Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Art of Complete Relaxation - Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra is the art of complete relaxation; it is a state of deep sleep for the body whilst keeping the mind aware and conscious.  In today’s world when we take time to relax, often we are creating more stimulation to the body and mind system, putting more pressure on this delicate system of ours instead of real rejuvenation.  Sitting in front of the TV or watching movies creates all kinds of vibrations depending on what you are watching but there are many reflections and lights keeping the eyes and ears stimulated.  Drinking a cup of coffee puts more stress on the body than any relaxation should do.  Going out for food and drinks creates all kinds of stimulations not only internally from what it is you are ingesting but also from noise of others, music etc etc.  Reading books creates all sorts of thought waves not what we want to do to allow the mind to have space.  These kinds of relaxations are just sensory diversions.
What Yoga Nidra gives to us is a place to really relax and allow the body and mind to re-balance and harmonise itself.  Often when we sleep at night, the body is still tense and never fully relaxes as it hasn’t been instructed to do so, the mind is still busy from the day or thoughts of what is necessary for the next day are coming and going.  But with the practice of Yoga Nidra we can leave all our stresses and anxieties behind and allow our cells and the whole body mind system to simply be and breathe.  It is a gift from the Universe to allow us to live gently again and in this busy world it is imperative for the health of our whole being.  Anxiety, stress and depression are our three main illnesses today and by practicing the art of relaxation we can start to relieve these symptoms.  The body and the mind cannot keep being pushed in all directions without something finally snapping, we have to take care of ourselves, then we can take care of all our other duties and the beings and environment around us.  At the end of the day, what is more important, a big fat pay cheque and sickness or having less but a happy heart?
The practice of Yoga Nidra is so simple; you don’t need any equipment or any special clothes, just a quiet place and the ability to turn your phone off for a while.  It will provide you with complete physical, mental and emotional rest, and within a short space of time of doing the practice you will begin to feel the benefits  You can find many CD’s and MP3’s of the practice and once you know it you don’t even need that, you can just mentally take yourself through the process, even whilst you are lying in your bed!
My CD Yoga Nidra with Nicky is a 17 minute long practice, not too short, and not too long so that you haven’t got time for it and is available and ready to go.  If you are living in Kathmandu please drop by to any of my classes to pick up a copy, the suggested donation is RPS150, and if you are outside of Nepal we will have to work out a way of getting a copy to you.
For now take time to relax and relax properly.
Om Lokha Somasta Sukhino Bhavantu
May you all find peace, balance and harmony
OM Shanti
Nicky / Mangala

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