yoga nidra – Page 2

A quiet power

I had the pleasure of teaching a really incredible yin yoga class on Tuesday at Bound Lotus. The amazing part of it was getting out of the students’ way and enabling them to sink deeply into their own practice.

I was comfortable with all of the students and knew that they would be okay with minimal guidance. Other than getting them into the poses, marking the halfway point of the hold, and signaling the transition to the next pose, I did my best to stay quiet.

There was an awesome power in that quiet.

It was a deep practice and I felt a profound change in the energy of the studio as the students sank into each long-held pose and turned their focus inwards. I’m so honoured to have led that class and I look forward to more quietly powerful classes.

Join me on Friday at 6:30pm for yin yoga – and a little slice of quiet – at Bound Lotus. It’s the last Friday class of the month, which means a short (35 minutes or so) asana (posture) practice followed by a long yoga nidra (guided relaxation). Who couldn’t use 40 minutes of savasana (deep relaxation)!

March rush

March has swept by in a blur. Thankfully, it’s been a pretty wonderful blur 🙂

Suzee and Paul Grilley — Photo of Suzee & Paul Grilley from www.paulgrilley.com

I spent the last seven days in an amazing workshop on yoga anatomy at Semperviva Yoga on Granville Island with Paul & Suzee Grilley. Paul and Suzee have been mainstays in my yoga practice for years through their Yin Yoga DVD and it was incredible to meet them. They are fantastic presenters and the week-long workshop contained so many mind-blowing moments.

One of the huge highlights was a lovely sun-warmed practice yesterday afternoon where Suzee led us through the infant series. I’d done the infant series from their Yin Yoga DVD many times before, but, of course, it’s always better in person!

March has also been wonderful in terms of new opportunities — you can always check my schedule to show all the classes I’ll be teaching.

Beyond a good night’s sleep

Laura in corpse pose for yoga nidra

One of my few positive memories of summer camp is of a counsellor quieting us down at night by doing a guided relaxation. I remember feeling peaceful and weightless; letting go of all my tensions and forgetting any stresses of the day. Given that I didn’t like summer camp much, the comfort and security of the guided relaxation was very welcome!

I had no idea that the counsellor instructing a cabin-full of girls to relax from their toes to their earlobes was actually doing a form of the ancient practice of yoga nidra – or yogic sleep. Yoga nidra isn’t really sleep as the intent is to stay conscious, but it is deeply relaxing. Making a choice to release tension from all of your muscles and surrender to gravity is powerful and profound.

It’s a different feeling from sleeping as every moment of yoga nidra is a conscious decision to relax rather than giving in to the unconsciousness of sleep. It can be even more restorative than a nap of the same duration and some studies show that half an hour of yoga nidra is equal to two hours of sleep.

Sometimes students do fall asleep in yoga nidra and that’s okay, too. I see being comfortable enough to drift off in a yoga class as a huge compliment for the teacher 🙂

I love the way I feel after doing yoga nidra – relaxed, refreshed, and calm. I also love leading yoga nidra and I end all of my yin classes with at least five minutes of guided relaxation to help settle students into savasana (the relaxation period at the end of class).

Join me at Bound Lotus tonight at 8:15pm for Yin Yoga and check my schedule to see when I’m teaching and join me for a class – including a yoga nidra-infused savasana!