Health (Physical and mental) - Relax with Yoga Nidra

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RELAX WITH YOGA NIDRA

By Parveen Chopra

 

Introducing the unique tantric meditation technique of Yoga Nidra,

popularized by Swami Satyananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga

 

Doctors, gurus and neighborhood do-gooders are all in the habit of

prescribing relaxation as a remedy for taut nerves, work pressures and

emotional upheavals. But very few know, or will tell you, how to accomplish

the deceptively simple task of relaxing.

 

Yoga Nidra seems to have the answer. Although it finds mention in old

tantric texts, it was rediscovered 20-odd years ago by Swami Satyananda

Saraswati, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga (BSY) in Munger, eastern

India. He translates Yoga Nidra as psychic sleep and describes it as a

systematic method of inducing complete physical, mental and emotional

relaxation, while maintaining awareness at the deeper levels.

 

Indeed, the practice is so relaxing that it becomes almost impossible

to remain awake. But you come out feeling more rested than you do after a

good night's sleep, and injected with large doses of gumption to tackle the

day's tasks. The Swami says that prolonged suspension between wakefulness

and sleep—called the hypnogogic state—in Yoga Nidra may have untold benefits

that go beyond the therapeutic.

 

 

You practice Yoga Nidra while lying prone and follow the spoken

instructions of a teacher. It is, of course, convenient to use the Yoga

Nidra tape, or record one yourself. In the first phase of the session, you

progressively relax your muscles by quickly running attention through

different parts of the body. This is followed by an awakening of sensations

of pairs of polar opposites, such as heaviness and lightness. The last phase

is a rapid visualization of some nature images and abstract symbols.

 

But what is the purpose of each phase of the practice ? From

neurophysiology we know that each part of the body has a different control

center in the brain—curiously, small ones such as the fingers or armpits

claim a large brain area. The movement of awareness through different parts

of the body not only relaxes them, but also clears nerve pathways to the

brain.

 

The alternating of opposite sensations such as heat and cold,

heaviness and lightness, helps to improve the body's ability to regain

balance and brings the related involuntary functions under conscious

control. Visualization is a method of consciously using a symbol our image

as a catalyst to provoke a reaction in the unconscious mind. But since no

time is given for the conscious mind to react, you remain detached and the

ego becomes temporarily inactive. This phase helps to resolve suppressed

conflicts, desires, memories and sanskaras.

 

In each session, you also repeat a sankalpa, or resolve. It should be

a short statement, phrased in positive language and in the present tense.

For example, your resolve could be: " I am taking full care of my family. "

The resolve gets embedded deep in the subconscious and is bound to bear

fruit in time.

 

 

TECHNIQUE (An abridged transcript from the BSY's 30-minute Yoga Nidra

audio cassette )

• Lie down in Savasana with the body stretched out, the head in

straight line with the body, feet apart, arms besides the body and palms of

the hands turned upwards. Make yourself comfortable. After this, there

should be no body movement. Close your eyes and keep them closed till the

end of the session. Make a promise to yourself that " I will not sleep, I

will remain awake " .

 

• Take a deep breath and as you breathe in, feel the coolness and

calmness spreading throughout the body. As you breathe out, feel your cares

and worries flowing out of you. Become aware of the body and relax

completely. Relax your body mentally.

 

• Become aware of the breath as it moves between the navel and the

throat. Do not try to breathe long and deep.

 

• Repeat your resolve mentally three times with feeling and awareness.

 

• We now begin to rotate the awareness from one part of the body to

the next. Repeat the name of the part in your mind and simultaneously become

aware of it. Try to remain alert, but do not concentrate.

 

• Become aware of the right side of the body. Take your awareness to

the right hand thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little

finger, palm, back of the hand, wrist, arm, elbow, shoulder, armpit, waist,

hip, thigh, kneecap, calf muscle, ankle, heel, sole of the foot, the top of

the foot, toes.

 

• Now repeat the previous step but this time with the left side.

 

• Bring the awareness to the back. Become aware of the shoulder

blades, the buttocks, the spine, the whole back together.

 

• Now go to the top of the head, the forehead, temples, the eyebrows,

the space between the eyebrows, eyelids, eyes, ears, cheeks, nose, the tip

of the nose, lips, chin, throat, right chest, left chest, navel, abdomen...

the whole front.

 

 

• The whole of the right leg, the left leg, both legs together. The

whole of the right arm, the left arm, both arms.

 

• Do not sleep. Say to yourself : " I am awake, I am practicing yoga

Nidra " .

 

• Become aware of the meeting points between the body and the

floor—the sharp meeting points.

 

• Now concentrate on your body, as if seeing it from the outside. Look

at your body lying on the floor as an object, a reflection in an imaginary

mirror.

 

• Now imagine a well, dark and deep. Look into it. There is a bucket

on a chain, you lower it into the well. It moves into the darkness of the

well. You cannot see it. Now pull the bucket up, out of the darkness, into

the light.

 

• Ask yourself : " What am I thinking? " Do not think, but become aware

of the thought process, become a witness.

 

• Now awaken the feeling of lightness—as if the body is made of

cotton. Your body seems to be floating away from the floor. Next, awaken the

feeling of heaviness, as if the body is made of lead.

 

• Awaken the sensation of heat, the experience of heat. The whole body

is hot. Now experience bitter cold in the body.

 

• Try to remember the experience of pain, mental or physical. And the

feeling of pleasure—relive it, make it vivid.

 

• Now try to visualize some images—on the level of feeling, awareness

and emotion. Let each one appear like a slide on your mental screen.

 

• Flickering candle… flickering candle… tall palm tree, a car moving

on the road, yellow clouds, blue clouds, starlit night, full moon, standing

dog, reposing cat, moving elephant, racing horse, rising sun behind the

mountains, setting sun behind the mountains, setting sun behind the ocean,

ocean with waves, a big lake with crystal clear water, blue lotus, white

lotus, pink lotus, a boat sailing on the water—see the ripples, chimney

smoke rising from an old house, the dawn of the day, a yogi in deep

meditation.

 

• Become a witness of your awareness—not the body, not the senses, not

the mind. Nothing but awareness. Become aware that you are observing

yourself. Look within and try to be aware of the one who is looking.

 

• Go into chidakasa (the space behind the forehead). In the chidakasa

there is a flaming light. Find that light and you will see a golden egg in

the center of that light. A small golden egg, very bright, shimmering.

 

• Repeat your resolve again, thrice.

 

• Relax all efforts, draw your mind outside and become aware of your

breathing. Become aware of your surroundings, the room you are in. Lie

quietly for some time and keep your eyes closed. Start moving and stretching

your body. When you are sure that you are wide awake, sit up slowly and open

your eyes.

 

- Rakesh Goyal

(www.sysman.in)