Lesson 1
What Is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra is a state of conscious sleep, where the brainwaves are very slow. We're completely awake alert, and deeply relaxed. Yoga Nidra is the only known way to rest the unconscious mind - the sensations and energy in the body, along with associated thoughts.
As we free ourselves from anxiety, hypervigilance, ruminating, and catastrophic thinking, we become more connected with the deep stillness in the mind that is always here. We access our wisdom and intuition. We sleep deeply, and our bodies and our minds are more relaxed throughout the day.
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Lesson 2
Layers Of Being: The Five Koshas
The most solid layer or sheath is our physical body, annamaya kosha. As we relax our physical body, we move into the pranamaya kosha, the layer of breath, energy, and sensation.
As our breath becomes smooth and nourishing, thoughts in the mind begin to settle and become less intrusive. This allows access to our wisdom and intuition. The lower level of the mind is manomaya kosha and the intuitive layer is vijnanamaya kosha.
As we come into harmony with these four sheaths, we experience anandamaya kosha, the layer of bliss and pleasure. These five sheaths surround the light of our Being.
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Lesson 3
Guided Practice: Five Koshas And Yoga Nidra
Experience moving through the five koshas into the stillness of yoga nidra. In this twenty minute guided practice, we begin with relaxing our physical body from head to toes.
We notice the gentle movement of our body as we breathe. As we allow the breath to become smoother, diaphragmatic, and more continuous, it helps with softening in the body and also settling the thoughts in the mind. Allow thoughts to be part of what you're witnessing and let yourself come into the more intuitive layer of the mind.
Moving into yoga nidra, bring your attention to the eyebrow throat and heart center for several breaths each then gradually let go of breath awareness. The mind is awake and alert with no movement of thought. Let your mind become still as you rest in the heart center in yoga nidra.
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Lesson 4
The Mind Is An Instrument
Many thoughts in the mind are generated by a hypervigilant nervous system. Trauma, fear, disconnection, shaming, and compulsive thinking all get in the way of realizing the natural lightness, peace and joy in the mind.
The evidence that our nervous system uses to determine our safety or danger comes from our stored experiences and we also have the negativity bias, which means we remember dangerous things more. Traumatic memory can take over and cause anxiety and catastrophic thinking. This keeps the mind agitated, which is a challenge in moving into stillness.
Is what's happening in the mind is actually true? Am I in danger right now or is my nervous system remembering danger from the past and harm from the past? We use grounding tools to return to this moment.
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Lesson 5
Types Of Thoughts And Direct Perception
Descriptive observations are what we notice - I’m holding my breath, and the air in my nostrils feels cool as I breathe in. We then assess or judge what we observe - my shoulders are tight because I’ve been sitting too long at the computer. I shouldn’t do that. Our brain is highly associative and many of our thoughts are because our nervous system is on the lookout for anything that could be a threat.
If you were behind your head observing the thoughts in your mind, notice the content and the energy. Stay grounded and aware of your body and breath as you witness thought. We're experiencing it, we're letting it be, we're aware that we're here, we're present in this moment, and we're witnessing what's going on. We touch on it here then lesson 6 guides you through an experience of witnessing the head, heart, and gut.
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Lesson 6
Witnessing Thoughts Practice
This is a guided somatic mindfulness practice of direct perception. Trauma is inherently disconnecting and this practice moves us more into connection. We’re learning more about what is coming and going in our system. We’re also relaxing our bodies and letting our brains slow down.
We begin and keep coming back to direct perception - awareness of the body, breath, and thoughts. When we notice we’ve moved into assessing or into a train of thought, we come back to witnessing.
As we finish, reflect on the general energy of thoughts and your overall experience during the practice.
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Lesson 7
The Brain Waves Of Yoga Nidra
The experience in yoga nidra is that the mind is awake and alert, and still.
Scientists have measured that the brain waves are very slow during yoga nidra, somewhat similar to the brain in deep non-REM sleep. The difference with yoga nidra is that we're simultaneously fully conscious and aware.
There are stages in yoga nidra. First, we feel deeply relaxed and let the mind become slower. In stage two, we set an intention and engage with creativity, invention, and insights. When you're doing that kind of mental work, your mind isn't completely still because you're using it for something. A deeper stage of yoga nidra is in the heart center. One layer of the mind is sleeping and the other layers are awake and aware of our surroundings and consciousness. Each of these states is characterized by different brain waves.
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Lesson 8
Simple Yoga Nidra Practice
In this guided yoga nidra practice, we tune in to the body and breathe then go directly into the eyebrow, throat, and heart chakras. With each, we focus 100% of our attention on that chakra with awareness of our breath.
We then begin to let awareness of the breath move away into the background and allow our minds to be completely still. All of our awareness is in the Anahata chakra, the heart center. We rest there in stillness with the mind awake and alert.
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Lesson 9
Yoga Nidra And The Mind
Our focus today is a calm, steady mind. Yoga Nidra is the only known way to rest the unconscious mind. We want to know who we are, and we want to be able to rest in the stillness in our minds.
We develop the capacity to witness our experience in our physical body, emotions, and life, and that we are a Being of light, energy, and consciousness. As we witness, we get to know ourselves well and lessen hyper-vigilance in our nervous system. We experience glimpses of samadhi - equilibrium and stillness in the mind.
We go through the ajna chakra, the eyebrow center, the waking state; then the vishuddhi chakra, the throat center, the seat of the dream state, svapna; then we rest in the anahata chakra, the heart center, the seat of the deep sleep state, sushupti.
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Lesson 10
Strengthening Our Mind
A strong mind is open, curious, resilient, humble as different from a weaker mind, which is hard, closed, and lacking in resilience, fluidity, and compassion. Strong minds are clear and able to focus. Weaker minds are easily distracted, and can’t let go of grudges.
We ruminate about something that feels unjust or unfinished about the past. We're anxious about the future. We are hyper-vigilant and often in a fight/ flight/ freeze/ fawning response. To stay present as a witness to all of that is a fast track to healing.
Yoga Nidra can help release that unconscious stored trauma and strengthen our capacity to stay reliably in the present moment.
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Lesson 11
Sweeping Breath Into Yoga Nidra
Sweeping breath is a powerful practice to ease you into the slower brainwave state of yoga nidra. We begin this guided relaxation with head-to-toe awareness of the physical body. You might imagine you are in a warm shower that sweeps away any tension in your body. We soften the physical body, and then bring awareness of the field of energy in the body.
We follow a flow of awareness in the subtle body through the chakras from the crown to the root chakra and back in a smooth, unhurried flow of awareness coordinated with breath. The mind is awake, flowing in this smooth channel of awareness, then we come to rest in the eyebrow center, through the throat chakra, then into anahata chakra, the heart center. Our mind is awake and alert and still, as we rest yoga nidra in awareness of our Being.
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Lesson 12
Yoga Nidra Is A Spiritual Practice
Who experiences our life?
We have layer upon layer upon layer in the mind. Stillness is always already here in the deeper layers. The layer that we are most attentive to is the hypervigilance generated by the nervous system. We notice tension, pain, fatigue, or sensations from stored trauma in our bodies.
We're not just doing yoga nidra to sleep better or to have a sharper mind, although those happen. This is a practice of knowing that we are aware, that we are conscious that exists beyond space and time, is unchanging, ever-present, incapable of being injured, and never in need of healing. Through yoga nidra, we deepen into recognition of all of who we are.
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Lesson 13
Tension And Release Guided Practice
Tension and release practice is a way to increase awareness in our physical body and to relax. It gives the mind a strong focus so it’s helpful if your mind is distracted or tired.
We go sequentially through the body with a light amount of tension in an area then release into deeper relaxation. This is beneficial as a whole-body practice for 5 to 10 minutes or on the go, like when you notice your shoulders are up around your ears. Exaggerate the movement then let your shoulders soften on an exhale. Over time, we have more awareness of tension in our body and we are naturally more relaxed.
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Lesson 14
Practical Applications And Benefits Of Yoga Nidra
As we enter sleep through yoga nidra, we set an intention to know the solution to a problem. On waking, we spend a few moments in yoga nidra, listening, and often answers are there. This is also a potent time to learn new languages.
Yoga Nidra rests the unconscious mind. We're not so caught up in the lower levels of the mind and responses of the nervous system, and we access our innate intelligence and clarity.
Our nervous system has a negativity bias and we have tools to break the trance of catastrophic thinking and assess threats more accurately. Our responses to life’s frustrations become more moderated, and as we stop feeling so outraged or depressed, the mind comes back to equilibrium.
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Lesson 15
Blue Star Into Yoga Nidra
Blue Star is a deep relaxation in our physical body and in the energy field of our subtle body. These 61 marma points are where the physical body connects to the energy body.
Some people have a very visual mind and might see the brilliant blue white light of each star, while others might have more of a felt sense or vibration. Our brains work in a variety of ways. We're focusing in the energy field that the body is occupying.
As we complete the 61 points, we bring our awareness to rest in the heart center, on the light radiating out through the whole of the energy field. We then set an intention and move into yoga nidra, resting in stillness in the heart chakra.
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Lesson 16
Healing Trauma With Yoga Nidra
Our nervous system evolved through millennia in response to a different environment than modern life. Our brain notices danger because we're trying to protect ourselves. We are activated into survival responses of fight/ flight/ freeze/ fawn.
Trauma is stored with energy, sensations, feelings in our body with associated memories or thoughts. Compulsive thoughts in our mind are associated with the nervous system, which is trying to figure out what went wrong (ruminating about the past), or how to keep ourselves safe (worry and catastrophic thinking about the future).
We can only heal trauma when we are aware that we are safe in the present moment and we gradually build that capacity. Yoga Nidra practices help. Do yoga nidra as you go to sleep then pause for a few minutes when you first wake up for a short yoga nidra practice. This is a fast track to healing.
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Lesson 17
Resources And Tools For Healing Trauma
Many people feel overwhelmed and anxious. There are effective ways to regulate our nervous system. Somatic mindfulness and learning about our nervous system helps like noticing when we are holding our breath (signals danger) so we can take a few long exhales.
If you feel anxious, restless, irritable, or in a fight-response, a strong practice will move and release that energy. If you’re feeling shutdown or in a freeze state, you might ease into it. Different types of yoga practices bring us into balance.
We have tools to work with thoughts, like putting the image into a frame and letting your eyes move through the space outside of the frame. We have ways to widen our window of tolerance and work with sensations and energy in our body. Awareness of our present moment experience leads into resourcing ourselves to come into regulation. We finish with a few minutes of cyclic sighing.
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Lesson 18
Practicing In The Space Of Awareness
We can strengthen and develop our capacity to be present with all of who we are, without turning away from anything. In your body, right now, can you stay with that restlessness or that feeling in your gut as you focus on breath or witnessing these particular thoughts?
Cultivating a willingness to be present is necessary and challenging and is easier with kindness and to work within our capacity. Let go of shaming yourself. We all have minds that wander. We all have nervous systems that respond in certain ways to trauma.
Practice stepping back and witnessing thoughts, emotions and sensations. Open your field of perception to be aware of consciousness, oneness.
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Lesson 19
Yoga Nidra: Awareness Of Consciousness
This guided practice gives us the opportunity to witness thoughts as they come and go. You might also notice if any of the thoughts seem to be activating or are related to energy in your body.
If you're engaged in compelling thoughts, open your eyes to bring yourself back to witnessing. Then bring your attention down to your heart center in the middle of your chest. What are the sensations, emotions, energy in your heart center? Let thoughts move to the background. Bring your awareness behind your navel center and notice sensations and energy in your gut and the movement of your body with your breath.
Notice the space in and around your body and the space of awareness itself. Everything that you've been witnessing is arising in the space of awareness. "I am the awareness in which thoughts arise." Maintaining this awareness, we move into yoga nidra in the heart chakra.
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Lesson 20
Compassion And Our True Nature
We can’t access self-compassion when we are in a survival response of fight/ flight/ freeze/ fawn. Signs of that are feeling disconnected (flight), lashing out in a fight response, or cold-hearted and shut down (freeze).
When we are not in a survival response, our mind is naturally joyous, light, kind, empathetic, and compassionate. We have a feeling of trust and connection within ourselves and with other people.
We're training our minds to notice that we're having experiences. We can’t do that from a dissociated state. We're doing that from being present in this moment. We go further, deeper, more into the nonverbal, into the stillness. When we get distracted, we move more easily back into stillness. Over time, the experience of stillness purifies the mind field and allows us to rest in awareness of our true nature.
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Lesson 21
Cave Of The Heart Meditation Into Yoga Nidra
Our yoga nidra preparation practice today is a cave of the heart meditation. Start to notice your breath and physical body. Bring your attention in from other times, and other places. Move from awareness of the physical body, into the field of energy, then into the eyebrow, throat, and heart chakras, and allow awareness to flow in these chakras with the breath.
Bring a visual of the cave of the heart right in your heart space. Imagine that you're walking into this bright, spacious, airy cave of the heart toward a brilliant white light at the center.
After meditating there for a while, let go of the visual and the meditation. Rest in the heart chakra in the deep slow brain waves of yoga nidra, the mind awake and alert and still. Rest in awareness.
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