Center for Awakened Living

Integrative Restoration (iRest) is a modern adaptation of a very ancient meditation practice known as “Yoga Nidra.” An individual might practice iRest for a number of personal reasons: to induce deep relaxation throughout the body and mind, eliminate stress, overcome insomnia, resolve trauma, neutralize and overcome anxiety, fear, anger and depression, as well as to enter deep meditation in order to unravel the mystery of life and answer such questions as: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “What is enlightenment?” In addition to all of these personal reasons why someone might engage in iRest, it is ultimately a means to break free of the limiting patterns of conditioning that have been with us our entire lives. iRest reveals the “open secret” of enlightenment so that we may recognize our True Nature as nondual Presence or Being.

iRest has three main movements or phases:

o First, we welcome all that is without attachment or aversion and see how anything, when rightly understood, is a messenger.

o Second, we dis-identify from all that is and see that the world of changing phenomena, the comings and goings of life, exist in our awareness. It is this awareness that is our true nature.

o Finally, we re-enter the world just as it is. However, we do so with the realization of who we really are. We are able to play in the world of form without the need to create a false identity.

iRest is “integrative” in that it heals the various splits, fusions and traumas that are present in our body, mind and senses. It is “restorative” in that it reveals our underlying ground of Being that we all share in common. It is a non-dogmatic, non-religious, secular practice consisting of 30-40 minute sessions. Participants are guided through sequences that cover:

        o        Body sensitivity training
o        Breath and energy awareness
o        Systematic desensitization to neutralize:
            o       Negative body sensations and stress
            o       Negative feelings and emotions, and
            o       Negative beliefs, images and memories
o        The experience of joy and well-being
o        Freedom from the feeling of separation and suffering
o        The ability to experience peace and calm amidst the realization that everything in life is constantly changing, and
o        The embodiment of pure awareness during every life circumstance

Billy teaches iRest to individuals and small groups. He is currently working on developing an ongoing class. If you are interested in joining such a class please contact Billy to add your name to the list and let him know which day and time would work best for you. Ongoing participants in Billy's individual and group sessions will receive four practice CDs that he has created for them to keep to use at home. The CDs are also available for purchase at $10.00 each.

To learn more about iRest visit Richard Miller's website at www.nondual.com or purchase his book/CD combo Yoga Nidra: The Meditative Heart of Yoga, published by Sounds True. Click the title to read Richard's essay called The Principles and Practice of Yoga Nidra .