My Yoga Nidra CD was actually a gift - a well-meaning friend thought I was getting a bit "frayed at the edges" and needed to relax.

I was slightly sceptical in the beginning. I tend to hold a scientific view of the universe, and suspected this might turn out to be "up in the clouds".

My first thought after coming out of the relaxation was "gosh!" I felt as if I'd rested for hours. Somewhere along the relaxation, my mind had let go of the tense attitude I was in the grip of. After the relaxation I lay there looking at the things around me for quite a while, almost like a child.

I noticed the effect of this first trial of Yoga Nidra for hours afterwards. It's hard to describe really, I was definitely more relaxed than usual, but not at all sluggish or slow, quite the opposite.

Of course, after this I started using the relaxation regularly and I am still doing so. It continually amazes me that such seemingly simple instructions can have such a strong effect. The quality of my sleep has improved greatly since I started using the CD. I used to wake up several times each night but now find that I can sleep the whole night through, which of course makes a
great difference to my day.

There are two relaxations on the CD, one short version (20 minutes), and one long (45 minutes). The voice giving instructions is interwoven with music and various sounds from nature. Before listening to it I would have thought that this was confusing, or that it would somehow have a hypnotic effect, but I find that the other sound effects enhance the instructions in a very balanced and harmonious way.

I strongly recommend anyone who wants to relax and "recharge their batteries" to try this CD. It's made a definite difference for me in my daily life.