Yoga Nidra

In between the waking and dreaming state exists a transitionary phase characterized by alpha brain waves.  This state does not usually last longer than a few minutes and is characterized by physical relaxation and withdrawal of awareness of the external environment.  In the hypnogogic state there exists a transient place between waking (externalized) awareness and sleeping (introverted state).  It is in this hypnogogic state, with its alpha brain waves, that Yoga Nidra occurs.

Students are experiencing stress in their lives; I believe that the most important lesson we can teach them is how to live peacefully in the world.  Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness.  It is sleep with a trace of awareness — conscious deep relaxation.  The benefits to experiencing Yoga Nidra are many:
more relaxed state in the brain and a more harmonious pattern to the brain waves, increased dopamine production which increases feelings of contentment, increased brain activity and blood flow in the areas of the brain responsible for sensory imagery, decreased anxiety and depression, decreased blood pressure levels for those with high blood pressure, decreased blood glucose levels for those with elevated blood glucose levels, decrease in the release of stress hormones, improved digestion and assimilation of food, improved circulation, reduced pain, decreased inflammation, improved and stabilized mood, decreased heart rate, sense of wellness, can bring to conscious realization suppressed thoughts, emotions, desires and fears, may aid in the release of long-held anger, fear, and negative emotions, and can reduce the symptoms of PTSD.

Yoga Nidra can be offered in a Wellness Program, or as an after-school activity, and  interested teachers can provide mini sessions right in the classroom, if they choose.  Students lie on the floor with their eyes closed and remain still.  The basic eight steps of Yoga Nidra are:

1. Preparation — Cue students to repeat silently, “I will remain awake.  I will remain still.”
2. Relaxation — Systematically cue each part of the body, e.g.. “tip of the right thumb, tip of the index finger,” bringing the students’ awareness to each point, removing tension, worries and conflicting thought.
3. Resolve — The intention or objective.  Cue students to state silently in the present tense the thing they want most, e.g., “I am becoming more confident.”
4. Rotation of Consciousness — This is the practice of activating energy points in the body through through the use of guided imagery.  Cues are often given to experience sensations of cold/hot, pain/pleasure, heaviness/lightness as ways of becoming accustomed to and comfortable with ever-changing states of being.
5. Reverse Counting — mental alternate nostril breathing and reverse counting are cued to further stabilize the mind during the transition phases between external and internal awareness.
6. Rotation of Visual Symbols — The mind is guided into the subconscious mental state, but this is not hypnotism because the student is in charge of the Resolve.  It may be cued in this section for the student to ask for help from an inner guide.
7. Resolve — The Resolve from the beginning is silently repeated now.
8. Conclusion — The teacher guides students back into integrated, ordinary mind, and the session ends with, “The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.”

Image credits:
http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0097009/photos/107380081@N02/10704284454/ 
  http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0094009/photos/22068693@N06/2453419381/