In exactly 18 minutes, I can fall deeply asleep, wake up completely refreshed, and for a brief couple of seconds, not remember where I am, or even what century this is. My cheeks will feel flushed and drained, as if I have been asleep like a teenager sleeping past noon, blissfully unaware of the dawning of the day. In 18 minutes, I can wipe out extreme exhaustion and face the second act of the day, and handle whatever the four boys want to dole out.
The practice is called Yoga Nidra, and yogis say that I am really not asleep, but actually my mind is more relaxed than if I were asleep. I’ve moved to the Delta state, beyond the Alpha state of sleep, between dreaming and waking. Because the entire Yoga Nidra session is on my Ipod, the track brings me down to deep relaxation in two or three minutes, and then back up to a state of alert waking consciousness, without any effort on my part. I am simply horizontal the entire 18 minutes.
Yoga Nidra is extremely relaxing, and yogis say this state is a place of extreme healing. This is the place, yogis say, where your thoughts originate – the place before the dreams. The practice heals me, helps me think clearer, and makes yoga nidra healing for my family.
For me, it’s 8 hours of sleep packed into 18 minutes. If this makes sense, it actually gets rid of that restless state I often find myself in, when I’m too tired to fall asleep at night. I can do Yoga Nidra at 7:30 at night, feel refreshed and alert, and yet still fall into bed and go to sleep again at 10:30 and sleep through the night.
I have searched the Internet for a you tube video of Yoga Nidra you could play right now, but I could not find one. The script is available, but this would do you no good, as you will be “out” and unable to read this.
It is on this CD by Shiva Rae, Drops of Nectar
I read this a while ago but was too busy sleeping to try it
….now I wonder….I do nana naps really well but after dinner my nana naps have been converting to fullblown sleep before I know it. I like the idea of something that would enable me to take 20mins and then get a few hours work in afterwards. I guess you can’t do it after 2 glass of wine though can you? 