A Handbook of Yoga - Nidra (Sanskrit Text with Transliteration and English Translation)

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The psychological crisis of this age is one of the severest challenges that human race has ever faced. Mental imbalances and their manifestations in the form of psychosomatic diseases pose serious health threat. To address this challenge, Indian yogas have found a wonderful relaxation technique - yoga-nidra. They were fully aware that the inner tensions or imbalances of an individual can be best dealt with inner peace. The yogic texts unequivocally emphasize that peace can only be found within.

This volume deals with varied aspects of yoga-nidra and delves deep into its relationship with the stages of sleep, dream and samadhi. It highlights the topic in such a way that among the numerous relaxation therapies, yoga-nidra is the best to induce complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation. It peels off the subliminal sheath of conscious mind that covers the inner core of the unconscious mind. Yoga-nidra is a state between sleep and Samadhi, a half-sleep, a half-waking state. It removes fluctuations from all planes of mind. It helps insomniacs by stimulating sleep. This title underlines the regular usage of yoga- nidra in treating pain, neurosis and even disability. It also provides the practical utility of yoga-nidra with lots of evidences on the basis of experimental studies. Their references are well mentioned into it, which will help the scholars in their further studies and research.

This book should benefit the patients of insomnia, psychiatrists and all those who want to dwell in the bosom of mental peace, and those who are determined to experience the higher levels of meditation.

Dr Kamakhya Kumar, an eminent Yoga scholar and researcher, is a senior faculty member at the School of Yoga and Health at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar. Having an extensive research experience in Yoga science, in which he holds a PhD as well, he guides researchers in five universities in India.

Dr Kumar has an extensive experience in teaching Yoga in, various universities, facilitating Yoga training and addressing workshops on Positive Attitude, Life Management, Stress Management, Mind Management, etc.

Dr Kumar is the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Yoga and Allied Sciences, and has over ten books and about fifty research papers to his credit. He has handled various administrative and organizational posts, including the Chief Co-coordinator of Yoga Arogya Polyclinic at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya.

Yoga has become a buzzword now allover. The whole world is now accepting yoga. The Indian scientists of the Vedic age had devised the sadhana of yoga-nidra and Samadhi which served the purpose of self-analysis practices are risk-less and effective as they are naturally adaptive as per the physical and mental health intrinsic nature and spiritual level of practitioners.

Yoga-nidra is one of the most powerful and time tested spiritual techniques to go beyond the body consciousness and experience the subconscious and later on the super conscsious enters the subtlest the innermost and the divine core of life the sheath of ultimate bliss. Realization of the soul and the absolute linkage with the cosmic consciousness can be attained in this state, divine messages are received in such condition that inspires sublime transmutation of the individual self.

A Handbook of Yoga-nidra present the invaluable pearls of ancient knowledge and the deeper aspect of creative conjugation of mind with the inner impulses of the soul. It introduces the history philosophy and all psycho-physiological aspect of yoga-nidra explaining how it work in both yogic and scientific terms. It includes several scientific studies particularly the multidirectional approaches of this unique relaxation technique on the basis of modern medical as well as psychological tools.

The progress of this sadhana as described in this book results not only in better physiological and psychological condition of the body and mind it also reflects into gradual arousal of hidden potential of spiritual transmutation. It is hoped that the book would be interesting and informative to all those who are interested in yogic knowledge. It will be of great use to graduates postgraduate and research student and teachers of the yoga and allied system of therapy.

I wish kamakhya kumar. Great success who has made a wonderful effort to bring this vast knowledge of yoga-nidra into a lucid form through this book.

The entire Vedic literature and the sages savants of the sastric scriptures have given paramount importance to yoga and have discussed in detail the methods of the yogic practices. There is no scripture which does not sing paeans of the preeminent benefits and supra mental effects of this time tested method that encompasses the personal global and the cosmic realms of existence.

It is said that even if one performs dhyana (meditation) with fervent faith without going through all the prescribed ascetic disciplines of higher level from the perspective of the studies conducted worldwide it can be inferred that yogic practices influence the human physiology. Not only the physiological aspect the psychological and the spiritual cores of this practice are also so sound that it appears to be founded on profound scientific basis.

In day to day life individuals fails to express their emotions freely and openly. As a result the emotions are repressed and manifest in the form of emotional tension. Due to excessive activity on the mental plane the mind always remains in a state of arousal which result in mental tension. Throughout life the mind is fed with negative dat. The shadows of cultural anarchy, tribulation fright and disharmony seen in the social fronts also make collective reflections of the inner disharmony fear desperation insecurity, despair, jealously, discontentment, suppressed desires etc. at the individual levels.

At the root of all these devilish drives lie the ghostly complexities of ignorant perverted and shattered minds. The accelerating rates of psychosomatic diseases and personality disorders are causes of serious concern and have pose on unprecedented challenge to human intellect and consciousness.

Yoga-nidra helps to restore mental emotional and physical health by way of relaxation and makes the mind more conducive to pratyahara (withdrawing senses from their objects) dharana (concentration) and meditation. This practice helps to harmonize the two hemisphere of the brain, and both the sympathetic and parasympathetic aspects of autonomous nervous system the impressions in the subconscious are brought to surface experienced and removed. Thus the fixation of awareness to the body is replaced with an awareness of the subtler aspects of prana and spiritual dimensions.

Through the practice of yoga-nidra the practitioners slowly moves towards to deeper realms of the mind where they confront their deep rooted emotional tensions. When the practitioner recognize these emotional tensions with full awareness and a witnessing attitude, repressed emotions are released and the practitioner becomes calm and tranquil.

In the practice of yoga-nidra especially in rotation of consciousness and breath awareness the mind is relaxed thereby releasing the mental tensions. In this way through the regular and sincere practice of yoga-nidra tensions at the physical emotional and mental levels can be minimized.

Good health is one of the greatest resources for vitality creatively and wealth while poor health in contrast significantly drains them. The good old days have gone when health was synonymous with the absence of disease and all that was needed to assign us with a healthy “unhealthy” label was a visit to the doctor office. Many killer diseases of the past such as measles and tuberculosis caused by pathogens or germs flourished in the poor environment condition of the past.

The psychological crisis of this age is perhaps the severest of the crises human race has ever faced. Considering at the severity of the psychological complications found in majority of people today it looks difficult the subtle but the fast decline of human health (and hence the existence of human civilization) towards pathetic extinction.

Normally an average person can tolerate a certain amount of psychic trauma without much disturbance. However if it exceeds the limit of his endurance various psychological changes take place. Normally such a phase remains in the body for a short while. If it becomes recurrent in the form of a repeated psychic trauma then one may observe some visible and demonstrable changes in the behavior and personality of the persona. Anxiety stress regression, guilt, arousal and fatigue are the manifestations of the behavioural and personality disorders.

Whenever a psychological or physicological stress occurs the entire psychosomatic apparatus of our body tries to adapt itself in order to face external environmental challenges more effectively and successfully. Entire body chemistry changes within seconds. As the result of sympathetic arousal imbalance and disharmony in the functioning of internal organs occur. This demanding situation of the body increases the respiration rates as well as the puls rate. The stressed condition of the body results in vaso spasm the muscles become stiff as the blood supply in the arteries becomes difficult which result into high blood pressure. In this situation there occurs increased activity of the cerebral cortex, especially of the psychic center. This can be observed by the electroencephalogram (EEG) changes and biochemical changes of the body.

The mechanism of action of the psychic somatic and visceral centres of our brains are closely interconnected by efficient anatomical and physical links. However the psychic centres are more closely associated with somatic centres than the autonomic ally controlled visceral centres. Thus psychological disorders such as lack of memory and lack of well being of the person can be observed.

The international problem today is not hunger, poverty drugs of fear of war, it is only mental imbalance and their manifestation in the form of psychosomatic diseases. These inner tensions of the individual can only be dealt with inner peace. The yogic texts all unequivocally state that peace can only be found within never without therefore to create a more peaceful world we must first learn how to relax and harmonize our own body and mind.

Ancient Indian saints as well contemporary yoga have established a wonderful relaxation technique, called yoga-nidra. There are several techniques to relax the body and mind but yoga-nidra is probably mental and emotional relaxation. It is a method of peeling off the subliminal sheath of conscious (external) mind that cover the inner core of the unconscious mind. In this state the individual consciousness is able to receive the cosmic signal of the superconsciousness. Yoa-nidra aims at the removal of the pratyaya (mental fluctuations) from the conscious or eternal plane the subconscious or subtle plane and the unconscious or causal plane. Yoga-nidra is a state between sleep and Samadhi. It is half sleep and half waking state. This simple and useful practice or the art of sleeping which the yogis know may be called psychic sleep.

Since this is the age of scientific investigation nothing can be believed without proof. This is the time to go deep into the search of its physiological and psychological impact on our body and mind and on the basis of that a more applicable form of yoga-nidra can be given to the basis of that a ore applicable form of yoga-nidra can be given to the society. At its simplest level it may be understood and practiced as a way of total physical and mental relaxation. The advanced benefits can be reached with regular practice.

Although yoga-nidra is of great help to insomniacs because its stimulates sleep, it must be understood that yoga-nidra itself is not sleep. At best it can be understood that yoga-nidra itself is not sleep. At best it can be described as sleep of awareness. In conventional sleep we lose control of our sense. But if someone seeks the greatest benefits one must transcend this feeling so that can stimulate the mind in the desired manner and be under control.

Various studies have been done in different parts of the world for observing the effect of yoga-nidra. Yoga-nidra has been experienced as the most powerful relaxation technique known to man. Yet in yoga it is used much more than that. The power of this technique is such that it is regularly used as a therapeutic technique to overcome pain neurosis and even disability in certain cases.