Sleep yoga uses the state of deep, dreamless sleep as a meditative object. The state, which is a vanishing of consciousness, can be used to rest in the luminous and empty reality of rigpa.
Sleep yoga is distinct from dream yoga. It’s apparently ‘the last door to open,’ hence quite difficult. I like to try it but confess limited success. If you are falling asleep while meditating, then try to work with sleep yoga. It can’t harm us. Also see: Meditation before sleep
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Table of Contents
Sleep Yoga (Deep Sleep)
My mind shuts off when I truly fall asleep. But we can enter a little further gradually. I can fall asleep in a very light way and maintain some awareness, but deep sleep is a whole ‘nuther animal, as they say. The point is that this yoga is not ON/OFF, but a gradient.
How to meditate like a yogi
and enter profound samadhi
To enter into deep sleep yoga takes years, but we can train it in much earlier. Simply watch your mind as you fade off to sleep. Make the aspiration to take your awareness with you. This will make it easier and easier to maintain awareness as you drift into sleep. At some point, awareness and consciousness will vanish, so don’t be discouraged. If we maintain awareness into even a tiny bit of sleep, that’s great.
The training is to ultimately prepare for death. Sleep yoga helps us to be aware at the instant of death. At this instant, perfect and profound reality arises without obstruction. If we have not trained in it, we simply go unconscious and awaken in the bardo. If we have trained in it well, it’s the easiest route to enlightenment. We simply remain in that state! But that takes serious prior training during the lifetime.
Key aspect of that training is sleep yoga. It’s also blissful to drift off and maintain awareness. Hey, sleep feels good. Try to experience it while you’re doing it. I find sleep yoga much less effortful than dream yoga. However, it’s far more difficult to achieve real success.
May all beings be happy
May all beings be peaceful
May all beings be safe
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature
May all beings be free
