Yoga Nidra, Free Time & a Single Sound

Today I started asking myself a very specific series of questions about time while I was preparing a delicious tamarind-based stew: What does it mean to have free time? Is it something that I personally have? If I had it, what would I do with it?

I felt an inner response that I'd like to verbalize. It was something like this:

All your time is free. You've made all these choices, even when you think it wasn't up to you to make them, you most certainly did. You did, because you have beliefs, principles, and desires and you seek to fulfill them. And you can love that and accept it and stop fighting it. But if any of these are making life too difficult, you might need to reexamine the driving forces. But look closer, and see that you're making good choices and you fill your time beautifully:

You choose to support your children's journeys, giving them space to soak in the world and creatively reflect it back out. You choose to embrace an art form you find challenging, requiring more time than you ever imagined because you also find it satisfying. You choose to have a nourishing relationship with your partner. You choose to be there for your family. You choose to share what you've learned and experienced with others so they can come to their own knowledge and experience. You choose to keep growing, following what brings you joy.

With that, I continued to make the stew with a new level of acceptance and satisfaction. And my partner, who requested it, said it was the best I've made yet. A dash of love and understanding usually makes for a better meal.

Yoga Nidra & Full Sound Immersion

On another note, as I prepare for this Saturday's Yoga Nidra, I've been thinking about the power of a single sound, which is a major theme for this month's session.

I think of the sound of one violin. One crystal bowl. One voice. One flute. One drum. One melody. The sound of one breath. Sound is of Nature's most powerful medicine, as it is an all-pervading aspect of our universe in the form of vibration. And all it takes is a single sound — to change overwhelm into acceptance, anger into empathy, confusion into clarity.

The Sufi mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan, who was also a renowned musician, says that ancient music "developed only in one direction."

"Every instrument," he explains, "was played alone and every song was sung alone — there was no other instrument or voice."

He suggests that, even today, we still love the solo. Even though modern music uses many voices and instruments together, we still love and feel the solo deep within our being. Especially for the purpose of meditation, he says, the melody of a single sound is most powerful — one bell ringing is better than many bells,

"one sound always goes deeper than many sounds."

In my experience, I've found this to be true, which drives much of my love for offering Yoga Nidra with a sound immersion, often highlighting a single sound at a time. This is why I don't call it a sound bath, and it's far from being a performance.

It's for the purpose of effortless meditation.

I love sharing this powerful experience with as many as possible. A lot goes into it, and I want to be sure there are people there who can benefit from all the love and attention that is poured into each session.

To register for the next one (this Saturday, 10/26/24) or for more information on the structure of the evening, Yoga Nidra itself, sound mechanics etc, click the image or link below.

With Love,

sandy