Guest guest Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Hi there, I asked my teacher in my teacher training group this question and she was very helpful - hope the response below helps. Many thanks and Namaste, sofieandtom Jani Baker [jani (AT) classicalyoga (DOT) com.au] 13 December 2006 16:29 sofieandtom RE: Question that I keep forgetting to ask Hi Sofie, You’re right about the meaning of the words – yoga nidra means yoga sleep, shavasana means corpse pose, and meditation is a translation for the Sanskrit word “dhyana”. Yoga Nidra was developed by the Satyananda group, and they regard it as keeping the mind alert while the body sleeps. As such, because there is always a mental focus, it is not a transcendence of the mind. Shavasana, corpse pose, is regarded by many as only a relaxation pose, but you would wonder why the ancient yogis didn’t call it a relaxation pose, if so. And if they meant relaxation but wanted to be poetic, they could easily have called it the pose of the sleeping lizard or something like that. “Corpse” must have been as confronting for them as it is for us. So the way I see Shavasana is that it is an invitation to be as little entangled in the things of the body and the mind as if you were a corpse. This means completely letting go of the idea of a continuance of the body, or a continuance of the personality, or a continuance of identity – not to mention, seeing the irrelevance of concern for your bank balance, or the political situation, or the state of your relationships, or your memories. Shavasana is a state of radical surrender of the ego to Reality (or God, if a person sees it that way.) At the deeper levels, then, Shavasana is not much different from meditation. In the early stages, there is a slowing down of body functions and neural activity. This is probably why it is mistaken for only a pose of relaxation by teachers who do not contemplate the deeper things. Meditation is a state of stillness of mind – where the vrttis are not engaged with. This leads to a recognition of who the mind works to give us our sense of self and the world, and sometimes people get to see the dysfunctional patterns of their mind, too. OK? Love Jani sofieandtom [sofieandtom (AT) optusnet (DOT) com.au] Friday, 8 December 2006 1:46 PM jani (AT) classicalyoga (DOT) com.au Question that I keep forgetting to ask Hi Jani, I was asked a question about 2 weeks ago – I have joined these yoga blogs on the internet and I have found them quite useful, especially learning about different things from other people’s viewpoints. Anyway, basically, the question asked was ‘what was the difference between shivasana, yoga nidra and meditation?’ – there is a cd on it, but before I go and enquire, I was would really love to hear what your thoughts are on it. I mean, I know shivasana is the pose of the corpse, yoga nidra – I guess means yoga sleep (which I know you can do for an hour) and I know I have confused it with shivasana, and then there is meditation – the more I think about the three, the more I have them confused. Take care and see you tomorrow, Sophie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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