Rest with me

Yoga Nidra is my go to rest practice and is the main rest practice I share.  It is such a tonic for modern day living. The first time I practiced Yoga Nidra I could not believe how rested, calm centred and resourced I felt afterwards.  This ancient yogic rest based practice can help us live in the moment, break the cycle of fatigue, reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as support us tune into our inner knowing and wisdom. 

Yoga Nidra - both a naturally arising state of being and a technique which is known as ‘peace beyond words’ is a rest based guided meditation that leads us into a profound state of deep rest and relaxation.  It can be described as a meditation on the moment of falling asleep.  We are resting on the drowsy boundary of sleep; hovering in the in-between space of sleeping and waking - a dreamy space where the thinking mind fades away, emotions evaporate, alertness heightens and awareness becomes clear.   Not only is it stress free, it is also incredibly healing, restorative and powerful. Yoga Nidra can help you clear the burn out you’re experiencing at a deeper level, so that you can feel rested and whole again on a physical, mental and spiritual level.

The brain and body form one integral, interconnected whole. Where you go in your mind, your body goes too and vice versa. Yoga Nidra offers the delightful opportunity to bring heart, body and mind together so that you can:

✦ Reduce stress, anxiety, overwhelm, worry and/ or depression

✦ Feel deep physical rest

✦ Become more peaceful and intuitive 

✦ Improve your sleep, reduce insomnia and boost your dreams

✦ Release any build up of emotions that are holding your back

✦ Free up space in the mind leading to enhanced creativity and memory

✦ Increase immunity 

✦ Reduce physical pain

✦ Increase energy

✦ Become more attuned to and understand the ebb and flow/ cycles of your body

✦ Provide emotional and mental stability 

Numerous studies have shown Yoga Nidra alleviates chronic pain, insomnia and stress. 

Yoga Nidra works by using comprehensive guided invitations to move your brain from active waking states into deep delta wave relaxation.

You lie down, while a Yoga Nidra teacher guides you through a variety of activities for the mind including body scans and breath awareness with the intention to turn off your fight or flight response and activate the healing rest and digest system.

The science shows us that Yoga Nidra has a huge affect on our brain waves (our brain waves change throughout the day, depending on what we are doing and feeling).  When we start a practice of Yoga Nidra our brain is often in an active, alert state as we begin the transition from human ‘doing’ to human ‘being’. 

As we settle into the practice and draw our senses inward we are guided towards the more anchored, calm, dreamy and peaceful alpha brain waves.  As the activity of the mind begins to still, the body also moves into stillness and you feel a deep sense of relaxation as you drift into a liminal dreamy space known as the hypnogogic state. 

The deepest stage of Yoga Nidra is associated with delta brain waves, the slowest brainwaves normally generated in a dreamless sleep. Delta waves allow for healing and rejuvenation, revitalising the brain and strengthening the immune system and it is here in this sweet spot of a brain state that true transformation and fundamental change can occur.

Sound Healing is all about vibration, resonance and intention …

Every sound is vibration and vibration touches every cell in our body, every sound that has loving intention is a Healing Sound … therefore we not only hear sound, we feel it physically, emotionally and soulfully. If every sound is vibration and if the vibration touches each and every cell of our body, we can understand that we don't perceive sound only with the ears, but with every cell in our body. 

Sound Therapy is so effective because it influences our emotional bodies as well as our physical bodies. Emotional imbalances are at the root of many physical diseases and when we heal our emotional bodies, the physical symptoms disappear. Sound and emotions are deeply connected. Human emotions have their immediate expression through sound, and it is often the repression of the sound of the emotions that creates emotional blockages. Conversely, sound can be used to unlock the blocked emotions and release them with ease and grace.

Stress reduction is one of the most important results of receiving sound therapy. Stress is the underlying cause of many physical conditions and it melts away with ease when you are bathed in a sea of sound healing vibrations. 

Sound bathing is a simple yet profound way to connect with the core of our being and tune our body at a cellular level through the gentleness of its resonance, using healing sounds of many sacred instruments including Sensual, Vocal Toning, Drum, Tibetan Singing Bowls, Koshi Chimes and Rainstick. 

“There is non organ or system in the body that is not affected by sound, music and vibration. You can look at disease as a form of disharmony.”

— Mitchell Gaynor