Last week, on May 25th, we practiced Yoga Nidra (Deep relaxation) for the second time at Yoga for Everyone. Some people may confuse meditation with Yoga Nidra. A quick online answer is: Yoga Nidra is practiced lying down in Savasana, with the body completely relaxed. This enables one to stay in stillness while easily paying attention to different body parts. In contrast, meditation is usually done in a seated position to prevent falling asleep.
During the first session, we focused on strengthening our cardiovascular, respiratory, and muscular endurance. We visualized the colors of the rainbow, bringing awareness to the body’s ability to heal itself, both psychologically and physiologically. We also visualized nature and harnessed its power to cleanse our minds, fostering positive thoughts and liberating our bodies from toxins.
In the second Yoga Nidra session, we practiced Egyptian walking, which activates your energy centers and improves focus through static movements and balance. This practice awakens the body and opens the crown chakra to receive and transmit light and energy to the other six chakras. We used the chakras to guide our visualizations of body and mind, combining them with colors.
Yoga Nidra helps us recharge and enhances our confidence and serenity through visualizations, body awareness, and Sankalpa (positive affirmations).
The Sankalpa
Sankalpa is a positive affirmation you can repeat during Yoga Nidra, upon waking, before sleep, or anytime during the day. It should be phrased positively: for example, "I feel good" instead of "I no longer feel bad." This ensures our brain focuses on the positive.
A Sankalpa is a wish or goal that resonates with you and aligns with your aspirations. It can relate to your health, such as "My health is improving" or "I feel better day by day," or to success in a specific area, like "I am succeeding in my exam (or project)."
The best-known Sankalpa is Coué's famous phrase: "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better."
It's ideal to prepare a Sankalpa before Yoga Nidra, but you can also wait until the moment of Yoga Nidra to intuitively let the appropriate Sankalpa come to you naturally.
I am glad that a few members of my yogi community experienced both the first and second sessions. The next one will be in three months, around September 2024. If you would like to experience Yoga Nidra before then, please send me a private message, and I will send you a recording of the last session.
Otherwise, leave a comment if you participated in both sessions, which one you liked best, or if you participated in only one, how was your experience? If you didn't participate in any of the sessions, are you curious about the next Yoga Nidra session?
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