The Gift of Rest: Trauma-Informed Yoga Nidra Practice
If you have the opportunity to slow down and reflect on all that’s passed and all that’s to come, here are some simple reflection questions for you:
What/who/where brought me joy this year?
What am I proud of from this year?
What did I learn?
What am I leaving behind in 2024? Do I still need to mourn these losses/endings?
What is important to me, moving forward into a new chapter? What do I want to remember?
Here are the general instructions for yoga nidra:
Yoga nidra means “yogic sleep” and it is both a practice and a state of consciousness. The practice involves a multi-stage guided meditation designed to guide you to a resting place. The state of consciousness is described as somewhere between waking and sleeping, where deep healing can occur.
For your practice it is important to get as physically comfortable as you can, so please — go all out. Whether you’re practicing on a yoga mat, a couch, or in bed — feel free to grab all the pillows and blankets you can get your hands on. Even an eye pillow (or a towel) if you’d like. We’re embracing softness over here. Your body temperature will often drop in this practice, so please dress warmly.
While yoga nidra is generally a practice of horizontal stillness - you are not stuck. Move and adjust at any time. If laying down isn’t available to you right now, feel free to sit up while leaning against a wall or some other kind of support.
