Jeff Carreira: Hello Cheryl, can you tell me the story of how you were introduced to yoga nidra and why you became so interested in it?

Cheryl Van Sciver: I first practiced yoga at a hot yoga studio that emphasized strong physical practice in rooms that were as hot as 100 degrees. At some point, one of my teachers started to explore other paths and one of those was yoga nidra. She learned how to teach it and started offering yoga nidra in our studio. I found that the strong physical practice in the heat wipes out your physical body, so that you feel ready after that effort to let go and journey inward. Early on, I had some pretty profound experiences with the practice and that drew me in very quickly.

Jeff Carreira: Can you describe what those early experiences were like?

Cheryl Van Sciver: One of the things that happened often and became normal for me was that I would get downloads of colors. That’s the best way I can describe it. I think of it as if I were seeing a 1970s lava land. It was like drops of color that floated into my awareness. I connected that experience with the chakras, and it always seemed like some healing was happening. What I needed would enter my system. I also had some interesting experiences of being in a different plane of existence. I would find myself looking up at a vast expanse of infinite space. Other times I would feel that I was looking down and I would see these drawings like hieroglyphs in different geometrical shapes. They seemed tribal and ancient, but I haven't ever been able to figure out what they were exactly.

Jeff Carreira: What do you think is happening in yoga nidra when those experiences are occurring?

Cheryl Van Sciver: It felt like my consciousness was expanding. Early on, the expansion seemed to be at the spot of my third eye. I would actually feel a popping sensation there and it felt like something opened. It is hard to be sure what was happening, but I know they were glimpses beyond my normal consciousness, and outside of my everyday waking material reality.

Jeff Carreira: And so was it those glimpses of higher consciousness that got you excited about the practice?

Cheryl Van Sciver: For me, yes, but I see that yoga nidra appeals to different people for different reasons, in the same way that meditation does. Some people are drawn to the potential to experience deep relaxation. They might think they relax by watching TV, playing games on their phones, or in some other way, but these are not really relaxing activities, they are distractions. So when they experience yoga nidra, they experience being relaxed maybe for the first time because the practice allows you to systematically let go of all of your tensions. It's true relaxation. And relaxation also has spiritual benefits because if you're not relaxed, it's very difficult to meditate. If you live a high-stress lifestyle, I feel that yoga nidra is a good practice to help you find some stillness, and then maybe you’ll open to a spiritual experience.

Jeff Carreira: For you, the excitement of yoga nidra was its potential for spiritual breakthrough.

Cheryl Van Sciver: Yes, absolutely. Right away, the first time I did it, I noticed a lapse in time. I knew I was there. I'd heard the instructions, but the 45-minutes of yoga nidra felt like five minutes.

Jeff Carreira: What happened then? How did your path with yoga nidra develop?

Cheryl Van Sciver: When I first started to practice, I had heard about it in a New Age context and I didn’t know how deeply connected it was to traditional yoga philosophy. Over time, I learned that these practices were very ancient and that they were described in ancient scriptures and writings. As I continued to study the philosophies of yoga nidra, and read classic texts like the Mandukya Upanishad, I realized that yoga nidra is a path to liberation. That's when I realized it was a tool at a much grander scale than I had imagined. That is when I really became fascinated with it.

Jeff Carreira: So when you say it's a path to liberation, can you expand on that?

Cheryl Van Sciver: It is a path that connects you with the true self. It's important to practice, and as you practice more you see how the experiences you are having were described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and you realize that you’re on the path to enlightenment. Of course, Patanjali didn’t write about yoga nidra in the form we practice it today, but you see reference to the awakening potential of nidra (sleep) in the Yoga Sutras and other ancient Hindu texts. You also see nidra mentioned as a potential hindrance to the path, but that is referring to unaware sleep. Yoga nidra is aware sleep, and in that form, sleep becomes a powerful spiritual practice.

Jeff Carreira: Yoga nidra is aware sleep?

Cheryl Van Sciver: Yes it's sleeping with awareness. It's the act of staying awake as you go through that process of deep sleep.

Jeff Carreira: Recently, when I did a yoga nidra training with you, one of the first things that struck me was that you stated that yoga nidra wasn’t a practice. Instead, you said that it was a state of consciousness.

Cheryl Van Sciver: Yes, the state of consciousness of yoga nidra is Turyia which is the fourth state of consciousness in Hinduism; beyond waking, dreaming and deep sleep. We are all generally in the waking state of consciousness most of the time. When we sleep, we enter the consciousness of dreams and the consciousness of deep sleep where there are no dreams. Then there is a state of being awake in deep sleep which we can enter in yoga nidra by holding onto conscious awareness as we fall asleep.

Jeff Carreira: Are you saying that yoga nidra is a vehicle to the state of Turyia that might be easier than meditation for some people?

Cheryl Van Sciver: I think so, especially for beginners, and then hopefully it acts like a springboard for further study and more practice.

Jeff Carreira: What effect has yoga nidra had on you?

Cheryl Van Sciver: I'm definitely calmer. I have the ability to ride the waves of life a little easier. I realize there's more going on than what's right in front of me. I am aware that there's an eternalness to our soul, and that keeps me calm. Yoga nidra also made me want to be a teacher. It was after a Yoga nidra experience that my partner and I looked at each other and said, “Hey, do you want to open a yoga studio?” I always knew there was more to yoga than stretching and getting strong, and that there was a need for more people teaching that. The physical dimension of the practice had really caught on but yoga offered so much more than that if you could find a way to teach it without threatening other religious beliefs. As a teacher, I have slowly and methodically introduced the deeper concepts of yoga and built trust in my community.

Jeff Carreira: Where do you go for inspiration to fuel your practice now?

Cheryl Van Sciver: I look to teachers like Patangali, Vivekananda, and Ramakrisna, but I am aware that, in the end, the path is dependent on direct experience and so practice is always the heart of it. You have to do the work, and it's not quick work. It's not quick work.