Yoga Nidra

the Sober Glow | Vol. 01

What is Yoga Nidra?

THE SHORT STORY.

Yoga Nidra is a systematic technique in active relaxation. It is done laying down (usually) in savasana. There is no “teacher” per se, only a guide to hold space for you as you go on your own journey via the guide’s voice. You don’t need much to practice. A pillow, blanket, and something to place over your eyes are really all you need. However, you can use anything that brings you extra joy and comfort. Make your yoga nest as luxurious as you deem fit.

YOGA NIDRA:

It is a STATE of being.

It is also a technique to getting to that state of being.

And SHE is also the Goddess who looks over one transcending into the state of Yogic Sleep.

THE PRACTICE ALSO KNOWN AS ENLIGHTENED SLEEP & YOGIC SLEEP.

Most people who have heard of YN think of it as a wonderful tool for sleep. By definition, Yoga means union and Nidra means sleep. So naturally, it would make sense that a name that means become one with sleep, would be a sleep tool.

I have been practicing YN for upwards of 15 years. It was early in my nursing career when I was working nights that I relied on it pretty consistently. It was always in the early morning hours when I went to lay my bones down to unwind my weary and wired nervous system. It worked beautifully and this is why most people turn to this practice when they are dealing with insomnia.  And if you need a little proof of that statement, check out the Insight Timer app with its most popular recording being a YN for sleep with nearly 11 million plays (last time I checked). That says something.

So yes, YN is in fact a wonderful tool for sleep. But IT IS SO MUCH MORE!

The true practice within the practice takes place when we stay awake. I am fascinated by how deep this goes, literally and figuratively. There is so much science behind it as well as pure magic. It is a feminine practice. It is soft and easy and receptive. It is one of the most natural things I have ever done, and it is teaching me one of my greatest lessons….how to fully REST.

A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE.

Imagine a man who is seemingly homeless, poor, and generally speaking - just down and out on his luck. However, things begin to look up for him one night when he accidentally comes across this long and narrow-shaped box with a purple cushion on top of it. When he realizes it’s the perfect size for him to lie down on, he can’t believe his luck. He is so excited to have found something elevated off the cold dirty ground, that he quickly settles himself on this new comfortable piece, and gratefully falls fast asleep. Getting this gift of a good night’s sleep was pure gold for him.

Sounds pretty sweet right?

Now, what if I told you that since he was so excited to have a nice place to sleep, he didn’t even think to look closer at this new and interesting box. Had he taken the time to look closer, he would have seen that this new bed was actually a treasure chest filled with more wealth than he would know what to do with. But instead, he was just sleeping on it, completely unaware of the life-changing magic beneath him.

For years, I literally was the grateful man sleeping on top of the treasure chest.

So yes, YN is indeed beautiful for actually falling asleep, but it can be used in a much more powerful way.

MY DEEP DIVE.

With the holy hell that was 2020, I kicked up my YN practice. And along with all the new quarantine time, I chose to take a deep dive into the study of YN, something I had been wanting to do for years.

I started the process on my own. Having become a yoga instructor in 2007, I knew where to turn to for solid information. I deliciously dove into all things YN until the three-month training I was waiting on, opened up.

The training was just the tip of the iceberg to this vast and beautiful practice. Once immersed there were so many more doors opened and so many fascinating rabbit holes to go down. I quickly realized that the official training was just the start of my learning and embodiment. I have found myself nose deep in studies around the science behind my beloved practice, the quantum field, neuroscience and brainwave activity, neurotransmitters and our internal pharmacy, age-related trauma and limiting belief patterns, and my personal favorite - self-sabotaging habits, to name a few.

I feel I have been invited into the realms of a secret society (population: 1) to study and reorganize personal limiting beliefs, patterns, and all the aspects of my very own consciousness. The study of and the practice itself has been a coming home of sorts. It was always there, I was just sleeping on it.

And on a level that affects you the reader, YN has changed the way I work with my coaching clients as well as the style of retreats I will be offering once we can freely and safely travel again. So stay tuned for that.

WHAT HAPPENS IN YOGA NIDRA?

Koshas, body mapping, brainwaves, subconscious reprogramming….wha? Listen, by no means do you have to study brainwaves to practice and reap the benefits of YN. But having a sense of what is happening can elevate our experiences and make them even more powerful.

In YN, we are guided through the slowing down of the brainwaves into the sweet ceremonious spot right before we fall asleep. Technically, our body is sleeping, but our minds are still very much aware, even though we often forget what happens in YN. When we are awake we generally are in Beta brainwaves. Close your eyes and you start to downshift the brainwaves into Alpha. When someone falls asleep they slip into Theta. This Alpha-Theta area is the sweet spot. This is where we cross the line from our brain’s 10% consciousness into our 90% subconscious. And once we enter into this subconscious, we are primed to plant the seed of our Sankalpa.

You see, we can listen to mantras all day. We can write down all the things we want to manifest and place them around the house on sticky-notes. We can shout out our intentions to the Universe. But this is all work that is done in the 10% of our brain, the consciousness, the area we are aware of. But if the other 90% of our brains are saying the opposite in the form of habits, patterns, triggers, and personality, guess what wins? Exactly.

So the use of Yoga Nidra is to enter into the subconscious area of the brain (the 90%) so we can reprogram our old patterns that we picked up somewhere along the way. Most likely our childhood.

This is where REAL CHANGE happens. This is where deep and profound HEALING can happen. Where we can DROP OLD HABITS that don’t serve us. Where we can LET GO of triggers and anger. Where NEW CHOICES become second nature almost as if by magic….magic that is backed by science.

SANKALPA

It is the soul’s heartfelt desire. As fun as these are, it is not a goal, intention, or manifestation. Nor is it an immediate need in the material world. A Sankalpa is best as a short positive statement. For example, I AM_______ (free, abundant, grateful, valid). If you find that your Sankalpa is hard to remember or it has several sentences, it may be too long. Try buttoning it up and making it one short sentence or statement. Don’t rush to find the perfect Sankalpa, it can take days, weeks, months to find it. Have fun with it. You can use others while still staying open for the one that makes your soul tingle when you say it. And once you find it, the lineages say we must (remember all rules are loose here) use our same Sankalpa until it shows up in our lives. And it will.

We are then strategically prompted to place our Sankalpas at the beginning of the class and then again nearing the end when we are in the state of Nidra. This is where our subconscious, the 90% of our brain’s patterns, habits, and personality triggers live and is most open to receiving it.

A glimpse into the LINEAGE OF YOGA NIDRA (AND POST-LINEAGE).

As with anything ancient, the lines of where something started, when, and by whom get blurred with the years. I am not a historian but with respect and reverence for this practice and the simple fact that I am interested in where it comes from, this list is written to the best of my knowledge. And as my knowledge evolves, I will update accordingly.  

Swami Satyananda Saraswati founder of Bihar Yoga. Author of the famous blue book Yoga Nidra. First published in 1976.

• Swami Atmarupa Saraswati founder and director of the Atma Center, a Satyananda Yoga®

• Tanis Fishman founder of School of Sankalpa

• Jana Roemer founder of AstroNidra

Swami Rama founder of the Himalayan Institute

• Yogarupa Rod Stryker founder of ParaYoga®

• Tracee Stanley founder of Radiant Rest

Amrit Desai founder of Amrit Yoga Institute and Kripalu.

• Kamini Desai (daughter of Amrit) now runs AYI and founder of I AM YOGA NIDRA ™. Author of Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep.

• John Vosler certified teacher of iREST® and senior teacher of I AM YOGA NIDRA ™

Richard Miller, PhD, developer of the Integrative Restoration Institute and IAYT and author of iREST Meditation, The iREST Program for healing PTSD, and Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart of Yoga

Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, PhD, founder of Total Yoga Nidra and community advocate for Post-Lineage Yoga Nidra.

*It’s important to note, that as the practice has grown with time, more and more teachers are dabbling in different lineages and not just sticking with one teacher. I myself studied directly with Jana Roemer and consider her to be my gateway into this vast lifetime of study. I have learned something from each teacher or lineage mentioned on this list and then some. That’s the beauty of life. Stay curious. Study it all. Learn the rules and then learn where they can be broken. Find what connects, what resonates. Then leave the rest.

Non-Yoga Nidra guides who are shaping my practice and teaching, and quite frankly, my life.

Joe Dispenza

Bruce Lipton

Andrew Huberman

James Clear