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Deep Meditation Technique

Meditation can reduce the effects of stress and help to manage the symptoms of many chronic diseases. Taking time to relax can reduce muscular tension, moderate endocrine activity and give you energy for the rest of your day. There are many forms of meditation. Some can be used when you only have a little time. There is also a technique called Yoga Nidra which is a very deep form of meditation that takes forty-five to sixty minutes to do. While it requires a time commitment, it will leave you feeling deeply relaxed and at peace.

  1. Introduction

    • Yoga Nidra is often referred to as yoga sleep or sleeping with awareness. You consciously work to bring yourself into a dream state physiologically similar to sleep, yet you are awake. You focus on internal sensations in order to slow down your thinking and clear your mind of stressful thoughts.

    Getting Prepared

    • In Yoga Nidra it is customary to meditate while lying on your back while fully supported, to allow your body and muscles to fully relax. You might want a pillow under your head and one under your knees. The room should be quiet. Sometimes Yoga Nidra is taught with very soft and mellow music in the background, the use of bells or chimes, or sometimes it is practiced in silence.

    Turning Your Attention Inward

    • You start by bringing your attention to your breath. You then begin a general full-body scan and deepen your breath. Your goal in this phase is to breathe into areas that feel tight or tense and allow the tension to leave with the exhale. You may employ ascending and decending breathing. As you inhale you imagine the breath coming in through the soles of the feet and out through the head. Then as you exhale you imagine the breath entering the top of the head and leaving through the soles of the feet. This stage can take between five to fifteen minutes.

    Explore Deeper Sensations

    • The next stage is to bring your attention to very specific points in the body and consciously relax them. This includes the eyebrows, the lips, individual fingers and toes, your internal organs, your throat, your heart and so forth. It is very systematic and designed to bring you to a place of complete stillness. Your instructor will then use guided imagery to relax you more fully. You will be guided to imagine items such as a black crow, white fence, red rose, blue stream, in a fairly quick sequence. The goal is to get your mind to shift away from distracting thoughts by using images that are easy to visualize. As the mind shifts to this task the body lets go of residual tension and shifts deeper into meditation.

    Incorporating Positive Affirmations and Healing

    • When you are fully relaxed you may wish to incorporate self-suggestions repeated silently. These can include sayings such as "I am at peace," "I am happy and healthy," "I am successful" or "I am achieving all I want in life." Another option is being guided through a vision quest during which you take an imaginary journey to find your life's purpose, release emotions or heal yourself.

    Closing

    • It is important to come out of your Yoga Nidra session very slowly and take your time returning to full awareness. Take time afterward to feel the effects of the meditation.

      Visit the web pages listed in resources below for sample online Yoga Nidra techniques.

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