If you are interested in getting started with a little “intro level” meditation, I’ve got a great resource for you. Check out Yoga Nidra Meditation CD: Extreme Relaxation of Conscious Deep Sleep by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati. You can find it on Amazon.
Yoga Nidra is not “yoga” as we tend to think of it. The only thing you do with your physical body is lie on the floor and remain motionless. Meanwhile, your mind is focused on a tour of your body. As with most meditations, the goal is to focus your mind on essentially nothing. You remain awake, but not consciously using your mind to do work.
We spend so much time letting our mind focus on work and troubles and problems, that our poor brains never get to rest. This is particularly true of people who experience chronic pain. Recent research shows that brains of people with chronic pain do not get a chance to “rest” between periods of activity. This contributes to fatigue and restlessness at the same time.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is intended to help you achieve a restful state while remaining completely awake. It is very relaxing and many find it energizing.
This CD is particularly good for beginning meditation for two reasons. First, you are guided the entire time. When you haven’t meditated much, you mind tends to wander. The constant narration of this CD keeps your mind from wandering back to work, troubles, etc.
Second, the CD just jumps into the meditation. There’s no discussions about religious philosophy or new age light sprouting from your aura. It just gets down the project at hand: relaxing and meditating. That other stuff gets old about the second time you listen to an audio program.
I believe that, if you’re going to use a guided meditation CD, the CD should not contain philosophical discussions that people don’t want to listen to every time they do their meditation.
Overall, this is an excellent CD for beginners. It’s also good for experienced meditators because it adds a nice variety.
Hey, for $15 you can’t go wrong.
