Q: What is the difference between meditation and Yoga Nidra?
A: In Yoga Nidra, the emphasis is relaxation, complete detachment. In meditation, the emphasis is on connection. It is more a conscious process of merging while Yoga Nidra is a process of non-attachment.
Q: I have been struggling to create a goal or Sankalpa. Can you make a suggestion as to how I can do this?
A: As you go to sleep tonight write down the question as it pertains to “what is my Sankalpa?” Listen when you wake and throughout the day and your answer is there already, you only need to refine your listening. Remember… “A Sankalpa should be a short and positive statement, which addresses a deep and significant urge. Ask yourself what is the one thing that if I were to have or be, it would improve my whole life– what one thing or quality will have the greatest possible positive impact on your life and on the life of others. The Sankalpa should be stated in such a way as to reflect that what you want has already been achieved. It is often in the form of an “I am” or “I have” statement.
Q: Can you give me some general feedback on my Sankalpa?
A: In regard to the Sankalpa, it needs to be something less passive, less the thing about reaffirming the idea of worth and more a sense of something active. Something that actively you’re doing, enjoying, participating in, and/or experiencing. What would you be doing or experiencing or what would be happening in your life if you fully accepted this idea of your worth. Discover what that is and then write a clear, positive statement about it, one that you intend to fulfill.
Q: How much do we control our fate? Is it really possible to shape our destiny?
A: “A person can surmount any difficulties, achieve almost anything they want, if they can harness their powers”. That’s what a Tantric text tells us. My teachers have reinforced that same idea countless times: there is almost nothing you can not achieve if you set your mind to it. Be clear about what you want, be certain that 51% of you believe it’s possible, begin to see it, feel the positive feelings you have from what you want to accomplish, and then listen to your intuition, and operate with a sense of your full capacity, and whatever you want will come true.
Q: I’m wondering it it’s a good idea to do more than one Sankalpa at a time?
A: The answer is no–do until you achieve it. If you can combine your two Sankalpas in a way that’s organic and not too forced and not too much to remember, then you can bring these two things and coalesce them into one. But I wouldn’t dilute the power of Sankalpa by trying to take on too much at once.
Q: I often suffer from the type of insomnia in which falling asleep is easy, but I will wake up during the night and have difficulty returning to sleep/sleep very lightly thereafter. I was hoping this Yoga Nidra CD might help me with this situation. The liner notes say not to practice it right before sleep. Is there a particular time of day you think might be most beneficial for me to practice, which might help me with the insomnia?
A: You can definitely practice it before sleeping. Follow the practice and it should lead you toward, if not sleep, the edge of sleep. If possible just before falling asleep, turn off the CD and relax into deep sleep. You can use it to fall back asleep whenever you wake up. Beside that, any time of day, practicing in the afternoon before dinner is very good.