Total Yoga Nidra Foundation Course Online Course Outline Designed by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and Nirlipta Tuli Tutored by Nirlipta Tuli 2013-114 / p. 1 of 6
Material covered practice and theory The course intention is to provide a combination of theory and practice to give you a sound foundation (or to deepen your existing foundation) of understanding about what yoga nidra is in the broadest sense, and how it works, with lectures, background reading, discussions and plenty of practical experiences of a full range of yoga nidra practices each week. The material covered is identical to that provided on the Total Yoga Nidra Foundation weekend, the difference being that with the online course we cover the theory and the practices over a four week period, with online discussions, email support and downloads. Please note that this is not a yoga nidra facilitator or teacher training course, it is intended to deepen and support your own personal practice and understanding of Total Yoga Nidra so that you can widen your range of practice and develop a regular practice of Total Yoga Nidra that is appropriate to where you are right now in your life. If you have an interest in facilitating / teaching Total Yoga Nidra then a further training course is necessary: the online course is a FOUNDATION. Completion of the Total yoga Nidra Online Foundation course counts as the pre-requisite for the Total Yoga Nidra Teacher Training Course. The yoga nidra practices in the online course provide an introduction to the use of total yoga nidra for different applications and purposes. The individual practices are inspired by a very wide spectrum of approaches to yoga nidra including traditional Satyananda style, i-rest protocol, Himalayan Institute yoga nidras, Tibetan practices, the mystical poetry of Lalla Ded and other more recently codified approaches relevant to yoga nidra, including but not limited to Coherent Breathing, MBSR and self-hypnosis work, many of which derived originally from tantric yoga practice in the first place. We work responsively and with sensitive improvisation to meet the present needs of each group, so although each course covers the same material, the questions and discussions are largely unique. All practices are recorded and distributed to you to access for your own personal use afterwards. Preparatory listening is provided before the course begins, to welcome you to the course. After the first week, which includes history and orientation to yoga nidra traditions and lineages, the four group online tutorials provide opportunities for further theoretical discussions and lectures, and also questions and answer periods exploring the sources and rationale for each yoga nidra experienced on the course. Each week the yoga nidra practices that are shared after the group discussions and talks relate to the topics that have been explored. 2013-114 / p. 2 of 6
COURSE OUTLINE Preparatory listening - Yoga nidra to welcome you home to yourself (listen to this anytime before the course begins, and afterwards too if you like!) Week 1 Group meet up with Nirlipta Tuli and Uma Dinsmore-Tuli 1. Welcome, introductions. 2. What is total yoga nidra? 3. Comparative approaches to yoga nidra, introduction to yoga philosophy. 4. Background, history, structures of yoga nidra. 5. Different lineages of yoga nidra (including Satyananda yoga nidra TM, i-rest yoga nidra, Scandinavian School of Yoga and Meditation, Himalayan Institute yoga nidra, developments by Rod Stryker and others) and a timeline. 6. Understanding the range and rationales of approaches to yoga nidra. 7. Rotations of consciousness comparisons. Recorded practices for week 1 Yoga nidra for well being and healing. Yoga nidra to promote restful sleep. Yoga nidra with transparent structure. Week 2 Group meet up with Nirlipta Tuli and Uma Dinsmore-Tuli 1. Welcome back, check in. 2. Settling the physical body in yoga nidra 3. Overview of research neural oscillations and therapeutic applications. 4. Fundamental philosophical basis of yoga in relation to yoga nidra. 5. Yoga philosophy, yogic physiology structures of nidra, 6. Sankalpa and yoga nidra: exploration of intuitive guidance, goal setting and yoga of fulfillment 7. Discussion of your experiences with last week s recordings. Recorded practices for week 2 Yoga nidra to nurture creativity Yoga nidra to aid memory Yoga nidra to explore sankalpa and intuitive guidance. 2013-114 / p. 3 of 6
Week 3 Group meet up with Nirlipta Tuli and Uma Dinsmore-Tuli 1. Welcome back, check in. 2. Exploring relationships between yoga nidra, meditation, mindfulness and allied practices. 3. Exploring relationships between yoga nidra and dream / sleep/ lucid awakenings 4. 5. Yoga Nidra and OM 5. Hypnosis and yoga nidra: an introductory exploration of overlaps and parallels 6. Bhakti yoga and yoga nidra. 7. Discussion of your experiences with last week s recordings. Recorded practices for week 3 Meditative yoga nidra practice. Yoga nidra practice to explore altering states of consciousness. Waking yoga nidra. Week 4 Group meet up with Nirlipta Tuli 1. Welcome back, check in. 2. Discussion of your experiences with last week s recordings, and with the recordings from the course so far. 3. Tips for your own practice. 4. Growing your own practice. 5. More on yoga nidra and hypnosis. 6. Dharana and yoga nidra. 7. Dhyana and yoga nidra. Evaluations, feedback, Q & A to close. Recorded practices Responsive yoga nidra, recorded in response to the needs of the group as expressed in the third week. 2013-114 / p. 4 of 6
Select bibliography & resources For further reading and research during and after the course. Foundational texts Saraswati, Swami Satyananda. 1984. Yoga Nidra, Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar. Richard Miller, 2005, Yoga Nidra, The Meditative Heart of Yoga, Sounds True, Colorado. Supporting texts consulted 1 Acarya, Sri Rama Ramanuja. 2003. The System of Tantric Ritual Part One: Theory of Ritual in Nama Rupa: Categories of Indian Thought. New York. pp29-32 2 Feuerstein, Georg. 1998. The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Hohm Press, London. 3 Feuerstein, Georg. 1990. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Yoga. Unwin. London. 4 Panda, Nursingh Charan. 2003. Yoga-Nidra: Yogic Trance Theory, Practice and Applications. DK Printworld. New Delhi. 5 Radhakrishnan, S. 1953 (1938). Mandukya Upanisad in The Principal Upanisads. Indus / Harper Collins. 693-707. 6 Saraswati, Swami Janakananda. 1975 / 1991. Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in daily Life. Samuel Weiser Inc. Maine. 7 Saraswati, Swami Satyananda. 1981(reprinted 2004). A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya. Yoga Publications Trust, Munger. Bihar. 8 Saraswati, Swami Yogakanti 2007. Sanskrit Glossary of Yogic Terms. Yoga Publications Trust, Munger. Bihar. 9 Stryker, Rod. 2011. The Four Desires, creating a life of purpose, happiness, prosperity and freedom. Delacorte Press, New York. 10 Sturgess, Stephen. 2002. The Yoga Book: A Practical and Spiritual guide to Self- Realization. Watkins Publishing. London. Useful websites to visit http://www.yogamag.net/archives.shtml The archives of Yoga Magazine, published by the Bihar School of yoga, includes over 1000 articles on, or touching on yoga nidra.: http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2001/bmar01/yoganid.shtml A helpful summary of yoga nidra s therapeutic benefits: Yoga Nidra: Its Advantages and Applications by Siddhartha Bhushan* http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2005/emay05/yn.shtml Archive material: Swami Satyananda s introduction to the topic of Yoga Nidra as 2013-114 / p. 5 of 6
delivered in 1964. http://www.swamij.com/swamijnaneshvara.htm The website of Swami Jnaneshwara Bharati, teacher in the lineage of Swami Rama and the Himalayan institute. Useful articles, observations and recordings to download. Richard Miller s website: Integrative Restoration Yoga Nidra http://www.irest.us/ Swami Janakananda. 1984. Experience Yoga Nidra. Scandinavian School of Yoga and Meditation. www.yogamatters.com sells this) For a helpful overview of the different levels of yoga nidra practice, it is helpful to read Parker, Stephen, Bharati, Swami Veda and Fernandez, Manuel 2013. Defining Yoga Nidra: Traditional accounts, physiological research and future directions in International Journal of Yoga Therapy no 23 (1). Reprints of the following articles are available on the www.yoganidranetwork.org site. Kelly McGonigal, Inspired Intention: the nature of Sankalpa, in Yoga International (Winter 2010-11) pp 44 49 Swami Jnaneshwara Bharati, Yogic Conscious Deep Sleep from his website. Kamakhya Kumar. 2008. A Study on the impact on stress and anxiety through Yoga Nidra. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol. 7 (3) July 2008, pp. 401-44. Kamakhya Kumar. 2010. Stress free life through yoga nidra. International Symposium on Yogism, December 2010. Biochemical function of sleep 2013 University of Rochester - Sleep washes the Brain http://www.coherence.com/coherence_newsletters_production.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96aztk4hvjm For international teacher listings, Free downloads in a range of languages, And an openhearted variety of different approaches to live yoga nidra Be sure to visit www.yoganidranetwork.org 2013-114 / p. 6 of 6