Recently I have started practicing Yoga Nidra (Nidra=Sleep). In Yoga Nidra, you bring your consciousness between wakefulness and sleep through a systematic guided relaxation. It is an aspect of pratyahara, and eventually leads to Samadhi. Every source I have looked at says something a little different, but 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to approximately 2 hours of ordinary sleep! There are three kinds of tension that we accumulate; Muscular, Emotional, and Mental. Yoga nidra helps to release these tensions and cultivates peace within ourselves which we can then radiate out.
In the book I have on Yoga Nidra there is a table with the “States of Consciousness” on it…
1. Awake > Conscious mind > Sensory awareness, external knowledge
2. Yoga nidra > Superconscious mind > deep relaxation, visionary states
3. Dreaming sleep > Subconscioius mind > release of emotions
4. Deep sleep > Unconscious mind > Awakening of instincts
Om,
c