Blogpost
What is yoga nidra?
Everybody is doing it. We have loved it for a long time and have now added it to our schedule. But uhm.. what the f* is it?
Yoga nidra is yogic meditation (sort of)
You could say that Yoga Nidra is a special form of yogic meditation in which you simply relax in shavasana lying on your mat. Already sounds great right? Like in all forms of yogic meditation in Yoga Nidra the goal is to reconnect with our true self and explore the parts of ourselves that have gotten stuck in our subconsciousness. The connection with who we really are becomes clouded by the constant chatter of our minds, experiences we have in life or simply by the way we are conditioned. The only moment all these things don't bother us is when we are in deep sleep.
Deep sleep and real relaxation
In the deep sleep phase delta waves start to appear in the brain and the brainstem shuts of signals to the body and limbs, it's how we rest. Naturally, more deep sleep means you are more rested. That's why in Yoga Nidra you take a shortcut into your subconsciousness, in every session you are methodically guided into deeper and deeper relaxation towards the deep sleep phase. In daily life we often 'relax' by adding sensory input (Netflix, podcasts, that damn phone etc). In Yoga Nidra you are guided into true relaxation, away from the senses, putting both your body and mind to complete rest.
The hypnogogic state
Even though your body and mind are asleep in Yoga Nidra, the goal is for your consciousness to stay awake and your auditory channel to stay open. This state you can reach in between waking and sleeping is also called the hypnogogic state of consciousness or -of course- the state of Yoga Nidra. By peeling off all other layers we often come back into contact with what's happening on a subconscious level. In this state you can have profound insights, you can tap into your creativity and new resolves can be imprinted (I have explained more about the use of this sankalpa in this blogpost). And not unimportant, after this deep sleep experience you return very well rested. Let those delta waves flow baby!
Darcy Ecoma Verstege
Are you ready to try it out?