I love learning. It is one of my super powers. I am always reading, listening to podcasts, videos and films, and absorbing new things.
As a yoga teacher, I see it as my joy, job and professional responsibility to keep expanding my knowledge. Also as a yoga student, it deepens my own practice. They go hand in hand, of course.
Several months ago I came across the Yoga Therapy Institute (based in the Netherlands) and their offering of a weekend module on Safety in Yoga Nidra and Relaxation for Yoga Therapy. The title alone intrigued me, particularly since I am trained in trauma-informed yoga practices and am a survivor myself. I signed up and recently completed the training, an intensive two days of lecture with Montserrat Mukherjee and Suze Retera.
There were MANY takeaways, more than I will blog about, but safe to say that my learnings will inform how I offer nidra to my students.
One of the big takeaways is that yoga nidra isn't for everyone, even though it is billed and promoted as such. They discussed the physical contraindications and some strategies to use. For example, for folks with diabetes, the blood sugar can drop during yoga nidra, so it's important to be aware of this risk and be prepared. Montserrat shared a story of a student who's blood sugar dropped and how they had to find some sugary food right away after nidra to address this. So she recommends that all students have a beverage and snack for their post nidra period, to help them ground and balance blood sugar levels. Luckily I already encourage my students to have a beverage nearby for post nidra, and I will now encourage folks to have a snack available too.
Another is that having a sankalpa is not necessary (I often see this in Uma Dunsmore Tuli's nidras, and Montserrat was trained by Uma). It can stress folks out to figure out a sankalpa, and it's not necessary for a nidra experience. Yet another is that as yoga therapists they believe in short nidras, 30 minutes or less. After that we enter the deep sleep state, and it's not rejuvenating to be woken up from that state.
Want to experience more? I will be offering a yoga nidra and distance reiki series online via The Bhakti Yoga Movement Center on September 12. Come experience deep rest and see for yourself.
