If you have insomnia, anxiety, or wish to de-stress, or even if you are looking for inner awareness for spiritual growth, here we have a 15 min yoga nidra session of deep relaxing yogic meditation technique for you which will help you to sleep better.
We all have encountered some level of sleeplessness in our lifetime. For some of us it gets okay the next night, but for some, it can be sleeplessness for a long time. We all have our reasons, but given the choice I am sure we all would like to sleep well.
What is Yoga Nidra?
A conscious sleep is yoga nidra.
When you are mindfully aware of your presence even while sleeping, you are actually in your meditation. To reach that state, there is a whole journey. Today Yoga nidra is referred to as ‘that’ technique to reach a state of deep relaxation or to deepen awareness. In a guided Yoga Nidra, you follow a certain pattern of instructions to reach a state of complete emptiness or relaxation. the senses are drawn inwards and the experience is derived from the words of the instructor.
How can you conduct Yoga Nidra?
There are many approaches to yoga nidra and none can be right or wrong as what one experiences is what that matters the most. Here is how to practice Yoga nidra. If you are a beginner to yoga nidra, we suggest you to practice a guided yoga nidra first. Once you feel comfortable and ready enough, you can begin to practice on your own as well.
Taking a sankalpa
Remember when you do something with a purpose, the challenges that come your way become easy to handle. A sankalpa is very important. A lot of people start..but only a few are able to complete.. Those few who do, have a strong sankalpa and they work towards it with one pointedness.
Let us start small. Let us take a sankalpa of getting deeply relaxed, calm and aware..
Body Scanning during Yoga Nidra
When you are ready and determined, start with a simple technique of moving your awareness to the physical body. Now this might seem simple but it can be challenging if you are trying for the first time. Part by part, move your awareness from the feet to head, trying to release the muscle tension from the whole body. It makes you aware of each and every part of the body which we sometimes fail to notice.
Breath awareness in Yoga Nidra
Once the body is relaxed, move your awareness to the breath. Though it may be felt only up to the throat and lungs, its impact reaches the whole body. Try to see how it impacts you on the physical as well as the pranic level. Breath awareness helps to break our thought stream from the outside and make us turn more inwards. This is the time the body is undergoing deeper shifts which one cannot comprehend verbally. Once you experience it, you might start to enjoy the new awareness around your breath.
Sensations in Yoga Nidra
As you delve deeper into awareness, you might start to notice the response of the body to the breath. For example; As you exhale, you might start to feel the body getting heavy and surrendering to the floor. As you inhale, you will feel more energy and lightness inside.
This new dimension of awareness tends to give us more acceptance and control of ourselves, which gives us more freedom of movement, freedom of thought, and freedom of living.
Visualisations in Yoga Nidra
Once you are comfortable with your breath and the body, the next stage is to step out of the physical surroundings and be able to see beyond into oblivion. To begin with, simple visualisations of nature can be used as they are most comprehensible. One is actually supposed to just give into their imagination and use their presence to create a scene of nature which would soothe them if they were to be actually there.
Returning
As easy as it sounds, it’s hard to return from an energetically uplifting experience. The aim is to bring that sensory experience with yourself back into reality… to the present. Once you are able to do that, your best sleep will be just around the corner.
TRY Yoga Nidra!
If you really want to try Yoga nidra, here is a free unique audio for you to try at home. The session is conducted by the founder of Indea Yoga, Bharath Shetty Sir.
(You can download this audio for later use as well)
If you wish to have visuals along, we have a video on YouTube too:
First time Yoga nidra?
If you are doing it for the first time, here are some simple guidelines that might help:
- Eyes must remain closed to get the best output from this technique.
- Wear loose and comfortable clothes.
- Practice this yoga nidra on the mat instead of the bed.
- Check that your space is neither suffocated nor too windy.
- Try to practice in low/dim lights.
- Avoid using any fragrances in the room or on yourself.
We are sure you will have a beautiful experience with this yoga nidra.
Do share your experience, questions, or concerns in the comments.
