What if you could reboot your health, tap into your creative self, awaken your wild nature, and lead from your heart—all while still feeling well rested? In Daring to Rest, women’s wellness expert Karen Brody presents a 40-day "rest cleanse" to help you reclaim rest and access your most powerful, authentic self through yoga nidra, a meditative practice for entering one of the deepest states of relaxation imaginable.
"I'm a mom, entrepreneur, public speaker and author of the book, “ says Karen Brody.
"My first panic attack came in my college boyfriend's dorm room while he read me poetry. I thought I was having a heart attack, only to be told by healthcare professionals that it was panic."
"I shouldn't have been too surprised. As a child, I remember my father calling emergency medical tech's to his apartment because he thought he was having a heart attack, and then the long drive to the hospital, only for my father to be sent home and never any mention of a heart attack."
"When I realized that these trips to the hospital must be my father having panic attacks, I prepared for a life of anxiety until one day I walked into a yoga studio and discovered yoga nidra, a sleep-based meditation technique - what I now call my "Super Nap."
"Within a year, despite raising two active boys under the age of five, I went off anti-anxiety medication, felt more energy than I had in years, and also wrote a critically-acclaimed play called BIRTH after a long period of writer's block."
"I felt a deep calling to tell other women about this Super Nap that was changing my life. Why didn't every woman on the planet not know about yoga nidra? Every woman around me was exhausted and needed a nap. And here was yoga nidra - the ultimate super nap - and no one knew about it. It even had an odd name that included "yoga" so everyone thought it must be the bendy-stretchy kind of yoga."
"I knew the mission to spread yoga nidra to the masses was, well, massive, but thankfully I'm an naive idealist - I always believe the impossible can happen, and don't think too far ahead to scare myself out of doing something big. I had been a community organizer for a decade with women's groups and that organizer spirit lead me to take a leap of faith."
"I got trained in yoga nidra meditation, and began offering 40-day experiences for women. The results were phenomenal. Women in my programs reported getting the best sleep of their lives, feeling calmer than they had ever been, an increase in sexual desire, and bursts of energy and creativity at home and work."
The book, available at Radiance Gifts, includes a link to download three yoga nidra meditations.