I was first introduced to yoga nidra during my meditation teacher training almost five years ago and have been practising it ever since. More recently I completed my Level one iRest yoga nidra training, and in the process, felt inspired to get in touch with one of my favourite yoga nidra YouTubers — Tripura Mandala for this interview. You can experience two of his guided yoga nidra videos at the end of this article.
1. How did you get into yoga nidra and why?
I had the great good fortune of living in Bihar, India in the ashram of Swami Satyananda, the originator of yoga nidra who first developed the practice back in the 1960s. He was a disciple of Swami Sivananda from Rishikesh and was living there on the banks of the Ganges as a sannyasin (renunciate) when he began developing the practice of yoga nidra from the ancient tantric practice of nyasa.
Nyasa is a technique in which various mantras are placed around your body to divinize the subtle body and unite the meditator with their chosen deity. Swami Satyananda modified this technique for the modern meditator.
I lived in his ashram on and off for six months at a time between the years 2008 and 2009 as an initiate. I was living there when he left his physical body and took mahasamadhi, on December 5th, 2009. The sixteen day event that followed his passing was truly incredible.
During the time I lived there I had the opportunity to learn and practice yoga nidra with many of the senior swamis who had been with Swami Satyananda for decades. It was then that I was first introduced to the technique.
2. For someone who is new to yoga nidra, what are the main benefits of the practice?
Yoga nidra offers the chance to still the body and silence the mind. In fact, we can even get better quality rest than when we are sleeping. This is due to the power of consciousness. Yoga nidra slowly guides us in the practice of harvesting awareness. In order to follow along with any guided meditation there is a certain amount of focus that is needed, however, yoga nidra returns that focus to your body, mind, emotions and own inner state of being.
As we still the various dimensions of our being, we gradually transcend each level as well. From the body we travel the the energy body (emotions/feelings), from the energy body we travel to the mental body (thoughts), from the mind we travel to the psyche (subtle impressions), and when you have learned to keep the mind absolutely still and silent without wavering for any stimulus, either internal or external, then you begin to perceive the Self (the Spirit).
The mind is the power instrument of the Self, only when we learn to restrain it completely can we then return that awareness to illumine the Heart; and there rediscover ourselves.
So, even for the beginner, the practice of yoga nidra allows you to recognize and release habitual stress and tension.
It gives you the chance to experience deep inner stillness and silence, which is what most people need more than anything; and, ultimately, it increases the intensity of the self effulgent light of self awareness, allowing you to transcend all the inner turmoil and return to your true Self.
3. Can you go into more detail about the rotation of consciousness in yoga nidra and the reason why it is done in a particular order?
If we consider the traditional sequence of meditation we will find that in yoga there is a common theme. This common theme is most clearly presented in the system of Ashtanga Yoga, Patanjali’s eight limb path, but there are six steps to meditation that remain universal: Asana (posture), pranayama (breath), pratyahara (sense withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (meditative absorption).
These limbs of meditation are simply the natural sequence that meditation occurs, and any good yoga nidra facilitator needs to be very mindful of this.
The rotation of consciousness through the various limbs is a pratyahara technique, withdrawing the mind from the senses and breaking it’s habitual patterns. We experience deeper and deeper states of relaxation as we rotate the awareness around the body, preparing the mind for the following concentration technique (dharana).
Many meditation facilitators launch directly into various dharanas, such as visualization techniques and concentration exercises, without withdrawing the mind first with a pratyahara technique. This is a great mistake. The mind does need a chance to switch gears from extraverted awareness to introverted awareness. This is the purpose for the rotation of consciousness, however, the exact sequence does not matter one bit.
What is important is that you are consistent with whatever pattern you chose. This is for the sake of your attendees. Eventually as soon as they hear the first body part they will know it is time to withdraw the mind, and break in the pattern could startle them out of that state of light trance.
4. What are the main elements of a yoga nidra practice and why are they included?
Yoga nidra is a meditation practice, like any other, and so we can look again to Patanjali for guidance on how the sequence of any meditation should be facilitated. The goal is samadhi. In the beginning you lie down in shavasana and get comfortable, this is asana.
Once the body is comfortable the awareness is immediately brought to observing the spontaneous patterns of the breath, this is pranayama. We then rotate the awareness around the body, this is pratyahara. Once the rotation of awareness is complete the theme of the meditation can commence, this is dharana.
The purpose of the theme is to concentrate the mind and bring it to a state of single-pointedness. The theme of the yoga nidra should lead the mind to the state of meditation and samadhi; for this reason a few minutes of silence should be observed at the culmination of all the techniques. Dhyana and samadhi, meditation and trance, are not techniques we can ‘do’, they are the result of all the previous techniques.
It is the result of the previous phases, which if done right, should now deliver the meditator to a tranquil inner state of meditative absorption. This trance state, where the body and mind are asleep but the consciousness is awake, is the state called ‘yoga nidra’. We practice the technique of yoga nidra in order to experience the state of yoga nidra.
For each of these six phases we have so many different techniques in yoga nidra to draw from. For example, listening to sounds in your environment is a form of pratyahara; it is done to break the current thought patterns and make the mind become silent through the act of listening.
Everything we do in yoga nidra has a purpose and is meant to lead the meditator through these six phases and deliver them to samadhi.
5. And finally, is there anything else you’d like to say?
A useful technique to do before any yoga nidra session is a short two minute trataka. Trataka is the practice of fixed point gazing, where the meditator choses a candle flame, a yantra, or even a black dot on a white sheet of paper, to focus on.
Technically this is a practice of dharana, however, I encourage each yoga nidra meditator to do trataka for two minutes before your yoga nidra session to focus the mind. This can really help make for more fruitful yoga nidra sessions.
Any way! I love the practice and feel so grateful to God that I had the opportunities to study with the BSY swamis, and meet Swami Satyananda before he left this plane. The potential for yoga nidra is infinite. Thank you for contacting me and asking for my input. I wish you all the best in this world, success in your undertakings and Blessings of the Mother.
Written by Tripura Mandala
To listen to some of Tripura Mandala’s guided meditations and Yoga Nidra videos, visit his YouTube page here. There’s also more recordings on his website Tripura Yoga.
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