Book Review – Yoga Nidra

 
Yoga nidra is a gift to mankind which helps in easy relaxation. I have been fascinated by yoga nidra and went to great lengths to make it a point to attend group sessions on yoga nidra. The magic it created in me made me go back to it over and again. When I got a chance to read this book, I wanted to understand what are the variations I can use in my daily life without needing external help. 
 
I didn’t need to know about its uses because I practically received the benefits already. The book explained to me the reasons behind various instructions which I followed in the yoga nidra session. I didn’t know the requirement of why I should feel that my body is heavy and then again it is light before. Here I got to know that it is used to keep the mind alert. I didn’t know that order of rotation is important and I end up using my own convenient order. The order is important to establish pranic flow. All these days I have been scouring for methods to release energy from the suppressed feelings and here I get to know how the symbols used in yoga nidra already do the job for me.
 
Notes

1. The ordinary things you do daily are not exactly relaxation in scientific terms
2. There are 3 types of tensions – muscular, emotional,mental.Unless you relieve them, you will not feel refreshed even after a good night’s sleep
3. If you are trying to change with your intellect, your results are superficial.
4. Using sankalpas in yoga nidra, the author changed thousands of lives including criminals.
5. Mind is extremely receptive in the state of yoga nidra. 
6. A person’s basic nature can’t be changed. It can be observed looking at his spontaneous acts
7. Sankalpa is a major aspect in yoga nidra. Using this, you can achieve your destiny
8. Even though sankalpa can be used to eradicate bad habits, it should be used for achieving self actualization which in turn helps in eradicating the bad habits. A greater understanding of sankalpa is needed before it is put to use.
9. This process brings you to watch the subconscious and unconscious levels of karma, samskaras. Experiences like levitation might also occur.
10. It has the power to active extra sensorial perception
11. Yoga nidra and hypnosis are not the same. In hypnosis, you go into deep sleep and the brain is completely shut down whereas in yoga nidra you don’t sleep and your brain is fully awake. Ida and pingala are closed in both hypnosis and yoga nidra but in hypnosis sushumna is also closed whereas in yoga nidra sushumna takes the work of ida and pingala.
12. The order of rotation is important because it establishes a pranic flow
13. The images which are provided in the yoga nidra session are meant to release the energy which repressed thoughts hold.
14. It is advisable to record the instructions or use a guided tool initially because you don’t want the brain to be working in an active state trying to recollect the order.
15. It can be also used in a short way as a divider between work life and home life

Further Reading

1. Learn how to use mandalas to clear the archetypes

 
Yoga nidra is useful to increase your learning capacity, reduction in stress, intrauterine growth in pregnant woman, reduction in hypertension, control of psychosomatic diseases, depression including suicide prevention and much more.
What are you waiting for? Go ahead and read the book to understand the science. If you don’t need the theory, record your own audio of the original instructions or use guided audios to start practising yoga nidra twice a day. 
Happy relaxation!