Day 24

Today I arranged my work day so I could go to Airlie’s Hot Hatha at 415pm. I am so glad I did, it was more than I could have imagined. I tried Hot Hatha about 8 months ago, it was actually my very first class I ever attended at Moksha Charlottetown, but I don’t remember it being like tonight. Apparently there is a theme for each month, last month was heart openers, this month is Savasana. Today the class was ½ hour Hatha and ½ hour Nidra.

Hatha Yoga aims to achieve balance between body and mind, as well as attempts to free the more subtle spiritual elements of the mind through physical poses or Asanas, Breathing Techniques or Pranayama, and Meditation. The first half of class was the Asana portion and we did lots of different poses including cow belly and angry cat (the names are adorable).

The second part of class was my favourite. I have never tried Yoga Nidra before but it was incredible. Airlie talked about Richard Miller one of the most prominent Nidra yoga teachers in the United States. His technique is based on moving through the five koshas, or sheaths, which are layered within the body, in order to reach the innermost layer, a place of innate joy and peacefulness.

Yoga Nidra is translated as "yogic sleep," however it is not meant for sleep in the traditional sense. The intent is to identify sensations throughout your body and focus on your breath, while (ideally) remaining in a state of relaxed awareness so that you may release deeply held tensions, some of which you may not even be aware you have.

Despite my intention to remain awake and really listen to every word Airlie said, I felt myself begin to drift off almost instantly. I heard her say a few times,” I am in Yoga Nidra and I am not asleep” …at least that is what I thought she said. Others seemed to be in a really deep sleep as I could hear snoring across the room at one point ;)

At the end of class Airlie answered some questions from the class. She asked if anyone was fully “present” throughout the Nidra and remembered every word she said.  She said even if we felt we didn't hear her, we actually did but were in such a state of relaxation that we felt like we were asleep.  Some could have been asleep but others may have had the sensation that they were asleep but they were actually in a state of relaxed awareness.

I instantly felt energized and happy after class. It was like having a power nap x 1000. No grogginess but a sensation that I had just done something wonderful. I was so relaxed when I left that I forgot my two yoga towels and my water cup. I didn't have a care in the world when I left, obviously :)

Favourite pose of the day: Corpse pose / Savasana 

I found a great article online called “Yoga Nidra: A Meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing” by Richard Miller, PhD. Here are a few points I particularly loved about the article. The first time Richard tried Yoga Nidra back in the 1970’s he said:

“I drove home that evening feeling totally relaxed and expansively present. For the first time in years, I felt free of all conflict, radiantly joyful, and attuned with the entire universe. I experienced life as being perfect just as it was and felt myself to be a spacious, non-localized presence. Instead of my usual experience of being in the world, I was having a non-mental experience of the world being in me; similar to experiences I had known as a child.”  He also went on to say:

“Yoga Nidra revealed to me the peace of Presence, Being, and Equanimity that remain steadfast and true during even the most intense and difficult times of physical pain, interpersonal conflict, and current events. It helps us investigate and dispel the roots of our conditioning that underlie our misperceptions of reality. It dissolves the obstacles that stand in the way of our leading an authentic life of purpose and meaning, and it can awaken us into living an enlightened life of self-realization.”

Tonight was a special night, and I am so glad I got to experience it, as Airlie does not offer Yoga Nidra as part of the regular Hot Hatha classes. I looked up Nidra on the appstore and there are lots of iphone apps, just need to experiment and find a good one. I can’t wait to try this again, it was very enlightening :)