Yoga offers so much invaluable knowledge.
The human body is so much more than its apparent physical aspect.
The human mind is vaster than the mind itself can know.
The purpose of a life is far more profound than chasing achievements in society, career and family.
The nature of reality is revelatory when we come to know the single ingredient at the base of all that appears to be real.
The many practices of yoga are means to prepare the body/mind to comprehend, receive and integrate such knowledge.
In this article we will speak of one such practice, YOGA NIDRA.
There are few tools at hand for the individual who has not yet gained enough skill to easily move to the root of the mind and all its obstructions. The mind is central to our experience of life, both internally within ourselves, as we rummage through our thoughts and emotional atmosphere as well as externally as we find our way through life and navigate its ups and downs, turns and pauses.
It is difficult to instigate much needed change, perspective, or healing if we remain within the field of the mind itself which can appear fenced and cut off from anything larger than itself, meaning we cannot think ourselves easily out of our own dilemmas. We need, according to yoga, a means to take us to the root of the mind and beyond it to its source. This might sound hugely mystical or metaphysical, but in truth it is deeply scientific. At least from the consciousness inclusive yogic science.
Yogic science has always included the essential exploration of human consciousness and its more expansive aspect out of which even human consciousness arises, that being the consciousness at the root of reality. The yogic understanding, that sits human mind next to consciousness, reveals the larger understanding of what mind is, how to master its tendency and power and how to enlarge our capacity to function from a meta reality beyond mind itself.
Yogic practices are all intended to first stabilize and clear the mind of the burdens of innumerable impressions and forces that cause disturbance. As the introductory practices are successful in refining mind at it’s surface level then the subtler practices take the work further. This can be a long journey and one that requires skillful guidance.
Yoga Nidra is a practice that can serve yogic practitioners in the earlier stages of their development and naturally progress them to the deeper more subtle practices. It is an excellent bridge from the dominance of our external life, which includes our internal often obstructive relationship with the products of our minds, to the exquisite subtler levels of unobstructed being and existence. It is through these deeper reaches into our transcendent nature we can heal and then uncover truths that will inevitably change our entire experience and perspective.
If we can find a natural means to access the root of the mind we can also begin to release the powerful memories and energies that keep us locked into our past perceptions, deep seated traumas, and fearful fantasies of what the future may hold and the complex mix of all of these. The burdened nature of mind is governed by samskaras. One could think of a samskara to be like a scar within the psyche. Our thought patterns generate samskaras which can be understood as constellations of sequestered power collected from certain types of reflexive and reactive thoughts and behaviours. At the root of the samskaras are our karmas, the types of experiences each individual is given to experience, one could call this the plot and sub plots that are the unfolding drama of our life.
Yoga nidra meets all these underlying forces with agency of a particular human quality, a capacity that must be developed if we are to heal and evolve. This is an ability to perceive (without engaging the thought machine) from a space of lucid awareness. This quality of awareness can be described as a presence without interference or a perspective that is darshana (pure seeing) unhindered by personal history.
How does Yoga Nidra achieve this?
At first it will guide a person through the more preliminary stages of body mind relaxation. These are preparation for Yoga Nidra. They facilitate the necessary defragging of the mind and the body. When we speak of the mind and body we mean several different layers of our experience coupled with who we perceive ourselves to be.
At first, benefit may be directed to the physical body which may or may not be in good health. The physical body is a direct reflection of the health and fixations of our minds. Just as repeatedly sitting on the couch in a certain way will leave an impression in the cushioning so the repetitive nature of our thinking and feeling leaves an impression within the body. This can be relieved. Yoga Nidra supports this release. Tensions and physically held impressions stored within the tissue and systems can be reduced if not completely released.
Secondly, our emotional and energetic nature is addressed. Emotions could be described as a mix of thought and energy coalesced by personality. If we reflect on the nature of emotion, we can sense the strong energetic magnetic quality they carry and also the thoughts that gave rise to the emotion and then further concentrates it. Yoga Nidra begins to refine the energetic layer and thought quality we submit to.
Now we are moving more deeply, the surface climate of the mind and body are becoming calmed.
It is now that Yoga Nidra can direct a deepening. It can take us through the mind to its root and light source. Without the presence of light, the mind cannot think or perceive. If we contemplate this, we can know the truth of it. If the mind were simply a contractive dark space what light could we shine upon anything. So, the mind has its layers. Yoga teaches this.
At its deeper layer mind carries a level of intelligence independent of thought or information gathering. It is an innate and independent intelligence that when accessed becomes the most powerful guide in life. It knows intuitively and unflinchingly what is wise, beneficial, and real, it can lead us away from subjective and objective relational thinking to non-relational understanding. This means it can bring us to the transpersonal space where we are no longer completely dominated by the needs of ‘me and myism’, neither our small egocentric world spectrum nor anothers. We open to the larger view and perspective. From this perspective we can know what is to be known for the greater good and act accordingly. Yoga nidra can aid us in refining the layers of mind to gain access to the clear seeing light of the higher mind, the buddhi.
So now that a lot of the ‘housework and cleaning has been achieved we are ready to move. Yoga nidra can now achieve its greater purpose and evolve to its deeper practice forms. It can take us into causal body and conscious dreamless sleep state beyond subtle body and dreaming, fantasy and imagined states. Here is a view to eternity where the horizon is no longer fixed. Here we can know forward, backward and all around and yet the ordinary mind is not active, it is in nidra (sleep) and its lucid counterpart has awakened -Pure Lucid Unobstructed Awareness, known as sachin or witness consciousness.
It is here in this state of Yoga Nidra we can release the obstructive limiting forces of our conditioned nature and evolve into the clear-sighted natural state of a freed soul. For the novice or intermediate practitioner Yoga Nidra is a gift forward. From here we can evolve further and the deeper more subtle practices beyond yoga nidra can aid us along the finer pathway to essential being. The subtler practices are the subject of a meta psychology -yoga psychology and meditation which lead to a natural open-eyed absorption in a living breathing conscious truth.
Sadhana Pezet
Co-founder Senior teacher and yoga therapist
Shantarasa Yoga Darshana
Yoga Nidra training
Presented by Sadhana Pezet
December 2020 | Training Options - In Person + Online
The training will explore the science of the practice, the method of practice, the stages of practice and view contemporary research highlighting the vast range of significant benefits.