Yoga Nidra and Nyasa Rishi Nyasa, Kara (hand) Nyasa, Matrika Nyasa and Sadanga Nyasa Links and Research

"The soul loves to meditate,
for in contact with the Spirit lies its greatest joy.
If, then you experience mental resistance
during meditation, remember that
reluctance to meditate comes from the ego;
it doesn't belong to the soul."

Paramahansa Yogananda

Nyasa 

Nyasa (English: placing) is a concept in Hinduism. It involves touching various parts of the body while chanting specific portions of a mantra. This is considered to be invoking presence of the deity, of the mantra, inside the body.

Each mantra is associated with a specific Nyasa. There are various types of Nyasas, the most important of them being Kara Nyasa and Anga Nyasa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyasa_(ritual)   Srividya followers practise Matruka Nyasa.

Divinity in the body

Mental worship is superior, and external worship is inferior. By worshipping Devata, a sadhaka is himself honoured - Niruttara Tantra

The word Nyasa means placing and refers to a large component of tantrik ritualism in which the practitioner touches various parts of the body at the same time pronouncing a mantra and visualising a devata or a bija (root) mantra. Nyasa is supposed to "divinise" the body of the worshipper.

There are many types of nyasa, with some being very complex and elaborate. One example on this site is Mahashodha nyasa where a sadhaka or sadhvika places planets, constellations, sacred sites and other elements of Lalita's cosmology on her or his body. This demonstrates the identity of macrocosm and microcosm in the tantrik tradition.

The types of nyasa most often encountered in tantrika ritual are Rishi Nyasa, Kara (hand) Nyasa, Matrika Nyasa and Sadanga Nyasa. 

Every mantra has a Rishi or seer who first pronounced the mantra, thus giving birth to a line. According to many tantrik texts, using mantras which you take from books is fruitless, although this rule does not hold for Mahachinachara and, say some, the worship of Shri Shri Kali.

Matrika Nyasa is a form where the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet are placed on the body. As this is done, the practitioner uses various hand gestures (mudras). The letters are prefixed with Om and suffixed with namah.

Sadanga Nyasa uses bijas connected with long vowels of the Sanskrit alphabet. Again, there are many examples here on this site.....http://www.shivashakti.com/nyasa.htm

Ego Death

Derived from tantra

Yoga nidra is taken from a tantric practice 

called anga nyasa. 

Anga means main limbs or organs of the body like the toes, knees, hips, the back, chest, shoulder blades and head. Nyasa means to place. 

In tantra, when you sit for pooja, the mind is placed on the various organs of the body along with the mantras - om netra netram, om shrotam shrotam. 

You touch each part and say a mantra.

The second stage is placing the mind on different parts of the hand, called kara nyasa. Kara means hand, fingers, wrist, etc. The third is varna nyasa, where the mind is placed on a colour; varna means colour. There are many nyasas in tantra and they are all done in siddhasana or padmasana. Through anga nyasa, varna nyasa, kara nyasa,

 the elements of the body are purified.read more ...

“Not doing” helps us to transcend the limits and boundaries of who we think you are. It also can assist us to identify what controls we have placed on our life even if that area of life lies outside our normal boundaries." read more ...

Yoga Nidra

Yoga nidra or "yogic sleep" is a sleep-like state which yogis report to experience during their meditations. Yoga nidra, lucid sleeping is among the deepest possible states of relaxation while still maintaining full consciousness. The distinguishing difference is the degree to which one remains cognizant of the actual physical environment as opposed to a dream environment. In lucid dreaming, one is cognizant of the dream environment, little or no awareness of one's actual environment.

The practice of yoga relaxation has been found to reduce tension and anxiety. The autonomic symptoms of high anxiety such as headache, giddiness, chest pain, palpitations, sweating and abdominal pain respond well. It has been used to help soldiers from war cope with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Yoga nidra refers to the conscious awareness of the deep sleep state, referred to as prajna in Mandukya Upanishad.^{[ read more .....}

http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2011/invdc11/yn.shtml