Yoga Nidra - Rotation of Awareness

Most people sleep without resolving their tensions,

this is termed nidra.

Nidra means sleep, no matter what or why,

But Yoga Nidra means sleep after throwing off the burdens.

It is of a blissful, higher quality altogether.

Sw Satyananda

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When we are in yoga nidra it sometimes all blurs together, but breaking it up into sections and exploring it one part at a time in this way may add more focus to our understanding of the practice and help enhance our experience and appreciation of how it works.

The process is drawn from an ancient practice in which mantras were systematically placed on each part of the body. It is a kind of ritual, aligning and transforming our experience of the body into something sacred.

With the journey through the rotation of awareness, we are switching each part of the body on and then switching it off. We are stimulating and then releasing each part so that, at the end of the rotation, there is only minimal physical awareness of the body remaining. We have systematically turned off the mind’s immediate concern with the body. This is a key turning point in Yoga Nidra. After this, all going well, other layers of awareness come into focus, and these in turn are passed through.

There are things happening that are related to both energy and awareness, more than the connection to the physical body. There is something going on in the nervous system, a signal sent back and forward, from brain to body part, and back again. The corresponding areas of the brain that are responsible for these parts of the body are also being stimulated and then released.

This is an important part of the sensory withdrawal aspect of Pratyahara. A process that is often described as like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs into its shell. This process is much more systematic and comprehensive than closing our eyes and going to sleep.

This week:

Aim to practice yoga nidra every day. Perhaps select a simple short practice that has the rotation of awareness featuring prominently. Notice how the effects of daily Yoga Nidra accumulate over the week. What is the order of the body parts and why would this matter? If you are conscious at the end of the rotation of awareness each day see what you feel at that point, explore what is happening with the perception of body and state of mind.