What is Yoga-Nidra?
Yoga Nidra is a relaxation technique. It uses your imagination to help you achieve physical, mental and emotional relaxation. Not imaginative? No worries, the visualisations and exercises used in Yoga Nidra are super easy to follow. During a session, we use several visualisations to bring your mind, and body into a deeply relaxing place.
Once you have achieved a certain level of relaxation, you repeat your resolution (the goal, pattern or habit you wish to work on). This is when Yoga Nidra progresses from relaxation into a transformative practice.
These techniques work at unravelling the four tensions that occur in your body: muscular, emotional, mental and spiritual. When experiences occur, we humans tend to store that memory; these tensions cause your fears, anxiety, habits, and even disease.
Habits & Yoga Nidra
With habits like emotional eating, our bodies don’t know how to deal with the trigger. We want (even need) to release that tension, but don’t know how to. So our Egos put us out of our misery, by giving our minds a routine or distraction (ie. eating chips). In most cases, our Ego isn’t our best friend.
If you can recognise your trigger or that point when you think “I want chips” you are halfway to changing your behaviour. Your body is dealing with a tension, and rather than letting your mind or Ego give you a distraction. Use your Yoga Nidra practice to release that tension and eventually the behaviour will dissipate.
In Yoga Nidra, the consciousness is in a state between waking and sleep. In this state, the mind is exceptionally receptive. Suggestions you repeat at this time are successful in removing your unwanted habits and tendencies.
Yes, it almost sounds too good to be true. Yet this technique does work. For me, the effectiveness lies in starting the process and being consistent. With a short 20 minute practice, 3-4 times/week, you will see amazing results.
