Change is an Opportunity

Fall is here, the leaves are changing, the weather abruptly dipped to 50’s with rain, and we began the last of our garden harvest.  Living in a place that has four seasons, change in the natural world is a part of life.  Even technology can’t shield us from having to change a bit, whether it’s wearing warmer clothes, turning on the furnace, drinking pumpkin lattes or raking leaves, the change in weather affords us an opportunity to change our routine, do something different.

Often, change is met with resistance. When the temperature dipped, I began to grieve the end of summer.  I love summer, the sun, the heat, the shoeless, shorts wearing, carefree summer days.  Then the wheels in my head began to turn, resisting what is causes suffering.  So instead of lamenting the end of summer, I changed my perspective. We are heading into cozy times, otherwise known as sweaters and soup season.  I made a pot of vegetable chicken soup, pulled on a few layers and settled in to a more reflective mode. 

Yoga Nidra has created more awareness of how I am thinking and I can now quickly shift my mood from feeling morose about summer’s ending to feeling open to and even excited for sweaters and soup. Viewing change as an opportunity to create something new has been incredibly helpful in flowing with life’s changes.  

Did you know that Yoga Nidra helps you be more creative?  It’s true, the deep relaxation of Yoga Nidra helps you tap into different brain wave states, Alpha, Theta and Delta specifically.  Each brain wavelength has different beneficial effects.  The Alpha state has been linked with creativity.  A classic study was done in 1978 that found alpha waves as people generated ideas for a story.  While another study increased creativity by applying stimulation to the brain to promote an alpha state.  This is the lighter state of relaxation experienced in Yoga Nidra where you are aware but calm and relaxed.  Another researcher, Troels Kjaer, uncovered that deep meditative relaxation, as in Yoga Nidra, induces theta brain waves. Theta brain waves are associated with deep relaxation and inspiration. Some researchers even believe theta brain waves are more conducive to creativity than alpha waves.  So, two of the three brain waves associated with Yoga Nidra are correlated with increased creativity and inspiration!

Are you ready for change? Feeling the need for inspiration or a creative boost?  

Come to Yoga Nidra Zoom Class Wednesdays 7 pm MDT