Podcastskeyboard_arrow_rightSDS 600: Yoga Nidra Practice with Steve Fazzari

34 minutes

Data Science

SDS 600: Yoga Nidra Practice with Steve Fazzari

Podcast Guest: Steve Fazzari

Thursday Aug 11, 2022

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Welcome back to the Five-Minute Friday episode of the SuperDataScience Podcast!

Steve Fazzari joins us this week for a special edition of the podcast that leads listeners through a short session of Yoga Nidra.
 

About Steve Fazzari
Steve has been studying Yoga and eastern philosophy for over two decades. He has been taught Yoga in a classical discipline from his teacher Sri Dharma Mittra, and continues to pass on the knowledge he received from him, along with a long list of teachers and inspirations he has found in his life. He believes the physical and mental aspects of a Yoga practice are deeply intertwined, and that each practitioner should strive to find a way to direct their concentration on techniques to not only sharpen their physical and mental capacity, but to also learn how to create a space of relaxation and release to cultivate more balance in their lives. Like lifting weights, running, and Yoga postures strengthens and tones the muscles, ultimately enhancing our physical abilities, we can also actively practice creating a space of relaxation to enhance our ability to release and recover from this physical (or mental) strain. Yoga Nidra is a tool available to anybody and everybody to strengthen and tone the parasympathetic nervous system, involved in stress release, recovery, and regeneration. Steve calls the mountains of British Columbia, Canada his home, where he teaches at Village Yoga Pemberton. He dedicates his life to teaching Yoga publicly, as well as running training programs for new and experienced teachers alike.

Overview
Calling in from Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada, Steve Fazzari returns to the podcast to walk us through the practice of deep conscious relaxation known as Yoga Nidra. According to Steve, the practice not only helps build neural pathways in the brain but also allows him to slow down, heal and recover faster, and rapidly release from any mental, emotional or physical activity.

While regular meditation is done seated, Yoga Nidra is experienced lying down, which helps release conscious awareness of the body, Steve says.

Once started, Steve guides listeners through the relaxation practice, inviting areas of the body and mind to relax. "The hope is that all of these different systems can start to release and settle into relaxation and to allow us to enter into this space of deep conscious relaxation," he explains. "[A space] where we can take a little more control of how we are able to actively participate in our rest and relaxation."

At the end of a session, one should feel as though they've renewed their baseline and established some distance from our high-activity worlds. It's a practice that Steve regularly recommends to people no matter what ailment or life experience they may be experiencing. 

Need a dose of rest and relaxation? If so, tune in to episode 600 and take a moment away from it all. 

ITEMS MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: 

FOLLOW STEVE

DID YOU ENJOY THE PODCAST?
Jon Krohn: 00:02
This is episode number 600 of the SuperDataScience podcast.

Welcome to episode number 600 of the SuperDataScience podcast. Just like we did for episode 500, I've got a very special auditory experience for you, listeners. Specifically, we are going to be doing a yoga nidra practice. In episode number 500, we had Jess Allen providing a yoga nidra practice for us, and you're welcome to go and check that out. But another episode that I even more highly recommend you check out given its pertinence to today's guest is episode number 450. In episode number 450, we had Steve Fazzari who is also our yoga nidra guide today.

And in episode 450, Steve provides us with an introduction to the philosophy and benefits of yoga nidra. And then he guides us through a very short, just an overview of how the practice could work. And we said, "We'd love to have Steve back on the show someday to actually lead a practice." And now for special episode number 600, I thought it would be the perfect occasion. So Steve, welcome to the show. Where are you calling in from? 

Steve Fazzari: 01:31
This is great to be here. Thanks for having me. And it's great to see you again, Jon. I'm currently calling from my studio in Pemberton, BC, which is just north of Vancouver-Whistler area, our little nook in the middle of the mountains. I'm really excited to be sharing this practice of yoga nidra. It's been a huge part of my life. It's really radically changed the way that I see meditation, it changed the way that I interact with this kind of practice and has brought so many benefits to my life. It really helps me to slow down, really helps me to learn how to build the pathways in my brain, in my body for relaxation and release. And that allows me to help to heal and recover.

And that's really important for myself and I think for a lot of us who live in a really high intensity, high activity, high engagement society. Myself, I'm kind of constantly running around the mountains and biking and snowboarding. It takes a toll on my body and it takes a toll on my brain. And so a practice like yoga nidra really helps me to rapidly release and recover from any sort of overactivity, whether it's physical activity or mental or emotional activity, and really come back to a nice stable baseline where I'm clear, where I'm calm, where I can help my body and my mind recover. And I can let my nervous system relax, and really help to supercharge that process of rest and recovery. So this is a really potent practice for myself.

It's a really potent practice for a lot of people that I encounter on and off the mat. And it's something that I'm constantly recommending to people, regardless of whatever their ailment or anything that they're dealing with. It's one of the baseline things where I'm like, yoga nidra is something that is helpful for so many different situations and so many different realities and so many different experiences that people are having, that it's a really good catchall practice that no matter what you're doing and what you're dealing with, I think that nidra can help you through that a little bit. 

Jon Krohn: 03:57
Nice. And for our listeners outside of North America, BC is British Columbia. If you didn't get that context from Vancouver. For somebody who's in BC, it's very obvious, but... 

Steve Fazzari: 04:08
Yeah, I forget about that. 

Jon Krohn: 04:13
BC has beautiful mountains everywhere, which I think might be incorporated into today's yoga nidra practice. Thank you for that quick intro, Steve. And Steve is an expert on yoga nidra. He teaches courses on yoga nidra and has written a book that accompanies his course material. So definitely somebody to check out, if you want to be studying yoga nidra yourself. You could fly to British Columbia and undertake a yoga nidra course with Steve. So Steve, if there's nothing else that you want to add on the philosophy and benefits right now, which you're welcome to do, but if we just want to direct the listeners back to episode 450 to get your fuller explanation of the philosophy and benefits, then they can do that. And we could jump right into the practice right now. 

Steve Fazzari: 05:04
Yeah, absolutely. Let's do that. 

Jon Krohn: 05:07
[inaudible 00:05:07]. 

Steve Fazzari: 05:07
So typically, yoga nidra is done lying down. You find a position for your body to be in that is really supported and really comfortable. It is a form of meditation. Typically, we think of meditation as a seated meditation, which has its benefits. However, I find the lying down position in yoga nidra really helps you to release conscious awareness of the body, which really helps to help the body recover. So typically we find a position where we can lie down. There's all kinds of different ways that you can support your body, whether it's pillows or rolled up blankets or something under the neck, under the spine, under the knees. The ideal is that you can remain relatively still.

I describe it like a small pond where if you're constantly stirring up the pond, then the sediment at the bottom of the pond is going to be all chaotic and flowing around. And if the scene is really busy, it's really hard to see beyond the first little bits of depth of the water past that chaos. So if that pond can remain still for a period of time, then all of that sediment can start to settle and you can really start to see through into the depth, see with clarity, what is going on and what is truly at the deeper aspects of this, of this pond or this practice with this aspect of our being. So to me, that is a really important thing. Of course, though, if you get a little uncomfortable during the time and you do need to readjust, then don't be afraid to readjust because it's better to readjust and be relaxed than it is to sit in discomfort for a long period of time, because that's not going to be relaxing for you either.

So once you've found your position, you readjust yourself as you need to, you find maybe some props, some cushions or something like that really help you feel supported and allow you to settle into that relaxation a little bit. Then you can hold that position and try as best as possible to remain still as we move through the practice. And so, there are a few aspects of the practice that go bit by bit through the different systems. So we start by moving through the physical body and focusing on different areas of the body. And then we start to consciously invite those areas of the body to relax. We can bring the deepest relaxation and the best release and recovery to those areas of the body, and then we can leave those to remain rested for the period of time where we continue the practice. And we move on through that.

And as we start to relax the body, then all the energy that allows for the engagement through the physical body, that doesn't need to be doing the swirling dance of the pond sediment as well. And so that might start to settle as well. And so our energy can become a little bit more stable and a little bit more settled. Then as we move throughout the practice and deeper into the practice, then additional sediment that might be constantly swirling like our thoughts and our emotions, and those things that are responding to the external stimuli and to the things that we're experiencing and feeling and touching, whatever it is you have going on in your mind, maybe there's less for you to focus on externally. And so maybe the mind can start to quiet as well.

And once the mind starts to quiet, then we really don't need to be using our intellectual processing power in the same way. And so maybe our intellect can start to settle as well. The hope is that all of these different systems can start to release and to settle into relaxation and to allow us to enter into this space of deep, conscious relaxation, where we can take a little bit more control of how we are able to actively participate in our rest and relaxation. So once you have found your position and you've set yourself up and you find a place where you can ideally remain still for a little bit of time, you just take a few breaths here and allow yourself to begin to settle. And as I've mentioned, I'll direct your attention through different areas of the body. Imagine you're bringing the best healing energy or the deepest relaxation into the body, into those different areas, and we will move through.

Start by focusing on your left thumb. Consciously invite your left thumb to soften. Your left index finger and middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger. Palm of the left hand and the back of the left hand, the whole left hand is soft and relaxed. The left wrist and forearm, soften the left elbow, upper arm and left shoulder. Relax the left armpit region and the left-side body, side of the rib cage, side of the abdomen, the left hip. Relax the left buttock, left thigh, knee, calf, left ankle, the left heel, sole of the foot and top of the foot. The left big toe, second toe, middle toe, fourth and pinky toe.

And focus on the right thumb, consciously invite it to soften. Right index finger and middle finger, ring, and pinky finger. Right palm and back of hand, the whole right hand soft and relaxed. The right wrist and forearm, elbow, upper arm and shoulder. Relax the right armpit region and the right-side body, side of the ribcage, side of the abdomen, the right hip. Off to the right buttock, the right thigh, knee, calf and ankle, right heel, sole of the foot and top of the foot. Right big toe and second toe, middle toe, fourth and pinky toe.

Bring your awareness to your lower back. Allow the lower back to soften. Middle back, upper back and shoulder blade, tension easing from the back of the body. Soften the abdomen and relax all the internal organs of the abdomen. Chest, light. The lungs, open. The heart full of love. Relax the throat and the neck. Soften the jaw, the cheeks, the eyes, the temple. Relax the forehead and the scalp.

For the visualization, try to visualize everything as vividly and as detailed as possible. Visualize yourself walking through a dense forest. Canopy high overhead and choking out most of the sunlight. Little rays, beams of light piercing through the canopy and resting on the forest floor, illuminating some of the dried leave that rest on the forest floor.

Find yourself walking along a path over some rocks and tree roots that have been polished smooth by the countless people who have passed this way before. You continue to walk along this path, hearing the chirps of birds in the tree top, and the gentle rustle of leaves in the canopy. Ahead you see the clearing, the path leads you to the edge of this clearing, where the sun is shining bright. And as you enter into this clearing, the sun gets to your skin. You're not too hot, not too cold, perfectly comfortable. And the grass under your feet, perfectly manicured.

As you walk further into this clearing, you see a small pond. You sit down by the pond, little bits of water coming in from a small stream. You sit and gaze upon this pond, and at the bottom of the pond, a few koi fish swimming slowly as if there's nowhere to be, nothing to do, just to be at peace. Near the center of the pond lies one single lily pad. Little drops of due bead it up. And on this lily pad one, single lotus flower that looks like it could have a thousand pedals. Whatever color you'd like this lotus flower to be, see the vibrance of this flower, the beauty and the softness. Not a single drop of water or dew on the petal. This flower opening up in the sunlight to the beauty of the space surrounding it. And as you rest your mind on this scene, you feel a profound sense of peace, of serenity, of wholeness. Allow yourself to settle into this space where you can be completely at ease.

Slowly start to reawaken your conscious awareness, but remain still for just a moment longer. I'm going to invite you to reflect on an intention or a sankalpa. It's going to be something tangible that you want to manifest in your life or something intangible like a quality you'd like to be cultivating more of in your life. Ideally something that will serve your highest interests. Whatever that might be for you, reflect for a moment or two on that intention. And once you have that intention clearly in your mind, you can set it to the side for the time being. Remember, setting your intention is like planting a seed. The more you come back for it, the more you care for it, the more attention you give to it, the more it can blossom. You might start to bring back some really deep breaths and allow the breath to be the first thing to reawaken more energy in your body. Subtle movements might follow after that. 

There's no need to rush to come out of this. In fact, if you can remain relatively quiet and move relatively slowly out of this space of relaxation, you may be able to retain this space, this deep relaxation for a longer period of time. So you take as much time as you need. If you want to stretch on your mat in any way or rest on your side for a bit before you come up, there's absolutely no rush, but eventually you make your way out of your relaxed position back into a seated position. 

 This concludes the yoga nidra practice. Thank you so much for following along with me. 

Jon Krohn: 34:06
Thank you so much, Steve. Listener, I hope you enjoyed an extra special episode number 600 of the SuperDataScience podcast. We'll catch you back again on this podcast very soon. 

Steve Fazzari: 34:18
Thank you so much for having me. I hope you're well, I hope you got a little bit of something out of this practice. 

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