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Old 01-31-20, 11:23 AM  
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Pat, I am liable to doze off with any type of guided meditation! I just haven't had that effect with yoga nidra more than anything else. It was also my understanding that you are supposed to stay more alert (yet relaxed) with yoga nidra, but maybe I have that wrong.

Henry, thanks for the additional info. I love restorative yoga! The basic tenet is that your body is completely supported (usually with many props), so you are allowing yourself to completely relax, with no muscular engagement.

I filled out a survey posted by yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings, and I got a free one-month membership to her site! I might check out one of her practices today.
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Old 02-01-20, 07:58 AM  
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Pat, I am liable to doze off with any type of guided meditation!
The main difference for me is how well-rested I am: if I am, I should be able to stay awake consistently, but if I'm not, I'm more likely to fall asleep or struggle to stay awake.

I've done that autogenics training often enough (the initial training is a bit intensive) that it seems like a rough gauge of how well I've been sleeping, heh. If I'm well-rested enough, I usually complete the session "successfully," without falling asleep; if I'm not well-rested, I may not last five minutes, and sometimes I've fallen asleep shortly after the preparatory breathing, which is about two minutes for me. (I find the program's breathing pattern relaxing, and I might consider using it to try to induce sleep if I didn't fear creating a mental association that would lead me to fall asleep when I don't intend to. )

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It was also my understanding that you are supposed to stay more alert (yet relaxed) with yoga nidra, but maybe I have that wrong.
That description at least resembles the ideal presented by what sources I've seen: neither sleepy nor unrelaxed.

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I love restorative yoga! The basic tenet is that your body is completely supported (usually with many props), so you are allowing yourself to completely relax, with no muscular engagement.
Indeed; my main reason for not having done more is the use of props, heh. I want to buy them eventually, but I tend to buy such things only cautiously, and meanwhile I'm likely just to try other things that call for less use of props.
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Old 02-01-20, 08:26 AM  
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If you try the other yoga nidra practice, let me know how it is!
Day 27 (January 31): meditation, reading, yoga nidra: Yoga Nidra for Healing 20 mins | Yoga with Dr. Melissa West 438

I did try it, though not consciously primarily because of your post. I noticed that I still had the video open, and since I was feeling especially receptive to it and had the time, I tried it (without previewing).

It starts with a period of talking and then moves gradually into the process: there is breathing into various parts of the body and then awareness of different parts of the body, in a way that's simpler than some other procedures. There is eventually a period of awareness (if one chooses) of things like well-being and suffering, and then being in a mental place where the ideas "dissolve into the other" and then into rest and a state of "being," not "doing." Later, there's an explicit period of transition outward, including an idea that this "healing practice" may affect the rest of the day as well.

There is fairly subtle music and somewhat long periods of silence or near-silence.

I did relax deeply, and I can see myself trying it again, though I should add that I'm somewhat easy to please with such videos and not likely to offer sharp criticisms of them.

Maybe sometime I'll compare others. She has at least a few, including one with a title "Daily Yoga Nidra | Yoga with Melissa 481 HD"--I haven't looked yet, but it reminds me of that idea from one of my other recent posts: "I'm getting an idea, which I may try if I get the chance, to do something like a sadhana with fairly frequent yoga nidra." Daily yoga nidra sounds like an idea for when I have a lot more time.
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"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

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Old 02-01-20, 09:44 AM  
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Day 31: Yoga for Scoliosis, Centering Poses.

I'm going to finish up with the Sadhana for the month of January. Thank you Pam for starting it off! I missed a few days but not many for the month and it definitely helped me incorporate more practices into my routine which I hope to keep up on some level. Have a great day everyone!
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Old 02-01-20, 09:58 AM  
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Henry, I didn't have an criticisms of the MW practice I tried; I believe I dozed off. I agree that it likely has something to do with how well rested I am, but I'm usually not all that well rested!

There are restorative yoga options without props. Alternatively, many things you have around the couch would work--blankets, beach towels, couch pillows/cushions, a chair, fat old books, etc.

Cate that sounds like a great result for you! That's what happened with me my first year.

I'm off to teach and will try to a short yoga practice when I return.
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Old 02-01-20, 10:46 AM  
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I like this channel for yin yoga without props:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1vTl...cMsQ/playlists
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Old 02-02-20, 08:36 AM  
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Henry, the Melissa West yoga nidra I tried was actually this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c45IpRuHeRg
Day 28 (February 1): meditation, reading, that yoga nidra

I liked this one too and could do it again. Although I couldn't hear some things because my audio setup wasn't ideal this one time, I didn't find anything to dislike. (When I said, "I'm [...] not likely to offer sharp criticisms of [such videos]," I mean something like that commentary; I wouldn't be a very natural restaurant critic, either. Even from childhood, I noticed that I tend not to form many pronounced preferences; for example, I don't quite have one "favorite color" or a single "favorite song" or "favorite food.")

This one has some similarities to the "other" one: some talking, gradual transition into the procedure, an explicit transition back to ordinary life. There are occasional ocean sounds and no music that I could hear.

Especially at the beginning, there's a fair bit of oceanic imagery (including some talk about the waves and the deep of the ocean, which parallels similar discussions of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, though if she mentioned them, I didn't hear it). Someone who's acutely uncomfortable with the idea of being in an ocean may want to preview, I suppose. It also has a more explicit set of instructions about withdrawing the senses, a detailed sort of body scan, and visualization of the flow of fluids--blood (I can do that), lymph (without more research, I can do so less distinctly), and even cerebrospinal fluid (I know where it is in the body, but I don't yet know how it's supposed to flow in the body ).

I may continue with more of her yoga nidra later, though I don't promise anything here. Someone may want to try all of her yoga nidra videos; I'll neither avoid the idea nor commit to it, heh.

I should also mention that in both that I've seen so far, she suggests a number of possible settings, such as a bed, a couch, or on a yoga mat on the floor (my option so far). She also suggests maybe using such things as a blanket, a bolster, or an eye pillow (I don't have anything quite like a yoga bolster or an eye pillow), though I haven't needed any of those. (I have blankets, but I don't get cold very easily.) My next post will be largely about props.
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"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

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Old 02-02-20, 08:42 AM  
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I like this channel for yin yoga without props:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1vTl...cMsQ/playlists
Thanks for the mention: it does remind me that I've had an interest in yin yoga for some time but somehow recently forgot entirely about it while thinking of future yoga plans. I should remember now, in thinking of an overall yoga exploration, to try to incorporate a systematic exploration of yin yoga.

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Alternatively, many things you have around the couch would work--blankets, beach towels, couch pillows/cushions, a chair, fat old books, etc.
Maybe, but I'd probably need to supplement what I actually have there, heh. (As I just wrote, for example, I don't happen to have anything that works quite like a yoga bolster, and I could probably use a greater variety of pillow types.)
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"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

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Old 02-02-20, 02:01 PM  
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Henry, I agree that yoga bolsters are somewhat unique, although several firm blankets stacked or even an extra rolled mat (depending on what you want to do with it) can work pretty well. I am with you on name favorites--other than having a favorite color (green), if you asked me if I had a favorite xxx, I would likely give you a range of 3-10 things.

This morning I went to a gentle yoga class plus meditation at the studio where I teach. I will also do Day 2 of Sharon Salzberg's monthly meditation.
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Old 02-02-20, 04:32 PM  
Izzy
 
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Thank you for letting me participate in this challenge. I think overall I did pretty good. The last few days were challenging in that I had the off site work training. I look forward to our next challenge. I may continue to post my daily yoga until then.

Best to everyone!!

Mary
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