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What better way to honor Columbus Day than to discover yourself? Our Western selves often seek ventures outside of ourselves, rather than take an internal journey to get to know our own minds and bodies better. If I asked, how many thoughts you had per day, would you be surprised that the average person has between 30-70,000 thoughts per day? If I asked you how many thoughts you had that you were aware of, would you be surprised to find that most of us are unaware of 90-95% of our thoughts? If I asked you how to access the 90-95% of your cognitive thinking, would you be able to tell me how? If I asked you how any breaths you take per day, would you be surprised to know that most of us take about 21,600 breaths per day? If I asked you where your pancreas, liver, and stomach are, would you be able to tell me where and what functions they have in the body?
It is only through yoga that I’ve discovered how much of me I don’t actually know, and there’s a lot. As I delve deeper and deeper into my own mind, through daily observation of my reactions, desires and aversions and through meditation, I have begun to understand and appreciate all that I am-the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly, without judging it, but simply by watching myself. After practicing yoga and meditation for years, I try to watch how well I chew my food, or how often I engage in meaningless conversation (sometimes with food in my mouth), or how well I hydrate myself throughout the day, or what triggers my nervous system, or what are my intentions for the day, or how my words or actions potentially make others feel. Knowing more about my internal body and mind, I rely less on others and other things to make me feel valued, healthy or fulfilled. I try to understand and disable my ‘automatic pilot’ reactions to different external conditions or inputs. As an example, I am much more aware of when I’m holding my breath, usually an indication of anxiety, and am able to return my breath back to normal, thus restoring my nervous system.
Delve inside today, and see you what you can uncover about yourself. Don’t forget-we are a microcosm of the macrocosm. There is so much for us to discover about the macrocosm, through discovering ourselves. Happy Columbus Day! Enjoy the adventure!
“Nidra” means sleep, but is distinguishable from the “sleep” we know of in the West. Yoga Nidra is “The Art of Conscious Relaxation”.
True relaxation without an external source prodding us into slower brain waves, has been one of the biggest challenges of our adult stress-filled lives. And what’s more is that most of the “relaxing” activities that our society engages in, don’t actually relax our mind and bodies, but merely stimulate the senses, which counters the intention to relax.
In a society where most individuals become victims or slaves to technology and the “instant-gratification” nation, stress-induced disorders have become epidemic or are on the rise, affecting the health of our people.
Enter center-stage, Yoga Nidra, or ‘psychic sleep’. ‘Psychic sleep’ is a state between wakefulness and dreams. It means that I, you or anyone else can self-induce our minds and bodies to receive relaxation beyond the active beta wavelengths that most of our brains are drowning in during waking hours. It means that not only can you slow the activity of your brain (inducing alpha, theta or delta wave-states) and mind through relaxing the body, but one can also actually heal present and past emotional, physical or psychological pain trapped in the subconscious and unconscious minds, thought to be more powerful than the conscious mind. It also means that diseases can be cured, the nature of the mind-personality can be re-structured and creative genius restored.
As the physical mediator of consciousness, the brain has a profound effect on one’s body as it links body, mind and emotion into one unit.
In a balanced person, the brain induces a harmonious unification between body, mind and emotion. But in a person who is hyper-active, stimulated or even traumatized, there is no balance between activity and receptivity, leaving an energetic residue or toxins in the body. Yoga nidra affects the brain and its chemical output while calming the nervous system through heightened awareness of the body. Specifically, the progressive movement of awareness of individual body parts, in a systematic manner, not only induces physical relaxation but can also clear all the nerve pathways to the brain. And for many of us, our mind’s manner of thinking and being is a result of childhood and adult conditioning, which tends to emphasize materialism and pleasuring the senses, while negatively impacting our health.
There are also numerous scientific studies showing the benefits of Nidra for pain, insomnia, depression, anxiety, cancer therapy, high blood pressure, aging, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory conditions, and much more.
If you’ve never tried Nidra, perhaps today’s the day? If you are interested in more information, please email me or comment below. A 45- minute complete practice is also available for purchase under “Digital Meditations”.
Namaste, and have a restful day!
Discover ways to balance your mind during emotional states and explore where yoga, neuroscience and modern psychology converge to provide you with a better understanding of how your brain reacts towards certain beliefs, behaviors and patterns.
Delve into your core beliefs systems to help you gain control over your mind, remove or reduce unhealthy beliefs/thoughts, and to create space for newer, healthier beliefs, behaviors and decisions.
Register here: Detox your Mind Workshop – Pure Yoga
