May You Be Well: Yoga Nidra Meditation

Photos via My Morning Coffee.

Do you ever have trouble falling asleep?

Sometimes I find it’s hard to drift off, and there are certain practices I can take to help calm my mind and body before bed. One of my favorite ways is by doing a yoga nidra meditation. During yoga nidra, you lay in savasana and the teacher guides you through awareness of specific areas of the body, scanning the entire body and progressively relaxing more and more. Sometimes visualization techniques are used as well.

I find that it’s very calming – my conscious mind is quieted right away, and I can then become more and more relaxed from there.

My favorite is Julie Rader’s yoga nidra, which is a 45-minute track on her Mukti Meditations CD. Julie has the most calming voice, and since I’ve listened to it so many times, now I simply turn the audio on and immediately feel a little more at peace.

You can do yoga nidra any time, before bed or not – it’s also wonderful for an afternoon pick-me-up! Keep in mind you may drift off, and you still get all the benefits if you fall asleep.

Have you ever tried yoga nidra? What did you think?

This post is part of my new series, May You Be Well. The idea behind the series is that I can experience wholeness – to have a healthy body, mind, and spirit – by simple daily choices. My mantra? I’m easing in.