The Power of Yogic Sleep We live in a society that speeds at a rate faster than we can keep up. Our plates are full and our tanks are empty. Most of us simply run off fumes. Our adrenals are fatigued, our livers overworked, we are sleep deprived, and have accumulated muscular, emotional, and mental tension to the nth degree. It is a vicious threefold cycle. These inner tensions of our individual, micro consciousness contribute to the collective, macro whole. “As we heal ourselves we heal our planet.” ~ Caroline Myss. If I’m speaking to you, thankfully there is a simple solution. Yoga Nidra is a much needed respite for the soul. Yoga nidra’s benefits are available to anyone regardless of physical condition, including those who are very ill and who may not have the energy for asana or seated meditation. If you’re feeling loads of stress and anxiety, the practice of yoga nidra invites you to move from the physical level of reality to deeper and deeper levels of peace and healing. Yoga nidra requires very little effort to relax the body, mind, nervous system and the subconscious mind through its systematic techniques. This transformative experience is used to unwind the coiled self and wash the brain and body clean. Through guided imagery, we can correct the less than ideal imprints left on the nervous system and change the negative patterns existing in the brain. These ancient meditative techniques are used to relax the mind by relaxing the body. Each time you practice yoga nidra, you are calming the waves of the mind through triggering the relaxation response. "The relaxation response balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and balances the left and right brain. In the process, your brain shifts from beta, an awakened state with lots of brain activity, to alpha, a more relaxed state. In alpha, the mood-regulating hormone serotonin gets released, and this calms you down. People who spend little time in an alpha brain-wave state have more anxiety than those who spend more time in alpha. Think of a car: if you want to stop and turn off the engine, you first need to downshift. Shifting your brain into an alpha state starts its process of “powering down,” or coming into a rest state with slower, restorative brain-wave activity.” Karen Brody, Yoga Journal Simply stated the brain waves change and this is where super manifestation happens. This is also where the organs regenerate and the stress cortisol hormone is removed from your system. Your body is receiving a much needed restorative, restful break and from there we go into even deeper brain-wave states. This yogic sleep level is not reached in conventional sleeping. In this deep surrender you gather up pieces of grace and peace, balance and healing, and take it back with you into the wakeful state. Through this transformational experience you have awakened with a sense of what’s really behind the eye, a shift toward the inner self. When you’ve stripped away the old negative imprints from the outer self, the path is made clear for the next part of your journey. Join me for a transformative experience on Friday, February 7th at 7pm at East Wind Yoga, donation based. For a free yoga nidra recording click here, www.tessconradyoga.com. Thank you for reading. Namaste ~ “May your body, mind, and soul finally come into an alignment that allows for the harmony of the graces to flow through you as naturally as your breath.” ~ Caroline Myss