Yoga nidra means sleep with a trace of awareness. It is a state of mind in between wakefulness and dream.

When you practice yoga nidra you are opening the deeper phases of your mind. At this moment, your intellectual mind is operating, but when you are able to relax, the subconscious and unconscious levels of the mind open. If you practice yoga nidra, then nature of your mind can be changed, diseases can be cured, and your creative genius can be restored. The subconscious and the unconscious mind are the most powerful forces in the human being. The simple practice of yoga nidra has the capacity of penetrating into the depths of the human mind. The subconscious mind is a very obedient disciple, and immediately carries out the orders that you put to it. If you know how to practice yoga nidra, you can train your subconscious mind completely. Then the ordinary mind and intellect will follow suit. Yoga nidra is regarded as a tantric practice because in tantra the evolution of mind should become a spontaneous matter. The unconscious mind is the base of man's normal and abnormal behaviour ; the base of all that we are is in the subconscious and unconscious realms. Therefore, why keep on cutting the branches and the leaves ? Yoga nidra is a practice which will help you to dive deep into the depths of your mind. Using the technique of yoga nidra, however, we have a choice in life, and that choice is created by the sankalpa or resolve. Anything in life can fail you, but not the sankalpa made during yoga nidra. Sankalpa is a powerful technique and it should be used intelligently. Although you can use the resolve for therapeutic purpose, it should rather be used for a greater purpose, such as achieving self realization or the state of samadhi. If you want to change your life pattern, that can be done by the power of the sankalpa made during yoga nidra...........Swami Satyananda Saraswati (This picture is taken by me on the Guru Purnima, before he left his physical presence on this earth)