Success!

Many thanks for subscribing to Wholesome News.

We take your privacy very seriously so before we begin sending you information, we need to be sure we have your permission.

If you haven’t already done so, please confirm your request by clicking on the email we just sent you. It should be in your inbox right now.  Once you have confirmed, then we will send our newsletter to you.

Each issue includes:

• Practical tips for improving your health through relaxation training, yoga, meditation, and other mind/body techniques
• Info on books, CDs and other services from Julie Lusk
• Special offers, class and workshop schedules, valuable opportunities and more
• Sandy Byrd says ” Here are real practices for real life!  The content is great…Practical ideas that can be implemented easily.  I always love the quotes.
• Your email address is guarded and never shared.   You can quickly and easily unsubscribe from future mailings at anytime.

If you need to contact us, our information is noted below.  Please do not hesitate to do so.

To go back to the Wholesome Resources homepage, click here.

Thanks again!

Julie Lusk
Wholesome Resources

Featuring …

• Practical tips for improving your health through relaxation training, yoga,
  meditation, and other mind/body techniques
  • See previously published articles here.
• Info on books, CDs and other services from Julie Lusk
• Special offers, class and workshop schedules, valuable opportunities and more
• Sandy Byrd says ” Here are real practices for real life!  The content is great…Practical ideas that can be implemented easily.  I always love the quotes.”
• Your email address is protected and never shared.   You can instantly unsubscribe anytime.

It’s Easy – Here’s How

1.      Fill in the form above.

2.      Open your email in-box and look for a confirmation message “From: Julie Lusk @ Wholesome Resources”with the Subject Line “Confirm your subscription to Wholesome Resources Newsletter”.

3.      You must click on the link in order to receive it.  If you don’t, you will not receive the newsletter.We do this to protect our customers from unauthorized sign-ups, spam, and other email abuses. 

4.      We use Aweber as our newsletter administrator. Here is our privacy and permission pledge.   

Here’s what subscribers are saying…

I love the newsletter!! It helps me connect with myself more and make me practice relaxation on a daily basis. It is very simple, short and easily understood. I would like to see them more often!!  Keep up the good work! ~~ Jenn Dodge ~ Kraft Foods

It’s perfect! ~~ Beth Rampleman

I think you do a great job on the newsletter…very easy to read and follow. ~~ Cindy Wells ~ Massage Therapist

The quotes are great and seem to come at the right time when I need them the most’ ~~ Marianne Lang ~ Director of Public Relations and Communications, St. Ursula Academy

Julie, I use your tips throughout the day in my office to relieve stress and refresh.   Its  definitely helpful!  Thanks! ~~ Cindy Robinson Sieber

I just did my “shoulder shrugs” and smiled.  Thanks for making Desktop Yoga come to me.  This is awesome … getting other body parts moving while at the computer and printer than just the fingers.  I would like to get copies of your Wholesome Energizers CDs for the membership committee for Kindervelt.  You are doing some  exciting things! ~~ Susan Deye ~ Kindervelt Board Member

I just received another Wholesome Resources Newsletter.  What fantastic information.  I can just hear your lyrical voice and humor woven into the words as I read down the page.  Since the first I wanted to tell you that it looks great from a graphic perspective.  Thank you for your thought and time in preparing it …..and sharing it! ~~ Beth Ann T. ~ Artist

This article is a yoga nidra FAQ on setting intentions & sankalpas for making durable positive changes effectively.

Yoga nidra is rapidly gaining in popularity these days, mostly because it’s so blissfully exhilarating.  Yoga nidra (pronounced nih-drah) means “yogic sleep” and is an ancient yoga practice with benefits supported by modern-day science.  It’s a powerful experience of progressively relaxing and restoring physically, energetically, mentally, and emotionally that naturally opens us to accessing our intuition, unconditional joy, and deep restorative peace.  It’s very refreshing too.  In fact, one hour of practice is equivalent to four hours of sleep.  See more documented benefits of yoga nidra here.

The yoga nidra process also makes it completely possible to clear out useless habits and bring about positive and durable changes to your lifestyle and positive personality changes by using a sankalpa at the start and the end of the practice.  A sankalpa is a special intention, a self-selected resolve that you choose yourself.  It’s a sacred vow and promise you make in support of your highest truth. Sample sankalpas are “I am courageous,” or “I have confidence,” or “My life is worthwhile.”   It’s a quality that helps you become or do something worthwhile with your life.  Likewise, it can be a reflection of your True Self such as “I am conduit of love,” or “My true nature is peace.”

How yoga nidra helps you make behavior changes and enables you to develop positive personal qualities.

“Our day-to-day frame of consciousness (beta brain waves) makes it extremely difficult to make and maintain our good intentions because they crash into our long term conditioning, habits, and social pressures,” as reported in Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief (New Harbinger Publications, 2015).  “Through no fault of your own, your mind is simply not very receptive to making these changes.  During yoga nidra, we knowingly, consciously, and consecutively experience different types of brainwave levels that are receptive to change that include alpha, theta and delta frequencies and are associated with levels of consciousness.  The level reached during yoga nidra depends on the depth of your experience.  When we implant a resolve in the subconscious mind, useless thoughts and behaviors can be weeded out and the conditions are created for significant and transformative change to take root and grow.”  Success is fortified by staying with the same sankalpa from practice to practice until it becomes a reality and takes root.  Consistency counts.

Setting Intentions & Sankalpas

Time is set aside at the beginning of yoga nidra for a sankalpa to reveal itself naturally instead of intellectually.  Making intellectual sankalpas rarely yield results.  In other words, one that you “should” make or one to please others.  Instead, have one that resonates and rings true with you.  Go for a balance between letting it come to you intuitively and thinking it through.  Furthermore, you could have one specific to help with weight loss, getting more exercise or stopping an unhealthy habit, but it’s advised that you pick a grander quality instead.  In doing so, the behavior change is likely to happen anyway and you will also reap many more benefits.  For example, if you choose kindness as your sankalpa, true self-kindness will lead to eating better and exercising more by being kinder to yourself in support of your health.  In addition, kindness will naturally bring on generosity, patience, and other positive qualities.

Word your sankalpa positively, in the present tense, clearly, and concisely.  Keep it consistent.  Back it up sincerely with gratitude and inner will.  If using “I am” seems too challenging or too mindboggling, try adding “more and more” to it.  For example, “I am content, more and more.”

Sample Sankalpas:

• I am kind.
• I am trusting.
• I am accepting of my feelings. Or, I accept unhappiness as part of my human experience.
• I have abundance.
• I am grateful for a peaceful nature.
• I embrace all of who I am.
• I enjoy life fully.
• I welcome health and wellness.
• My true nature is joyful.

Using a Sankalpa during Yoga Nidra.

A sankalpa is first silently said at the beginning of your yoga nidra experience and with your whole heart.  It helps if you use your senses to imagine what it would be like if it were already true.  Once again, repeat your sankalpa several times near the end of yoga nidra.  Namely, when you are totally at ease and in the fertile delta brainwave state, and before coming back to full awareness.  This is when your brain is most receptive.

Outcomes

I had my doubts about the effectiveness of using a sankalpa, especially when writing Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, so I put it to the test with a variety of students.  Much to our delight and satisfaction, results started rolling in.  Find out for yourself by reading their stories in the book.  Better yet, try it yourself.  Please let us know about your experience.

How to Experience Yoga Nidra:  

Like all worthwhile things, regular practice yields the best results.  It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Listen to Yoga Nidra Meditations: 24 Scripts for True Relaxation | Audible – iTunes – Amazon
2. Read about it and get free audio downloads in Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief (New Harbinger, 2015).
3. Experience yoga nidra on video/audio.
4. Attend a virtual yoga nidra class held weekly on Zoom.
5. Take a yoga nidra teacher training course and earn a certificate.
6. Get yoga nidra downloads here.

Resources: Books, Recordings & More

Get yoga nidra downloads here.

NEW! Yoga Nidra Meditations: 24 Scripts for True Relaxation

Experience peace and deeply restorative rest that heals your body, mind & spirit. Features 24 Yoga Nidra scripts written by author Julie Lusk and 12 of the world's master teachers. Enjoy 6 levels of relaxation for a joyful meditative experience. Learn to use yogic sleep to revitalize your inner reservoir of intuitive understanding and unconditional joy. Audiobook available. CLICK the blue title link above to find out more...

Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief - Print Book & Audio download

Yoga Nidra can stop tension in its tracks with a wonderfully, powerful & unique state of deep relaxation, mental clarity & insightful awareness. These practical, empowering relaxation exercises, meditations that soothe and visualizations that renew are based on classic yoga and backed by modern science. They’ll help you unwind, replenish, and feel refreshed with durable peace and unconditional joy. CLICK the blue title link above to find out more...

Yoga Nidra Essentials CD

Find your calm spot. Brighten your energy. Enjoy a more meaningful life. Experience 6 levels of relaxation. Reclaim optimal health for your body, mind & heart. Laura says "My focused mind easily. I was 100% worry-free. It's wonderful." By Julie Lusk, 6-time author. Digital downloads available.

Author: Julie Lusk, M.Ed., E-RYT 500