How to practice once you purchase a recording:

Step 1. Open one of the recordings in itunes or your mp3 player (on a phone, ipad, or computer) and press pause.

Step 2. Turn off autoplay button. This is very important!! It is not pleasant to be in this deep sleep and then suddenly woken by a car insurance or retail sale commercial!

Step 3. Make sure you are ready for sleep, so ideally no light, no background sounds. As though you were going to bed. And the goal of this is to lie still with a blanket over you, or have a blanket ready (you will get cold, it's a weird phenomenon).

Step 4. Press play. Make sure the volume is low but that you can still hear the words. If it's blasting or too loud it will keep you in a normal waking state. I recommend keeping your phone across the room, so it's not right next to your head.

Step 5. Lay down, be still, and listen to the words. Hopefully you will fall into a state between sleeping and waking, and then a blissful sleep!

Additional suggestions for great sleep:

No TV or computers (checking emails, social media, etc) at least 2-3 hours before you want to be in bed.
Yoga Nidra can be challenging to practice if you are over stimulated from a late-night social event, such as a concert, or a late dinner out.
Get your evening rituals (laying out clothes for next day, brushing teeth, washing face, etc) done at least an hour before you want to go to bed.
No caffeine after the afternoon (everyone has different cutoff times)
Exercising always makes me sleep better.
Avoid alcohol, as it can affect your sleep patterns.
I find that poor sleep and minimal diet are linked. Eat your greens!
If you have a dog, like I do, take her out for walk at least an hour before you want to sleep.
Give yourself permission to unwind, and have quiet before you sleep.
For those who share a bed, this will only work in the long-term if your partner is on board for being totally quiet during/after practice. Ideally, they would be doing it along with you!
Have something to add to this list? Email me! stacy@restandrevive.com.

Yoga Nidra is an ancient form of motionless yoga that is essentially a guided meditation. Yoga is sanskrit for Union, and Nidra is sankrit for Sleep, so Yoga Nidra literally translates to the union of sleep. Yoga nidra brings people to a state between waking and sleeping, and most people fall into a deep sleep after it if they are not disturbed. The goal is to lay completely still. Experts believe that an hour of yoga nidra sleep is like a full sleep cycle. I find it an incredibly effective way to fall asleep at night, and it works for me about 9/10 times.

It's really important to have a great teacher. So many yogis teach Yoga Nidra but they don't understand the flow, or how it was practiced in ancient times, or when to pause, and for how long. So going to someone who hasn't really studied the practice at great length can be a poor experience that maybe prevents one from going to a good teacher in future. (Even my favorite free recordings have things I would change if they were mine.)

Steps for practicing Yoga Nidra at Home

What is Yoga Nidra?