What is Yoga Nidra?
Realizations of Yoga Nidra
In August, I attended my second Yoga Nidra training, this time a 9-day training with my teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker. Besides being life-changing, several of us realized that we had not been fully doing Yoga Nidra! I realized that I was comfortably allowing myself to fade in and out of consciousness. Although I would pop back to awareness before the end of the practice, I would fade out and miss part of the instructions.
The Importance of Awareness in Yoga Nidra Practice
Yoga Nidra is sleep—sleep with awareness, awareness being the important key. The goal is not to stay awake. The goal or intention is to stay aware. The mind and the body sleep, but awareness stays awake.
This was such an important learning for me. In this training, I came to understand, at a much deeper level, what Yoga Nidra is all about.
Understanding the States of Consciousness in Yoga
From the yogic perspective, there are three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming and dreamless or deep sleep. The waking state is equated with the physical body, the dreaming state with the subtle body or energy body, and the third state of deep sleep to the causal body, which is the subtlest body that veils pure consciousness, or what we refer to in yoga as the Atman. Our brain waves follow these three states when we sleep. Beyond deep sleep and the causal body, is turiya, or fourth state. It is the turiya state that we strive to connect with during Yoga Nidra.
Exploring the Koshas
In yoga, we refer to five bodies or coverings, known as “koshas.” The koshas expand from the subtlest covering to the grossest covering. As the Atman starts to become manifest into physical form, the coverings become more concrete. The anamaya kosha refers to the physical body, the pranamaya kosha is the energy or subtle body, the manomaya kosha refers to the mind, including the emotions, the vijnanamaya kosha is the body of wisdom and intuition, and the anandamaya kosha refers to bliss body, or body of joy. As consciousness takes form, its first level of manifestation is the anandamaya kosha. According to yogic wisdom and philosophy, this is the body where our past karmas, or actions, from previous lives that have not been cleared are “stored.” These past karmas are called prarabdha karmas.
Integrating Yoga Nidra into Daily Life
Some Yoga Nidra practices are aimed at healing the physical body, some at healing the emotional body (practices for PTSD, for example). Some are for improving sleep.
Many people associate Yoga Nidra with planting the seed of an intention, or “sankalpa.” Not every Yoga Nidra practice contains an intention or sankalpa, although each Yoga Nidra practice has a specific intention. Yoga Nidra practices that include sankalpa are designed specifically to plant the seed of a sankalpa in the anandamaya kosha. When we plant the seed at this level, it is different from a mere affirmation, which is generated and planted in the waking state and grossest level of consciousness. When we plant the seed of intention in the anandamaya kosha, we have the potential to change direction, to plant seeds of new karmas, or kriyamana karmas.
Relax Into Greatness, which is part of the Four Desires process, is a Yoga Nidra practice. It is designed to plant the seed of a sankalpa that is aligned with the deepest desire of your soul and your best Self in the subtlest layer of consciousness to create lasting change. I can attest to the power of both The Four Desires process, as well as Yoga Nidra as a stand-alone practice, whether the intention be to plant the seed of a sankalpa or find relief from overwhelming emotions. I have experienced deep and lasting changes in my own life, as well as witnessing changes in the lives of my students and clients.
I have recently added two Yoga Nidra practices—Parayoga Nidra practices—to my website, one for general healing and one including sankalpa. I invite you to listen!
What’s your experience with Yoga Nidra? Please share in the comments below.
With Gratitude,
Linda
If you’re interested in learning more about Yoga Nidra, contact me to see how life coaching can help.