Relaxation/Meditation Recordings

“(This) extraordinary sleep of no slothfulness, which removes (any) thought of the world of multiplicity, manifests for people when all their former attachments have vanished because of the superiority of their inward awareness. Yoganidra, in which extraordinary happiness arises from uninterrupted practice, blossoms in the yogin whose basis of intentional and volitional thought has been cut off and whose network of Karma has been completely uprooted. Having mastered cessation (of the mind while sleeping) in the bed of the fourth state, which is superior to the three states beginning with the mundane, O friend, forever enter that special thoughtless sleep, which consists of (just) consciousness.~ Yogataravalli Yoga Nidra, or deep conscious sleep, is becoming more and more relevant for today's modern human. The high stress levels, poor eating and sleeping habits, and increased screen time have made nidra a priority in the yoga world. Many find that nidra is an easier and more accessible way to enter into deep states of meditation, without too much forcing of the mind. While it may seem that nidra is a type of guided relaxation, in fact yoga nidra is one of the most advanced practices in yoga. A sustained practice can allow one to develop the capacity to actively reach different states of consciousness while fully alert and awake. However, it starts with a lot of falling asleep ;). For yoga nidra practices, see my blog posts: 61 Point Relaxation and Lotus of the Heart Yoga Nidra takes the practitioner through the five sheaths, or koshas, to get to the inner most essence of one's being. These sheaths move from gross to subtle [physical body (annamaya kosha) --> energy body (pranamaya kosha) --> mental body (manomaya kosha) --> wisdom body (vijñanamaya kosha --> bliss body (anandamaya kosha)]. By guiding the mind in an attentive way through these sheaths, one can allow the body processes to fall asleep to restore and renew, and take the mind back to it's original home - the lotus of the heart. Remember - all of the brain is in the mind, but not all of the mind is in the brain. Many high caliber yogis tell us that the mind finds it's deepest rest in the present moment. It is here that we can truly say that we are at peace with what is. So, how does it work? YOUR BRAIN ON NIDRA The relaxation response balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and balances the left and right brain. Sympathetic means the freeze, flight, & fight response that is stimulatory to the body and necessary for active processes, and parasympathetic means the rest, relax & digest response that is salutory for the regeneration and overall health of our internal organs. Modern humans undergo what is known as "allostatic load", or the chronic exposure to elevated or fluctuating endocrine or neural responses (aka stress!). This causes severe "wear and tear" of the body which contributes to faster decay. Yoga Nidra therefore helps to reduce the amount of allostatic load on the nervous system by promoting balance - rewiring the brain to feel safe and secure enough to turn off the sympathtic system when it is not needed. In the process, your brain shifts from beta, an awakened state with lots of brain activity, to alpha, a more relaxed state. In alpha, the mood-regulating hormone serotonin gets released, and this calms you down. People who spend little time in an alpha brain-wave state have more anxiety than those who spend more time in alpha. Shifting your brain into an alpha state starts its process of “powering down,” or coming into a rest state with slower, restorative brain-wave activity. From alpha, you go into a deep alpha and high theta brain-wave state, the dream state or REM sleep. In theta, your thoughts slow down to 4 to 8 thoughts per second. This is where super learning happens. Kids and artists experience a lot more theta activity in their brains. Emotional integration and release also happen here, and structures in the brain change termed neuroplasticity (scientists used to believe that after a certain age, the brain was unable to adapt and change - now that theory is also defunct to mirror what yogi scientists have been saying all along). It’s here that some people sometimes have random thoughts or see images. A person in theta may see colors or visions or hear the voice of a person talking yet at the same time not hear this voice. It’s where you being to enter the gap of nothingness. Lucid dreaming also occurs when the brain enters the theta state and the mind is conscious of this. After theta, you are guided to delta, where your thoughts are only 1 to 3.9 thoughts per second. This is the most restorative state, in which your organs regenerate and the stress hormone cortisol is removed from your system. When you’re put under anesthesia, you’re put into a delta brain-wave state. People in comas are also in a delta brain-wave state, which gives their bodies a chance to restore their systems. In our culture, very few people are going into the deep states of sleep like theta and delta on a regular basis, and as a consequence, our bodies are not powering down and getting the chance to restore themselves. From delta, the guided yoga nidra experience takes you down into an even deeper brain-wave state epsilon—one that can’t be reached through conventional sleep. In this fourth state of consciousness, below delta, your brain is thoughtless. This state is like a complete loss of consciousness, but you are awake. This state is one of such a deep surrender, where your consciousness is so far away from the physical body, that living here every day would be difficult. Not everyone who practices yoga nidra touches this state, but the more you practice, the more you’ll receive glimpses of it. This epsilon state, or the state of superconscious meditation, is the yoga nidra of advanced level yogis. Yoga … Continue reading What is Yoga Nidra? | Article