This is in all likelihood the most important practice I will ever share with you.
In my view, this is the deepest, most restful, most delightful, and profound of all yoga practices.
READ THE SCIENCE
Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., Neurobiologistat Stanford School of Medicine
"After performing a yoga nidra protocol, the baseline levels of dopamine — that is the amount of dopamine available in the basal ganglia and a few other structures of the human brain, was increased by as much as 60% as compared to individuals that did a different protocol — not yoga nidra, not NSDR (Non Sleep Deep Rest).
Yoga nidra is really powerful stuff. And it's powerful stuff as it relates to the very neurochemicals and neurocircuits that are involved in working memory."
WHY IS THIS PARTICULAR YOGA NIDRA SO GOOD?
I say this is the classic version because it is so simple and effective.
I recorded this around 2010, maybe earlier. It is taken from the xeroxed copy of a text my teacher’s father had brought to South Africa from Southern India. My teacher at the time, Alan Finger, had it in his care in Santa Monica when we were working together at Yoga Works. Alan passed it on to me and I treasured it for years. Later, when it was published in the US, I found the text to be from the Bihar school - the original version that made yoga nidra so popular in the west.
So many yoga nidra practices these days have become overly complex.
Yoga nidra should be simple. To be clear and direct. To bring us to the deepest layers of inner comfort. Not a fancy journey, . but a direct route to bliss. Deep rest is fundamental for all we do, and this is the deepest of the deep rest techniques.
I cherish this practice and still - after 30 years - do it almost daily. I have taught it to hundreds of people. I think you will find it to be one of the most helpful tools yoga offers. Doing it a few times, you may become able to lead yourself through it anywhere, anytime. (Yoga teachers: this post contains a transcript of the spoken practice)
Classic Simple Perfect Yoga Nidra