Yoga nidra in Russian means "Psychic sleep of yogis", learn how to use this style of yoga for balance in life.
The history of the emergence of the teachings of yoga nidra
Yoga Nidra is a tantric practice created by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. It was this man who founded the Bihar Yoga School in his homeland. In addition, he wrote a large number of works on the teachings of yoga. Saraswati's writings are based on ancient tantric texts about various rituals of nyasa. According to them, the yogi is able to transfer his mind to any part of the body and at the same time pronounces the appropriate mantras with the addition of visualization.
In addition to all of the above, the founder of yoga nidra, the history and technique of which is the main topic of this article, for a long time studied the effect of the teacher's voice on the consciousness of shavasana and was able to achieve great success in this.
At the time of the creation of the teachings, Saraswati was 35 years old, and this happened in the past century. He lived with his guru, the extremely famous yogi Swami Sivananda in the city of Rishikeshi. The founder of yoga nidra worked as a night watchman guarding the ashram. It is quite obvious that such work involves being awake at night, and Swami Satyanda Saraswati was confident that he could withstand such a regime.
However, this did not happen, and at about three o'clock in the morning the future guru fell asleep, and woke up at six in the morning. All other disciples of Sivananda got up at four o'clock in the morning and, after water procedures, began to chant mantras. At this time Sarasvati was fast asleep and could not hear anything. More precisely, he was sure that this was happening.
One day a great festival was celebrated in the ashram, where the disciples of Sivananda chanted several mantras. Swami Saraswati chanted them with the rest of the students and caught himself thinking that this was impossible, because he should not have remembered them. He could not come to his senses for a long time and decided to ask the advice of the great guru, who explained to the student that a person is able to gain new knowledge not only while awake, but also when sleeping. For Saraswati, it was a new and extremely rewarding experience that struck him to the core.
Actually, this was the beginning of a new teaching of yoga nidra, the history of the emergence and technique of which we are considering today. It is quite obvious that the name of the new technique should have included the word "nidra", meaning sleep. Saraswati was able to prove that sleep is not a person's unconscious state. This is a state in which consciousness can be activated at any moment, and thanks to regular exercises, we can use this to our advantage.
At first, yoga nidra was practiced by monks who, with the help of the teachings, eliminated subconscious blockages, for example, fear or depression. They managed to extinguish all negative emotions that can depress a person's consciousness. After the positive impact of the new teaching on the human body was proved, yoga nidra began to enjoy success among various segments of the population. Today all over the world there are a lot of admirers of this teaching.
The basics of yoga nidra
Yoga nidra is a relaxation technique that creates a one-pointed mind. It should be noted that this is one of the main tasks that all types of yoga solve. In addition, with the help of the nidra technique, a person can relax his personality due to the ability to withdraw into himself from the surrounding reality.
We can state with full responsibility that yoga nidra is part of pratyahara. Simply put, with its help, a person can distract from the perception of external objects of physical nature that surround us everywhere. According to the teachings of yoga nidra, the organs of sight only distract us from the true appearance of physical objects, the hearing is distracted from all sounds, etc. This happens until the connection with the physical senses completely disappears and we find ourselves in a meditative dream, in which only I and the voice of the guru exist. It is this voice that we need to follow in order to understand our essence.
Yoga nidra technique and practice
We have already noted that this teaching has no contraindications. At the same time, this practice can be extremely useful for some categories of people:
- With severe physical, emotional and mental exhaustion.
- Fatigue from a passive lifestyle.
- Loss of interest in life.
Recall that today we are talking about the history of the emergence and technique of yoga nidra. We have figured out the first part of this question, it's time to move on to the second part. At the beginning of the classes, it is necessary to perform Surya-namaskar, as well as several asanas. Immediately before yoga nidra, you should take the corpse pose, making yourself as comfortable as possible. The legs must be slightly apart, and the arms are placed along the body, palms up. When doing yoga nidra, it is very important that you adopt a comfortable body position and that you are not distracted by anything. This also applies to clothing, extraneous sounds, family members, etc. If necessary, you can place a pillow under your head. In those situations when the classes are group, you should think about a warm blanket. Many yoga nidra gurus advise using an opaque eye mask. You can also wear warm socks for maximum relaxation. When you exercise at home, you can shower or do some dynamic asanas to relax your skeletal muscles. Throughout the practice, the eyes should be closed, which will allow you to achieve complete relaxation of consciousness.
Despite the fact that this practice is called sleep, you should always be conscious. If you do not feel yourself, then you will not be able to achieve positive results. Beginners fall asleep very often, which is a mistake. We recommend that you say to yourself, something like "I do not want to sleep." Your breathing should be deep and slow, and as you inhale, you should feel the calmness that fills your body like a vessel of water.
During exhalation, the body should relax and this is very important. You should be aware of your body in complete silence. Lying on the floor, every cell in your body should feel the rug. Be sure to make sure that no part of your body is tense. If you feel a pleasant heaviness in your body, then everything was done correctly and you just have to follow the voice of your teacher.
Sankalpa
Translated from Sanskrit, "sankalpa" means a decision or intention. In other words, it is a verbal (mental) declaration of what you want before worshiping the Deity (performing puja). The sankalpa is one of the most important elements of the teaching and in fact represents its goal. You should choose a sankalpa at the beginning of the session, when the body is already relaxed. You need to repeat it three times and throughout the practice believe that the wish will definitely come true.
The choice of sankalpa is influenced by the needs of the yoga practitioner for health, success, combating bad habits, etc. At the same time, it must be remembered that when choosing a sankalpa, you must follow simple rules:
- Desire contains only positive forms, and negative ones cannot be used.
- Speak only in the present tense.
- Speak in the first person only.
At the final stage of the practice, you need to repeat the sankalpa three times again. It is very important to pronounce it with feeling, and the lesson ends with three OM. Satyananda himself claims that sankalpa is the most important means for helping a person to transform. At the same time, you should not consider a sankalpa as the fulfillment of your desires, because it is not so.
Psychological moments of yoga nidra
During the practice of this teaching, a person is between the state of sleep and wakefulness. At this moment, you can establish a connection between the superconscious and unconscious parts of the mind. All our experiences are located precisely in the unconscious part, and they are not always positive.
The human psyche protects us from many memories, which allows the body to function normally. They deliberately send memories and experiences to the unconscious part. However, they do not disappear and are often the main cause of our fears and concerns that we cannot explain.
In addition, our instincts are in the unconscious part of consciousness, which are trying to break free. Let's say stress is repressed energy in a highly concentrated form that builds up over time. She is able to strengthen all suppressed desires and at the same time blocks the state of satisfaction. The practice of yoga nidra allows you to get rid of this blockage, and many unfulfilled desires appear on the surface. This releases tension and releases latent energy.
Something similar happens to us in dreams when we dream. However, any dream is a collection of random images and impulses that are beyond our control. By practicing yoga nidra, you can create your own dream and become a director. During the lesson, you have the opportunity to consciously imagine various symbols and images that are of great importance. They, in turn, evoke others, and the result is a real film, made by you personally.
An entry for the practice of yoga nidra, see below:
