“This meditation is all about increasing and enhancing your own sense of awareness, your sense of being a whole person that is perfect just as you are,” said Louise Mahoney while teaching a weekly class. They only need a phone, an open mind and a quiet, safe space to meditate. Veterans can try yoga nidra any Thursday evening of their choice, without referral, prior experience or prescription. I really enjoy it.” No referral, experience, or prescription needed “It helps release anxiety, tension, helps me sleep better. “I try not to miss a week,” Valentino said. He first learned about yoga nidra and iRest from a flyer his provider gave him. Valentino gets his care from the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System’s medical center in New Orleans. So while I’m meditating, I’ll picture my blood stream running through a coffee filter that’s filtering out all the bad stuff that I’ll throw away when I’m done.” “A lot of it is sensing your body and quieting your mind. “It relaxes my whole mind and body all stress melts away,” said Air Force Veteran Joe Valentino. The virtual guided meditation begins Thursday evenings at 5 p.m., Pacific time, and all Veterans are invited to join the class. VA’s War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC), located in Palo Alto, Calif., offers weekly phone meditation sessions. Data collected from iRest participants indicates the practice improves sleep quality, reduces anxiety, and enhances resiliency in stressful situations. This meditation method is very helpful for issues like PTSD and anxiety, sleep problems and chronic pain. It was first used by soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD. Richard Miller with Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Department of Defense. Integrative Restoration (iRest), is a version of yoga nidra developed by Dr. Participants must completely relax and rest while the brain remains active and able to hear everything the instructor says, though the person may not be fully aware. Yoga nidra, also called yoga sleep, is an altered state of consciousness in which participants meditate and go into a state on the cusp of the sleep state. These Thursday evening classmates meet over the phone to participate in an hour of yoga nidra that follows the iRest methodology. Veterans perform the weekly yoga nidra session in their own space, on their own bed, couch or favorite chair. This yoga class requires no travel, no membership or studio, and no special clothing or mat. The Veterans spend an hour together, but they never see one another and likely will never even meet. If you like Shivasana-the short relaxation at the beginning and end of our yoga classes-you’ll love iRest.Every Thursday evening, Veterans all over the United States meet up to practice yoga. You are aware of your surroundings and the teacher’s voice, but at the same time completely relaxed. In a recent class, one student described the experience as “like floating and sinking at the same time,” and I thought that captured it pretty well. It is extremely restful, and as a bonus, sometimes an interesting insight pops up. Students get comfortable, settling in with a blanket and a bolster under the knees, and then are guided through a three-part Intention, then relaxing the body, connecting with the breath, and finally noticing any physical sensations, emotions and thoughts that arise. Miller’s iRest is a 10-step yoga meditation, usually done while lying down it is led by a teacher who talks the class through each step. Richard Miller, an American psychologist. Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice and known for helping people sleep better, and iRest Yoga Nidra is an updated version, developed by Dr. I thought it was great, but kind of forgot about it until a few months ago when I was having trouble sleeping and started looking into it again. I first encountered iRest Yoga Nidra when I attended a workshop by local yoga teacher Andrea Soos several years ago.
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