I'm still not sleeping well. It usually goes like this: I sleep for a couple of hours, then I'm wide awake for what seems like forever, then I finally drift back to sleep for an hour or two. I'm sure I'm just stressed because I'm not working. Maybe it's my growing financial concerns and the declining economy. Or, maybe it's my fears that Lamar Odom won't return to the Lakers.
I've had no luck so far doing what the "experts" suggest. Even my Tylenol PM isn't working so well. So, when I received my yoga studio's monthly newsletter offering an upcoming 2 1/2 hour workshop with this headline: "Sleep Like A Baby With Yoga Nidra", I had to give it a shot!
The workshop was taught by a licensed hypnotherapist and included a discussion of Yoga Nidra, some gentle yoga stretches to do before going to bed and a guided Yoga Nidra meditation. I couldn't take pictures, but this one I found online shows what it looked like.
Yoga Nidra translates from the Sanskrit as "yogic sleep", or a "glorious state of complete physical relaxation that when achieved allows the consciousness to release mental stress and promote rejuvenation of the mind, body and spirit". (at least, that's what the pamphlet said.)
Supposedly, anyone can do it and everyone can benefit from it. After some simple yoga stretches, we were taken through a guided meditation done by lying down in the savasana pose (or, corpse pose). We were to relax each part of our bodies systematically while breathing deeply and slowly from our abdomen. As you enter deep relaxation, you're supposed to feel your mind become clear and detached.
My review? Well, I guess I naively thought she would show us some magical "sleep-inducing" yoga poses. Instead, we did some of the same yoga stretches that we do in my regular yoga classes. Judging by the snores I heard next to me, the guided meditation she did worked for almost everyone. I was very relaxed and even drifted off for a moment or two. But, after going through the process, she announced that her CD's were on sale in the corner for $20.00!
I didn't think that was right. We all paid for this seminar already - did we have to spend an additional $20 more for the "key's to the city"? I get that she has to earn a living, but I thought the price was a little steep! I think I can find cheaper CD's out there taking me on the same relaxation journey.
I knew that one class wasn't going to unleash the secret of uninterrupted sleep - it's a process that takes practice. That night, I tried Yoga Nidra with my husband, who's also having trouble sleeping lately but couldn't attend the class with me that day. After going through the yoga stretches and some guided relaxation, he slept like a baby...and I was awake for hours.
I think I need a little more practice.
I've had no luck so far doing what the "experts" suggest. Even my Tylenol PM isn't working so well. So, when I received my yoga studio's monthly newsletter offering an upcoming 2 1/2 hour workshop with this headline: "Sleep Like A Baby With Yoga Nidra", I had to give it a shot!
The workshop was taught by a licensed hypnotherapist and included a discussion of Yoga Nidra, some gentle yoga stretches to do before going to bed and a guided Yoga Nidra meditation. I couldn't take pictures, but this one I found online shows what it looked like.
Yoga Nidra translates from the Sanskrit as "yogic sleep", or a "glorious state of complete physical relaxation that when achieved allows the consciousness to release mental stress and promote rejuvenation of the mind, body and spirit". (at least, that's what the pamphlet said.)
Supposedly, anyone can do it and everyone can benefit from it. After some simple yoga stretches, we were taken through a guided meditation done by lying down in the savasana pose (or, corpse pose). We were to relax each part of our bodies systematically while breathing deeply and slowly from our abdomen. As you enter deep relaxation, you're supposed to feel your mind become clear and detached.
I didn't think that was right. We all paid for this seminar already - did we have to spend an additional $20 more for the "key's to the city"? I get that she has to earn a living, but I thought the price was a little steep! I think I can find cheaper CD's out there taking me on the same relaxation journey.
I knew that one class wasn't going to unleash the secret of uninterrupted sleep - it's a process that takes practice. That night, I tried Yoga Nidra with my husband, who's also having trouble sleeping lately but couldn't attend the class with me that day. After going through the yoga stretches and some guided relaxation, he slept like a baby...and I was awake for hours.
I think I need a little more practice.
