Integrative Restoration: The Ancient Practice of Yoga Nidra for Easing Stress, Healing Trauma and Awakening to your Timeless Presence

Integrative Restoration: The Ancient Practice of Yoga Nidra for Easing Stress, Healing Trauma and Awakening to your Timeless Presence

 Review

Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep) is a collection of simple relaxation techniques based on an ancient practice of self-investigation. The aim is to uncover and release repressed unconscious material. As a metaphor, the sleeping yogi, like the rest of us when asleep, is oblivious to her limited self and the world around her; but when she's asleep, she's "awake" to her infinite Self, which is the goal of all schools of yoga. These and other principles of Yoga Nidra are explained in nearly four hours of instruction and five in-depth practices in this six-CD set. The practice itself is fairly simple. Performed sitting or reclining, Yoga Nidra employs a host of relatively familiar meditation techniques--breath awareness, body scanning, visualization, and positive reinforcement--to achieve a state of deep relaxation. In our high-stress society, this benefit in itself is worth the price of admission. You're also guided to explore the hidden recesses of your psyche in order to deconstruct false assumptions about yourself and about your relationship with the world, which, ideally, will reveal your authentic nature. Miller, a psychologist, yoga teacher, and the founder of the Center of Timeless Being in Sebastopol, California, has refined the practice and made it accessible to all. --Richard Rosen, Yoga Journal, August 2007.

  Product Description

Integrative Restoration, or iRest, is a modern adaptation of Yoga Nidra, the ancient form of yogic meditation. iRest helps you break free of self-limiting patterns, emotions and beliefs so that you may live a contented life, full of joyful equanimity and free of conflict, anxiety and suffering. In its ultimate form, iRest reveals the secret of enlightenment and introduces you to your True Nature as joyful and radiant Presence. iRest induces deep relaxation throughout your entire body and mind and enables you to eliminate stress and resolve personal problems and trauma and neutralize anxiety, fear, anger, depression and insomnia. It teaches you how to enter deep meditation, and in its ultimate form, iRest helps you unravel the mystery of life and answer the questions,"Who am I?" and "What is enightenment?"

 About the Author

Richard Miller, Ph.D., a contemporary spiritual teacher, is the founding president of the Center of Timeless Being, co-president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology, and co-founder of The International Association of Yoga Therapy. Richard is a consultant on research projects studying the healing impact of the Yoga Nidra iRest protocol that he has developed with various populations including soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, the homeless, children, people experiencing chronic pain, insomnia and asthma, and the well-being of college students. Richard leads retreats and trainings throughout North America with a focus on enlightened living in daily life.

Integrative Restoration: The Ancient Practice of Yoga Nidra for Easing Stress, Healing Trauma and Awakening to your Timeless Presence (Audio CD)

Yoga Nidra : Conclusion

Conclusion

There are many ways that we can practice Yoga Nidra. It can be done quickly in a few minutes, or we

may proceed slowly, spending an hour to two hours thoroughly exploring each of the sheaths or

domains of existence. It is generally recommended that once the practitioner has stabilised his or her
practice of Yoga Nidra over a period of time, he or she should then try to stop using the guided

versions on tapes or CDs. Instead, the practitioner can begin to experiment with giving themselves the

instructions mentally. When the time is right, even the instructions may be dropped for ultimately, the

methods used for Yoga Nidra are for training the mind to focus and become aware, subtler and subtler,

until finally, the attention dives into stillness and objectless-ness. The eventual goal is that the practice

of Yoga Nidra takes us beyond the practice of Yoga Nidra itself into everyday life, so that in every

moment we are feeling, sensing, intuiting and knowing our true nature as Undivided Presence. As

Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati puts it, “Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness, not the methods that lead

you to that state.”

~ End ~

References

Bharati SJ. “Yoga Nidra.” [web page online]. Available from URL:

htm>. Accessed 12 April.

Bhushan S, 2001. “Yoga Nidra: Its Advantages and Applications.” [web page online]. Available from

URL: . Accessed 12 April.

Chopra P, 1996. “Relax with Yoga Nidra.” [web page online]. Available from URL:

. Accessed 12 April.

Gilmore L, 2004. “Stages of Yoga Nidra.” Meditation 1 Lecture Notes. Nature Care College, St

Leonards, NSW.

Janakananda S, 1983. Experience Yoga Nidra: Inspiration for a Richer Life. Scandinavian Yoga and

Meditation School, Hamneda, Sweden.

Janakananda S, 1992. Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life. Samuel Weiser, Inc., York Beach,

ME.

Janakananda S, 1998. “Tantra and Yoga Nidra.” [web page online]. Available from URL:

. Accessed 12 April.

Miller RC, 2002. “The Principles and Practice of Yoga Nidra.” [web page online]. Available from

URL: . Accessed 12 April.

Yoga Nidra : Methods to Remain Awake

Methods to Remain Awake

Initially, when one starts to practise Yoga Nidra, one common problem could be the tendency

to fall asleep. With practice, this should be overcome. The following are some suggestions by

Swami Janakananda on various ways to remain awake:

- Take a hot and then cold shower before the session.

- Before the relaxation, do the Headstand or Clown pose if one is familiar with them.

- During the relaxation, leave the feet uncovered.

- Hold either one or both forearms up in the air during the practice.

- Say the instructions mentally along with the voice that is guiding the practice.

- If all else fails, do the practice standing up. (Janakananda 1983)

Yoga Nidra : When to Practise Yoga Nidra

When to Practise Yoga Nidra

Swami Janakananda suggests that it is highly beneficial to practise Yoga Nidra when we are

exhausted from work. As it brings us into such a deep state of relaxation, it will be more

effective than a normal nap. We will “awake” feeling more refreshed, and are afterwards able

to get more from our leisure time. He also suggests its use by those who suffer from insomnia

or are dependent on sleeping pills. Studies conducted by the Scandinavian Yoga and

Meditation School have shown that Yoga Nidra can improve sleep, especially when practised

during the day. However, it can also be done at bedtime. (Janakananda 1983)

Swami Janakananda advises against doing Yoga Nidra right after a heavy meal or drinking

coffee. To strengthen the effect of Yoga Nidra, he recommends using the exercise Tratak,

where one concentrates on the flame of a candle, right before practising Yoga Nidra. If the

practice was to be combined with yoga and breathing exercises, Yoga Nidra should be done

after them. (Janakananda 1983)

Yoga Nidra : Stages of Yoga Nidra

Stages of Yoga Nidra

There are several stages that make up the structure of Yoga Nidra. Each stage emphasises a different

body sheath. These sheaths include, as mentioned before, the physical body, the energy body, the

sensation, feeling and emotional bodies, the bodies of thought and imagery, and the bodies of bliss and

ego identity. Upon arrival at each stage, we explore and get to know each of our body sheaths, without

any judgment on our part. We have no agenda other than being with the various sensations, images,

thoughts, feelings and any other impression that may arise as we explore. Each stage represents a way

our mind has turned what is in fact a non-conceptual Unity into a conceptual, objectified perception.

By bringing them to our awareness with an attitude of welcome, the solidity of each sheath

deconstructs, and we are hence able to disidentify from each body sheath. By doing so, we gradually

realise that all that remains is the consciousness behind all the different sheaths, and that is our true

identity – non-objective Pure Presence. (Miller 2002)

The practice of yoga nidra is divided into the following stages:

Preparation: Yoga nidra is performed in the posture of shavasana or corpse pose. The body is

stretched out with the head in a straight line with the body. The feet are slightly apart, the arms

are beside the body, the palms of the hands are turned upwards, and the eyes are closed. After

getting into a comfortable position, there should be no more movement. (Chopra 1996)

In this stage, initial relaxation of the body and mind is brought on by the awareness of stillness,

comfort, posture, position, breath, and listening to the external sounds with the attitude of a

witness. (Bhushan 2001)

Intention: In this stage, the practitioner asserts his or her intention to enter into the practice of

Yoga Nidra. The intention is to remain focused and undistracted throughout the session. For

instance, he or she may say, “I will not sleep, I will remain awake.” This intention sets the

direction and tone of the practice. (Miller 2002)

Sankalpa: When the body and mind are relaxed, then the practitioner is instructed to take a

resolve or sankalpa according to his or her own wish. The sankalpa should be short, clear and

positive. The practitioner repeats the selected sankalpa three times mentally, with full

determination, conviction and confidence. With deep relaxation, we are able to access our

subconscious mind. It becomes very open to suggestion, and thus we are able to effectively

change deep set patterns. (Bhushan 2001)

Rotation of consciousness: Next, the awareness is rotated around the different body parts in a

systematic and ordered manner. The practitioner is instructed to remain aware, to listen to the

instructions and to move the mind very rapidly according to the instructions without making

any physical movements. The rotation of awareness in Yoga Nidra follows a definite sequence:

right side of the body, beginning with the right hand thumb and ending with the little toe of the

right foot; left side of the body, from the left hand thumb to the little toe of the left foot; back

of the body, from the buttocks to the back of the head; and lastly the front of the body, from the

forehead and individual facial features down to the pelvis. The awareness is then brought to

major parts of the body – whole arms, whole legs, whole torso, whole right side of the body

and whole left side of the body. Eventually the entire body is brought together into awareness.

(Bhushan 2001, Chopra 1996)

Breath awareness: In this stage, one simply becomes aware of the natural breath without

making an attempt to change the flow of the breath. One may become aware of the breath by

watching it in the nostrils, chest, and abdomen, or in the passage between the navel and the

throat. The practitioner becomes aware of each incoming and outgoing breath by counting

them mentally. (Bhushan 2001)

Counting the breath is an important exercise as it sharpens the

practitioner’s ability to focus. With practice, he or she will be able to remain wide-awake and

alert. (Miller 2002)

Opposite feelings and sensations: In this stage, the physical or emotional sensations are

recalled, intensified and experienced fully. The practitioner is instructed to experience pairs of

opposite feelings or sensations like heat and cold, heaviness and lightness, pain and pleasure,

love and hate, and so on. (Bhushan 2001

The thinking mind is only able to focus in one

direction at any one time, it cannot move simultaneously in two opposite directions at once.

Thus when instructed to do so, it stops thinking and becomes silent. In this quiet, the

practitioner is able to experience his or her self expanding in a multidimensional spaciousness.

(Miller 2002)

Visualization: In the stage of visualization, the awareness is taken to the dark space in front of

the closed eyes, referred to as chidakasha in yogic terminology. (Bhushan 2001)

The practitioner is then instructed to visualize some images or symbols, which may include a castle,

the smell of the earth after rain, the ocean at night, a steady candle flame, a blue lotus and so

on. The symbols serve as a catalyst to provoke a reaction in the unconscious mind. However,

since the practitioner’s mind is not given any time to react, it becomes detached and the ego

becomes temporarily inactive. (Gilmore 2004)

Suppressed conflicts, desires, and deep patterns hidden in the unconscious are liberated and rise into awareness. As they are viewed in an attitude of welcome and not denial, they surface and then dissolve. When these deep residues move out of the unconscious, feelings of peace, stillness and joy manifest. (Miller 2002)

Sankalpa: Once again the sankalpa, taken in stage two, is repeated mentally three times in this

stage with full dedication, faith and optimism. (Bhushan 2001)

Ending the practice: At the end of the session of Yoga Nidra, the practitioner may still be in a

very deep state. As such, they are instructed to slowly externalise their awareness by listening

to external sounds, and becoming aware of objects and persons in their surroundings and the

room that they are in. They are asked then to slowly move the body parts and to stretch the

body. When they are sure that they are awake, they can then sit up slowly and open their eyes.

(Bhushan 2001, Chopra 1996)

Yoga Nidra : Nyasa

Nyasa

During Yoga Nidra, Pratyahara is practiced by intentionally locating and investigating sensations,

feelings, emotions, thoughts and images. This is achieved through another process known as Nyasa.

As mentioned earlier, the aim in Yoga Nidra is to touch and hence experience the various dimensions

of our being; that is exactly what Nyasa is. According to the Oxford Sanskrit English Dictionary, the

word “Nyasa” means to place, to set on or in, to use, to touch. Agehananda Bharati, acclaimed author

and authority on Hinduism, defines Nyasa as “the process of charging a part of the body, or an organ

of another living body, with a specified power through touch.” (Janakananda 1998)

Nyasa can consist of “touching” the different parts of the body by hand, or it can be done mentally, by thinking of the specific areas. By touching and thereby experiencing a part of the body, the body is brought to life and made conscious. Any impressions that arise from this consciousness are allowed to float freely,

without any effort on our part to repress it or express it. The impressions are simply allowed to surface

and fade into the background. They do not irritate the mind because it has no intention to refuse or

deny their existence. (Miller 2002)

As with the physical body, the process is repeated with all the different body sheaths that make up our

identity. This approach to Pratyahara is a process of elimination whereby deep and unconscious

patterns of habit from all the different levels of our being is allowed to surface into awareness. (Miller

2002)

By witnessing these entrenched habit patterns as an impartial observer in the state of Yoga

Nidra, a certain transformation occurs. There is an increasing awareness that who I am is different

from my thoughts. We gradually experience ourselves as the consciousness beneath or prior to all of

our active mental processes, including both conscious and unconscious ones. In Miller’s opinion,

“understanding and embodying the realisation that we are non-conceptual Presence is the culmination

of Yoga Nidra.”

Yoga Nidra : Pratyahara

Pratyahara

Yoga Nidra is one of the practices of Pratyahara. The word “Pratyahara” means abstracting, leaving

something, distancing or letting go. (Janakananda 1992)

It involves the process of withdrawing the mind from distracting sensory impressions like sounds, smells, sights and thoughts so that the mind remains in a calm and undisturbed state of silent witnessing. (Miller 2002)

This is done by surrendering to the experience of the sensory impression and saturating the mind with it. The

experience becomes the object of meditation. In Pratyahara, we constantly observe the process of

perceiving; we observe the sensory impression and the reactions of the mind to it. We do not try to

change anything. (Janakananda 1992)

“Any sensory impression that is allowed to be in awareness without either the movement of repression or expression, dissolves back into the ever-present background of awareness and disappears.” (Miller 2002)

Conversely, when we try to suppress a sensation, we prevent the mind from studying it. The mind is unable to conclude whether the sensation is dangerous or useful. It is thus unable to let go and the disturbance remains, consciously or unconsciously. (Janakananda 1992)

Hence, trying to withdraw from anything ultimately ends in failure. It is only when we are able to be with things as they are that we are able to go beyond them.

Yoga Nidra : Purpose of Yoga Nidra

Purpose of Yoga Nidra

The word “Yoga” can be translated as “the joining together of two things that have never been

separate” and the word “Nidra,” from the Sanskrit, means “sleep.” When taken together, one common

interpretation of “Yoga Nidra” is psychic sleep or deep relaxation with inner awareness, where one

appears to be asleep, but consciousness is functioning at a deeper level of awareness. (Bhushan 2001)

In psychology, the state achieved in Yoga Nidra is termed the hypnogogic state, a state between sleep

and wakefulness. It is thought that when we are in this state, we have access to the latent or

subconscious level of the mind, and are even able to influence it. For instance, we are able to directly

attenuate the deep habit patterns of attachment or aversion that drive our actions in the waking state.

(Bharati)

Miller goes one step further; he interprets sleep as a state of being unconscious or unaware. As such,

he says that from the perspective of Yoga Nidra, we are asleep when we view the world as consisting

of solid and separate objects. He defines the yogi as one who, whether asleep or awake, is aware of the

fundamental nature of reality – that all things are inherently One, and there is no separation anywhere.

He purports that the aim of Yoga Nidra is thus to come to the first-hand experience that “we are not

the limited, finite creatures that we mistakenly take ourselves to be,” but rather, “we are non-separate

awareness, a joyous Beingness that is always present.” (Miller 2002)

Swami Janakananda Saraswati, founder of the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School, as well as

the disciple of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, supports Miller’s argument. He too says that the purpose

of Yoga Nidra is to touch and experience the various dimensions of our being and to awaken

consciousness in areas where it is usually dormant due to tensions. The aim is that by doing so, we are

able to experience that we are not bound to just one plane of consciousness, but rather that we

consciously contain them all. That in turn is meant to lead to the insight that our true identity is the

experiencing consciousness behind it all. (Janakananda 1998)

Yoga Nidra : Introduction

In our modern day society, human life has become very fast, hectic and demanding. We often hear
people complaining that they are highly stressed, and if not controlled properly, negative stress may
manifest in the forms of physical, mental or psychological problems. In a bid to manage their stress
levels, many people are now turning to meditation, which has become a powerful tool in helping
people to achieve relaxation for both their mind and body. In my own experience, one meditation
technique that I have found to be easy to do, yet deeply relaxing is Yoga Nidra.


Introduction


Yoga Nidra originates from ancient Tantric practices. The word “tantra” means to expand and to
liberate, and Yoga Nidra, like other tantric rituals consist of methods that seek to expand our
understanding of the depths of our mind. When we experience for ourselves the expansion of our
knowledge and insight, we are able to master our minds and thus freedom is gained. (Janakananda
1992)
While the yogis have known Yoga Nidra for thousands of years, the practice was revived when
Swami Satyananda Saraswati, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, eastern India, adapted
and presented it in a systematic and scientific way in the 1960s.

Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of inducing complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation.
While the relaxation is a very important aspect of Yoga Nidra, it is not the ultimate goal of the
practice. In line with tantric tradition, Richard Miller, a clinical psychologist and leading practitioner
of yoga therapy, says that Yoga Nidra is also a complete program of intensive self-inquiry, where we
carefully and thoroughly examine the nature of the structures and beliefs that mould our personal
identity. These structures, also known as sheaths, include the physical body, the energy body, the
sensation, feeling and emotional bodies, the bodies of thought and imagery, and the bodies of bliss and
personal ego identity. (Miller 2002)