Sleep of the Yogi: Finding the Rest & Recovery We All Need
Join wisdom speaker Natasha Korshak as she brings her teaching to Sacred Space on Saturday, August 10th at 4:15pm, with Tucson musician Stephen Pedone, principal of Edgewater Guitars accompanying live on guitar to set the tone for the practice.
Natasha will guide us through the foundations of Yoga Nidra, also known as iRest (not an Apple product!), and lead us in real, hands-on practice of this profoundly restorative technique. Though it’s often described simply as “yogic sleep,” Yoga Nidra is really a state of conscious, deep relaxation, one where the body rests as fully as it does in sleep while the mind stays quietly aware. It’s one of the oldest tools in the Yoga tradition, and also one of the most accessible: no flexibility required, no strength required, just the willingness to lie down and listen.
What makes this practice so powerful is its reach. Research and clinical use alike point to Yoga Nidra as an effective support for anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and PTSD, among other conditions where the nervous system has gotten stuck in patterns of hypervigilance or exhaustion.
Natasha will help us understand:
- How the practice works with the body’s natural relaxation response
- How it creates enough safety and stillness for the nervous system to finally downshift out of fight-or-flight,
- And how that shift alone can begin to loosen the grip of chronic stress on our health.
But Yoga Nidra isn’t only about relaxation. At its heart, it’s a practice of intention. Through the use of sankalpa (a resolve planted at the deepest, most receptive layer of the mind) it reminds us of what we’re here to do and who we’re capable of becoming. It offers a doable, repeatable way to meet the limiting beliefs and old perceptions that generate our stress and tension, and to gently, steadily, begin breaking through them.
Natasha will also help us bring this off the mat (or cushion) and into daily life: how a short Nidra practice can reset a hard afternoon, support better sleep, or become a steady anchor we return to whenever we need to come back to ourselves.
Sacred Space at the Ward 6 Chill Space 3202 E 1st St, Tucson, AZ 85716
Natasha Korshak is a long-time teacher and trainer of yoga, meditation, mindfulness and MBSR, and has been working in the field of integrative health and wellness her entire professional career.
