FREE YOGA NIDRA MP3's FROM ILYA ZHURALEV

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This deep relaxation yogic practice was developed by Paramahamsa Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923 – 2009), the founder the Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, India, and the author of a plenty of yoga fundamental books and systemic yoga manuals.  Yoga Nidra  based on ancient tantric ritual texts with description of nyasa (‘nyasa’ means placing or taking the mind to some points in the body accompanied by mantra and visualization techniques) and on teacher-voice guided savasana practice.

It frees up blocks and dissolves body tensions hidden deep in the subconscious and creating obstacles on the path to our goals. This is achieved through several techniques: taking the mind / consciousness to different points in the body in a specific sequence, making the body to remember different sensations (‘bodily memories’), enabling visualizationusing images and symbols that guide consciousness to a state of harmony, as well as observing the stream of consciousness in between the eyebrows (‘chidakash dharana’), which helps to learn how to meditate.

A practitioner works out for themselves a “resolve formula” (sankalpa) – a chosen resolution to send to the subconscious. When one practices Yoga Nidra regularly, then one may achieve great results in spiritual development, quieting the mind, increasing vitality, healing diseases etc., previously thought to be impossible. The whole practice is performed while lying in savasana (the corpse pose).

Before the yoga nidra practice it is good to have a 15-minute warm-up session, consisting of surya namaskarand a few basic asanas. Then you can come to lie down in savasana and turn the audio track on. Try to get rid of everything that can distract you:  turn off your phone, close the door. If it is a cold season, bundle up — otherwise you can feel chilly because of lying still for a long time. You should lie on the flat level floor, on a mat or blanket. If you tend to hind-head or neck aches, put a soft pad under your head. You should not be worried if you sleep or drift off in Yoga Nidra skipping some parts of the guide. Time after time you will feel less tension and fatigue as relaxation and awareness deepen.

You can practice every day (but no more than one session per day) at any time. Use the same sankalpauntil you get the desired results in your real life. Then you can work with other sankalpa. Sankalpa should be simple and positive. Read more about this technique in the  “Yoga Nidra” book by Swami Satyananda.

Each mp3 recording is a full Yoga Nidra session based on Swami Satyananda Saraswati  teachings  (includingsankalpa, visualization, and chidakash-dharana practices).

Namaste dear friends! This is my brief yoga-biografy. After I got a Master’s Degree in Philosophy at the Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow), I started teaching yoga, visiting India and spending a lot of time there.

My first yoga-teacher was Jayakumar Swamishri from Mysore. He taught in the tradition of Swami Kuvalayananda and Bangalore Yoga Institute (Vivekananda Yoga Kendra), giving classes at the Indian Embassy in Moscow for several years. I started my practice with him in 1995-96. At the late 90’s I also started practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga with Russian teacher Igor Medvedev and visited workshops of Andrey Sidersky and Andrey Lappa, yoga teachers from Ukraine. In 1999 I was one of the founders of Moscow Ashtanga Yoga Center and became one of its leading teachers.

My first trip to India was in 2001. There I practiced in Morarji Desai National Yoga Institute in Delhi (Dhirendra Brahmachari’s school) under the personal supervision of Bal Mukund Singh. In the same year I continued the practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga in Mysore with B.N.S. Iyengar (Bramatantra Parakala Mutt). It was in this hall on the second floor of Hayagriva Temple where Shri T. Krishnamacharya (BNS Iyengar’s teacher) taught in the 1930’s. I also practiced Ashtanga Vinyasa with V.Sheshadri (Mysore Mandala Yogashala). Since then I have been visiting India every year, spending several months there. In 2003 I started studying at Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute and my teachers were Shri K. Patabhi Jois and R.Sharath.

In addition to this, I attended the classes of Gopala Krishna in Bangalore, classes in ashrams of Rishikesh (Yoga Niketan Ashram, Yogashala of Swami Samarpananda Saraswati from Bihar school) and Pondicherry (Swami Gitananda Ashram). I studied shatkarmas, pranayamas and meditation in the tradition of Sivananda Yoga with Doctor  Madhavan Munusamy (Vivekananda Yoga Therapy Institute, Tamil Nadu), who granted me a certificate in 2006, and accomplished a training course in Sivananda Yoga Ashram (2008, Neyar Dham, Kerala). I have participated in the intensive training courses by Shandor Remete (“Shadow Yoga”, 1999), Kali Ray (“Tri Yoga”), Gabriella Giubilaro (Iyengar Yoga), David Swenson (accomplished a certification Ashtanga course in 2010), Mark and Joanne Darby (Canada), Andrey Lappa (teacher training course in 2004, “Universal Yoga”, intermediate level), Simon Borg-Olivier («Yoga Synergy», Australia).

I am familiar with Tibetan styles of asana practice (Yantra Yoga in the tradition of Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, taught by Fabio Andrico; Trul Khor in the tradition of Yundrung Bon, taught by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche). I accomplished David Frowley’s course “Yoga and Ayurveda” (American Institute of Vedic Studies), a course of traditional Thai massage school TMC (Chiang Mai, Thailand.) Certified Hypnotherapist (course «Ericksonian hypnosis therapy» under giudence of professor M.R. Ginsburg, Institute of Group and Family Psychology and Psychotherapy, Moscow). Completed «Past Life Regression Therapy» certfication course with Rifa Hodgson (Canada), disciple of Dr. Michael Newton.

Since 2005 I am practicing original kriya yoga in the tradition of Lahiri Mahasai (taught by Shri Shailendra Sharma, Govardhan).

Since 2003 i`m teaching on Teachers Training courses in Russia. In 2003-2010 I was the deputy editor of the Moscow «Yoga Magazine» (first Russian printed yoga magazine, now closed). In 2011, together with Mikhail Baranov founded own Yoga108 center and Yoga108 TTC and Advanced TTC courses. In 2010, together with Maxim Yasochka founded an online magazine Wild Yogi (Editor-in-Chief). In 2011, together with M. Baranov organized the International Yoga-Rainbow Festival. We successfully held for 6 festivals in Turkey, India, Russia.

Now on my classes and workshops I teach in a style that we call Yoga108 — it includes methods of Indian schools: Sri T. Krishnamacharya, P.Jois, D.Brahmachari, Swami Sivananda, Swami Satyananda, and practices of the modern schools interesting to us, as Shadow Yoga of Shandor Remete, Yoga Synergy of Simon Borg-Oliver, etc. Classes may be held with method of some particular school, and in the «universal» style, which includes a considered combination of different approaches.
Pranayama and meditation techniques of Raja Yoga I teach primarily in the tradition of Sivananda & Satyananda. Also I teach yogic techniques of deep relaxation, such as Yoga Nidra (Satyananda), Cyclic Meditation (Vivekananda Yoga Kendra, Bangalore).
I conduct regression hypnosis session (Past Life Regression), often integrated with Yoga Nidra. I lecture on the Philosophy of yoga, traditional texts and spiritual systems of the East, the history of modern schools of Hatha yoga, and write articles on the above topics. My personal practice — hatha, kriya yoga (original Lahiri Mahasaya method, with mudras, including khechary, pranayama and kumbhakas) and raja yoga.
«Yoga-bureaucracy» — some certificates and diplomas