FAQ

Yoga Nidra / NSDR has a lot of health benefits. Through awareness you're kind of 'recalibrating' your nervous system. Once the body is in a restful state, your body knows what it needs. And it will do just that. So although the list of health benefits from Yoga Nidra is massive, it does not make it a magic pill. Nor does it make it ‘too good to be true’. You first must be practicing to receive any benefit. The benefits you receive will be personal to you, your body, your physiology, your mindset, and your experience.

Everyone can practice Yoga Nidra / NSDR. It is accessible for most populations, including those with physical limitations. Children and the elderly also benefit from practicing Yoga Nidra / NSDR. Special populations may want to consider a more creative propping or environmental setup that’s suitable for their bodies and their needs.

Use it as part of your practice! Can you learn to not label the sounds you hear? Is it possible for you to be ok with these sounds? This is what practicing Yoga Nidra / NSDR will teach you. To be at peace with how life is, as it is.Keep practicing and you’ll be a smooth operator before you know it.

Being still amongst all sensations, including the yucky ones, are a part of the practice. The practice is to remain still. Yet if you’re so uncomfortable you need to move, move. Yoga Nidra / NSDR is a very personal practice where you are in charge of your body. YOU get to Choose and Cultivate the experience.

No worries. It’s time to try a different teacher. Some voices annoy or trigger us. Yoga Nidra / NSDR is a very personalized practice. If my voice doesn’t cut it, cut it out, but don’t cut out Yoga Nidra / NSDR. Find another Yoga Nidra / NSDR teacher. I won't take it personal. Get a teacher that gives you the sensation of safety so you can properly relax. (Hint: That’s where the juice is)

That depends on your own personal intention. One of my favorite things about Yoga Nidra / NSDR is each student is experiencing their own mind. I primarily talk about the Connectedness of Nature. And as humans we are Nature. If that's inappropriate for you, find another Yoga Nidra / NSDR teacher. If you’d like to add a religious or spiritual spin to your practice, you can choose to do so. When you choose your intention or Sankalpa, make it personal to you.

It’s essentially an intention. I love how Swami Satyananda Saraswati, author of Yoga Nidra describes a Sankalpa. He calls this part of the practice "Sowing the Seed of Change". He says your Sankalpa, your intention, is an effective way to train your mind.

You are creating the pathway of ‘choice’ by choosing your intention. They are not to fulfill your desires. They “create strength in the structure of the mind.” You can create an intention or Sankalpa to help give you a direction or to guide you in changing your mindset. Sankalpa’s deepen your experience and practice.

There are guidelines, but keep in mind, I’m a ‘do what’s right for your body’ kinda person. I recommend that you create a short, concise, present-tense statement. My Nidra / NSDRs begin with the pronoun “You”. I got this technique from Emily Hightower and her Neuro Nidras I, II & II courses by Shift Adapt. Using “You” speaks to your limbic brain, where most of your patterning resides.

You want your Sankalpa to come from your heart, something your Soul is searching for. Examples given are “You are Whole” or “You are Safe” or “You are Loved”. Whatever you choose, don't think too hard about it. This is an intuitional pick. I also believe in the power of symbols. Sometimes my Sankalpa is this drawing I have stuck in my head. Braddah’s new mythical, superpower after-life form. No words. Just that. I visualize that symbol, or mandala, when asked to bring forth my intention or Sankalpa.

Let it have personal meaning for you. It's ok to be silly & light-hearted too. “You are A Lion” is another one of mine. **Your intention or Sankalpa must be ‘felt’ to be effective.**

*Note: When I’m working on something that I do not currently feel, I sometimes use a technique personal to me. Instead of saying “You are…” while my mind also claims ‘bullshit’, I’ll shift the sentence. I believe that when I ask “How can you…”, I’m priming my brain to look for that path and/or solution. For example, “How can you feel Whole” or “How can you feel Safe” or “How can you feel Loved”. Do what’s right for you. This is a personal technique I use when I don’t believe what I am saying. How you choose your Sankalpa or intention is up to you. It’s also ok to not have one at all.

Like a good meal, it takes time. Some things will be easy for you while others will be a lifelong journey. Having a Sankalpa without having the goal of accomplishing your Sankalpa is important. Practice enjoying the process and decide what works best for you at any given moment. (pssst… your body will tell you)

No. You are in a state between being awake and being asleep called the hypnagogic state. The hypnagogic state is the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep.

Kamini Desai, PhD., explains this in her book Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep. She says,

“The brain state of Yoga Nidra corresponds to meditation. It is an extremely unusual state in which both halves of the brain are operating simultaneously as one whole. Usually the two halves of our brain are operating more independently, yet in coordination with on another. In Yoga Nidra, the yin and yang of the left and right brain come one unified whole.

In hypnosis, the brain activity is different than in Yoga Nidra or in meditation. In hypnosis, left anterior executive functions are suspended; and the right posterior part of the brain is activated. Access to the brain is different than in Yoga Nidra. The changes we see in Yoga Nidra comes from unification with the whole. In hypnosis, it seems the changes come from putting aside the left brain, which usually dominates, in order to gain access to the right brain. In Yoga Nidra, changes happen from a state of Oneness.”

In hypnosis you are more open to suggestion. That does not occur in Yoga Nidra / NSDR. As I guide you through imagery, what you ‘see’ or ‘experience’ is what is already in your mind. Based on your physiology, your experiences, your beliefs, your upbringing, your culture, and your mind. In my opinion, in Yoga Nidra / NSDR, you experience yourself.

Some famous people have a reputation of using the hypnagogic state. They would use it for creativity or clarity purposes. This includes Salvador Dali, Thomas Edison, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Napoleon Boneparte & Carl Jung. In this state your unconscious mind and its patterns may ‘show up’. This is how Yoga Nidra / NSDR reveals your subconscious to you, piece by piece. Through sensation.

Keep in mind this is different from dreaming. In Yoga Nidra / NSDR you are not sleeping. You are on the brink of sleep. These alpha, theta and delta brainwave states are thought to enhance our creativity and clarity. Making it a deliberate tool in self-discovery (in my opinion).

For this reason, I recommend having your journal nearby when you practice Yoga Nidra / NSDR. Write down all your precious new ideas and insights! Most of all, have fun. It’s your Yoga.

Technically no. The state is the hypnagogic state or the state between. Staying in that zone IS the practice.

However, with as many people struggling with quality of sleep, if listening to a Yoga Nidra / NSDR helps you to drift off to sleep, like me, I say use what works. Sleep is the foundation of all physiology. It is the King player. I find Yoga Nidra / NSDR as a great way to allow myself to slowly drift away.

With that said, I believe the cueing of your environment is crucial if you are both practicing Yoga Nidra / NSDR or using it to guide you to sleep. What I mean by that, is I ONLY use Yoga Nidra / NSDR to guide me to sleep in my bed. When I practice I practice on my yoga mat.

* At a minimum, you’ll experience deep relaxation. You may not even realize how much tension you’re carrying around.

* Use the bathroom prior to practicing

* Have your journal next to you so when the practice is over you don’t need to get up

*Practice boundaries with people you share space with. Express your needs in a way that is appropriate.

* Play with props to support your body to be in your best comfy cocoon, remember it’s personal

* Be aware you’ll be in the same position the entire time. Set your body in a shape that is best suited for your body in that moment.

* Set the lights on a dim setting if possible

* Tell other members in your household you’ll be practicing and would appreciate a quiet atmosphere

* Fidget as much as you need to in the beginning to help your body settle

* You can play your own meditation music while listening to Yoga Nidra / NSDR. Keep the volume on a soft setting. As you deepen into the practice the volume will seem to get louder as your awareness becomes more internal.

* Yoga Nidra / NSDR is a practice of ‘being’, not ‘doing’. There’s nothing more for you to do except lay still and listen to the sound of my voice. The benefits occur in the stillness. Allow me to guide you.

* Its normal to loose track of time and space. It’s also normal to twitch as the body slowly drifts.

* If you loose your place, don’t try to “catch up” and do all the things I previously said. Simply come back to where my voice currently is, and begin again.

* Journaling after your Yoga Nidra / NSDR can help you discover the other gifts Yoga Nidra / NSDR will give you. This is such a personal practice that those gifts for you will be a part of your own personal discovery.

* Yoga Nidra / NSDR is the practice of 4 things: Stillness (SO hard), Listening (to the sound of my voice), Noticing (What sensations do I feel in my body? Can I describe them? Where do I feel them in my body?) and the toughest piece… ALLOWING (can you allow the sensations, whether pleasant or unpleasant, to be there without engagement. No stories of why you feel the way you feel. Simply watching and listening to what is occurring in your body.