Yoga Wellbeing one to one sessions

In our Yoga Wellbeing one to one sessions we incorporate Yoga Nidra and through some of the techniques used we seem to be helped a couple of our clients deal with insomnia. It such a rewarding feeling to help someone get a decent night sleep.

Also known as yogic sleep or sleep with awareness, Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice that is rapidly gaining popularity in the West. It is intended to induce full-body relaxation and a deep meditative state of consciousness. Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of complete relaxation.

During a typical class, teachers use a variety of techniques including guided imagery and body scanning to aid relaxation. And unlike a quick Savasana at the end of asana practice, Yoga Nidra allows enough time for practitioners to sink into it at least 20 to 45 minutes.

The ancient yoga text the Mandukya Upanishads refers to four different stages of Yoga Nidra. The practitioner begins by quieting the overactive conscious mind, then moves into a meditative state, gradually finding a state of harmony,  in which the brain waves slow down and a subtle euphoria emerges. Though most practitioners don’t slip easily into the more advanced stages, they still tend to emerge feeling refreashed. Yoga Nidra unwinds the whole of the nervous system which is the foundation of the body’s wellbeing.

Let me leave you with the words of R. L. Hittleman to shed a bit of light;

“From the Yogic viewpoint the body and the mind are so interrelated that they are actually inseparable. The mind is not simply the thinking process relegated to the brain but is the sum total of the intelligence which permeates every atom of the physical and subtle organisms. Whatever affects the body must influence the mind and vice-versa. Since the mind is present throughout the body and permeates its every atom, the Yoga techniques which we perform to stretch, strengthen and otherwise improve and develop the body must have a correspondingly profound effect on the mind and the emotions.

There is nothing more effective for achieving a natural quieting, relaxing and stabilizing of the mind and emotions than the simple Yoga body stretches and breathing techniques! The beauty of this method is that you need only try these exercises for several minutes to experience the immediate results. There is no auto-suggestion, no self-hypnosis. You do not have to be “conditioned” to the method. You do not even have to believe or have faith in this theory. All that is necessary is that you correctly and seriously do the physical techniques exactly as described. The results speak for themselves.

And working with these techniques is both easy and highly enjoyable so that they are suitable for all persons regardless of the type of tension or disturbance. Even those disturbances of a highly serious nature which are being treated by a psychologist or psychiatrist will respond more readily when the patient is able to effect a receptive state through physical and mental relaxation.”