What is Yoga Nidra?

Yoga Nidra, also known as “yogic sleep”, is an ancient relaxation technique that leads you into a state between wakefulness and sleep, promoting deep rest, relaxation, and restoration. It can help reset your nervous system, relieve stress, and enhance overall wellbeing.

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How does Yoga Nidra work?

Yoga Nidra is typically practiced lying down, in what is known as “Savasana” pose (corpse pose). The systematic guided meditation takes you through the layers of the “Panchamaya Kosha” system (the layers of the self), including the bodily layer, the energetic/breath layer, and the mental/emotional layer. As the different layers are engaged, different types of practices come into play to provide relaxation, such as a body scan to relax the physical body, breath sensing to relax the breath, and imagery or visualizations to relax the thinking mind.

Through this process, Yoga Nidra engages the central nervous system (CNS) and helps to relax you from the outside in. The sympathetic nervous system (our “fight or flight” mode) is able to wind down while the parasympathetic nervous system (our “rest, relax, and digest” mode) is activated.

Research suggests that Yoga Nidra can put us in a unique state where the body is essentially asleep while the mind remains conscious and aware. This is accompanied by slow delta brainwaves, which are responsible for the healing and restoration happening during deep sleep.

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The benefits of Yoga Nidra

The sleep-like qualities of Yoga Nidra, accompanied by delta brainwaves, can help people who suffer from sleep issues or insomnia. In addition to facilitating healing and restoration, this state also activates the pineal gland, which is responsible for releasing melatonin, helping us to manage our cortisol levels and induce restful sleep.

Other benefits of Yoga Nidra include:

• Anxiety and stress reduction
• Mood balancing
• Reduced pain and inflammation

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How to get started with Yoga Nidra

The best way to get started is by simply listening to a guided session, preferably a shorter one, so you can ease into the practice.

Set yourself up in a comfortable, lying position, choose a place with few distractions, and perhaps you’d like to use a pillow, a blanket, and a sleep mask.

While practicing during the day can substitute a midday or afternoon nap, you can also try Yoga Nidra before bedtime, to help you ease into sleep.

Diora Wellbeing is running Yoga Nidra group sessions 3x/day every Sat and Sun during July and August – you can find them as part of the group session schedule: https://diorawellbeing.com/wellbeing-sessions/

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References:

• Cleveland Clinic: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-yoga-nidra
• Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/yoga-nidra-how-it-works-and-how-to-practice-it-8603941
• Sleepfoundation: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/meditation-for-sleep/yoga-nidra
• WebMD: https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-to-know-yoga-nidra