Hypno-Yogic Therapy

What is it?

Imagine being able to experience the sleeping state with your conscious awareness intact. This is the hypno-yogic state.

Simply put, hypno-yogic therapy uses the tantric technique of Yoga Nidra in its therapeutic application for implanting useful suggestions into one's psyche. By deeply relaxing the body, introverting the senses and stilling the mind, the practitioner can reach what is known as the 'hypnogogic' state. In this state we isolate the brain and become introverted, while maintaining a degree of external awareness by listening to and mentally following a series of instructions. This is achieved using yogic techniques based on ancient tantric teachings. For this reason Swami Satyananda, the yogi who formulated yoga nidra, calls this the 'hypno-yogic state'.

What this therapy can support

• Working with fears or phobias
• Relief from anxiety and stress related disorders such as migraine or insomnia
• Changing or eliminating certain destructive or limiting behaviours such as overeating or social anxiety
• Support around addictions you wish to overcome
• Pain relief
• Finding direction in your life, discovering your life's purpose or developing a particular project
• Exam preparation and memorisation of specific material

Hypno-yogic therapy is suitable for children, adults and the elderly. If you have any questions or would like to book an appointment, feel free to contact me.

How a session looks

We will start with a cup of tea and a chat about what you would like to work with during the session, and this may mean digging a little deeper to find the root of the issue. I will take notes, and together we will formulate some statements and affirmations that I will go on to use during the yoga nidra.

Then you will lie down for around 40 minutes for the yoga nidra session. I begin by relaxing you into the hypnogogic state using techniques such as visualisation, special kinds of breath awareness and mantra. During the session I will implement the affirmations and statements that we are working with.

Once the yoga nidra is over we will have a short chat before ending the session.

Sessions cost £60 and usually last around 1.5 hours. They can be recorded on to mp3 upon request.

Hypno-yoga explained

Yoga Nidra is a state of profound psychophysiological relaxation and metabolic rest, in which a fundamental release and readjustment in the controlling mechanisms of the autonomic nervous system occur.

In terms of brain science, yoga nidra is a state where periodic bursts of alpha brain waves are interspersed between alternating periods of beta and theta predominance. Simply put, this means that the body and certain parts of the mind are asleep, and what remains is the experience of deep relaxation whilst being able to maintain a level of awareness sufficient to access and influence the subconscious and unconscious levels of the mind.

Swami Satyananda's discovery of yoga nidra is based on the ancient tantric technique of nyasa, meaning 'to take the mind to that point', whereby one moves one's awareness around one's body using specific and sometimes complex mantras for each part of the body. Therefore the technique of nyasa is not very accessible, as, among other things, it requires the discipline of learning a huge amount of complex mantras.

Satyananda Yoga Nidra is a simplification of nyasa, and was used by Swami Satyananda himself for teaching certain material to his students and implanting certain positive ideas into individuals' minds for the healing of specific concerns and conditions.

With prem and oms,

Devamurti.