by Lori Durr, Owner, Sundara Sanctuary
Yoga nidra is a sleep-based meditation designed to remove mental and emotional disturbance and rejuvenate the body. Forty-five minutes of yoga nidra is as restorative as three hours of sleep.
Yoga nidra is composed of a structured series of breath, body and awareness techniques that progressively drop you into deeper brainwaves where your thoughts effortlessly move further away from you.
It is in this gap between the thoughts that you can effortlessly experience restful meditation. The body can deeply heal and rejuvenate, lessen mental stimulation, and you awaken energized and focused. The more we rest the silence behind the mind, the less we are disturbed by its unhelpful chatter — even while awake.
Like meditation, Yoga nidra can be used for medical, restorative and spiritual benefits alike to support one’s own goals and intentions.
There is evidence that Yoga nidra helps relieve stress. An ancient technique from India, mentioned in the Upanishads and Vedic scriptures and used by the Rishis, the Indian sages, it has now spread worldwide and is also being applied by the U.S. Army to assist soldiers in recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Before attending a Yoga nidra class check with the credentials of the instructor to ensure she or he is professionally trained. This practice is a deep meditation, and care should be taken by the instructor while facilitating this modality.
At Sundara Sanctuary our instructor is trained in “I AM Yoga Nidra” at the Amrit Yoga Institute 100-hour certification with Kamini Desai.