Yoga Nidra Download: Buy a Guided Meditation MP3

Many people who want to relieve stress, relax deeply, and learn to meditate are discovering the many benefits of yoga nidra mp3s.

Why?

Because yoga nidra is one of the easiest methods of relaxation and meditation. When practicing yoga nidra, you don't have to sit in an uncomfortable position for a long time. Nor do you even need to concentrate.

So how is this meditation? It is a guided meditation - and though after some time you can learn to guide yourself, it helps to have a facilitator or guide. And though more and more yoga nidra workshops and classes are being offered, if you have a yoga nidra mp3 download, you can practice meditation whenever you want. All you have to do is put the yoga nidra on your iPod, put on your headphones, and lie down in a comfortable position.

Yoga Nidra in the Context of the Yoga Tradition

To understand how yoga nidra works, it may be helpful to understand the eight limbs (ashtanga) of yoga, as described by Patanjali, one of the first to write about the yoga system, who is believed to have lived around the 3rd century C.E.

The limbs of yoga are as follows, with brief descriptions:

Yama: The yamas are outer observances, and relate to how you act in relation to others and the world around you. This is rarely taught in yoga classes, though those who adopt a yogic lifestyle will find themselves studying the yamas to see how to interpret them for their own lives.

Niyama: The niyamas are inner observances, and deal with how you relate to yourself. Again, these are rarely taught in yoga classes. Serious yoga practitioners may find them important to reflect upon and integrate into their lives.

Asana: Literally "seat," asana in classical yoga is the sitting position used for meditation. In later forms of yoga like hatha yoga, asana came to mean a holding, or any yoga posture. In yoga nidra, the asana used is called savasana, or corpse pose. It is a position of complete surrender. You lie comfortably on your back, with arms and legs relaxed, palms open.

Pranayama: Pranayama is control of the life force. This is done through various breathing exercises. In yoga nidra, the breath is long and natural, which increases relaxation. Some practices of yoga nidra include awareness of alternate nostril breathing.

Pratyahara: Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses. In other words, you turn your attention from the outside world to your inner world. In yoga nidra, this is done through various practices, but one you will encounter a lot is antar mauna, which is "inner silence." An easy way to practice antar mauna is first to concentrate on sounds far away, and slowly to draw attention to closer and closer sounds, until your awareness is drawn completely in your own body and mind.

Dharana: Dharana is concentration. In yoga nidra, there is very little concentration. Actually, the only thing to concentrate on is to make sure you don't fall asleep! (But even if you do fall asleep, you will benefit from the practice.) In yoga nidra, all you need to do is listen to the voice of the guide. Not concentrate so much, simply listen.

Dhyana: Dhyana is meditation. The state of meditation occurs when the meditator and the oblect of meditation unite. In yoga nidra, awareness of the body, the breath, the experience of opposites, and awareness of the field of the mind - called chidakasha - bring you into the dhyana state, and easily.

Samadhi: Samadhi is union with the root reality. In my experience, this is not so much a practice as it is a result of practice. And in yoga nidra, many beginners are able to experience this state of ego-dissolution, full-being, and capital-A Awareness - sometimes in their very first yoga nidra practice, with no previous knowledge or experience.

So that's how yoga nidra fits into the greater Classical Yoga tradition. It is a tantric practice - meaning it uses the body as an instrument for transformation.

Through the practice of yoga nidra, samskaras are released. Samskaras are like grooves in the subconscious that determine how we think and act. Samskaras are like pre-karma. Our samskaras affect how we see the world around us, how we think about and relate to ourselves, how we deal with others. And through yoga nidra, samskaras can be released from the unconscious into the conscious mind. This can help you break bad habits, and be free from self-defeating ways of thinking.

Which samskaras are released depend a great deal on your sankalpa, a resolve you set for yourself at the beginning of the practice. The resolve is the keystone of the practice.

And even if all this good stuff doesn't happen in every yoga nidra practice, you will at the very least experience a deep relaxation. Although you stay awake, aware, and in complete control (unlike some stages of hypnosis), your brain waves slow down to the same wavelengths of deep sleep. Thirty minutes of yoga nidra can make you feel like you've had a few hours of sleep. (It is not a sleep substitute, however!)

Interested in giving it a try? Use a yoga nidra mp3 download. I have recorded one, and it's available on my website - you'll find a link in the sidebar. Or, there are several yoga nidra mp3s for sale on Amazon, listed below the comments on this page.

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