Yoga Nidra: Winter's Rest Immersion with Prajna Yoga

This online offering fell into my lap a few weeks ago, and I am so excited to be studying with Tias and Surya Little, deeping my nidra practice and knowledge, just in time for my own offering that starts on Monday.  Three weeks, three classes.  

I did a weekend yoga asana immersion years ago in PDX (in person, oh those were the days!) and loved the experience...

My insights so far:

Tias style of yoga nidra is radically different from any other style or school of nidra I have ever experienced.  There is no intention, no breath work, no opposites....honestly I really like and need these components.

He focuses a great deal on detailed anatomy of nidra, with special care on releasing the hands, face.  

I enjoy (just as my first experience) that he incorporates poetry and potent quotes from teachers into handouts.  I love a good informative handout.  

Just like my yoga therapy nidra course earlier this fall, he notes that nidra isn't for everyone.  

He is brilliant at explaining in detail about a good savasana nidra set up with props.  

Winter pause yoga nidra series

I love the gestational process of creating a nidra series.  Reading my students' feedback from evaluations and emails, thinking about the season and what our bodies and spirits need, in alignment with the season.  How I can weave in poetry and crystals into the nidra that are also seasonal?  Finding just the right poems.  

So I am excited about the upcoming Winter Pause yoga nidra series coming up in December, the perfect month for nidra, for cozy nests and resting in the dark.  

Three Monday evenings at 7 pm PST.  45 minutes (less if you skip journaling).  Optional journaling with prompts that will allow you some space to reflect on 2022, to practice gratitude and look forward...

This series is online and recorded, so you can attend anywhere you are..registration is up on the Bhakti Yoga Movement Center website.  

Come join me.

Here is what some of my students are saying:

Yoga Nidra has come into my life at the perfect time. I had only just heard of the practice when Rita's class fell into my lap. I am so grateful to be working with Rita to learn about and explore Nidra and Reiki. Rita is supportive and encouraging and her Nidra practices invite calm, non-judgmental rest and reflection. My dog loves it, too! She calms down alongside me and her whole body is relaxed. It's lovely. Julia T.

Rita holds space in a beautiful way. As she guides us through nidra, I felt held, supported, and at ease. Her ability to share distant reiki during these practices is a true gift and blessing. I left feeling well rested and pain free each time I've taken a class with her. So much gratitude for Rita.

Lifelong learning and yoga nidra training on safety

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.  

Summer recharge nidra series

 I love summer.  The weather, being outside, the foods of summer, everything.  But it can be a hectic time of the year...long days full of activity, full sun.  Then throw in COVID and all that the pandemic brings.  We need to hit the pause button on it all.  

I created a 4 week nidra series to allow a time to recharge and go within to rest.  

Each week the nidra reflects a different summer landscape.  The beach, forest, river and lush garden.  All the things I love about Pacific NW summers actually.  

I will be sharing recommendations for incorporating plants and crystals into nidras as well, and we always start with an anointing practice to arrive.  I love all the senses to be involved....really embody the experience.

Yoga nidra and reiki - a potent combination

I wrapped up my third yoga nidra series with the Bhakti Yoga Movement Center recently, and this time I created a series that combined the power of yoga nidra and distance reiki - a healing and powerful combination.  

This was a first for me to offer distance reiki in this way, and I loved it (so did my students).  Each week we came together to rest in nidra, to journal and receive the healing energy of reiki.  

Here are some testimonials from some students: 

"Rita is a steady and grounded guide. Her voice and rhythm set a pace and tone that helps support deep quiet and rest. Thank you Rita. "Danielle

"Taking this 4 week course helped me to incorporate the feeling of rest and mind/body connection into my life more deeply. I find I can access my sense of peace more easily now. I really appreciate learning about and discussing the precepts of Reiki. They are really helpful and I find repeating them to myself when I feel overwhelmed is so helpful. "Just for today...""

"A major part of what made the experience so positive to me was being in the space that Rita created. It was safe and caring and Rita's open heart made the experience welcoming and positive."

I will be offering another series in July, so please follow @thebhaktiyogamovement center for details on that series in late June/early July.  You can take it from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world!

Some feedback from my students

Being able to offer yoga and then yoga nidra to my community, the Latino community, in the midst of a global pandemic was absolutely one of the "gifts" of the pandemic.  I stretched myself as a teacher, learning to hold space and teach online, as well as teaching myself how to offer yoga nidra.  I built community and offered a healing space, free of charge, to Latina community health workers.  

Here is some feedback from a couple of my students, translated from Spanish to English. 

The first testimonial is from a student was terribly impacted by the pandemic, as they lost multiple family members to COVID-19.  

"I want to thank you for all your time in offering yoga. I learned many beautiful things with you, being introduced to yoga, as I have told you, I had never done it before.  I liked doing it with you, especially yoga nidra.  I am in love with your angelic voice that brought much peace to my life.  God put you in my path to heal my soul from so much pain that I carried with me from the past months.  Little by little I have some peace in my soul.  You have changed my life with yoga nidra.  Many thanks"

Another student shared, "I learned that the practice of yoga nidra helps me sleep with tranquility and rest.  It is very relaxing and my favorite practice."