Universal Yoga Nidra
Are you feeling a little burned out and looking for a way to recharge? Over the last few months I've been researching the science and practice of napping and have been blown away by the effectiveness of an ancient yogic tradition of conscious sleep called Yoga Nidra. At the most basic level Yoga Nidra practice involves listening to a guided meditation as you gently let yourself relax into sleep. But you won't actually fall asleep. Instead, so long as you can pay attention to the guided queues you will move through various sleep stages while remaining aware of what is happening around you. It will bring you to a very deep and relaxed state where you can allow your body to process whatever intention you want to set.
Are you feeling a little burned out and looking for a way to recharge? Over the last few months I've been researching the science and practice of napping and have been blown away by the effectiveness of an ancient yogic tradition of conscious sleep called Yoga Nidra. At the most basic level Yoga Nidra practice involves listening to a guided meditation as you gently let yourself relax into sleep. But you won't actually fall asleep. Instead, so long as you can pay attention to the guided queues you will move through various sleep stages while remaining aware of what is happening around you. It will bring you to a very deep and relaxed state where you can allow your body to process whatever intention you want to set.
I've led groups of people in this Universal Yoga Nidra meditation in the last two Wedge workshops and it has proven to be an excellent counterpoint to the more intense breathwork, heat and ice immersion practices that I've been developing.
This week I am releasing a guided Yoga Nidra meditation on YouTube based on the principles of The Wedge that I call "Universal Yoga Nidra." If you want to give it a try, allow yourself at least a half hour of uninterrupted quiet. Lie down. Turn off the ringer on your phone and follow the instructions as I take you through various stages of restorative sleep. The recording includes a half-hour of silence at the end in case you want to remain in the meditative state and lengthen your nap before YouTube recommends the next video.
Episode 3: We are all Descendents of Evolutionary Winners
Consciousness is a tool for biology to identify and interact and make decisions about the world at large. In this week's podcast I examine the concept of The Wedge and how we can use it to control and program the way our nervous systems operate on autopilot to build resilience in the face of adversity.