A Posture of Consciousness
The Posture of Consciousness is the integration of action and non-action where each enhances and empowers the other. This synergistic force is the complementary co-creation of polar opposites—activating the underlying unity that transports us to the experience of sacred union. It dissolves conflicting duality into harmonious polarity through deliberate dynamic action and the deep silent stillness that follows. The combined power of active and receptive modes of being creates a paradoxical experience of meditation in motion. It represents the unity of both sides of polarity simultaneously, manifesting as one with no preference for one side over the other.
Making it happen (Deliberate Conscious Action) vs.
Letting it happen (Surrender)
The posture of consciousness is the experience that emerges from the free interaction between the dance of male and female polarity—where neither is complete without the other. Oneness, the underlying unity of polarity, extends throughout creation. "Making it happen" and "letting it happen" are two wings that empower us to take flight into limitless sky of consciousness. Just as a bird's two wings fulfill the single function of flying, when we integrate the corresponding forces of deliberate action or doing and surrender into being, we have the potential to soar to unfathomable heights.
Many meditation techniques are available. Some focus on concentration as an entry point while others use witness observation. These two techniques are actually one process that is very effective in Yoga Nidra. The first part calls for deliberate, conscious action with an intention for integration. The second part is the direct experience of meditation, where we are disengaged from all physical, mental and emotional activities. Nothing is being done to improve, modify, control or manage anything by the body, mind or emotions. The mind is completely silent and the body is deeply relaxed. There is complete disengagement from ‘I am.’ In the Posture of Consciousness, the first half is integrative, where action moves us toward the non-doing state of being. In the second half, we naturally surrender into non-doing Presence and merge into oneness.
The focus is on consciousness, not the technique.
Focus is internal, not external. The Posture of Consciousness connects being to Being. Initially, we become aware of the felt-presence—the shift from thinking to feeling. Feeling activates the undistorted innate wisdom of the body, ignites the light of consciousness and reveals the true meaning of what is inherently right or wrong. Inner guidance is not pre-learned. Action guided from within takes us on the pathless path of ego-less action where all questions are directed by the prompting of prana rather than the ego-mind. We become perpetually present at every point of physical resistance and emotional reactions, initiating the self-discovery process to explore, expand and experience the hidden parts of our being.
Yoga Nidra develops self-mastery and self-regulating awareness. The Posture of Consciousness establishes a conscious relationship between silent non-doing, our center, and its dynamic expression. If we act on the circumference with deliberate dynamic action, we can establish a relationship with our center. How? Through feeling.
In the first half of the Posture of Consciousness in Yoga Nidra, we use specific techniques of stretching, postures, sound, breathwork, body awareness and meditative awareness to consciously enter progressive integration and relaxation. We resolve to remain an alert witness, judging nothing or comparing ourselves with others. Instead, attention is inwardly focused to sharpen the psychic faculty to feel, hear and experience subtler sensations without distraction. If actions are ego-centered, it minimizes the impact and the adrenal glands and sympathetic nervous system are activated with the fight-or-flight reaction, disallowing the parasympathetic nervous system to perform its balancing action. Conscious practice engages the body in a natural polarity where the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems optimally create homeostasis.
In the second half of the Posture of Consciousness, attention enlarges the energy field, which naturally engages the mind. By bringing undivided, concentrated, detached attention to the second half of the posture, we automatically enter the expanding field of energy. This is a deeply absorbing experience where we simply let our mind melt and merge into the flood of energy felt in the body. The second half of Yoga Nidra takes the action in the first half to the Third Eye. In this space of quiet tranquility, mental agitation, emotional reaction and physical tension disperse and dissolve into union. Yoga Nidra matures into its total fullness of surrender. Within the heart of this process lies the manifestation of a mysterious presence that cannot be explained. Yoga Nidra becomes a vehicle for spiritual unfoldment and self-discovery. Making it happen is a process and letting it happen transcends all linear logical and intellectual processes. In this way, Yoga Nidra fulfills the same purpose as meditation, the union of the individual soul with the Cosmic Soul. Deep yogic sleep produced by brings the allegorical Prodigal Son, the ego, the one who has split from unity, back to conscious integration, the seat of the soul.
Yoga Nidra creates the possibility of entering into pratyahara, withdrawal of energy, and swadhyaya, self-study.
Reconnecting to Source, Atman, creates a field of infinite possibilities where miracles are possible. The bio-energetic field of the individual body and consciousness (microcosm) is in complete resonance with the cosmic body of consciousness (macrocosm). Spiritual healing happens to the degree to which we have entered the unified field of all possibilities. The rigid boundaries of the body-mind soften, making us more permeable to spiritual attunement eventually connecting individual consciousness to the universal field of divine potential. Alert awareness takes us to the deeply ecstatic interplay of Shiva consciousness and prana Shakti, which ultimately leads to the experience of Samadhi¾ the final stage of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga. Yoga Nidra is the science of sourcing the powers of dormant divinity that lie within each of us.
