The Power of Symbol in Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra, as it is currently known, is derived from certain practices in the ancient Tantras. The first written potential reference to the Nidra aspect exists in the Mandukya Upanishad (around 1st century AD) and its description of the sound Aum, in relation to the different states and layers of consciousness. Some other very ancient descriptions that underly Yoga Nidra are Shushupti and Prajna.
Shushupti, refers to residing within a deep sleep state with full consciousness. This is one of the ultimate goals of Yoga Nidra as practiced with the self as an individual practice - to reach a state of being where dream, meditation and so-called ‘real life’ unite, and one begins to realize the essence of the fabric of manifest and yet to be manifested existence.
The term Prajna is the term used for the deep meditative state in the Mandukya Upanishad. It refers to the highest and purest form of wisdom, intelligence and understanding. Pragya is the state of wisdom which is higher than the knowledge obtained merely by reasoning and inference. It is the relaxed state of full awareness beyond the intellect.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is an ancient and systematic form of deep relaxation that actively fosters profound physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. It has been shown to decrease stress, release past trauma, improve sleep, lower blood pressure, and increase overall sense of health and well-being.
In a yogic context, it also works to purify the Samskaras (emotional impressions) and expand consciousness for spiritual growth. Note, that we are not specifically referring to the practice as a way to make people think ‘happy thoughts’ or ‘feel good about life’. With any yogic process of purification, it is necessary to uncover, review and in some cases re-story thought forms resulting from the Samskaras which are stored in the regions of the Mooladhara and Swathisthana Chakras.
These held impressions are seeds of future Karma and in turn, emotion (the story we attribute to the energy of the experience). In essence, the are like glue that holds the seeds of future Karma in place. Without being willing to investigate and stimulate both negative and positive emotional impressions, the Samskaras continue to be both suppressed and influential on our layers of consciousness and it turn, our thoughts, feelings, decisions and behavior.
The stages we lead people through in Yoga Nidra in the process pioneered by the Bihar School of Yoga follows set stages that systematically take people through the Koshas and simultaneously through all of the brainwave patterns of a nurturing night’s sleep.
Settling the body
Resolve (Sankalpa)
Body Rotation
Breath focus (usually on the chakras)
Feelings and Sensations
Symbols
Story/Imagery/Journey
Look into the mind space (Chiddakasha)
Repeat Resolve (Sankalpa)
Back to the body and surroundings
Once a person is settled in the comfortable position of Savasana and their awareness begins to internalize, they are led through these stages. In the best world, certain experiences are then stimulated in associated with the Kosha (sheath of the being), related to each stage of the practice.
For example, within the Pranamaya Kosha, the energy sheath – there is potential that solutions could come to a person. In the Manomaya Kosha – the mind sheath, they may experience healing. There is a power experience, and state associated with each of the Koshas, each brainwave pattern and indeed each of the chakras. These aspects within and around the human condition can be thought of more as a matrix or web rather than distinct layers, but they are also systematic and knowable within the Yoga Nidra process.
So where in the process, do we find symbols to be most prominent and what do they produce, practically, mystically and spiritually for those experiencing a Yoga Nidra in this format?
There are two clear places within this Yoga Nidra structure where symbol is purposeful and prominent. These places are in the Symbols or Rapid Images section and in the Story/imagery/journey section. These sections are designed move people through the Manomaya and Vigyanamaya Koshas.
It’s quite common for Yoga Nidra guides to not include a story or journey in the Yoga Nidra and instead move people straight into Chittakasha after the symbols section. In this case, the people experiencing the Yoga Nidra would be less likely to be involved with the Vigyanamaya Kosha and have less time in the Theta brainwave pattern which creates conditions for healing. This healing could be intellectual, emotional or physical in nature.
The section where there is a story or journey can of course, remain very symbolic, for example – visualizing the chakras with their details, but in a is less rapid manner than the ‘rapid images’ section. In the Story/imagery/journey section, symbols are presented in a descriptive, narrative context and there is more space for a person to make meaning of the symbols rather than the rapid pre-verbal presentation in the rapid images section.
What is a symbol?
Obviously there are many and varied definitions of the term Symbol. In the dictionary, it says A symbol is a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process. A good working definition is that a symbol is a manifestation of a state of consciousness.
Symbols are used everywhere in our time, they are extremely prominent, influential and pervasive in our lives - and it has been so throughout recorded time and across all cultures. This is evidence in itself that symbols have a very powerful effect in our lives.
How and why are symbols so effective? It has long been recognized that the subconscious and unconscious layers of the mind drive our thoughts feelings and behavior majorly… and there are two things known to impact the unconscious and subconscious mind quickly and in a lasting way – Symbol & Ritual. This is one of the reasons regular, simple, unchanging yogic Sadhana is so effective and why Puja also is very effective in shifting old patterns, burning off karma and clearing space for new inspiration.
How does Yoga Nidra itself fit into this phenomenon?
The structure of the Yoga Nidra serves as the ritual and pretty much everything in a yoga Nidra is symbolic, metaphorical, or both. Yoga Nidra is a concentrated form of all of the potent ingredients required to shift and expand consciousness and images or symbols work on and affect a deeper, pre-verbal level, whether or not we understand them intellectually.
Jung and Symbol
When we learn or talk about the influence of symbol within this western context and in this age, we really need to acknowledge the influence of Karl Jung. Jung was a student of Sigmund Freud, but after working with him for sometime, Jung broke away due to a difference in the approach to. The nature of creative energy within the human psychological system.
Freud referred to this creative force as Labido referencing it only to sexual urge and repressed desires. Jung, on the other hand, recognized this force or energy more in a way that is relatable to Yoga and Tantra. He saw it as pervasive, through to all aspects of the human psyche and discussed it more akin to the way Tantrics discuss prana and pranashakti.
Jung’s Depth Psychology and his description of the layers of consciousness are still the basis of most of the way we discuss and make sense of human consciousness. Knowing also of course, as we do, that the ancient Sages and Rishis of yoga knew and talked about consciousness in similar structures, though in different terms.
Jung’s approach is particularly relevant when we refer to and discuss symbol in yoga Nidra since it is a prominent and very potent aspect within his body of work. His study and use of the Archetype still holds credence in therapeutic study and various approaches to modern and New Age spiritual work. Jung studied a lot of eastern spirituality which has allowed this very ancient and more modern conceptual framework to intermesh.
Also worth noting is that the principles at play within Yoga Nidra are universal truths. In fact anything within yoga that enhances, heals and expands the human system in a lasting way comes from universal truth. Real truth is unchanging and it is not governed by time, distance or description. Truth runs parallel to consciousness itself. Although modern science struggles to define consciousness, it is accepted that consciousness is not affected by time or distance.
So when you present truth structures to the soul incarnated into this physical plane, it very quickly remembers its own consciousness. And this very truth remembrance is the deepest of therapy, the ultimate healing - the reintroduction of the little ‘I’ to the infinite ‘we’. In fact, actual state of Yoga Nidra – which is emits the Delta brainwave pattern, while in full awareness, is also beyond description. It is equivalent to - and may actually be Turya (the background awareness behind the 3 states of consciousness), although both and in fact indescribable.
The function of the symbols section of a Yoga Nidra & what is it likely to produce?
The Koshas through which symbols are actively presented in Yoga Nidra span are the Manomaya Kosha and into the Vigyanamana Kosha. During this process, mind as an area is stimulated and responses are self-witnessed, leading to reviewing and release. Here we are referring to the mind area, energetic zone, not the contents of mind.
We humans are constantly relating to thoughts, feelings, emotions like they are the mind, when in fact, they are just objects of mind. The symbols in Yoga Nidra also connect directly with the individual Soul/Atman and they move in frequency from Alpha, where the human system may access its own solutions, through to Theta, known widely as the ‘healing frequency’ and possibly into Delta, where physically and physiologically there is deep sleep, but in Yoga Nidra, there is full awareness.
Through these Koshas and frequencies, Peak experiences may also be induced, including perhaps the experience of being a co-creator with the divine. The how and why of this possibility are due to connection to Hridaya, which is a gateway into grace. Although Hridaya is not the Anahata Chakra itself, it is the ‘spiritual heart’ residing close to Anahata, but elsewhere. The frequency of consciousness at Anahata is predominantly Theta, the healing frequency and the divine aspect within us resides in Hridayakasha (space of the spiritual heart).
In spiritual practice, this is where we go to connect with The Divine, hence the importance of Bhakti Yoga in true spiritual development. There is also a Granthi, or psychic knot within the subtle anatomy, just before the Anahata Chakra called the Vishnu Granthi. Without this being loosened and the heart being purified, we are generally blocked from accessing the higher levels of spiritual attainment. So in essence working masterfully with symbol in this deeply receptive state just before the full state of Yoga Nidra, is a potent arena for deep emotional and psychological healing and boosted spiritual expansion.
There are two major inputs that truly impact the subconscious level of mind. They are symbol and ritual. Yoga Nidra is psycho/spiritual ritual and this particular ritual is rich with symbol. Yoga Nidra prompts powerful, lasting, healing purification at a known gateway to the highest expanded states of consciousness. The process is ritualized, and mechanism of power within it are its symbols.
Om Tat Sat
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