Yoga Nidra Made Easy summary

Once you’ve settled into practice, it’s time to invite relaxation into your body. Just reminding yourself that it’s okay to set aside tasks or worries for a while can help release tension in the mind and let you settle in to relax a bit more.

Now that you’re relaxed and comfortable, the next step is to set an intention for your practice. Your intention might be something like feeling more relaxed, or connecting with yourself, or even something like getting clarity on a vexing issue in your life. Whatever feels right to you is the right intention.

Paradox is central to yoga nidra. Although you seem passive on the outside, inside you’re awake and receptive. This restful awareness reveals yoga nidra's essential paradoxical nature. After trying the routine a few times, you've likely realized this. Though deeply relaxing, for instance, you’re active in connecting and focusing your awareness. While you lie in savasana appearing dormant, internally you’re actively nurturing wholeness.

Playing with opposites like this is integral to all yoga nidra methods. Usually, this section comes after the body rotation, inviting you to alternate between contrasts. You might be encouraged to feel heavy, then light; hot, then cold; expanded, then contracted. Or you can explore opposite emotions like joy and sadness.

In the natural yoga nidra cycle, the next step is to circle back to the intuitive intention set at the beginning. That’s because the first invitation plants a seed of intention while the second checks its growth. By now, you’re in an altered state, so surprises may arise when you return here.

Curiosity is key. There's no need to force goals in yoga nidra. Sometimes receptively listening for inner wisdom is most appropriate. Honoring what surfaces and being open to spontaneity allows yoga nidra's power to unfold.

A key ingredient as yoga nidra concludes is gradually externalizing awareness, preparing to leave this inner world. Due to the cycling nature of this process, exiting can take patience, like moving through a revolving door.

You may think you've finished, yet find yourself still spinning internally. So sometimes it may be necessary to continue moving through the closing stages again until you’re truly ready to emerge. Some days it takes time before feeling grounded back in everyday consciousness. Other days you’ll move effortlessly into external awareness. Trust your inner wisdom to navigate this threshold in its own perfect timing.