I am not able to do yoga nidra for long time (required duration i want to achieve is 2hrs ) .

Question

I am a student , 18 years old and lot into meditation and chanting , I do not  have any  trouble in focusing or emptying mind  . Only problem is while doing yoga nidra i loose consciousness after some time , i was not able to keep track when i actually dose off  but i feel its probably after 30 mins or 50 min , i tried multiple things to try not to dose of ,, even started sleeping in lord vishnu sleeping pose so that my legs dont get numb and i felt lying down is too much comfort and maybe thats why i sleep in middle and sitting in meditating position is too much unconformtable thats its hard to rest  , what should i do ?

Answer 1

Dear Naveen, Apologies, I missed your question. I duly went through the question and found that some more details are required to let me address your issue satisfactorily. Why do you want to keep continuing yoga nidra beyond 40-50 minutes to be extended to 2 hours.   I think that it is not recommended to practice Yoga Nidra for such a long duration, as it can be mentally and physically taxing. It is mostly sufficient to practice Yoga Nidra for 20-45 minutes and it is generally done to achieve a deep state of relaxation and rejuvenation or to just transform your sanskaras in deeper stages through suggestions to sub-consicous mind. I think lethargy shall automatically set in after a long duration of yoga nidra. 

In general, the following recommendations shall help you:

• Dietary changes (Mitahara and Alpaahar as per Yoga Texts like Hatha Yoga Pradipika or gheranda Samhita) or even  to sattvic nature will help to preventing dosing off. Basically, you have to check that you are taking light meals while ensuring that you fulfill all the nutrients through the diet and the meals should be easily digestible.  Add more fruits and vegetables to your meals as well as keep 25% empty during meal.  You should also consult your clinical nutritionist in this regard.
• Yogic shatkarmas kriyas like dhauti (kunjal), sutra-neti/jala neti or enema) can help you in cleansing your body
• Kapalbhati before practising yoga nidra shall help you in preventing losing consciousness.

I hope that the above helps. However, I would also request you to reply back to this answer with the details of your purpose behind continuing beyond the normal course of yoga nidra or the feedback on the above recommendations.