When I was about halfway into my yoga teacher training, our teachers introduced us to yoga nidra. This meditation was different from all the other meditations we had done. For starters, we got to lie on our mats while doing it! We were then led in a guided meditation that took me deeper into relaxation and quieted my thoughts and emotions more than I had ever experienced before. During the meditation I found myself connecting to a deeper understanding of who I am, a peace and calm about my life, and feelings of complete joy. After the yoga nidra, my life was different. It changed how I see the world. Yes, I was also changing through other experiences at the teacher training, but this was the most profound. I had to learn more.
I began to read books by Dr. Richard Miller. He pioneered a program using yoga nidra to work with PTSD and other anxiety disorders. His descriptions of how yoga nidra works opened my eyes further. By bringing your consciousness through different stages of awareness, you begin to experience your true being. Not just your physical self, or your emotional self, or the thoughts that run through your mind. Your true self is something deeper.
Your true self is there before, during, and after your thoughts, your feelings, and your emotions. Most of us live our lives thinking that we ARE our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. But we are not. Those things are temporary. They come and go. We get angry and say, “I am angry.”, we have thoughts that tell us we can’t do something or be something. But the next day, different thoughts and feelings come. They tell us something else. So who are we? When you get to experience the self as a witness to all that comes and goes, those temporary things seem less important. They aren’t you. They are only thoughts and feelings that pass through you. You can sit back and notice those things. You can choose how you want to respond to them instead of reacting to them. And all this understanding comes from the experience of yoga nidra.
The experience of it is kind of like sleeping: your mind settles, your brainwaves decrease, but you are aware. True, sometimes people do fall asleep during yoga nidra- that is not at all uncommon. Sometimes it can be nice to just use yoga nidra as a tool for relaxation. It is very relaxing. But as Kamini Desai says, “Using yoga nidra as a nap is like using a jet plane to get to the grocery store.” (Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep, p. 7). There is so much more to it. But, don’t worry. Even if you fall asleep, you are still hearing the words spoken. You can still have transformational experiences.
Since my yoga teacher training, I have been reading about, experiencing, guiding, and taking more training in yoga nidra. It is my favorite part of yoga. So, for those of you who have asked me about yoga nidra, this post is for you.
Sending love and light to you all,
Jill
On and Off the Yoga Mat 