbeing allows us to be more present with friends and family, interact more authentically, and learn more easily.

As our practice becomes more familiar we may begin to notice a deep shift in our psychological and emotional conditioning. We feel a transformation taking place within, subtle and yet powerful. We find ourselves feeling more open-hearted, kinder, and comfortable with ourselves and others. We feel more positive, more intuitive, and more able to respond rather than react to life. Free of the five senses and intellect, our direct experience of life changes. We stop and notice the spaciousness created by the stillness within.

In Yoga Nidra practice, sankalpa is used to help us develop our ability to experience resolve and to seed intentions deep within us. More than affirmation, Sankalpa speaks to our deepest capacity to identify and manifest our intentions. We might say that Sankalpa is a sacred vow between one’s self and the universe. Like planting seeds in a garden, Sankalpa guides us in our journey of becoming.

The ultimate aim of Yoga Nidra is spiritual awakening. We go beyond our normal states of waking, sleeping and dreaming into another state which in some ways mirrors sleep, but with conscious awareness. This is the highest state of awareness, beyond our thoughts and mind. This is the state that inspired the yogis to develop this ancient practice.

This highest state of Yoga Nidra, which we reach through the practice of Yoga Nidra, is a process. Each component provides a way of experiencing ourselves in a way that we may never have done before. Yoga Nidra will relax us, inform us, inspire us, and transform us.

I hope you join me for this sublime meditative practice beginning Wednesday, October 14, from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, for five weekly sessions. Whether looking for stress relief or the deepest aspects of self-awareness, Yoga Nidra will offer its gifts to you. https://www.dalepearsonyoga.com/bookings-checkout/yoga-nidra