3.5 stars. This book took me a long time to read. Maybe I am not advanced enough to understand it all. Here’s what I did understand:
Yoga nidra is the fourth stage of human consciousness (1, conscious; 2, unconscious; 3 dreaming). In yoga nidra, you are conscious of dreams and use the archetype structure of dreams to experience deep relaxation. I think it has enormous potential if it can be properly harnessed and implemented. For example, the author explains that using yoga nidra can help individuals learn a language five times faster than normal! (The trick is that you then have to review everything you “learned” once you are finished). I would have liked to learn more about this and how to implement it.
There are 7 scripts for yoga nidra in the book. These include archetypal images and directions for “rotation of consciousness” … There isn’t an explanation (unless I missed it) for why certain images are included. For example, as your mind scrolls through the images the speaker lists of, you might hear “sunset…rose opening…temple at dusk…burning body.” And I’m like WTF?!? Burning body?! I’m assuming this represents the death archetype, but that’s an assumption based on my English degree — no explanation is given and if I heard that during a yoga nidra class, it would really throw me off. I wish the author had done more by way of explanation on how to select images. I can just see myself leading a session saying, “sunset…rain cloud……. piano? …shoe?” 😂
All that to say that I wish there were more explanation of images. However, the rotation of consciousness bits were great and I’ve found myself using those when I need to calm down or detach. (Rotation of consciousness is when you focus on different parts of your body one by one).
I found the last part of the book, the part with the science, the most fascinating. There are real-life applications, yoga nidra for kids, pictures of brain scans during deep relaxation, etc. Bear in mind, however, that this is all dreadfully out of date. One of the studies is from fifty years ago. The book itself has been out of print for only a decade; surely, much has been done to discover the benefits of “waking sleep” in the time since?
All in all, I’m glad I read it! I talked to a couple of the older ladies at my yoga studio about their experiences with yoga nidra. They LOVE it and were regretful about classes being rescheduled. I suggested Yin to them and interestingly, both said Yin is too hard on their bodies. That would not have occurred to me. Having now tried yoga nidra several times, I can definitely say I join the ladies in being a fan! I’m interested in learning more about it and seeing further research…