There are many stages in mental development, but as soon as we are able to maintain the mind in a calm state, at that very moment there is joy and peace. This is reflected in the body becoming relaxed, and then the mind becomes more relaxed. As the mind calms down, the hidden enlightened qualities emerge more and more.

~ Venerable Khenpo Rinpoche

In the physical art of yoga, known as Hatha Yoga, we engage in asanas (Sanskrit for “poses”). There are various reasons for different asanas, but the main reason yogis do the physical practice of yoga is so they can sit for long periods of time in meditation. This is the goal of yoga. In yoga the meditation aspect is called Raja Yoga, the Royal Path. The goal is to achieve God union, to reunite with the natural peace and clarity that they call God. Some call this the source, heaven, the universe, and so on. Again, this is the all-pervasive peace, the truth of who we are, whatever you wish to label it, do so in that it resonates with you on the level of truth.

In yoga you are training the mind by first training its counterpart, the body. When the body is tight and inflexible, the mind is tight and inflexible, and vice versa. The body and mind are connected, and the breath is the intermediary, the bridge between mind and body.

Yoga nidra is a wonderful practice in yoga where you lie on the floor and are guided to complete relaxation of mind and body where you can easily come into that space of meditation. It’s a sort of hypnosis. After all, hypnosis is simply a method to get you into a subconscious meditative space, where you are open to suggestion and can access the deeper levels of habit in the unconscious. Yoga nidra means “yoga sleep,” but is sort of a misnomer, because you are not really sleeping. In fact, you are being guided into that space between waking and dreaming, the meditative space of healing where change can occur at deeper levels. In meditation, we are doing self-hypnosis at times, and this is wonderful because this is where we can access the deeper energies and begin to change them at the level of the subconscious mind.

What we are doing in this meditation is first relaxing the body, part by part. We start with the feet and move all the way up to the top of the head. We then move onto the internal organs, ending with the brain. And as we move through, we go deeper and deeper into meditation. This is a great method to guide you deep into meditation. Sometimes when you sit in meditation your mind and body are agitated. Combining this with some of the breathing ratios we have learned will help you to gain that middle ground of calm.

We are usually either in an agitated state of mind or a dull state of mind, so the breathing ratios are a wonderful way to balance this and get us to that steady state of mind. Likewise this method for calming the body will be helpful as well. Often we don’t even have to go through the entire body: a simple few seconds of scanning the body and seeing what is tight, then relaxing it, can help guide us into a deeper sense of wellbeing and thus help us in our meditations. This is also a great method to use for those with insomnia or trouble sleeping.

Try this guided yoga nidra meditation and see how you like it:

An excerpt from “Small Steps to Giant Leaps”