Last week, I tried a new yoga/meditation practice called
Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is also referred to as yogic sleep. It is a guided meditation you do while lying down. I went to a class given by Donna Norfolk at the Yoga Practice Center. The session lasted about 90 minutes. We started by greeting each other and just settling down. Then, we recited (chanted) a yoga sutra called the four great attitudes. The attitudes are:
- peacefulness towards all beings
- joyfulness towards all beings
- kindness towards all beings
- compassion towards all beings
After the chant, we spent about an hour being guided through a body scan in which we were made aware of all the energy in different locations of our bodies. Then we had some time of complete silence. I went in and out of sleep at the beginning but once I woke up fully, it was a very interesting feeling of being completely alert and relaxed. Amazingly the time flew by without me being aware of it passing. Having the full hour and a half with no pressure to do anything but relax and explore my mind was luxurious. At the very end we wrapped up and completed the chant again. I found myself thinking, "I have to tell my book club about this!" and "This is so
Eat, Pray, Love!" I left feeling refreshed and also a little on the happy "I love all things!" side. I recommend trying it if you can find a class.
2 comments:
Wow, Liz, I'm really impressed with your ability to be so focused. I've always had a problem with yoga- never been able to quiet my mind and always spend more time imagining how ridiculous I might look than focusing on the task at hand. Probably a sign that I need yoga...I am however, envious of the 90 min of pure relaxation it sounds like you were able to enjoy. Now that I could get on board with quickly.
Sonya - if you want to come there is another class this Wednesday from 5:30 - 7:00!
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