Yoga Nidra with Dr. Deirdre: A Deep Relaxation Journey that is Food for the Soul

I'm going to post here essentially what I had emailed to you, Deirdre.  I think this is WONDERFUL that you've added this to your 'doctors bag' of tools to work with your patients / consumers with.  As I shared with you, I had found the book Full Catastrophe Living at a book store about the time I had my first major bout with CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome), which was decades ago.  There are a few figures of that time that I think were just 'meant to be' in bringing old concepts together in new ways and out to the public.  Deepak Chopra, MD, Jon Kabatt-Zinn, PhD, and Andrew Weil, MD to name a few.  Their books feel to me like my 'foundation' in integrative medicine learning.  

In the era of my career where I was realizing how many people could benefit from an online version of what I was doing with people consulting with them about the 'occupation of health care', for many patients on the day of their evaluation I'd chose the homework which is required with insurance-based medicine to give treatment / exercises/activities on the first day to be mindfulness basics. My typical client/patient would be there 2x a week for 1-2 months and in that timeframe, if they'd start working on mindfulness and we'd progress it every session, they'd really be able to utilize the benefits and essentially have a better outcome not only with me, but naturally with their overall therapy / rehabilitation process. 

On a personal level, I've blogged almost two years ago now about my application of what I learned from mindfulness meditation when having a surgery which was made more cumbersome and difficult for me than it needed to be by the 'mangling medicine' that is, unfortunately, the norm today.  My time sequestered to bed for an additional day (and unnecessary not to mention expensive) with no way to communicate to them because the only way I could communicate was to write or text, and they'd not made me aware of the notebook and pen that was in the room 'welcoming me' was instrumental in what I have done and come to learn in the years since.  

As important as it getting me 'fired up' to step out into starting an innovative business, was to realize how over many years of applying mindfulness meditation to my daily life, I truly did not need narcotics after an abdominal surgery.  I'd gone into the surgery saying 'I don't want narcotics' and was told 'everyone has to have narcotics' and hopefully for the last time ever, let someone who doesn't know me as well as I do, give me what THEY want for me.  But today, I'm glad for having the experience because I got to meditate my way through being nauseous for over 24 hours and have a whole new respect for the applications for the power of the mind.  

SO once again, I encourage people to get involved with what you're doing! And thank you for stopping by Lumigrate so we're updated about this NEW development, Dr Dee! And with this piece on Lumigrate I can then copy and paste/send it to people I'm suggesting this technique to in my consultations and naturally would suggest other therapists and providers following alone with Lumigrate do so as well.  

I encourage people to go out to wherever they go to study more about these terms and the history: I enjoyed what I found at Wikipedia about 'mindfulness', Kripalu, and Jon Kabatt-Zinn, as I'd not really kept up with his works as much as Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra and you re-spurred my interest, Deirdre! Thanks! 

Hi Mardy and everyone,

Thanks for your write-up, and for sharing my work on Yoga Nidra. It is indeed special. One of the things I love most about Yoga Nidra is it's ability to engage the autonomic nervous sysem, in particular the parasympathetic nervous system, which allows deep relaxation to occur. We are talking DEEP relaxation here. And when the parasympathetic nervous system is engaged as it is during Yoga Nidra, true healing on very many levels can occur.

Yoga Nidra dates back centuries and originated from the tantric yoga meditation practices of India.  It is especially useful and has been proven successful for reducing pain, anxiety, panic attacks, and stress of all kinds. Many returning from war with PTSD from trauma are finding positive benefits from its use.

Spending some time each day in deep relaxation or meditation cultivates a calmness that eases anxious feelings and offers a sense of control. A study at the University of Massechusetts found that volunteers who took an 8-week meditation course were considerably less anxious afterward. People who are highly-strung find that they are dramatically calmer if they practice Yoga Nidra for 15-20 minutes in the morning or  evening.  Regular practice of Yoga Nidra has these benefits:

* YN induces deep relaxation at all levels -- physical, mental, and emotional

* YN can be used to change the nature of mind along the positive lines

* YN is highly effective in removing stress

* The quality of sleep improves dramatically

* The process of learning information becomes very quick by YN

* The practice of YN shifts pressures from the coronary system

* Diseases like hypertension, depression, asthma, digestive disorders, migraine, and ulcers can be cured by Yoga Nidra.

Yes, its powerful. Numerous studies have been done on its effectiveness. Its even been practiced with children with great success. And would you believe, its been practiced on prison inmates who became calm and more loving after just one practice.

I cannot say enough about the many powerful and wonderful benefits of Yoga Nidra for people who are in chronic pain, have sleeping problems, who are stressed, and who simply want to feel more control in their lives and over themselves.

My new Yoga Nidra CD is being released the end of August and the entire CD is devoted to people who have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. It has 3 tracks: "Pain Free Me" is a 45 minute deep relaxation journey, "Stress-Less" is a 20 minute practice to deeply relax you, and "Slumber-Time" is the last track on the CD, which basically takes you off to slumber land...

I look forward to sharing more with you about my new love and regular practice -- Yoga Nidra.

For those of you who would like to try Yoga Nidra, I invite you to register on my website for the upcoming free Yoga Nidra tele-class. I am holding these every month or two, and people can participate after that time as well. Please visit: www.relaxationyoganidra.com

Health and inner peace,

Deirdre

Hi Mardy and fellow Lumigraters!

We are jumping up and down with joy as the release of my NEW Yoga Nidra CD is finally HERE!

As you may know, the regular practice of Yoga Nidra is know for helping you to maintain your vital life energy, restore deep sleep, improve your moods, and even prevent illness. It's been used for centuries to help with such issues as: 

• Chronic pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic fatigue
• Depression
• PTSD
• Addictions (of all kinds)
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Or any stress-related disorder

Yoga Nidra is unlike regular Yoga practice where you place your body into a series of postures. Yoga Nidra is completely different because it is done lying down in a comfortable position on the floor, or you you can do it sitting in a chair.

There's been tons of research done into this amazing practice, which you can check for yourself  -- simply go to PubMed [stands for Public Medical Library] where there are more than 11 million citations on studies and research on all things related to health and healing.

People who practice Yoga Nidra on a regular basis report such benefits as:

• A profound experience of muscular, mental and emotional relaxation
• Improvement in quality of deep sleep
• Enhances mental focus, and attention span
• Creates more ease and peace of mind in daily life
• Soothes the autonomic nervous system [so healing can occur]

The powerful practice of Yoga Nidra with Dr. Deirdre is designed for everyone who is looking to honro themsevles with deep healing, rest, and rejuvenation. You are guided through all levels of your being to relax and revitalize.

I recommend that you use Yoga Nidra daily to embrace the natural relationship of your mind, body, and breath and let it help you to be healthy, whole, and revitalized.

Check out the new website here: www.relaxationyoganidra.com

If you would like to order my NEW CD then enjoy a $5 discount through Lumigrate and this notification.

Simply email me directly to receive your DISCOUNT VOUCHER:  Support@Nutri-Living.com

Amazing healing awaits you,

Namaste,

Dr. Deirdre

Congratulations on having the CDs produced, Deirdre; anyone in similar businesses will understand how much effort goes into putting together the multiple methods of providing information to those we serve.  I believe I can and should speak on behalf of those who include Lumigrate in their health care learning and teaching and thank you from the depths of my .  

I'll be looking forward to receiving my copy and assure you I will do my part to tell other providers (who are also medical consumers) and consumers (who all have the opportunity to be teachers to at least one person through simply sharing what they learn of), just as I share with YOU about their tools in their various toolkits.  We have a complete 'integrative care team' here at Lumigrate now, I'm proud to say, serving people from coast to coast and beyond, just as you do as a ND.  The model (on the home page of Lumigrate as well), is covered in today's blog (September 8, 2011) and includes the graphic that I think is good to also throw in here to remind us all: 

 Every discipline on the Grate Lumigrate team of providers in Forums would be well served to learn of this CD, and I'll do my part to let them know.  And I encourage each consumer to print this or email this and get it to THEIR providers who might also benefit from ordering and utilizing this CD of Yoga Nidra, Deirdre!  ~~ Mardy 

 I'm happy to report that I've received the CD and educational packet from Deirdre.  The CD has a very attractive cover and presentation and would make a lovely gift for people, and is so reasonably priced.   "Yoga Nidra: Guided Yoga Nidra with Dr. Deirdre, A deep mindful relaxation journey that is food for the soul" is a perfect description.  The music is credited on the front cover as Master Charles Canon - Synchronicity Series, so I was intrigued by that.  I'm very 'particular' about music because I grew up in a very musical family, plus I have what some people call 'perfect pitch'; I can hear if a note is 'right on' or even slightly sharp or flat, so many things that lots of people enjoy are not enjoyable to me.  But I found this music exceptionally WELL DONE; it adds to the backdrop of the experience and is not competing with the message being provided through the words.  

I've always commended Deirdre on her verbal abilities, and on this CD, her talking the listener through the Yoga Nidra process is no exception! The sound card in my computer is out so I put it on my CD player with my television/surround sound system and my cat, Amber, came RUNNING out of her napping place in the next room's sun and she was looking around for the guest visitor who she thought was in the room!  The sound quality of the CD was very good, in other words.  That was probably what I was most curious about related to this new product from Deirdre.  

I know that my study of yoga beginning in the early 90s, which coincided or was shortly after I found the practice of meditation, has been instrumental to my faring as well as I did, relatively speaking, in the years since getting CFS and FM.  That was proven to me when a PT friend of mine got into Heart Math© about ten years ago and wanted to practice on me, and within a few minutes on the table my heart was beating in a way that you'd not typically see without several sessions with that patented technology/process.

One of the challenges working with people around the United States and world who find Lumigrate and want to pursue the type of valid, progressive information we promote is having it be 1) affordable and 2) available to them.  This CD answers both of those!  To use the old expression made popular by film critics Siskel and Ebert, I give it .  But in this case, it's Mardy and Amber!    Since Dr. Dee is also an animal and cat , I'm sure she'll appreciate my including Amber's feedback.  She's not been this excited about something I've worked on at Lumigrate since she picked up my handset for my cordless phone that was on speakerphone listening to the Indigenous Grandmothers teleseminar when my sound card was going out and she tried carrying it off!  Here's a 10# cat carrying a 1# plastic phone! I thought I'd better pay particular attention to the Grandmothers, and I think the same is true for Dr Deirdre's Yoga Nidra!

One of the best parts of this type of 'yoga' is that it's done sitting in a comfortable position or lying down.  (And by the way, good grammar is never a problem with Deirdre, and this product is no exception! As an OT, I frequently say to patients 'lying down' and I have to catch myself all the time and correct the improper "laying"; as my mother would say "only chickens lay".) I have one question/comment: The instructions specify lying on the floor, but I elected to listen and 'do' Yoga Nidra from there since that's where the sound's best and what was the most comfortable for me.  As an occupational therapist, I'm always adapting things to meet the needs of the patient/client so might add that for people who have fibromyalgia or other conditions that limit their transferring to/from the floor or their comfort "being horizontal" on the floor. I presume that is a carry over from the way that the course is taught to the able-bodied instructors.  

SO,  I encourage YOU to follow the links Deirdre has provided and obtain a copy of this for yourself or someone you know who could benefit from it! OR let someone who is inclined to give you gifts or want to help you know about this as an option.  These types of items can also be requested to be purchased by libraries, and then it's not just YOU who can learn the technique, others in your community can benefit from something you 'turn them onto'.  Just my thoughts and suggestions.  This is 'the real deal', and obviously just as critical for people who are well and wanting to stay that way, who thankfully are about half of the population, as it is for the other half who have struggles with some form of chronic illness or another.  

Again, I hope ALL the providers at Lumigrate incorporate this into their 'toolkits' of products and information service providers to refer to.  ~~ Mardy

Having known Deirdre Rawlings for years now, a connection made through Lumigrate and Mardy which I greatly appreciate, I was most interested in her latest offering, "Yoga Nidra". I was quite pleasantly rewarded after listening to her guided imagery therapies for pain, stress relief and sleep therapy.

I am excited about offering her therapies to my patients, both in office and at their homes. I believe this will be an important additional tool in the treatment of many of my patients, including those with fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). We need a balanced approach to treatment integrating mind, body and spirit as people related to our personal health and as providers offering our expertise to enhance patient outcomes.

This "Yoga Nidra" CD will be an excellent addition to my armamentarium against disease processes and moving people towards wellness again. Again, I appreciate the 'village' here at Lumigrate and the connections it brings for not only consumers/patients to learn of providers, but for providers to connect.  Thank you, Mardy for what you created and are continuing to provide.  

Thank you, Mardy for your feedback and comments regarding my guided deep relaxation CD: Yoga Nidra with Dr. Deirdre.  I'm so glad you [and Amber ;-)] enjoyed it and that it met all your criteria for deeply relaxing you.

The music is indeed special and I chose it for a definite reason. Known as "Synchronicity Contemporary High-Tech Meditation Sound Waves" and created by Master Charles Canon. This particular music utilizes what is called "Synchronicity Holodynamic Vibrational Entrainment Technology" (HVET) to bring precision to the meditative experience. It is available in the form of Alpha, Theta and Delta CD's that "meditate you" by balancing the brainwaves and delivering a precision meditation experience -- one that is accurate and consistent. Such precision meditation delivers greater balance and wholeness.  Wholeness through balance delivers human fulfilment.  It's powerful and amazing, and I selected it to make it easier and to create a more fulfilling experience for my listeners.  It truly is stunning.

It's funny because yesterday I received a message from Yvonne Keeny [President of Fibromyalgia Coalition], who told me that she loved the CD and it definitely had the desired effect of relaxing her deeply. She said she played it in the car while driving and to warn me to mention that people should not play it while they are driving.  I had to laugh...so take this as a warning not to listen or play while driving ;-).

This CD makes a wonderful gift for anyone with whom you would like to share the experience or who could do with some deep relaxation [and who couldn't do with more of that, really!].  You can pick up a copy of my CD on Amazon.com, link is: tinyurl.com/dyhqww7  

Please also visit my website to learn about the best way to practice Yoga Nidra: www.relaxationyoganidra.com

Thanks again and peace be with you.

Deirdre