Yog Nidra (योग निद्रा) by Swami Niranjananda Sarswati


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Yog Nidra by Swami Niranjananda Sarswati

Yoga Nidra was devised by Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati from traditional Tantric practices and has had a major impact on the world of yoga. Satyananda Yoga Nidra is a pratyahara technique in which the distractions of the mind are contained and the mind is allowed to relax. This practice has had a profound transformative effect on practitioners.

yoga nidra was experienced by Satyananda Saraswati when he was living with his guru Sivananda Saraswati in Rishikesh. He began studying the tantric scriptures and, after practice, constructed a system of relaxation, which he began popularizing in the mid-20th century. He explained yoga nidra as a state of mind between wakefulness and sleep that opened deep phases of the mind, suggesting a connection with the ancient tantric practice called nyasa, whereby Sanskrit mantras are mentally placed within specific body parts, while meditating on each part (of the bodymind). The form of practice taught by Satyananda includes eight stages (internalisation, sankalpa, rotation of consciousness, breath awareness, manifestation of opposites, creative visualization, sankalpa and externalisation).