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By Hanne
This post goes through what is Yoga Nidra or yogic sleep, its purpose, and how the exercise progresses. It is a powerful meditation technique, a deep meditative relaxation suitable for everyone from babies to grandfathers. Yoga Nidra exercise is done in savasana, making it an easy relaxation exercise, especially if the sitting position is challenging for you. It is effortless to follow the practice; as said, it is suitable for every family member. If you can’t lie down for one reason or another, you can also do the exercise in a sitting position.
WHAT IS YOGA NIDRA OR YOGIC SLEEP?
Yoga Nidra exercise is an exercise that happens in the space between sleep and awake. The purpose is not to fall asleep but to reach a deep state of consciousness. An hour of Yoga Nidra exercise can at best correspond to a 4-hour sleep.
During a Yoga Nidra, all you need to do is be and follow the instructor’s advice. The purpose is to remain awake during the exercise, which can sometimes become the practice’s biggest challenge.
First Yoga Nidra experience
My first Yoga Nidra practice took place during my yoga teacher training. And I admit I was so tired that I didn’t even try to follow the instructions, and it was a moment of extra rest for me. Our teacher, the gray-haired Guru Ji, barely noticed this. I suspect that sometimes he too slept during our meditation classes. The big challenge for me is that I can sleep anywhere, anytime. In my yoga teacher training, I also often snoozed during other meditation practices, waking up to the fact that I started to sink from the top of my bolster toward the floor. And those other exercises, of course, were done while sitting. In any case, sleeping is not, of course, the purpose of the Yoga Nidra but going through a profoundly relaxing exercise by following the instructions.
The minimum duration of a Yoga Nidra exercise can be as little as 5 minutes. However, the recommendation is that the session lasts 20 to 40 minutes. Yoga Nidra practice should always happen at the same time of the day. In a dark room, which is not too hot or too cold.
Yoga Nidra practice allows you to explore and perceive what you should note at that very moment, but it is also a method that helps you work on the emotions that lie deep inside.
The course of Yoga Nidra exercise
There are many ways to practice yoga, and most often, the practice includes the following steps:
- Intention = Defining Sankalpa. (The word Sankalpa comes from Sanskrit and refers to a heartfelt desire and a promise, intention, or determination to do something.)
- Body awareness
- Awareness of breathing
- Emotion observation
- Visualization
- Waking up
Each stage aims to take you deeper into the boundaries of sleep and awake so that you are in a state of full consciousness, but your mind and body are at rest.
Defining the purpose of the exercise first, from which you then let go, and allows the body and mind to relax. It enables the subconscious to open up to a new kind of thinking. It also enables confrontation of the past and healing of the wounds and past hurts. In return, all this opens up the opportunity to fulfill and achieve your conscious intentions.
So with Yoga Nidra, you can relax and relieve stress and make positive changes in your life and achieve your goals.
Now that you know a little more about Yoga Nidra, maybe your curiosity woke up and you would like to try the exercise? Fantastic, you can do your Yoga Nidra practice here.
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Hanne Nousiainen
Yoga teacher • Personal Trainer
Hanne Nousiainen
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