Yoga Nidra or “non sleep deep rest” is to be understood as a kind of “sleep-free deep sleep” and is a form of deep relaxation that should be performed with as much alertness as possible.
Half an hour of Yoga Nidra is said to have the same relaxing effect as a two-hour sleep.
The Yoga Nidra method is based on ancient Tantric scriptures, which Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923 – 2009) studied and translated into a new method adapted to the present day.
Yoga Nidra is integrated into many yoga styles or practiced as a supplement. A Yoga Nidra session lasts around half an hour and follows a systematic 7-step process:
The Yoga Nidra process
1. preparation:
Yoga Nidra is practiced lying on your back. You assume Savasana, the dead position, and consciously observe your body, breathing and surroundings.
2. sankalpa:
A Sankalpa is something like a personal guiding principle, a kind of affirmation. This guiding principle is thought in the mind three times in succession in order to internalize it.
3. wander through the body with awareness:
The main part of the Yoga Nidra exercise follows. The awareness is gradually directed to certain parts of the body, which are consciously perceived. The prana or life energy is directed to these regions and revitalizes the body.
4. generation of opposite feelings (Pratipaksha Bhavana):
By deliberately evoking opposite feelings (warm/cold; fast/slow; loud/quiet etc.), the right and left hemispheres of the brain are harmonized and connected.
5. visualization:
Various image sequences are visualized in quick succession and the associations that are linked to them are realized. This is the part of Yoga Nidra that – according to the founder – is intended to help release deep-seated fears and blockages by connecting with the subconscious.
6. repetition of the Sankalpa:
To deepen the intention formulated at the beginning, these are repeated three more times.
7. conclusion/return:
Finally, you are guided back into the real world.
A Yoga Nidra guide:
Continue to the next yoga style: Yoga Vidya
