Sleep Like a (Happy ) Baby: Yoga Nidra
Improve Your Sleep/Heal Your Life.
Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation accessible to anyone.Often translated as the Yoga of Sleep , it is more accurately translated as Yoga of Divine Sleep. Vedic Tradition holds that an hour of yoga nidra is equal to 4 hours of sleep! In the past decade the practice was researched by the USA military under the guidance of psychologist Dr Richard Miller. Combined with Mindfulness practices, it was found to be effective in healing PTSD and is now being utilized in several VA hospitals.
A casual observer or conventionally trained yoga teacher might perceive Yoga Nidra is simply a typical relaxation visualization. However, Yoga Nidra is specifically structured to relax the whole person at every level of the body/mind from the gross physical level to the most subtle , energetic level.
It is rooted in the reality that the whole person system is self healing when in deep relaxation and healing intentions are set. You can find many on line recordings called Yoga Nidra but some are no more than a more generalized relaxation practice. If you download one of these and it is not effective for you, seek out one from someone who has been trained in one of the lineages with a track record of teaching and facilitating this practice. The three prevalent genuine lineages currently being taught within the USA (that I trained in ) are via 1) Himalayn Institute , 2) Amrit Desai 3) Dr. Richard Miller. Each of these is a different approach and provides a different emphasis.
I have been practicing Yoga Nidra and sharing with both yoga students and psychotherapy clients for several years now and am humbled at the efficacy of this practice to melt away long standing stress, heal trauma ,nourish you to your core. One key element in effective Yoga Nidra is the intention the practitioner sets before hand. There is a real art to setting an intention that is both optimal and spot on for healing and to improve sleep . It is ideal to work with an experienced , practitioner for both intention setting and the guiding of Yoga Nidra. In person or on line are both effective for most people.
Mindful SelfCare™/ drhannachusid.com / ON LINE Yoga Nidra Certified Yoga & Meditation Teacher/ Lic. Psychologist