“I feel the greatest inner knowing is the light within”

Tracee Stanley, founder of Empowered Life Circle shares teachings that are inspired by more than 20 years of study in the traditions of the Himalayan Masters and Sri Vidya Tantra. The focus of her teaching honours life as a ritual and she is devoted to yoga nidra, meditation, self-inquiry, nature as a teacher, and ancestor reverence. She is the creatrix of the Empowered Life Self-Inquiry Oracle Deck and host of Radiant Rest Podcast which celebrates the practices, teachers, and traditions that prioritize the rituals of rest, sacred dreaming, and self-care.

Tracee’s book Radiant Rest - Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity published by Shambhala Publishing is now available.

In this episode, we talked about:

•  Whilst we haven’t always had self-care modelled by others, Tracee suggests the practice of self-enquiry to explore the topic of self-care. You can ask yourself: “how do I currently practice self-care? How do I see self-care? What would be the ultimate self-care? What models did you have for self-care? ” Compare notes with a friend

• Tracee started to see the link between rest and thriving, and her dad lived by the adage “early to bed, early to rise”

• Rather than feel the need to purchase products for self-care, consider the things that bring you stillness, spaciousness and ease. Write a list of these things

• The pose for yoga nidra is supported, allowing effortlessness

• Trust that the earth can hold you

• “Nature is the teacher”. Outdoor practice can be useful and reminds us of our true nature

• Embodiment: “carrying the wisdom of the practice in your cells”

• To practice in nature, leave material things elsewhere with a friend or pet so that they can protect your space so you can lay down and feel safe to relax

• There are many free yoga nidra practices available, eg on Youtube or Apple. Find the one that resonates with you, and explore a few different styles of practice and traditions that you enjoy and then commit to practice 2-3 times a way. You’ll notice your ability to rest more quickly and deeply, and look for space for rest

• yoganidranetwork.org

• In Hindu philosophy there are 4 stages of life: student, householder, forest dweller, sannyasin (denounced worldly possessions) The Householder’s flow helps to weave practice into a busy life, e.g meditating during a lunch break or taking deep breaths before a meeting or chanting a mantra whilst cooking. Adapting to our own lives with creativity  

• Everyone feels like they don’t have enough time, but there are ways to reclaim time

• Devoted rather than disciplined, softening the masculine edges

• The moments before waking and sleeping (hypnagogic state) and sleeping and waking (hypnopompia) are potent portals

• Becoming more awake in our dream life and receiving messages from our ancestors 

• Becoming more awake in our awake time 

• Radiance is our true nature and an eternal part of us. The light beyond all sorrow

• Photoshopping is mainly trying to reflect radiance and bliss! When you see someone who is full of light, you see the twinkle in their eyes and their joy

• Tracee describes power as the ability to trust the inner knowing or light within

• Source is omnipresent and omnipotent 

• Sacred portals into different dimensions: third eye (centre of waking), throat (centre of dreaming), heart (centre of deep sleep), ‘cave of the heart’/ uterus 

• The womb as a void, place of creation, original resting place and mystery 

• Uma Dinsmore Tuli talks about the nadi, or energy flow from the womb to the heart in her book ‘Yoni Shakti’

• In Native American, Mexican Toltec and Buddhist teachings, there’s a focus on the throat as a portal for dreaming

• Gail Parker differentiates between race-based trauma (recurring) and PTSD (trauma from one event)

• Deep resistance to rest could be ancestral and linked to a sense of lack of safety

• For someone with PTSD, yoga nidra can be practiced with the eyes open 

• Sexual misconduct in positions of authority 

• When seeking a teacher, look for those who lead you to your own wisdom 

• Kosha means sheath or layer and yoga nidra travels through the koshas

• Our physical body is not who we are, and our energy body extends beyond the physical form

Resources:

Radiant Rest book

Learn more at radiantrest.com, and traceeyoga.com.

Radiant Rest podcast

Previous episode about rest and yoga nidra with Karen Brody

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