Yoga Nidra The Yogic Sleep

Yoga Nidra or the Yogic Sleep is one of the practices that the yogis have been practicing for going deep into their being or getting established in the awareness of the self, the natural state of existence. A combination of Yoga nidra and the sitting meditative pose will help one realize the natural state of awareness quic er. !f one is already an advanced student of meditation, one does not put any special effort to do yoga nidra as it naturally happens. !f one is in the early stages of the practice, it will greatly help to progress faster. Yoga nidra is not a special technique. !t is simply the way of observing. "ust by observing, one gets established in the natural state of awareness and not by doing anything. !f you now what to observe and how to observe, you achieve best results. #ne of the main requirements of yoga nidra is the ability to relax the body completely. "ust completely let go$ %he technique that ! am going to share will help one relax better. %he next step is plain observation. %he rest will happen on its own. &or a proper relaxation, savasana or the corpse pose is the best. 'eing in the corpse pose, passing your mind through each and every part is the best way to relax. (hile passing through the individual body parts, you could feel the warmth of the body, the blood circulation, the pulse or anything that you are able to feel. 'ut, to get the feel is quite important. (hen your mind gets sharp enough, as you practice, you shall be perfectly able to feel the subtler vibrations. !f you are a practitioner of )ipassana, in the tradition of *oen a, this is going to be a very easy tas for you. !t is because, in )ipassana, the whole importance is on the sensations of the body. (or ing with the sensations ma es the mind sharp and piercing. #nly when you are able to feel the subtler vibrations of the body +! would prefer to call it the feel of etheric body,, a perfect relaxation is possible. (hen the mind is not sharp enough, we may not notice the tensed regions of the body and we may thin that each and every part is relaxed. (hen the mind is sharp enough to feel these vibrations, the rest of the -ob is very easy and it will -ust happen. %he next step is observation. (hen we spea of observation, we have to either observe the mental contents +the thoughts, or the contents of the body.matter +the sensation,. 'oth are -ust two sides of the same coin. #bserving the mental content may be good for meditation. 'ut, for yoga nidra, it is better to stic with the sensations of the body as you have to allow the mind to completely relax or dissolve to enter the state of yoga nidra. !n yoga nidra, you become a perfect observer of the mind. #nce you advance, you may enter the state of yoga nidra by observing the mental contents too. 'ut, it is always easier to enter the state of yoga nidra by observing the sensations. #ne should perfectly understand the importance of a pure observation. /et me give an example. /et us suppose, you are watching your favourite %) programme. You are so involved in it, that you may even miss someone passing near you. 0ere your mind was so immersed in one thing, that you are not aware of the rest of the world +a sort of samadhi,. !n the same manner, if you -ust stic with the sensation.the subtler vibrations, you would naturally not be bothered by the passing thoughts. (hen you reach that state, you naturally enter the state of yoga nidra. So, what you are going to do is, completely relax and start observing the sensations. "ust eep on observing the sensations. You may fall into a sort of sleep in a deep relaxed state. 'ut, you -ust eep on observing the sensations. You need not note that you are falling asleep. (hen you are an adept in pure observation, your body will naturally sleep and you shall be able to observe it. You shall be aware of what is happening in that state. !t is called yoga nidra.

!t is not a state of unconsciousness as in the case of deep sleep. !t is a state where your are in a deep awareness. You are awareness itself. Some additional points that may help you1 !f you are new to observing the sensations of the body, it is better to feel the sensations part by part, moving your mind slowly. #nce you become good enough in doing that, you would be able to observe the whole of your body as a mass of vibrating particles. (hen you are able to observe the whole of your body, it is easier to fall into the state of yoga nidra. 2o not expect to enter the state of yoga nidra on the first day of your practice. !t ta es time. (e have to allow the things to happen on its own. %hat is the state of the mind which is 3-ust observing3. You need not have to do anything. Source1 http1..www.gospiritual.net.4564.57.yoga8nidra8yogic8sleep.html