Yoga Nidra.
Discrete sleep with trace awareness.
Yoga is to yoke,
To join,
To bind,
Union,
Oneness.
Nidra is sleep,
Deep sleep,
Dreamless sleep.
The definition of Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness.
It is sleep with a trace of awareness or conscious deep relaxation.
Yoga Nidra is sleepless sleep and occurs between waking consciousness and dreaming consciousness.
Yoga Nidra is more than a set of techniques.
The term Yoga Nidra,
Often in verbal usage,
Refers to the techniques that include deep relaxation and guided visualization.
In many classroom settings,
Yoga Nidra refers to awareness in deep relaxation.
It is important to understand that Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness,
Not the techniques that get you there.
It is also important to comprehend that deep relaxation with guided visualization is not Yoga Nidra.
The goal of Yoga Nidra techniques is the intermediate state between waking and dreaming state known as true Yoga Nidra.
It is not correct to say that one is asleep during Yoga Nidra.
Although,
In reality,
This occurs quite often.
One avoids falling asleep through the process of auto-suggestion done before entering into the Yoga Nidra technique.
Yoga Nidra practiced to its fullest capacity can be a pathway into the lower and higher realms of Samadhi.
There are two main branches of the tree of Yoga Nidra.
One vein comes from Vedantic lineage and the other is derived from the Yoga lineage.
The Manduka Upanishad and its subsidiary commentaries are the classic text which describes Yoga Nidra in the Vedantic system.
The Hatha Yoga,
Pradikapa and the Yoga Theravayal and Pantanjali's Yoga Sautras are the main text which contribute to the Yogic branch of Yoga Nidra.
The difference between the two is that the Vedantic Yoga Nidra dissolves individual consciousness while Yogic Yoga Nidra expands individual consciousness.
A second difference between the two practices occurs in the overall intention.
In the Vedantic approach,
The intention is dissolution of the individual self.
While in the Yogic approach,
The goal is to enter into the state of Yoga Nidra itself.
