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Yoga Nidra is one of the deepest of all meditations, leading awareness through many levels of mental process to a state of supreme stillness and insight. The state of Thuriya. Yoga Nidra literally means Yogic Sleep. In this deep meditation you train your attention to leave the chatter of the Waking state of mind, go past the fantasy of the Dreaming state, and consciously, intentionally enter the stillness of the Deep Sleep state, yet paradoxically remain awake and in deep meditation. For thousands of years the Yogis have used Yoga Nidra to master the art of sleep, to balance the subtle energies, and to experience greater depths of meditation.

Yoga Nidra and supreme knowledge

The state of conscious Deep Sleep or Yoga Nidra is underneath, behind, or subtler than meditations at either the Waking or Dreaming levels. This subtle state is called Prajna, which means supreme knowing. Pra means supreme, and jna means knowing. The conscious experience of this state is a doorway to higher; formless knowing that has been called the infinite library of wisdom and the teacher within.

You practice Yoga Nidra while lying prone and follow the spoken instructions of a teacher. It is, of course, convenient to use the Yoga Nidra tape, or record one yourself. In the first phase of the session, you progressively relax your muscles by quickly running attention through different parts of the body. This is followed by an awakening of sensations of pairs of polar opposites, such as heaviness and lightness. The last phase is a rapid visualization of some nature images and abstract symbols

It has become popular to use the term Yoga Nidra for any method that might help induce relaxation. Yoga Nidra is not mere relaxation, as very useful as relaxation exercises might be. Yoga Nidra is a specific state of consciousness, which has to do with the conscious experience of dreamless, Deep Sleep. This may seem unimportant, but if one does not discern the difference between relaxation and Yoga Nidra, the greater depth of Yoga Nidra might be completely missed. Better that one see the difference, enjoy relaxation for its own value, and then pursue the depths of Yoga Nidra when he or she is ready for this deeper practice.

But what is the purpose of each phase of the practice? From neurophysiology we know that each part of the body has a different control center in the brain-curiously, small ones such as the fingers or armpits claim a large brain area. The movement of awareness through different parts of the body not only relaxes them, but also clears nerve pathways to the brain. Yoga nidra must be done by a master who have achieved the prajna and also complete cosmic connection therefore is word and sankalpa during the session will be very effective and will make the student dwell deeper to the state of prajna. A preliminary aura cleansing and environment cleansing need to be done prior to the yoga nidra.

The siddhar of south India said that in tamil "tugamal tungi sugam kanpethe ekalam" means "oh when can I have the bliss of sleep but not sleeping". These are perfect words for Yoga Nidra.