Have You Tried Yoga Nidra?
 

Yoga Nidra is one of my favorite practices to participate in and to teach. Have you tried it? What are you thoughts?

The actual practice consists of laying on your mat in savasana, covering yourself with a blanket and generally getting yourself confortable enough to you don't have to move. Stay as still as possible while the Yoga Nidra guide reads text for you to visualize. One of the most relaxing and rejuvenating experiences I've had!

"Yoga-Nidra ("Yoga sleep"), is an expression widely used to denote the highest state of consciousness. Although yoga nidra means yogic sleep, it is actually a wakeful state of deep introversion. Some contemporary Yoga authorities employ the phrase yoga-nidra to designate a state of deep relaxation. In the initial stages, the process involves relaxing the body, part by part, and harmonizing the mind. In this aspect, it has some similarity with the progressive relaxation of Jacobson. Yoga nidra, however, is an inner awareness, a movement of consciousness, rather than a deliberate auto-suggestion. You cannot relax by trying to relax. You need to feel relaxed. Yogis also believe that you cannot relax your body unless your mind is relaxed. So, yoga yoga relaxation is a complete package that involves relaxing the mind, body and spirit."

http://www.holistic-online.com/yoga/yoga_nidra_home.htm

Many people surround each other in the main posture of yoga nidra .
The result achieved can be practiced at any time of the day

I've done nidra a few times.

The most memorable being at a yoga festival in 2019. There must have been a few hundred people all laying in savasana at a big park after we did a nice, guided flow with Chelsea Korus. The woman guiding us for yoga Nidra had a calming voice and everything was so detailed. Felt like I was in another world. I could hear the wind blowing the grass surrounded by my ears, feel the warmth of the sun radiating on my body. The spring air was so fresh and sweet with new blooms. The consciousness raised as we all visualized together.

Prepandemic days :(
Blissfully unaware of the freedoms we had with in person connection

Thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out.

For years, I have actually practiced "conscious sleep" (somewhat analagous to yoga nidra) whereby one may remain alert while rested during deep sleep, watch dream formation from start to finish, and observe the transitions between the three states (deep sleep, dream state, so-called waking state that is not necessarily "awake" :D ) from the vantage point of that which lies beyond the three states (turiya).

It's a very illuminating process common to Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, yoga, and other traditions. It is often associated with "dying before death".

Now that you've mentioned it, I've been practicing yoga nidra for bed time the past week. When I get home from work, I have a hard time winding down to sleep. Focusing on the relaxation of every limb of my body has really been helping even if I feel like I can't fall asleep. It still feels like I have at least rested. It seems to work better if I haven't had coffee after 2 pm and no big stressful events took place.

Thanks for the reminder!

Didn't realize this thread was from 2010 LOL

An interesting aspect of "conscious sleep" (yoga nidra) is that, once one can navigate between the dream-object and the dreamer while observing dream formation, one can similarly navigate between the so-called waking state (which is not necessarily "awakened" in the Buddhist sense) and the expanded consciousness. The Tibetan Yogi Milarepa described this practice in detail. It is a very illuminating process but the preliminary "conscious sleep" practice seemed necessary (at least former) to facilitate this transition.

"As above, so below"; "Man is made in the image of God".

I tried a yoga nidra meditation last night and I was impressed with it. I'm not someone who has had all that much success quieting the mind, but it actually seems more like an active meditation (although you are laying down the whole time).

Yes, this is a very common 'practice' in yoga groups. I prefer to sit though.