Yoga Nidra reveals to us that we always live in the present moment. The reality is only the limitless now. When we think about the past and the future, we fail to realize that when we were living in the past, it was now, and when we will live in the future, it will be now at that moment. Set your prayers and affirmations in the present moment, and not in some distant future. Do not say ‘I want to be healthy’ or ‘I will be healthy’. Instead affirm to the universe that ‘ I am healthy.’ The only reality is the present moment, and that is where all manifestation happens.

The Manifestation In The Present Moment

Whether you are observing the outside sounds, your thoughts, body movement, breath, emotions or feelings, you are just a witness to them, detached and aware of all the turmoil that is going on. Yoga Nidra is when you are not doing anything, but just being.

Witnessing: Distancing Yourself From Yourself

Just like meditation, Yoga Nidra looks simple but is profound. Taking on the simple Savasana Yogic pose, where you lie on your back and face upwards, with the entire body completely relaxed and connected to the earth, Yoga Nidra provides an opening that can make you an enlightened being if it is practised rightly.

Yoga Nidra: A Way To Enlightenment

<ul><li>Yoga Nidra came from ancient Hindu teachings of Yoga(The union of mind, body and soul) and Tantra(extending everywhere). </li><li>There are a variety of techniques, meditations and postures to still your mind, connect your body to the universe and overcome the mind's basic nature to divide everything. </li><li>Yoga Nidra is not a sleeping technique, but a way to unite with your true self.</li></ul>

Origins Of Yoga Nidra

<ol><li>Assert your intention for giving your complete attention to the practice. Remain focused and undistracted during this mindfulness session.</li><li>Get into a prayer or gratitude mode, welcoming the feeling of love, healing, health, and enlightenment.</li></ol>

Setting The Stage Part 2

Not doing anything is generally considered wrong in a society completely dependent on people doing stuff. All the progress that man has made has been due to action. This has given rise to a doing mentality in the developed world. The trick for any spiritual practice like Yoga Nidra, mindfulness, or meditation is to not make it a task, where you feel like you are doing something, but let it just be an awareness of your body, thoughts and where your mind is going, acting as a silent witness. We just have to be, not do anything.

Don’t Do, Just Be

Yoga Nidra is a pathway inside us, where we uncover seven layers and find the entire universe.<ol><li>Sensing your body(Body Scan).</li><li>Awareness of your breath and energy.</li><li>Awareness of your feelings and emotions.</li><li>Witness your thoughts, beliefs and the images in your mind.</li><li>Awareness of your desire, pleasure, goals, and joy.</li><li>Awareness of you witnessing everything(The Ego-I)</li><li>Awareness of the true nature, the changeless being.</li></ol>

The Seven Layers Of Awareness

Our body is constantly trying to communicate with us but the outside distractions are overwhelming and we have stopped listening to our bodies. A body scan is a hello from us to each part of the body and is a head-to-toe awareness of us by us. We relearn to feel and connect with our bodies and return to the frequency which was long forgotten. Yoga Nidra reawakens our inner capacity to hear the subtlest cues our body is sending us.

The Body Scan Of Yoga Nidra

A host of mental health problems(which are now a trillion-dollar industry) can be uprooted from the body-mind using Yoga Nidra. During the Yoga Nidra ‘Body Scan’ the body clears the blocked thoughts and feelings which were hidden due to our lack of awareness towards them. Just like dirt turns into grime, the junk thoughts, if not purged, eventually manifest themselves into physical and mental ailments and chronic diseases.

Cleaning Of Hidden Junk Thoughts In The Body

The sleep that happens to us every night, if not preceded by meditation, contemplation, mindfulness or Yoga asanas, is just a few hours of accidental slumber that we encounter before we get up in the morning.Yoga Nidra is an ancient technique to provide the body with profound healing and deep rest and is miles ahead of the normal way most of us go to sleep.

Your Sleep is Mostly Accidental

<ul><li>Modern medicine earns billions of dollars or more every year selling new therapies, chemicals, vaccines, drugs and other treatments to patients across the world. </li><li>Diseases like cancer and diabetes are regulated(not cured) so that the customer subscribes to the treatment for years or decades.</li><li>Due to lobbying, the media normally dismisses the Yogic ancient science, but as more people get first-hand experience and great results, the truth about the effectiveness of Yoga is becoming apparent.</li></ul>

Big Pharma Isn't Really Your Friend

Yoga Nidra takes us into a stage where we are truly awake, maybe for the first time. We are no longer swayed or identified by thoughts, beliefs, emotions, feelings, sensations or changing circumstances. We ground our soul and start to experience equanimity, compassion and steadfastness, moving towards authentic action.

Yoga Nidra: Not Sleeping but Awakening

Those who practice Yoga know an open secret: It is not an exercise fad but a portal to find true peace of mind, undisturbed equanimity irrespective of the circumstances or situations, and attain our true nature of ‘being’ which is readily available to us but still obscured. The secret reveals to you that your body, mind, soul and the entire universe is living in you, inside your own awareness.

An Open Secret: The Sleep Of The Yogi

<ol><li>Find a quiet time and place to practice Yoga Nidra, taking a mini-vacation from the world.</li><li>Turn off your smartphone and let others know you are not to be disturbed.</li><li>Wear comfortable, loose clothes and make sure the place you lie down on(the floor or the bed) is comfortable and grounding.</li><li>Use the ‘savasana’ pose of Yoga which works best for Yoga Nidra, though advanced practitioners can use any pose.</li><li>Though you will get sleepy, and may even have dreams lasting a few seconds, it's best to try to stay alert during the practice.</li><li>Welcome any unease, discomfort, emotions, memories, and eventually mov<warningtag>e towards your natural state of being.</warningtag></li></ol>

Setting The Stage Part 1: Savasana Pose

As we live through an age where there are infinite things to see, hear, do or experience, it becomes all the more important to set aside time to do absolutely nothing. Yoga Nidra takes us into the unfamiliar territory of ancient Hindu wisdom, where Nothing Is Everything. It is a yogic way of sleeping where 20 minutes can refresh us more than 4 hours of normal sleep.

Yoga Nidra: Yogic Sleep

<ul><li>The ego is called a ‘false ego’ or the ‘false self’ in most spiritual books. They acknowledge the fact that the self-created ego-I is just smoke and mirrors. Yoga Nidra dissolves the ‘I’, proving it as a fictional entity without any substance.</li><li>As we become aware more and more aware of our true nature, we move past the layers of separation and start to understand that it is an illusion.</li><li>We are understanding first-hand about non-dualism and being, and are moving beyond the ego-I.</li></ul>

Yoga Nidra: The Ego-I Dissolves

An ancient, scientific way to sleep and have a spiritual bonding with the universe.

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Mindfulness

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Exercise & Fitness

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Meditation

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Entertainment

One of the most enjoyable parts of a yoga class comes when we rest in savasanathe corpse poseand realize deep serenity, a sense of effortless joy, and a glimpse into our true nature as unqualified presence. How is this so? Master teacher Richard Miller explains that this experience is a manifestation of yoga nidra, the meditative state of mind-body union at the heart of all yoga practice. A powerful integration of book and CD audio learning, Yoga Nidra is an ancient tantric yoga path that leads to inner freedom. Through accessible language appropriate for any level of practice, Miller takes us step-by-step through the traditional techniques of relaxation and meditation to help us move toward the realization of unqualified presencethe ultimate aim of yogaa goal unreachable through posture practice alone. Through his expert guidance, students will experience; Deep relaxation for relief from day-to-day stress The development of one-pointednessa key to spiritual awakening Healing from painful emotions, such as fear, grief, and anger More effective and energizing sleep, and much more.