What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra is a practice of deep relaxation. It is a kind of mental sleep in which the physical, mental and emotional activity comes to rest.
It puts the brain in a state of fully conscious rest.
Deep relaxation can reduce general ailments such as stress and nervousness, and raise awareness of the forces in the unconscious.
Each practice will guide you through an extensive body scan. Each practice also contains breath awareness, visualisations or dream journeys. We Visualisations like the dream journeys serve our mental relaxation and clean our subconscious from hidden content.
This course begins with a few short and simple practices. You will then be guided through a practice to uncover your own Sankalpa.
The Sankalpa or intention, is one of the key elements of Yoga Nidra.
The Sankalpa is a seed that you plant into your subconscious mind. Use your Sankalpa in the beginning and end the end of your Yoga Nidra Practice. This resolution expresses your real needs and intentions. Follow your gut instinct and your heart for determining your Sankalpa.
Once you have found your own special Sankalpa, keep using it for as long as it needs to fulfil itself.
You can also stick to the same Sankalpa for years. An example would be: I am happy, I am healthy, I am loving, I am abundant, I am strong.
How does Yoga Nidra work?
During Yoga Nidra, the brain waves measurably change into alpha waves. These are quieter than the waking beta waves. In Yoga Nidra we are on the borderline between sleeping and waking.
When we remain alert and conscious in the alpha state, we gain deep and complete relaxation. This is more effective and pleasant than normal sleep and is a gateway to a higher level of consciousness.
With Yoga Nidra we strengthen the alpha waves and train relaxation on three levels: muscles, mind and feelings.
As a result, Yoga Nidra has a high quality of rest, the body and mind are refreshed.
Permanent stress weakens the body's resistance. The autonomic nervous system, the endocrine glands, the chemical and hormonal composition of the blood lose their balance more and more. All organs and body systems are damaged as a result.
During Yoga Nidra, the activity of the sympathetic nervous system decreases and that of the parasympathetic nervous system increases.
If the sympathetic nervous system is dominant we are in a state of irritation, if the parasympathetic nervous system is dominant we are in relaxation.
Due to the stressful demands of our time, modern humans are in permanent fight or flight mode.
Yoga Nidra lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as the effects of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
The organs come into a deep physiological state of rest and relaxation, which sets the regenerative mechanisms in motion. As a result, the body tissue is armed against stress.
The deep relaxation through Yoga Nidra in the muscles, thoughts and feelings gives the mental and many other energies their balance back.
Yoga Nidra trains our imagination and imagination. Where willpower fails, the imagination will succeed.
Unpredictable events can be transformed into sure success with the power of the creative imagination.