Yoga Nidra for Anxiety

I came across this Yoga Journal article about Yoga Nidra and thought it would be worth sharing. Enjoy!

Reflections of Peace

A proven antidote to anxiety and restlessness, the ancient practice of yoga nidra has been adopted by veterans, recovering addicts, and run-of-the-mill stressed out people.

By Katherine Griffin, yoga nidra meditation by Richard Miller.

One cool evening in a high-ceilinged dining hall in Novato, California, an unlikely yoga class is getting under way. Fourteen men wearing blue jeans, work boots or running shoes roll out yoga mats and get settled on sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows.

The instructor, Kelly Boys, smiles as she surveys her students, residents at Henry Ohlhoff North, a substance abuse recovery center. She asks if anyone wants to discuss their experiences in the previous week's session. A trim 52-year-old named Charles volunteers that he struggles with feelings of loneliness.

"How does your body feel when it hits you?" Boys asks. "Tense," Charles says. "And where do you feel the tension?" she asks. "In my shoulders," he says.

"Just ask it, 'What do you need? What do you want?'" Boys says. "We're just bringing curiosity to it. When you really meet it, it does drop away." Charles nods, satisfied for now.

As the men settle into relaxed positions, Boys begins to talk them through a detailed tour of their own bodies on this day and at this moment—the first step in the practice of yoga nidra. Gradually the room quiets, until the only sounds are the hum of the ventilation system and Boys' voice: "Can you feel the inside of your mouth? Now bring your attention to your left ear. Feel the inside of your left ear. Feel your right ear. Can you feel both ears simultaneously?" Around the room, faces relax, jaws soften, and soon snores start to rumble as the men drop deeper into relaxation.

Profound Rest

Yoga nidra is an ancient but little-known yogic practice that's becoming increasingly popular as both a form of meditation and a mind-body therapy. It is a systematic form of guided relaxation that typically is done for 35 to 40 minutes at a time.

Practitioners say that it often brings immediate physical benefits, such as reduced stress and better sleep, and that it has the potential to heal psychological wounds. As a meditation practice, it can engender a profound sense of joy and well-being.

"In yoga nidra, we restore our body, senses, and mind to their natural function and awaken a seventh sense that allows us to feel no separation, that only sees wholeness, tranquility, and well-being," says Richard Miller, a San Francisco Bay Area yoga teacher and clinical psychologist who is at the forefront of the movement to teach yoga nidra and to bring it to a wider audience.

While many prominent teachers offer classes, CDs, and books on yoga nidra, Miller is responsible for bringing the practice to a remarkable variety of nontraditional settings. He's helped introduce it on military bases and in veterans' clinics, homeless shelters, Montessori schools, Head Start programs, hospitals, hospices, chemical dependency centers, and jails. What's more, thanks to Miller, it's beginning to get serious scientific attention. Researchers are examining the practice's potential to help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; addicts struggling to get clean; people with depression, cancer, and MS; health care workers; and married couples coping with stress and insomnia.

More than 40 years ago, in 1970, Miller attended his first yoga class at the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco. "At the end of that class, they taught a modified yoga nidra—deep Savasana," he says. "I had the most profound experience; there was this sense of my inter-relatedness with the entire universe. And a vow arose in me to really investigate this practice."

Over years of studying and teaching yoga nidra, Miller has developed his own approach, finding ways to make the practice accessible to a broad range of people, even those with little or no education in yoga. In 2005, he published a book, Yoga Nidra: A Meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing, and he's released several audio guides as well. He currently leads the nonprofit Integrative Restoration Institute, an organization dedicated to the research, teaching, and practice of yoga nidra and yoga philosophy.

"Most people are trying to change themselves," Miller says. "Yoga nidra asks them to welcome themselves. That moment of true welcoming is where the profound transformation takes place."

Simple Steps

It's a deceptively simple practice. Because yoga nidra is most often taught lying down—initially guided by a teacher—it's appealing to people who might feel intimidated by yoga postures or traditional seated meditation. A short version of yoga nidra can be introduced and practiced in less than 10 minutes. Yet its various elements, taken together and practiced regularly, make up a sophisticated set of mind-body tools that can help practitioners navigate some of life's harshest moments. Yoga nidra can also be practiced as an accessible form of meditation for those seeking everyday well-being.

In a typical yoga nidra session, a teacher guides practitioners through several stages. You start by developing an intention for your life and for the practice. Then you learn to focus your awareness on your breath, bodily sensations, emotions, and thoughts. Throughout, you are encouraged to tap into an underlying sense of peace that is always present and to cultivate "witness consciousness," observing and welcoming whatever is present without getting caught up in it.

"Yoga nidra allows us to reach the most profound level of relaxation possible," says Rod Stryker, the founder of Para-Yoga, who has been teaching yoga nidra since the mid-1990s and who writes about it in his book, The Four Desires. "It opens a doorway to a place where we can see ourselves and our lives in the most positive light."

Unlike other forms of meditation, in which you focus on a mantra or on your breath, yoga nidra asks you simply to let go. "The practice forces us to engage the muscle of surrender," Stryker says.

Relief for the Restless

The path to bringing yoga nidra to the attention of a wider audience led, oddly enough, through the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a military treatment facility based, at the time, in Washington, DC. In 2004, Christine Goertz, an academic researcher at the Samueli Institute, a nonprofit research institute, teamed up with Robin Carnes, a yoga teacher who had taught yoga nidra as part of a cardiac care program at Walter Reed. Carnes had learned yoga nidra from Stryker and from Miller's book.

She and Goertz used Miller's approach as the basis for a pilot study investigating whether the practice could help soldiers suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results of that initial small study, conducted with active-duty service members, suggested that yoga nidra may be helpful for managing PTSD in veterans. (Along the way, someone at Walter Reed suggested renaming the practice to something more accessible, and Miller coined "iRest," short for "Integrative Restoration.") As a follow-up, a randomized, controlled trial involving 150 participants was conducted over 18 months at the Veterans Affairs (VA) facility in Miami from 2009 to 2010. And another study is beginning this winter at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Chicago.

On the basis of the pilot study results, the military is now offering Miller's iRest yoga nidra practice to wounded warriors at Walter Reed; Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas; Camp Lejeune, a large Marine Corps base in North Carolina; and VA facilities in Miami, Chicago, and Washington, DC. In these ongoing classes, soldiers have reported that some of their most troubling PTSD symptoms, including hyperalertness, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, have diminished.

Tools like yoga nidra can be crucial resources for soldiers adjusting to life after war, says Mona Bingham, a retired colonel who's researching the practice at Brooke Army Medical Center. "A lot of soldiers are coming back [from combat] with physical, psychological, and moral wounds," she says. "It's not something we can just give them a medication for." She's studying iRest's effect on military couples coping with the stress that often arises after a deployment ends.

Cheryl LeClair teaches the iRest practice to marines with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries at Camp Lejeune. "Most of the guys don't sleep," she says. "Some have told me they take two Ambien a night, and they still can't sleep. But many of them fall sleep in the very first iRest session. To see them relax and let go is just amazing."

Like the marines in LeClair's classes, new practitioners often go to sleep during their first few yoga nidra sessions. That's not surprising, says Stryker, since these days many people are sleep deprived. Yoga nidra literally means "yogic sleep," but that is a bit of a misnomer. It's not a special kind of sleep, but a state between sleeping and waking. With more experience, Stryker says, practitioners can experience deep rest while maintaining what he calls "just a trace of awareness."

For LeClair, whose husband returned from Iraq in 2003 with a brain injury, PTSD, and a crushed vertebra in his neck, yoga nidra has become an essential part of getting through what are often very trying days. (She handles the family finances and much of the responsibility for raising a nine-year-old grandson.) She first experienced the practice at a weekend workshop. "After I woke up, I said, 'Whatever that is, I want more,' " she says. Now, when she gets overwhelmed, she recalls the lessons of yoga nidra: "If you can step back and witness the thoughts without reaction, it gives you some space. You learn to have equanimity."

Emotional Healing

The roots of yoga nidra are thought to go back thousands of years. When Miller adapted the teachings to make them more accessible to Westerners, he wanted to address emotional wellness. "The Eastern yoga principles took it for granted that you were at a certain state of health and well-being," he says. "What I saw was that this was not true of most students. So I added the element of the Inner Resource."

Early on in Miller's yoga nidra instruction, as you begin to relax, you are asked to conjure up your own personal Inner Resource, a vision of and feeling about a place where you feel safe and secure. If intense emotions surface during yoga nidra—or, for that matter, at any time—you can return to your Inner Resource to take a break.

Charles, one of the men at Henry Ohlhoff North, turns to the practice often. A former executive chef, he retired after a back injury left him in constant pain. He became addicted to alcohol and painkillers and, after three arrests on drug charges, chose rehab instead of jail.

Yoga nidra has helped him find his way back to a part of himself untouched by addiction and chronic pain. His Inner Resource is the bakery his parents ran. "I go back to my childhood," he says, "doing chores in my parents' bakery. I think about my dad and how good it felt to have his arms around me."
Earlier this year, when Charles was granted his first overnight pass two months into his six-month rehabilitation stay, a friend surprised him with a birthday party that included alcohol. Charles started to panic.

"I went out to my car, put my head back on the headrest, and went into [the practice]," he says. "My breathing came down, and I could focus better." After about half an hour, he chose to leave the party and return to the rehab center.

Early research supports the idea that yoga nidra can help people like Charles who are in recovery from addiction. In a study of 93 people at a chemical dependency treatment center, Leslie Temme, a professor in the social work department of Western Carolina University, found that participants who practiced yoga nidra had fewer negative moods and a reduced risk of relapsing into substance abuse.
With its emphasis on self-awareness, yoga nidra seems to help recovering addicts feel more comfortable in their own skin, cope better with difficult emotions, and make better choices, Temme says. What's more, she adds, "The clients loved it. They were lining up at the door to get to it."

Inner Discoveries

If you've ever tried to sit in meditation for 30 minutes, you know that you don't need to be recovering from trauma to be uncomfortable in your own mind. As a meditation technique, yoga nidra offers a gentle approach, starting with body awareness, then working compassionately with thoughts and emotions as they arise, and gradually leading the meditator to access a greater field of awareness. In fact, in some of the oldest written references to the term yoga nidra, it is synonymous with samadhi, or union, the ultimate goal of the eightfold path.

This aspect of yoga nidra is perhaps the most difficult to put into words, but, for Miller, it's the core of the practice. Learning to observe and welcome all of the sensations, emotions, and thoughts that arise in deep rest can lead a person to become less identified with the individual self—what Miller calls the "I-thought." Through this experience, he says, it's possible to lose the sense that one is separate from others and to tap into an unshakable sense of interconnectedness to all of life.

And when that happens, Miller says, "There's a deep pool of well-being. It's what I discovered in that first yoga nidra session in 1970. That's what I try to share."

Explore the 10 Steps of Yoga Nidra ~ by Richard Miller

Getting Started: Set up your practice space by placing a bolster lengthwise on your mat and slipping a block under the top end, so that the bolster slants gently. Lie down with your sitting bones on the mat and with the bolster supporting you from the low back to the head. Place a folded blanket under your head for a pillow. Notice and welcome sounds, smells, and taste as well as color and light. Release excess tension throughout your body and feel a sense of relaxation spreading throughout your entire body and mind.

Listen: To be guided into yoga nidra by Richard Miller, listen to the audio at yogajournal.com/livemag.

1. Connect to Your Heartfelt Desire. Bring to mind your heart's deepest desire—something that you want more than anything else in life. Perhaps it is a desire for health, well-being, or awakening. Feel this heartfelt desire with your entire body while imagining and experiencing it in this moment as if it were true.

2. Set an Intention. Reflect on your intention for your practice today. It might be to relax and rest, or to inquire into a particular sensation, emotion, or belief. Whatever your intention, welcome and affirm it with your entire body and mind.

3. Find Your Inner Resource. Bring attention to your Inner Resource, a safe haven within your body where you experience feelings of security, well-being, and calm. You may imagine a place, person, or experience that helps you feel secure and at ease and that helps you feel within your body the sense of well-being. Re-experience your Inner Resource at any time during your practice or in daily life when you feel overwhelmed by an emotion, thought, or life circumstance and wish to feel secure and at ease.

4. Scan Your Body. Gradually move your awareness through your body. Sense your jaw, mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. Sense your forehead, scalp, neck, and the inside of your throat. Scan your attention through your left arm and left palm, your right arm and right palm, and then both arms and hands simultaneously. Sense your torso, pelvis, and sacrum. Experience sensation in your left hip, leg, and foot, and then in your right hip, leg, and foot. Sense your entire body as a field of radiant sensation.

5. Become Aware of Your Breath. Sense the body breathing by itself. Observe the natural flow of air in the nostrils, throat, and rib cage as well as the rise and fall of the abdomen with each breath. Feel each breath as flowing energy coursing throughout your entire body.

6. Welcome Your Feelings. Without judging or trying to change anything, welcome the sensations (such as heaviness, tension, or warmth) and emotions (such as sadness, anger, or worry) that are present in your body and mind. Also notice opposite sensations and emotions: If you feel worry, call up feelings of serenity; if you feel tense, experience ease. Sense each feeling and its opposite within your body.

7. Witness Your Thoughts. Notice and welcome the thoughts, memories, and images that are present in your mind. Observe your thoughts without judging them or trying to change them. As you come upon beliefs that you hold about yourself, also bring to mind and experience their opposites, welcoming your experience just as it is.

8. Experience Joy. Welcome sensations of joy, well-being, or bliss emanating from your heart or belly and spreading throughout your body and into the space around you. With every exhalation, experience sensations of warmth, joy, and well-being radiating throughout your body.

9. Observe Your Self. Be aware of your sense of "I-ness," or personality. Notice this sense of identity when you say "I'm hungry," "I'm angry," or "I'm happy." Then, experience yourself as an observing witness or Awareness that is cognizant of these feelings. Set aside thinking and dissolve into Awareness, awake and conscious of the self.

10. Reflect on Your Practice. As you complete your practice, reflect on the journey you've just taken. Affirm how the feeling of pure Being, or pure Awareness, is always present as a deep, unchanging peace that underlies every changing circumstance. Imagine integrating that feeling into your everyday life, in both pleasant and difficult moments, and always reconnecting to that sense of equanimity.

To Finish: At your own pace, transition back to your waking life, reorienting to your surroundings. Come back slowly, and pause for a moment to feel grateful for taking this time for yourself.

This was published in Yoga Journal in November 2011.

30 Days of Relaxation - Day 3

OK, it's Sunday. Should we make our practice a bit more meditative? Yes, I think so. To this end I am linking us to a FREE Yoga Nidra (Guided Deep Relaxation) practice (13m8s) by Richard Miller, founder of iRest Yoga Nidra.

Yoga Journal offers a free Yoga Nidra Practice by Richard Miller. YJ says,

Yoga nidra is the practice of conscious deep sleep. It's extremely effective for reducing anxiety and stress, and for facilitating deep relaxation. Practice this yourself with this 13-minute audio recording, and then share it with your class.

I would recommend setting yourself up in Supported Savasana to listen to this practice (as shown below).

Enjoy!

For more information about Yoga Nidra and Deep Relaxation click here.
For more information about iRest Yoga Nidra click here.
For more information about Richard Miller, founder of iRest, click here.

Musings on Kripalu

My recent iRest Yoga Nidra training took place at Kripalu Institute. I had never been there but had been wanting to go since the late 90s. My first yoga teacher was Kripalu trained and I always loved her classes. But until now, I could never muster up the guts or mindset to spend so much money to visit this longed-for school.

Thankfully, I made the mental leap to spend the money and go for a training. And I am so glad! I loved the training as I stated in my previous post but without such a wonderful and supportive back drop, it would not have been the same.

Kripalu provided lovely community, comfortable beds, contemplative trails, relaxing sauna and hot tub, fun yoga classes, noon dance, private sessions of yoga, massage, and more, and to top it all off, all the food was provided and it was delicious. I was able to go wheat-free and dairy-free for the whole week and I have not felt so good in I don't know how long.

In addition to teacher training in Yoga and Ayurveda, Kripalu hosts world-class teachers for specialized trainings and offers R&R breaks where you go to the Institute and participate in as many or as few of their regular classes (and other amenities) as you want. I think they also offer specialized R&R retreats with a theme for the week or weekend.

I am already kicking around the idea of going back for the iRest Level II teacher training.

The labyrinth.

Outdoor dining.

Training hall.

My bunk with a blooming cherry tree out the window.

Trail head.

Trail.

The Lake.

Me and Richard Miller.

What a great week!

iRest Yoga Nidra

Integrative Restoration Institute (IRI) ~ iRest Yoga Nidra ®

Integrative Restoration Institute

In April 2013 I attended the first level of iRest Yoga Nidra training with Richard Miller. The training was held at Kripalu Institute as a one week intensive. We learned the principles and practice of IRI's style of Yoga Nidra.
According to IRI,

iRest Yoga Nidra, one of the principal programs offered by IRI, is a research-based transformative practice of deep relaxation and meditative inquiry that:

• releases negative emotions and thought patterns
• calms the nervous system
• develops a deep capacity to meet any and all circumstances you may encounter in life

Research has shown that iRest Yoga Nidra effectively reduces:

• PTSD
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Chronic pain
• Chemical dependency

As I participated in the training I could feel the effects of the practice on both a subtle level (calm energy, clear headed, compassionate) and on a physical level (less pain, more at ease in my body, relaxed attitude). It was amazing to me how through this practice of guided, meditative self-inquiry, we (the training participants) were able to make connections between our emotions, beliefs, and thought patterns and the felt-sense in the body. By this I mean that with guidance we were able to continually check back in to our bodies and let our bodies, minds, emotions, beliefs and thoughts integrate into one whole being.

I think it is this feeling of integration that leads to such a peaceful feeling and a reduction in pain, stress, depression, etc.

iRest Yoga Nidra can be practiced in groups or dyads (one-on-one practice). My feeling is that the group practice is better for relaxation and general well being, while the one-on-one practice is better for really getting to the root of an issue.

I am working on setting up a space to take private clients, but for now please visit me for my monthly group class at Yoga North. See my schedule for details.

For a more detailed description on how iRest works and for a free iRest practice with Richard Miller please visit the IRI website: www.irest.us.

Looking forward to working with you. Namaste ~ Sara

Ahhh....Relaxation

I haven't been very good about relaxing this summer (or doing anything yoga related except teaching my classes). It's been a summer of family get-togethers and house projects. Both wonderful things, but not relaxing in the same way as a good session of Yoga Nidra.

Last night, after staring intently at the computer for many hours (yes, I know it was a holiday and I wasn't supposed to be working), I finally got my behind down to my yoga room and settled in with some Yoga Nidra mp3s. It was so great I couldn't stop. I listened to three Yoga Nidra sessions in a row.

By the time I was done I was so relaxed I could barely open my eyes or wipe the smile off  my face. I took the dog for a walk, grinning like an idiot and barely looking where I was going. I didn't care where I went or how long it took.

It's good to be back in the relaxation zone.

The tracks I listened to were from these albums:

Free Yoga Nidra Podcast

My friend Satyam posted a new blog post with a free Yoga Nidra practice. Listen to it here: Renaissance Yoga.

He says, 

Join us for this soothing practice of restoration where we use the mind itself to calm and center our being, from the inside out. This session features breath work, visualization, and ideation to release, heal, and bring balance.

Day 30: 30 Day Meditation

Yea for us - we made it! I hope everyone enjoyed practicing the discipline of quiet. For me it was both a challenge and a pleasure. I like to think that I will continue my practice but I know myself and I doubt I will be as diligent now that the challenge is over. (And I'm ok with that.) I would love to hear your final thoughts as well.

As I said yesterday, I recorded my Yoga Nidra class from Thursday and for a special treat of leaving you with a longer practice, I am posting a link here. The practice includes gentle yoga in the beginning as a body warm-up and soother, then moves on to Yoga Nidra (guided deep relaxation and meditation). This includes a practice of healing and a short gratitude meditation.

Just like the Deep Relaxation with Gong practice, the audio from this live recording is fairly quiet and there are background noises too but maybe that will make you feel like you are in class, practicing with the group.

Here's the link to the free, guided, deep relaxation and meditation practice (1 hour, 13 minutes - 34.13MB): Yoga Nidra + Healing
Note: To  download, click or right-click the link and select "save file," "save link as," or "open with iTunes."

I would suggest resting in Supported Savasana for your Yoga Nidra practice. Like this:

Again, here is a list of links to support your home meditation practice as we finish up our 30 day community practice.

1) All posts from this challenge: 30 Day Meditation Challenge
2) Facebook Event page: 30 Days of Meditation
3) More on meditation on this blog: Meditation
4) More on guided relaxation: Yoga Nidra / Deep Relaxation
5) Audio files for breath work, meditation, and relaxation: Audio Files
6) "Like" Do Restorative on Facebook to continue to be part of the learning: www.facebook.com/DoRestorativeYoga.

I have enjoyed practicing with you all.

Namaste ~ Sara

Yoga Nidra: Power Yoga of the Mind

I recently came across this article from Kripalu, posted on their on-line blog, Thrive in Yoga. It is one person's account of their experience with Yoga Nidra over a number of days. Lovely.

One of my favorite vinyasa yoga teachers once said, “If dropping into stillness is the hardest thing for you to do, then that is what you need the most.” And so, sometime around the first frost, I came to Kripalu to try a meditative practice called yoga nidra. Translated as “yogic sleep” or “divine sleep,” this type of yoga focuses on systematic relaxation of the body while the mind enters a state of deep, meditative awareness—like dreaming while fully awake. The technique was developed by Swami Satyananda in the 1960s to make advanced, centuries-old practices of tantric meditation more accessible to everyone.

I’d never done this type of yoga before and didn’t quite know what to expect. One thing I did know: Underneath my blanket, I was an exhausted mess. Summer had passed in a hazy blur of work and play—and, admittedly, too many margaritas. Now here it was, the onset of fall, the hardest seasonal transition for me. I felt myself floating and drifting, a balloon accidentally released from the fist of a child. I needed to reel myself back in.

Over the course of five days, some unspoken guidelines (or pointers) emerged from the darkness:

Stay awake if you can. “Divine sleep” is really not about sleeping (though you might). In this ultra-relaxed state of consciousness, your mind is focused, fully alert, and receptive. This experience is sometimes called the relaxation response, where deep healing and regeneration can happen.

Don’t worry if you can’t relax at first. You may find that divine sleep may not feel too, well, divine. For me, it was a slow process of trusting and letting go. In fact, for the first two days, I felt like an egg sitting on the edge of a kitchen counter. My back ached. If I really let myself relax to the core, would I smash to the ground? And would I be able to clean up the mess afterward?

Trust the flow. It can seem formless and passive, but the ancient practice of yoga nidra is as systematic as most any other yoga flow. There is a basic sequence: Get comfortable; set an intention for your practice; relax each part of the body; take a guided journey (maybe it’s a forest, field of sage, or warm beach); see what you see; feel what you feel; repeat your intention; return to your self. On a deeper level, the sequence moves you through all layers (called koshas) of your consciousness—physical, energetic, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When you’re done, as in other practices, you feel as though you’ve landed in a different place from where you started. You know yourself a little better.

What makes this yoga so powerful, in my opinion, is summed up by one word: vision. Not just everyday vision but ultra-vivid perception, like suddenly having a lens that magnifies your moment-by-moment experience. Sometimes the lens is tightly focused on the tiny details; other times, it’s a wide-angle view that takes in everything. This is the power of the focused gaze, or drishti, as it is called in Sanskrit. It resonates on many levels.

Inner vision. In the deepest depths of yoga nidra, a film plays out in the darkness of your mind. And like studying an abstract piece of art, you may see signs, symbols, or metaphors. You close your eyes and gaze into your heart. You find words there, like “freedom.” You see symbols. A turtle retracted inside its shell. The stop sign that actually says GO. The picnic table from your childhood. The backyard of your first home. The tablecloth your mother used for company. You see the faces of people who have passed on. Your uncle handing you change from his pocket. Your small, outstretched hand. Your father giving you his blessing: “Be happy.” You see the elements of your life that resonate most. The things that make you, you.

Outward vision. After doing this for a few days, you start to have a different view of everything around you. The world moves more slowly, and so do you. You see the autumn leaves in exquisite detail—sad and beautiful at once. Bands of color stretch across the mountains, banners of change. You decide to sit outside for awhile. Two rabbits emerge from the bushes. They munch on the grass at your feet, unafraid. You see for the first time the gentle curve of their glassy eyeballs, and your reflection bending along the shiny arcs. It fills you with a complicated feeling, hard to name. Something like gratitude mixed with longing.

Soft vision. By the fifth day, you see yourself, and others, with more gentleness. You realize everyone is searching for the same thing. You watch yourself heading back down the long driveway at Kripalu. You take a breath. You watch yourself wondering “What now?” You feel yourself at a crossroads. You remember the stop sign with GO written on it. You see very clearly how, in life, you always hold yourself back a little. And how it may be time to let go of the reins. Yes. Let go.

A wise swami once said, “Observation without judgment is the greatest spiritual practice of all.” I would have to agree. But I would say it this way: Become a cosmic fly on the wall of your own experience. Trust what you see.
Written by Susan Abbattista, Guest Blogger

For more information about what Kripalu has to offer visit Kripalu.org/program.

Free Yoga Nidra Practice

Yoga Journal is offering a free Yoga Nidra Practice by Richard Miller. YJ says,

Yoga nidra is the practice of conscious deep sleep. It's extremely effective for reducing anxiety and stress, and for facilitating deep relaxation. Practice this yourself with this 13-minute audio recording, and then share it with your class.

Enjoy!

Are You a Bad Napper?

My partner is a bad napper. He hates to take naps because he always wakes up feeling grumpy, groggy and slightly nauseous. Of course sometimes taking a nap is the only thing your mind and body are going to let you do. Forget about focusing on a project or getting any work done - the eyes just won't stay open.

So I suggested that a little bit of Yoga Nidra might be just the ticket. Normally Dave is not overly enthused about yoga but last week after not getting enough sleep on Monday night and a guarantee of another night of not enough sleep on Tuesday night, on Tuesday afternoon he was willing to try anything.

I set him up in supported Savasana in my calm room (yoga room) with  Yoga Nidra & Meditation by Katie Meehan and Kimberley Roberts. I thought about only playing the short Yoga Nidra practice but then I decided to just start the CD from the beginning and let Dave do (or not do) the whole thing. The CD includes:
Pranayama - Abdominal Breathing
Heart Meditation
Short Yoga Nidra
Long Yoga Nidra

Dave ended up listening to the whole thing (about 70 minutes) and "woke up" totally refreshed, cheerful, and not nauseous. He says he doesn't remember anything, that he thinks he was asleep though the whole thing. But something was different for him. This was not a regular nap. This was a yogi nap.

Go Yoga Nidra!

ps - Yes, Petra did Yoga Nidra with him. She loves Yoga Nidra and the calm room.

A Letter from a Reader

The following is a letter from Karen Paulson who has read my blog and shared great tips on Yoga Nidra CDs that I didn't know about. She has taken her own relaxation journey and I have asked her to share her story with us.

Karen says:

I first became interested in Yin Yoga, and then Restorative shortly after that, two years ago when my friend and yoga teacher mentioned it to me as a possible way to relieve muscle tension and the stress that causes it. She loaned me a book by Sarah Powers, "Insight Yoga," and a DVD by Paul Grilley, "Yin Yoga: The Foundations of a Quiet Practice." I fell in love with the long, slow poses and the quiet contemplation they encouraged. For my birthday, she gave me Richard Miller's book & DVD, "Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart of Yoga," and I immediately incorporated that and yin into my weekly rotation of asana practice.

Life is so YANG! With sons in the military and college and another one in high school (where I also work), a husband whose job demands travel and long hours, it seems like I'm often struggling to catch a long, slow, deep breath! Throw menopause in there and my brain and body are often caught up in a confusing, spinning vortex of activity and fatigue. I have found that these practices are helping me to cultivate a calm, positive energy. Indeed, that is the heart of my sankalpa...that intention I set for myself... when I lie down for a restorative session.

When Sara took on her 40 day challenge to rest and restore every day, it encouraged me to find time for a little every day, not just once a week. I jumped in with her around day 25 and enjoyed reading about her experiences and sharing impressions of the different personalities and styles we encountered in the recordings. I found that even on my busiest days I could fit in a 15 - 17 minute session with Katie Meehan or Vicki Hansen after work before running to a late afternoon Jazzercise class. In fact, I found that short lie-down to really give me the energy for the dancing and weight training we do in Jazz. On days where I stay in for the evening, I'll choose a longer session by Amy Weintraub, Richard Miller or Winter Robinson.

I attended a weekend workshop at The Asheville Yoga Center in February about using yoga to manage your mood. The workshop was led by Weintraub and she explained that she does Yoga Nidra every day without fail. She usually does it while still lying in bed in the morning. She just reaches for her earbuds and ipod and switches on one of a few different recordings she has. She explained that doing it in the morning is nice because it's easier to stay awake. I've found that to be the case, too. My favorite mornings are those where I rise at 4:30, do a short kundalini morning warm-up, 11-minute meditation, and then end with a 20-minute yoga nidra recording. I find myself energized and ready to greet the day.

When I began my meditation practice, my mentor said, "It's 11 minutes! Everybody can find 11 minutes!" She's right. And now I find that I also feel that way about Yoga Nidra. Everyone can find time for a short practice. You just have to keep your mind open to those little spans of time where nothing is going on. And then? When you find it? Lie down with a recording and do nothing!"

Karen's Bio:

My husband, Bob, and I live in Indian Land, SC, which is just outside Charlotte, NC. We have three boys: Nate (college student), Riley (Army guy), and Taylor (sophomore in high school). I have two blogs: one about my yoga journey, The 8 Limb Path, and another about food and family life called No Food Left Behind

40 Days of Relaxation - Day 36

Saturday, March 5, 2011 - Day 36

Today Dave and I visited my mom for breakfast, took a relaxing walk afterward and generally visited away the morning. When we got home we had to get to cleaning the house because it was our wine education group get-together night at our house. We had quite a bit to do with cleaning, setting up the space (getting enough chairs to fit in a fairly tiny room) and getting food ready. Plus we had to eat, shower and get a bit of rest and relaxation in too.

Thankfully I had a long relaxation time yesterday because I only had about 20 minutes today. I listened to the short Yoga Nidra track on Yoga Nidra II by Robin Carnes. I was determined to stay fully alert and aware. I thought I was doing a pretty good job but then when she got to the breathing and counting part I guess I lost my alertness because I suddenly woke up to silence. The practice was over.

It's a funny thing but when I first started practicing Yoga Nidra I never missed anything. I did not fall asleep or drift in and out of conscienceness. I did feel rested afterward but I had not slept. But now (I could be making excuses for myself here) I find myself in that in-between conscienceness state quite often and I wonder, Isn't that good? Isn't that the state we are going for with Yoga Nidra? I kind of love that feeling of being aware enough to hear the Yoga Nidra instructions but at the same time my brain is so completely relaxed that it's almost as if my brain and body don't exist. It's super cool.

40 Days of Relaxation - Day 21

Friday, Feb 18, 2011 - Day 21

I tried a Yoga Nidra CD that I don't listen to that often: James Jewell. He has a soothing voice and I think he must be British. I always enjoy listening to an English accent. He has some cool breath visualizations. His body scan is pretty fast though. Maybe that's good? I didn't have time to let my mind wander that's for sure. But I also felt a bit rushed.

I found myself feeling teary all the sudden and I realized that rushing through the body scan felt the same as my life right now. Dave and I are coming up with ideas right and left for new ways to take the company. We're on to so many ideas I think my head might spin.

Thankfully, I teach my Yin class tonight and that is always centering and relaxing for me. I never worry about my lesson plan or how the class will go. Yin is just a natural fit.

40 Days of Relaxation - Day 16

Sunday, Feb 13, 2011 - Day 16
I listened to Richard Miller's CD from The Meditative Heart of Yoga again today. He really does have such a soothing voice. I heard things I hadn't heard before. This is one of the things I love about Yoga Nidra. No matter how much you think you are awake and aware and hearing everything, you never hear it all. You can't. It seems like whatever I need to focus on the most is what I hear. Or maybe it's just that my mind wanders. I don't know.

I do know that my dog's mind wandered today. She was thinking about the dog cookies I forgot I had in my pocket and then she was thinking about how it must be her dinner time because it is 5 o'clock and her stomach clock knows it and don't I want to get up and feed her right now dang it.

We lasted a bit longer but she wasn't happy about it. Of course she wouldn't leave the room unless I was leaving too since I'm the one with the fingers which can open the food bin. Good thing she's so dang cute. Guess I need to plan our relaxation session times a bit better. Ha ha.

40 Days of Relaxation - Day 12

Wednesday, Feb 9, 2011 - Day 12
When I wrote this morning about my practice for yesterday I wrote that I had found a free yoga Nidra practice on-line. It's by Richard Miller, the developer of the iRest System: http://www.irest.us/mp3/Yoga-Nidra-meditation.mp3. I started to listen to it this morning but then I got distracted and worked my behind off all day trying to get this website finished. Erika from Yoga North just wrote and asked me how my relaxation was going.This made me realize that I had a massive stinger in my left shoulder and my jaw was quite tight. I realized it was time for my relaxation.

I decided to try the free practice from Richard Miller. It's a lot longer than I thought it would be. It's about 30 minutes. Did I mention that it is free? What a good deal. Anyway, I consciously relaxed my jaw, my breath, my face, my thoughts as he took me through sensing different parts of the body, emotions and thoughts. I feel a lot better.

40 Days of Relaxation - Day 11

Tuesday, Feb 8, 2011 - Day 11

I listened to Richard Miller's yoga nidra practice that comes with his book, The Meditative Heart of Yoga. I know he is one of the main yoga nidra practitioners and the developer of the "iRest" program (Integrative Restoration) but his style is very different from Robin Carnes. He doesn't use much imagery or body scans. He asks you to feel in your body and mind what it would be like and where would you feel it if you felt a certain way. For example, where do you feel guilt, shame, remorse? How does that make you feel? What would it be like if you did not feel those feelings? What is it like if you feel whole, healthy and happy? Things like that. It seemed like the whole practice was like that but who really knows? I could've been asleep for all I know. It was very soothing. I'll keep on trying his practice for a few more days to really get a feel for what his style is.

I did the practice included in the book around 6 pm - earlier than the night before when I listened right before bed. But both nights (Mon and Tues) I found myself dreaming, dreaming, dreaming - can't stop dreaming!

Monday night I dreamed that there were a bunch of programs on my computer and they were taking over my bandwidth and I couldn't get my work done (this is after adding Skype I should note).

Tuesday night I found myself dreaming about my hair. It was very long and I thought to myself, "Wow, my hair really does grow fast!" (People always tell me how fast my hair grows but I think it grows at a normal rate of 1/2 inch a month.) I have been thinking of getting a haircut and I guess it is a bit stressful for me. If I cut it, I have to keep getting it cut, or go through the whole process of growing it out again. If I don't cut it, I have plain old long hair - no style really - just pulled back in a bun or ponytail. It's a bit dull.

Also, I caught myself trying to clench my teeth overnight a few different times. I am very aware of this habit now and I have been catching myself both day and night trying to clench. It just feels so good. Dang it! Hopefully this awareness will bring change.

I just found a free practice by Richard Miller on line: http://www.irest.us/mp3/Yoga-Nidra-meditation.mp3. This practice seems a bit different than the one included in his book/CD. It's more of a body scan. Have a listen.

40 Days of Relaxation - Day 7

Friday, Feb 4, 2011 - Day 7
Today's relaxation wasn't very relaxing. I couldn't stop wiggling. Many reasons:  I have been working on the company's website again and can't turn my mind off (what if I made the margins 15px instead of 10px, should the logo be bronze, blue or what?, why is that div behaving like that...argh); the house was cold; the dog was licky and wiggly; I slept poorly last night; I didn't allot enough time between my two jobs; I was anxious about getting to Yoga North on time to teach my Yin class. Classic "can't relax" syndrome. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. 

Relaxation details: I listened to Track 2 of Relax into Wellness, Vol. 2, which Dr. Louise calls Yoga Nidra. The practice is a sweeping breath from soles to crown to soles, ankles to crown to ankles, knees to crown to knees, etc. through the whole body and back down again. I have not run into anyone else calling this breath practice Yoga Nidra but Dr. Louise says that is what Swami Rama (founder of the Himalayan tradition) calls it. I took my teacher training in the Himalayan tradition so it's weird to me that I haven't heard this until now. I have listened to this track before and found it deeply relaxing so I'll have to try it again when I don't have time constraints like I had today.

Inspired Intention ~ The Nature of Sankalpa

I am so happy to have run across this article by Kelly McGonigal in Yoga International. This is one of the more in-depth articles I have found about setting your Sankalpa and practicing Yoga Nidra. There is more to the article - the actual magazine includes sidebars and helpful hints (you should go find a copy) - but the article below is excellent even without the extras. Visit this link to view the article at Yoga International.

Inspired Intention

The Nature of Sankalpa

The yoga tradition offers a profound formula for realizing your heartfelt desires—without asking you to change who you are.

By Kelly McGonigal

Almost every New Year’s resolution starts with two words: “I will.” We summon our willpower and pledge to change not just what we do but who we are. We set goals and imagine how happy we will be when we get what we want.

But if there’s one thing yoga teaches us, it’s that there’s a world of difference between “I will” and “Thy will.” Most New Year’s resolutions spring from the misguided desires of the ego, senses, and conditioning. They almost always fail because they start from the assumption that who you are is not good enough, and reinforce the mistaken belief that your happiness depends on acquiring what you want.

The yoga tradition offers a refreshing alternative to the New Year’s resolution: the practice of sankalpa, or resolve. A sankalpa practice starts from the radical premise that you already are who you need to be to fulfill your life’s dharma. All you need to do is focus your mind, connect to your most heartfelt desires, and channel the divine energy within.


Beyond Resolutions
Rod Stryker, founder of ParaYoga, explains that the chief architect of life is the mind. To create the life we are meant to live, we must draw the mind again and again to our dharma, our deepest intentions, and the qualities of the Divine within.

A sankalpa is a statement that does this for us. Stryker explains that kalpa means vow, or “the rule to be followed above all other rules.” San, he says, refers to a connection with the highest truth. Sankalpa, then, is a vow and commitment we make to support our highest truth. “By definition, a sankalpa should honor the deeper meaning of our life. A sankalpa speaks to the larger arc of our lives, our dharma—our overriding purpose for being here.” The sankalpa becomes a statement you can call upon to remind you of your true nature and guide your choices.

While the typical New Year’s resolution is abandoned within weeks, if not days, as enthusiasm and willpower run out, a sankalpa requires none of the ego-driven willpower we typically summon to make changes. According to Richard Miller, PhD, a clinical psychologist and teacher in the Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir nondual traditions, a sankalpa arrives with everything needed to fully realize it. This includes iccha (tremendous will and energy), kriya (action), and jnana (the wisdom of how to deliver that action). “These are all aspects of the Divine, and they live within us. When the true sankalpa comes in, we awaken these three qualities of the Divine,” Miller says. “You don’t have to ask where you’ll find the will to do it. The energy and will is already there. The sankalpa informs us of the action we’re willing to take into the world.”


Two Types of Resolve
A sankalpa can take two forms. The first is what Miller calls “the heartfelt desire,” a statement that reflects your true nature. This type of sankalpa is far more all-encompassing than a New Year’s resolution, and requires no change or action. It is literally and simply a statement of who you are, such as “I am already whole, and already healed,” or “I am peace itself.” According to Miller, it doesn’t come from the intellectual mind. “The resolve comes from deep within us, directly out of the mystery of who we ultimately are. It then informs our mind of a particular direction that we need to take, or are taking in our life.”

A sankalpa can also take a second form—that of a specific intention or goal. Brenna Geehan, a certified ParaYoga instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area, explains, “When you discover your purpose, not everything happens all at once. To live your soul’s mission, you need to reach milestones.” Setting specific intentions can help you align your moment-to-moment choices with your heartfelt desire. Geehan suggests looking forward into the next year and asking yourself what specific things need to happen to move you forward on your path. Your specific sankalpa will describe what you need to do, and where you need to direct your energy, to make progress on your larger life goals.


Discovering Your Sankalpa
Discovering your sankalpa is a process of listening. Your heartfelt desire is already present, waiting to be seen, heard, and felt. It’s not something you need to make up, and the mind doesn’t have to go wildly searching for it.

Miller describes three stages of the listening process delineated in the Vedanta tradition. The first, sravana, is the willingness to hear the message of the heartfelt desire. It can take courage to listen to the heart, and a quiet, settled mind—one cultivated through meditation—will best be able to hear this innermost call. The second state, manana, is the act of turning to and welcoming the messenger in. When you hear the call, you must be willing to sit with it, feel it, and deeply reflect on it. The final stage, nididhyasana, is the willingness to do what the heartfelt desire requires of you. “It will call you into action, into the world,” says Miller. “You must be willing to respond.”

What if you sit down to listen, and don’t hear anything in response? Or what if the answers you hear—new car, new job, better relationship—sound more like the endless desires of your ego, senses, and conditioned mind than like the wisdom of your heart?

Anne Douglas, a yoga therapist in Banff, Alberta, specializes in navigating her students through the sometimes difficult process of answering the question, “What do I really want?” She encourages students to simply start where they are. Douglas has found that any goal can be an entry point, including a typical New Year’s resolution. “Even a desire that might be interpreted as simple or shallow can lead you to the heart’s desire. It might arise out of conditioning, but if you trust the practice and keep following the heart’s desire, it will take you to the essence of your being.”

To get to that deeper yearning, work with whatever goal arises, but also ask yourself what’s underneath it. For example, one of the most common goals Douglas hears in our culture is, “I want to get fit” or “I want to lose weight.” When working with her students, she asks them to imagine how life will be, and how they think they will feel, as a result of losing weight and getting in shape. Is it a sense of self-love, physical well-being, or freedom? What is the feeling they are striving for? What is the longing in the heart that is pointing them in this direction?

Another common intention is to quit something, such as smoking, shopping, or eating meat. To investigate the heartfelt desire behind this kind of intention, ask yourself what desire that behavior is currently trying to satisfy. Are you seeking peace of mind, freedom from pain, or the feeling of being accepted? “See if you can find a deeper hunger, a longing that’s asking to be nourished,” Douglas encourages. That hunger may point you toward what the heart really yearns for. “If someone starts with, ‘I want to quit smoking,’ as they work with it, they’ll start to feel a deeper desire, such as, ‘I want to take care of my body.’ Even further down the road, the sankalpa might become, ‘I love my body,’ or even ‘I am love itself.’ It’s an evolution, but it still has that feeling of the initial intention to quit smoking.”


Stating the Sankalpa
It’s natural to identify a desire as “I want” and an intention as “I will” or “I won’t.” But these phrases lack the truth of the commitment that comes from heartfelt desire and connection to one’s dharma. “A sankalpa isn’t a petition or a prayer,” Miller says, “It is a statement of deeply held fact, and a vow that is true in the present moment.”

For this reason, your sankalpa—both the heartfelt desire and the specific intention—should be stated in the present tense. For example, rather than saying, “I want to be more compassionate,” your sankalpa might be, “Compassion is my true nature” or “I am compassion itself.” Rather than setting the intention, “I will not eat meat,” your specific sankalpa might be, “With compassion for my body and for other beings, I eat a vegetarian diet.” Stating your sankalpa in present tense acknowledges the tremendous will, energy, and truth that arrive with the discovery of your heartfelt desire. It also reminds you that whatever is required of you is already within you.


Planting the Seed
The core practice of sankalpa is remembering. By bringing the statement to mind, you strengthen your resolve and honor your heartfelt desire. But simply reciting the sankalpa is not enough. “As soon as you say you want something, a part of you recognizes that you don’t have it,” Stryker explains. “By repeating what you want, you reinforce the belief that you don’t have it.” When the unconscious mind operates from a place of lack or perceived inadequacy, the energy that supports your resolve is weakened.

Stryker points to the Tripura Rahasya, a tantric text which teaches that the quality of the mind reciting the sankalpa determines its effect. To fully realize your resolve, the mind must shift from dualistic thinking to nondual awareness. This is why meditation is the most fertile ground for sankalpa practice. It returns the mind to a state of present moment wholeness. “The longer we are able to effortlessly rest in that place of oneness, the more rapidly we are able to fulfill our sankalpa,” explains Stryker. “The mind becomes a more powerful agent to help us fulfill our intentions.”

The most supportive state of mind for remembering your sankalpa is the direct experience that you are already open, timeless, and perfect—what nondualism describes as the state of pure being. “If that’s not in place, ego gets involved,” Miller says. “You will come at the intention from a place of ‘there’s something wrong with me that I need to fix.’ You must connect to the quality of being that is already complete and whole.”

One of the most powerful practices for finding this state and planting the seed of sankalpa is yoga nidra. While nidra means “sleep,” it is actually a process of awakening to your true nature. Yoga nidra systematically relaxes the body and mind and guides you into deep awareness. You are aware and awake, but you experience a disidentification from the body and mind. In this way, the confusion between prakriti and purusha dissolves, and you come to rest in the peace, wisdom, and love of your true nature. Anne Douglas explains, “In yoga nidra, we discover a profound level of openness. Our self-imposed limitations dissolve, and we are pure being.” When you recall your sankalpa in the waking state, it might trigger doubts or the ego’s striving. “When you recall your sankalpa in yoga nidra, the heartfelt desire arrives as a felt sense in the body-mind. It is absolutely alive and true in that moment.”


Nourishing Your Resolve
Once you have identified and planted the seed of your sankalpa, you can begin the process of strengthening sankalpa shakti, the energy to take the action required by your resolve. According to Geehan, every choice you make either supports or undermines your resolve. This is true even for the decisions that don’t seem directly related to your specific intention. “Let’s say you’re aware that sugar disrupts your energy and sleep. But time and time again, you ‘forget’ this awareness and eat sweets anyway. Each time you do this, you reinforce the part of you that says ‘screw it’ to awareness and intention. You’re giving power to the part of you that goes against your consciousness.”

On the other hand, every conscious choice you make is an opportunity to strengthen sankalpa shakti. This is the basis for a ParaYoga practice called “the departure point.” The instructions are simple: pick something nonconstructive that you do on a regular basis and commit to not doing it for 40 days. Biting your nails, drinking coffee, watching television—it doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as it’s habitual. It could be related to your sankalpa, but it doesn’t have to be.

This might sound a lot like the typical New Year’s resolution, but the departure point practice isn’t ultimately about the habit you’re trying to break. When you come to that moment of impulse, instead of following your usual instinct, bring your sankalpa to mind. In this way, the habit becomes a reminder that points you back to your resolve.

In the space between the impulse to act and reciting your sankalpa, it’s important to pause and invite the mind to settle into a state of oneness. Enjoy a few mindful breaths, and find the pause between the breaths. “Take a moment to remember your true self-nature. In that state—a place of wholeness and unity, not a place of confusion or lack or even hope—remember your sankalpa,” Stryker says. This is the key to the departure point practice. “The sankalpa is not being reintroduced to a mind that thinks it doesn’t have what you think you want to have. It empowers the sankalpa in a completely different way.”

Even instances when you forget your intention can be transformed into support for your sankalpa. Anne Douglas uses the memory of these missed opportunities to prepare students for future choices. “Go back in time to a point where you lost it. Go back to that sensory feeling of compulsion, reimagine it, and recreate the moment.” Once you’re fully in that feeling, imagine not giving in to the habit. Pull up the power of your sankalpa, and let yourself feel the heartfelt desire in your whole body. “Then go back to remembering the feeling of compulsion. Surf back and forth, making the feeling of the heartfelt desire stronger each time.”

You can apply the same approach not just to the behavior you choose for the departure point practice but for all of your choices. Miller advises a daily review of your actions from the perspective of your resolve. For example, let’s say that your heartfelt desire is, “I am filled with divine compassion,” and your specific sankalpa is “In every encounter, I treat myself and others with kindness.” Looking back over your day, ask yourself: How was I unkind, mean-spirited, or hard-hearted? Conduct this review not with harsh self-criticism but with a sincere interest in seeing how it happened. What was the situation? What were your thoughts? How did it feel? What did you say and do? How did that feel?

Miller doesn’t refer to these missteps as failures, but simply “moving away from yourself.” The momentary lack of compassion isn’t who you are. “The sankalpa really describes who we are and how we move in the world when we’re in harmony with ourselves.” Life just happens to be the process of learning how to align with that true nature, which means we occasionally lose our way.

Once you see how you moved away from yourself, imagine how you could have responded. What might you have thought, said, and done that would be more consistent with your resolve? What would that have felt like? See yourself in action and feel it in your body. Envision this response until it feels as if you had actually done it. According to Douglas, this practice “helps dissolve the conditioning that keeps us from our dharma and from awakening to our true nature.”


Being and Becoming
When you first begin to work with sankalpa, the practice can seem full of contradictions. You start by identifying what you want, but the only way to realize it is to acknowledge that you already are it, and already have it. You set specific goals, and you commit to breaking habits. But at every opportunity to act in line with these goals, you must first acknowledge that you are already perfect and whole.

According to Rod Stryker, this apparent contradiction is the essence of both sankalpa practice and nondual teachings. “It all goes back to this idea that each of us is both being and becoming. There’s the part of us, para atman, that is transcendent, inherently one, and doesn’t need anything. We also have a jiva atman, that part of us that comes into life with a purpose and a destiny and is always becoming.” Stryker explains that to fulfill your dharma, you must find a way to integrate these two seemingly opposite aspects of being. “It’s vital for happiness that you walk both paths simultaneously. Direct your energy with intention, but be mindful that your nature is unchanged whether you achieve your goals or not. Live as contentedly as possible in between the goal and realizing the goal.”


For more in-depth practice, find out how to discover your heartfelt desire, learn a yoga nidra practice, and listen to the Shiva Sankalpa Sukta, a powerful six-verse hymn from the Rig Veda that entreats the mind “to dwell on the auspicious will of the Divine,” and helps you cultivate conscious resolve in alignment with your dharma.


Kelly McGonigal, PhD, teaches yoga, meditation, and psychology at Stanford University and is the author of Yoga for Pain Relief (New Harbinger, 2009).

In Need of Yoga Nidra

The practice of deep relaxation rejuvenates the mind and body and helps decrease cortisol levels in the body, leading to better health over all. Deep rest is different than sleep where the body's muscles may be engaged during dreaming, and it is different than relaxing with a book or by watching TV. I found the following article about Yoga Nidra, or Yogic Sleep in Yoga Journal.

In Need of Yoga Nidra

In today's busy world, yogic sleep may be the essential tool for rejuvenation.

By Stephanie Levin-Gervasi

I'm stretched out during my first 45-minute Yoga Nidra class, body cradled in a fully supported Savasana (Corpse Pose), limbs limp, breath quiet, thoughts drifting by. In the distance, the teacher's voice blends with the sound of Tibetan bells. All traces of the day fade away, time stops, and stillness washes over me. So this is Yoga Nidra!

Also known as yogic sleep or sleep with awareness, Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice that is rapidly gaining popularity in the West. It is intended to induce full-body relaxation and a deep meditative state of consciousness. "We live in a chronically exhausted, overstimulated world," says Los Angeles yoga teacher Rod Stryker. "Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of complete relaxation, holistically addressing our physiological, neurological, and subconscious needs."

During a typical class, teachers use a variety of techniques—including guided imagery and body scanning—to aid relaxation. And unlike a quick Savasana at the end of asana practice, Yoga Nidra allows enough time for practitioners to physiologically and psychologically sink into it—at least 20 to 45 minutes, says San Francisco Bay Area yoga teacher Jennifer Morrice.

The ancient yoga text the Mandukya Upanishads refers to four different stages of Yoga Nidra. The practitioner begins by quieting the overactive conscious mind, then moves into a meditative state, gradually finding a state of "ultimate harmony," in which the brain waves slow down and a subtle euphoria emerges. Though most practitioners don't slip easily into the more advanced stages, they still tend to emerge feeling rejuvenated. "Yoga Nidra uniquely unwinds the nervous system," Stryker says, "which is the foundation of the body's well-being."

Yoga Nidra is best done under the guidance of a trained teacher, but not to worry if a class hasn't arrived at your local studio. Teachers like Stryker, Shiva Rea, and Jnaneshvara Bharati, to name a few, now offer Yoga Nidra workshops and CDs; you can do a simple search for them online.

Sara's note: I have found a number of Yoga Nidra and Deep Relaxation CD's that I really like. Visit my resources page or start your own practice with the 30 Day Deep Relaxation Challenge.

Nap like a Yogi

I've been searching out anything Yoga Nidra related lately so naturally my eye was caught by the title, "How to Nap like a Yogi" in the spring issue of Yoga + Joyful Living magazine. It details a version of Yoga Nidra taught by Swami Rama, the founder of the Himalayan Tradition and the Himalayan Institute. Yoga North, the studio where I took my teacher training and where I currently teach, teaches from this tradition.

Here's the article as written in Yoga +:

How to Nap Like a Yogi

By Rolf Sovik
 
When travel (or everyday life) wears you down, a simple variation of yoga nidra (yogic sleep) taught by Swami Rama can help you restore your energy. This practice helps you settle into a profound state of rest while remaining alert at a deeper level of consciousness. By drawing your attention to your heart center, you will become a silent witness to your sleeping body and mind.


1 Choose a room where you will not be disturbed. Sit on the floor against a wall, stretching your legs out and crossing one ankle over the other. Cup your palms in your lap and, with your eyes closed, either allow your head to hang forward or to rest against the wall.

2 Feel the relaxed movement of your breath, letting it flow easily and smoothly. Then observe 3 to 5 breaths at the nostrils, to center your mind.

3 Next, one by one, rest your awareness (and breath) at the eyebrow center, then at the throat center, and finally the heart center.

4 Keeping your awareness at the heart center, quietly resolve to let your body and mind sleep for a specified length of time (say, 10 minutes). Trust your mind to awaken you when that time has elapsed.

5 As you sleep, continue to be aware of the merest sensation of the breath (but no mantra). You are simply letting your body sleep, with awareness.

6 Stay in this state until your mind wakes you up. Then slowly shift your head and stretch your body. Draw your attention outward, opening your eyes into your hands and then to the room around you.

Rolf Sovik, PsyD, is the author of Moving Inward: The Journey to Meditation. He is the president of the Himalayan Institute, and serves as the director of the Institute’s branch center in Buffalo, New York.

Photo by Andrea Killiam; Model: Stacey Galloway; Top by Lily Lotus

Spring 2010
Yoga+ magazine

Sara's note: If you are interested in more articles from Yoga + Magazine visit their website to read archived articles or to subscribe.