Meditation and Yoga Nidra

MEDITATION

There are many forms of meditation available.  Using techniques such as mindfulness, witness consciousness, gratitude, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity trains the brain in the areas of attention and awareness. The results of meditation create a foundation of mental clarity and support an emotionally calm and stable state.  There is clear scientific evidence that the cultivation of a daily gratitude practice changes the brain and improves overall health and well-being.  By being grateful for what you already have; it makes what you have feel like more than enough.  Gratitude is the real foundation for joy and happiness and meditation is the vehicle that will get you there.   

I know just how powerful meditation is because it changed my life from the inside out.  It helped me to learn how to love all of the parts of myself.   It brought me home to the safety and security of my own heart.  Today, I am more compassionate, forgiving, and less reactive person all thanks to my daily meditation practice.  Meditation allows me to continually learn and evolve as I tap into the infinite part of myself that has access to all of of the wisdom and knowledge that I seek.  It has brought in a deeper sense of understanding and greater sense of awareness to every aspect of my life.  I have never felt more connected to my true "authentic" self.  I consider time spent in a meditative state to be sacred time.  I look forward to those moments of quiet solitude where I surrender and allow guidance and wisdom to flow in.  I make it a priority and it is a ritual in my daily life. 

Below are just some of the powerful and scientifically proven benefits of mediation:

~ teaches you how to be (and stay) within the present moment 

~ reduces age-related memory loss

~ increases imagination and creativity

~ reduces inflammation and pain

~ reduces stress and anxiety

~ improves intuition and insight 

~ increases self-awareness

~ increases patience and tolerance

~ helps fight addictions

~ promotes healthy regulation of emotions  

~ improves sex (gets you out of your head)

~ improves sleep

~ alters brain wave states

~ increases grey matter in the brain

~ shrinks the amygdala (the part of the brain that is associated w/ fear and stress)

~ lowers oxygen consumption 

~ lowers heart rate

~ promotes a state of homeostasis in the body

YOGA NIDRA

Yoga nidra (Sanskrit: योग निद्रा) or yogic sleep is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, like the "going-to-sleep" stage, typically induced by a guided meditation.

Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice that is similar to meditation but a little different because you practice it laying down in Savasana (corpse pose) in a fully surrendered state.  It is a felt experience that offers a multitude of benefits. There is the potential to fall asleep during the practice because you are laying down -vs- sitting up; however, once you master witnessing yourself travel through the various brain wave states, you will learn to remain aware in this altered state of consciousness.  Yoga Nidra is the practice of coming home to your true authentic self. Free from the shackles of the ego, old programs and limiting beliefs.  The more you practice and experience this state of awareness the deeper you can go. The practice is loving and beautiful.  A safe place where you can surrender in order to  allow and be. A place where you can leave the analytical mind behind and see past all illusion (maya) as you commune with your higher self.  You enter into the subconscious mind and have the opportunity to tend to your own personal garden that lies within; plucking & pruning the old outdated programs, unconscious programming, and limiting beliefs.  A place to plant subtle seeds of intention called sankalpa in order to blossom and grow.  It is a place of true peace where insight, knowledge, and wisdom flow as you enter into complete awareness of truth. Yoga Nidra is a fully guided practice that navigates you through the various brain wave states; moving from beta into alpha and then theta.  The divine dance between alpha and theta is where the magic takes place. There are studies that show one hour of yoga nidra is as beneficial and restorative as four hours of uninterrupted sleep because all systems have the opportunity to rest, repair and reset.  The nervous system enters into a state of ease.  It is here that you have the ability to access your inner pharmacy for true healing to occur on a cellular level.

Written by: Kristin Mitchell

Owner: She Lit Her Own Fire LLC

Photo by: Kristin Mitchell