Did you know that there is a form of mindfulness meditation that will benefit you even if you fall asleep while practicing it? This form of meditation is called iRest® Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra means “yogic sleep” - a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, conscious rest. iRest (integrative restoration) Yoga Nidra is a contemporary, secular adaptation of the ancient teachings of yogic meditation. Its aim is to promote healing and resilience of body, mind, and spirit.
Why do we meditate? We want to find peace. iRest is based on the principle that peace is already present in every moment of our lives. Peace is our true nature, the deep undercurrent of our lives, and the potential to experience this peace is already here. The reason we do not experience peace in our day-to-day life is because we are always focused on things that need to change, need to be fixed. iRest is a practice that teaches us how to stay connected to this peace amid the changing experiences of daily life. It guides us into a direct experience of the part of ourselves that is unchanging, and does not need fixing as it is already whole.
Research shows that mindfulness-based practices, such as iRest, are like neural training regimens. When we practice iRest we are reshaping neural pathways in charge of emotional self-regulation, ethical decision-making, and resilience. We enhance our cognitive and emotional skills, develop self-compassion, empathy and well-being, and improve overall physical and mental health.
Unlike more traditional forms of meditation, iRest is a mind-body practice. In iRest the body is used to ground our experiences, to create a sense of safety and to allow our feelings, emotions and thoughts to be connected to body sensations, as we bring them into our conscious awareness.
