How Yoga Nidra can help you do extraordinary things...
When I was little, I was petrified of going to sleep. I often had weird experiences at night - I felt like I was paralysed and shaking uncontrollably when I was trying to fall asleep. It was impossible to snap out of it or even to make a sound in that state - it was so frightening at the time! I thought I was being possessed by the devil (I had made the fatal mistake of watching the Exorcist!).
So to keep myself from falling asleep, I started to play little games in my head. I'm not sure why I started to do this, but I would imagine moving my mind into my left big toe. I would try to see if I could 'think' from my toe instead of my head. And then it progressed to all my toes, my foot, my leg, my hip and then up the other side and all the way to the top of the head.
I found that I could indeed shift my awareness from body part to body part. It became a fun little game, but it also meant that my weird experiences multiplied. Now it wasn't just the shaking that I had to contend with, I also started to experience floating body parts. My arm seemed to just detach from my body and it could stretch out like a rubber band. I also began floating up to ceiling - I could look down and just see myself lying in bed.
I didn't think too much about it at the time - I thought everyone who didn't want to sleep was doing this! It's only now, decades later that I've made the connection between my own made-up form of Yoga Nidra and Out of Body Experiences (OBEs).
I now actively induce OBEs and have a very animated and fun-packed 'night life' (I'll save the details for another post!). I've been privileged enough to go to the Monroe Institute in Virginia - founded by one of my heroes Robert Monroe (whose first book was a revelation to me and explained exactly what I had been experiencing for years!). I've also been to a number of retreats and workshops organised by the charismatic and seasoned Out-of-Body explorer Todd Acamesis. If you're based in London and interested OBEs, you should definitely check out Todd's events!
Since starting to practice and teach Yoga Nidra, it has stuck me how similar it is to the 'game' I played as a child. The shifting of awareness from body part to body part helps keep your mind alert while allowing your body to deeply relax. That is the exact state needed to induce an OBE.
Yoga Nidra is an incredibly powerful practice and helps you access a higher states of awareness... places where you can start to shift major blocks from your life, let go of limiting beliefs and embed little seeds of intention. It's incredibly relaxing and refreshing as well - it's said that 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra is the equivalent of 3-4 hours of deep sleep! And if it's something you're interested in, it can also help you have some amazing out-of-body adventures...!
But the trick is to stay awake while allowing your body to fall asleep! And like so many other things, practice makes perfect... So a good place to start is right here on my website. If you've read all the way to this point, chances are you're interested enough to give it a go! So why not download my free Yoga Nidra meditation and try it out for yourself?
I will soon be creating Yoga Nidra style meditations specifically to induce OBEs so make sure to watch this space :-)
P.S. This is the first time I have ever publicly 'out-ed' myself (outside workshops and events) as an Out of Body Explorer... and you know what, it feels really good! Here's to embracing all our little quirks and traits that makes each and every one of us so unique.
