The ancient form of meditation has different variations. You can follow the simple practice of meditation and gradually move towards performing complex meditation to get more benefits. Yoga Nidra is the simplest technique to meditate for beginners. It is also used in the US military for veterans to recover from PSTD. However, in this technique, you are not allowed to sleep. Remain awake, relaxed, and alert throughout the practice. When practiced successfully, it is more wholesome than sleep.
Sleep Meditation or Yoga Nidra is suitable for reducing stress just before the interview. You can practice Yoga Nidra just a few minutes before your scheduled interview to reduce stress or anxiety. Most of the job interviews in the year 2020 and in the year 2021 will be through the video call. You have the advantage of attending the job interview from home. This is the best possible place to practice your sleep meditation. You can keep 10 minutes for Yoga Nidra after completing your internet connection and video interview setup. This relaxation technique will give reduce your stress and give more confidence to attend job interviews.
Yoga Nidra Or Sleep Meditation
You can perform yoga Nidra by lying down in savasana – corpse(cadaver) pose.
It is the classic yoga position for relaxation. It looks deceptively simple, but it is one of the most complex techniques to do correctly. This variation of yoga Nidra involves rotating your awareness around the body to develop a state of deep relaxation. You can achieve it by concentrating on individual parts of your body, one body part at a time, and then consciously relaxing them. By doing this, your whole body and mind begin to release tension and stress, creating an environment of enhanced relaxation. Beyond the simple variation presented overleaf are advanced yoga Nidra techniques include:
Visualization Journey – an inspiring and harmonious story filled with healing images and symbols, designed to release deeper blockages.
Resolve – a simple statement planted deep into the subconscious that promotes personal change on all levels.
Yoga Nidra has a direct effect on reducing high blood pressure, diabetes, and nervous disorders. It relaxes the spine and helps with many back problems. Yoga Nidra reduces physical, mental, and emotional tension and stress. It revitalizes the whole system, promoting restful sleep and rejuvenation. Yoga Nidra is most helpful after light exercise, before meditation, or before going to sleep. Many crucial physiological changes take place, reducing the physical energy loss, removing stress, lowering respiration and pulse rate, and resting the whole system. As you enter deep relaxation, you will feel your mind grow clear and detached.
Often during yoga nidra suppressed material from the conscious and subconscious layers of the mind surfaces. Induced relaxation removes the psychological and neurological blocks and barriers. It is at such times that you may see the solution to the stress suppressed by you. That is why people feel relieved from the heavy burden of tension from their minds after finishing yoga nidra.
Preparation For Yaga Nidra / Sleep Meditation
- Lie down on the bed.
- Keep your hands straight and palms up.
- Maintain some distance between your body and palms.
- Both your legs should maintain some gaps so that both feet can be 12 inches apart.
- The spine and head should be straight.
- Close your eyes and gently roll your head from left to right. Repeat it a couple of times. Repeat it till you find a comfortable central position.
- Begin to relax your whole being.
- Start to relax your body.
- Then relax your breathing.
- Leave your mind to its own, and do not force them to think or focus on anything.
- Leave your body and mind to rest and relax.
- Allow the body, mind, and spirit to become quiet, calm, and refreshed.
Take a few minutes to settle into Yoga Nidra.
- Take your awareness to the right leg.
- Lift it a few inches from the ground.
- Powerfully tense the whole leg from the thigh down to the foot.
- Tense the whole leg for 2 seconds.
- Now drop the leg by completely releasing it, allowing it to fall to the ground. Let your leg take a rest and be relax.
- Take your awareness to the left leg.
- Lift it a few inches from the ground.
- Powerfully tense the whole leg from the thigh down to the foot.
- Tense the whole leg for 2 seconds.
- Now drop the leg by completely releasing it, allowing it to fall to the ground. Let your leg take a rest and be relax.
- Take your awareness to the right hand.
- Make a fist with the right hand.
- Lift arm and hand a few inches from the ground.
- Powerfully tense the arm from the shoulder down to the fist.
- Tense the whole arm for 2 seconds.
- Now drop the arm by completely releasing it, allowing it to fall to the ground. Let your hand take a rest and be relax.
- Take your awareness to the left hand.
- Make a fist with the left hand.
- Lift arm and hand a few inches from the ground.
- Powerfully tense the arm from the shoulder down to the fist.
- Tense the whole arm for 2 seconds.
- Now drop the arm by completely releasing it, allowing it to fall to the ground. Let your hand take a rest and be relax.
- Gently roll the head to the right and the left side. Repeat it three times.
- Find a comfortable central position for your head.
Now completely relax your whole body. Feel a deep sense of relaxation coming over your whole being. Hold this relaxed awareness for a few moments. Now you are ready to start the yoga nidra technique.
- Let gravity embrace your body.
- Feel your weight pulling you deeper into relaxation, melting your body into the floor.
- Take a few deep breaths by breathing deeply and slowly from the abdomen, sinking deeper with each exhalation.
- Feel how your abdomen swells and falls.
- As you enter deep relaxation, feel your mind growing clear and detached.
- Now begin the rotation of awareness of the whole body.
- Spend a few moments relaxing each part of your body in more detail.
- Start by relaxing the right side of your body.
- Take your full awareness of your right hand.
- Relax it and mentally repeat, “My right hand is relaxed”.
- Mentally touch it with the mantra OM.
- Take your full awareness of your right arm.
- Relax it and mentally repeat, “My right arm is relaxed”.
- Mentally touch it with the mantra OM.
Continue like this to gently rotate around the whole body, spending a few moments consciously relaxing each part of your body.
- My right shoulder is relaxed, OM.
- My right chest is relaxed, OM.
- My right stomach is relaxed, OM.
- My right hip is relaxed, OM.
- My right leg is relaxed, OM.
- My right foot is relaxed, OM.
- Now relax the left side of your body.
- My left foot is relaxed, OM.
- My left leg is relaxed, OM.
- My left hip is relaxed, OM.
- My left stomach is relaxed, OM.
- My left chest is relaxed, OM.
- My left shoulder is relaxed, OM.
- My left arm is relaxed, OM.
- My left hand is relaxed, OM.
- My lower back is relaxed, OM.
- My upper back is relaxed, OM.
- My neck is relaxed, OM.
- My head is relaxed, OM.
- My face is relaxed, OM.
- My whole body from the tip of the toes to the top of the head is relaxed, OM.
- Feel Om vibrating in your whole body.
- Feel the vibration soothing your whole being.
- Relaxing and healing.
Hold this awareness for a few moments longer. Now fix your full awareness on the eyebrow center, behind the forehead. Mentally touch it with the mantra OM. Feel the continuous gentle vibration of OM at this point.
OM OM OM.
Keep mentally chanting OM for a few minutes or longer. It is the end of one round.
Break Your Yoga Nidra/ Sleep Meditation
You can practice more if you have the willingness and time to practice. If you get lost in thought or distracted at any time, then focus on your breathing. Focus your attention on breathing while inhaling and exhaling for a few minutes or until your mind is clear. Resume your meditation once you are comfortable.
- When you reach your time limit for meditation, end your meditation by gently becoming aware of your breathing.
- Become aware of your whole body from your feet to your head.
- Become aware of the floor.
- Become aware of your surroundings.
- Gently begin to move your fingers.
- Gently move your toes.
- Gently begin to move your arms and legs.