10 Reasons to Try Yoga Nidra

Yoga nidra means ‘yogic sleep’. It is an effortless yoga relaxation and meditation practice that anyone can do, by themselves with an audio recording or with the guidance of a teacher in person.

Yoga nidra brings you to a deeply relaxed state of mind and body, whilst you are still awake. This is the state between sleep and wakefulness (called the hypnogogic state in psychology), where you float between consciousness and unconsciousness, being aware of the resting state of the body and mind as it is happening in the moment.

Yoga nidra has been shown to be effective in supporting and healing many areas of body and mind including stress, tension, anxiety, insomnia, pain, trauma, addiction and PTSD.

I have found yoga nidra to be one of the best ways to relax and release my body completely, and one of the easiest ways to enter the meditative space. It really is effortless.

In this blog I offer ten reasons why you should try yoga nidra, and a link to ten free yoga nidra practices on my website.

Moon Salutation - 3 ways

I'm sure you've heard of the yoga Sun salutation. If you are a yoga student you've probably done a few of them in your yoga practice. But have you heard of the moon salutation?

Find out more about the moon salutation in this blog post and there’s a free 40 minute class where you can try out 3 variations!

Rest and Digest

I love the autumn time, the leaves turning, the cosiness of the darker evenings where lights twinkle in warm homes and we can begin to hibernate. But autumn for me also comes with some challenges.

There’s a cycle to this rhythm of challenge and back to ease for me which I can observe. A cycle that usually lasts for a few weeks at time (but I sometimes notice it over days or longer over months). There’s usually a beginning, a growth phase, some status quo and then a challenge. Then back to the start again. I notice it in my activities, my nervous system, and particularly in my body and mind in the form of anxiety or overwhelm or tiredness. You may also recognise this in your own day to day life.

In this blog post I talk about what this cycle looks like for me, how I let go of challenges and the tools and techniques of rest and digest that work for me to get back to the beginning, to feel brighter and stay well. I also offer you a downloadable Yoga Nidra Practice – created in collaboration with my teacher Barrie Risman – to help you to let go of challenges this autumn and enjoy some rest.

My Meditation Journey

Today, 22nd May , is World Meditation Day. I wanted to share with you my meditation journey, how meditation is simple and effective and maybe inspire you to try it!

15 years ago in a California yoga studio, a shift in my yoga practice happened. One day on the mat I experienced a deep resonance as I moved in a sun salutation, like I had become one with the movement and the space around me. It felt amazing and I realised that yoga was not just a physical movement experience.

As I journeyed through my practice, widened my knowledge and trained to teach yoga I came to realise that what I had experienced in that California yoga studio was a meditative state through movement.

Meditation was something I was intrigued by, had sat and done guided by teachers and using recordings. But I didn't really understand what meditation was supposed to feel like, where it was supposed to take me or if I was doing it right. Recordings were lovely and relaxing, but there must be more to it than just following them and feeling rested. I wanted to really know how to meditate.

Four years ago I joined a meditation teacher training with Mick Timpson at Beanddo, Manchester. I didn't plan to teach meditation, just deepen my understanding of it. The accessible meditation tools I learned underpin every meditation I do, and actually everything I do in daily life. Read on to find out more about my meditation journey, why I teach meditation and how meditation might help you too.

4 Books to take you into 2021

Over the past year I have been reading a lot, some fiction, lots of yoga books and these four books that I highly recommend.

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

A brilliant book which explains in a pretty straightforward way why enough good quality sleep is essential, what gets in the way of sleep and how we can sleep better.

Nobody Told Me by Hollie McNish
This book includes not only candid poetry about her journey of pregnancy and new motherhood, but also includes some lovely prose giving context and background to the poems and her experiences.

Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms by Kate Northrup
In 14 'Experiments' Kate suggests simple ways to look at your work flow, daily working habits and also self-care to work better and do less. You can implement the ones that resonate easily one by one or a few at a time.

Becoming by Michelle Obama
This one needs no introduction. Michelle is an inspiration and her book won't disappoint.

Read on to find out why I love each of these books

How Yoga Nidra can help your teenager through exam stress

Yoga Nidra is a wonderful yoga practice that not only supports a deep relaxation and rejuvenation, but yoga nidra can also help with improving memory - great for revision or learning of any kind.

Yoga Practice, MeditationSarah CloverJune 4, 2019Yoga Nidra, stress, exams, relaxation, meditationComment

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