Meditation and Yoga Nidra

Yoga Sutra 1.2: Yogah citta vritti nirodhah “through yoga the movement of mind ceases”

Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra, or Enlightened Sleep, is an ancient practice that allows us to access a state of consciousness that is beyond our normal waking, dreaming and sleeping states.  This state of consciousness is called “turiya” in Sanskrit and it means “the fourth”.  It is the State Beyond. It is the place where we are no longer pulled between the pairs of opposites: pleasure and pain, joy and despair, love and hate.  

In the Mandukya Upanishad, chapter 7 it is described as  “the state of being one with the Self;
the cessation of development, tranquil, benign, without a second. Atman is the Self.”

In Yoga Nidra, the body and the mind are in a state of Deep Sleep, but we maintain a level of awareness that allows us to rewire the unconscious patterns of the mind.  We are truly able to transform how we think and how we feel through this practice.  We are able to access a place of healing and intuition.  And all this is done by cultivating a deep effortless and relaxation.  

Meditation

Meditation is the art of meeting yourself right where you are, in that moment.  Meditation is simply practicing placing your attention on an object and holding attention there for longer and longer periods of time.  That object can be the breath, a mantra or prayer, an image or a place in the body. The mind will continue to think.  Thoughts will come and go- but through consistent practice the meditator learns to recognize that the mind has left the object and can be brought back gently simply by redirecting the mind back.  We learn to observe our own mind without attachment or judgement.  

Meditation has many established benefits that are physical, mental and emotional.  The practice actually thickens the pre-frontal cortex of the brain which is the center for higher order functioning.  The amygdala, which is primarily charged with our survival and reacts to stress and threats, becomes smaller.  We become less driven by fear and old triggers and more able to calmly see the world around us and react less.

Through consistent, gentle and steady practice we become more able to access a place of stillness and peace which is always within.