Page 587 - Total War on PTSD

instead asked my students to inquire as to what they were experiencing within themselves, as they brought their attention to the various sensations, emotions, thoughts, images, and memories that were present within their body and mind. I taught Yoga Nidra as a form of self-inquiry, to help people deeply connect to their own experience of themselves and the world around.
Along the way, as I started working with populations that included Active Duty and Veterans who had experienced trauma and were exhibiting symptoms of PTS/PTSD, I began enhancing aspects of the practice to best suit my work with this population. For example, on recommendations from the military, I stopped using the name, Yoga Nidra, to refer to the practice. Instead, I called it, ‘Integrative Restoration,' or ‘iRest’. I also added to, and enhanced various components of the practice. For instance, I split the first step, Intention, into three parts.
1. Intention: Find your intention(s) for a particular practice of Yoga Nidra.
2. Heartfelt Mission: Find your intention(s) for your overall life.
3. Inner Resource: Find your intention(s) that represents an inner felt-sense of security, safety, peace, ease, and well-being.
I found this third aspect, the Inner Resource, to be particularly helpful for those who had experienced trauma and its subsequent symptoms of PTS/PTSD. The addition of the Inner Resource to the classical practice allowed participants the ability to better relate, accept, respond, resolve, and heal disturbing thoughts, emotions, and memories that they associated with the trauma that they had experienced.
Research
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