I discovered Yoga Nidra a couple of months ago.   Lauded as an ancient practice that brings deep peace and relaxation, it instantly intrigued me.  Living in a world constantly bombarding us with high stressors and overly stimulating information, who does not need deep relaxation?

Yoga Nidra literally means “yoga sleep”, or as I interpret it, “deep yoga relaxation”.  One way it is different from normal yoga and meditation is that you do it usually lying down.  It does not involve any twisting or bending, instead you stay in the “Shavasana” pose for the whole time (the pose you get to at the end of each yoga session).  It is often in the form of guided meditation.  You gradually relax your body and your mind by following the audio instructions.

Although there is overlap between yoga nidra and meditation, one difference is that, with meditation, you are sitting in a waking state of consciousness with a focus on your thoughts, allowing them come and go.  Meditation makes it possible for the brain to reach theta state, the state you are in before you reach sleep.  But yoga nidra could take you one step closer to delta state, which is the deep sleep and healing state.  You are still conscious, but your body and mind are in deeper rest.

Although meaning “yoga sleep”, Yoga Nidra’s purpose is not to induce sleep.  Rather, you will eventually get to a state between “wakefulness” and “sleep”, where you are deeply relaxed with awareness, your body find its natural equilibrium, and your mind becomes quiet.  

You can find all sorts of benefits in the media associated with yoga nidra.  Improving sleep, easing depression and anxiety, lowering stress level, improving memory and concentration, these are pretty easy to understand.  But it has also been shown that regular practice of yoga nidra helps with back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and tinnitus.  These seem a little far reaching, right?  

Maybe not.  From biological perspective, when you are fully relaxed, your autonomic nervous system, which governs breathing, digestion, blood flow, etc., goes into parasympathetic state.  We have talked about this many times before: your self-healing mechanism is only turned on when this state is in charge.

Think of it this way: once your self-healing mechanism is truly turned on, your body is capable of healing any disease you may have.  So it may not be that surprising after all.

What also happens with Yoga Nidra when you reach this half-awake and half-sleep state is that your pineal gland is activated and releases the hormone melatonin.  People usually associate melatonin with sleep.  Yes, it does induce restful sleep, but melatonin in itself is also a powerful antioxidant.  Its function goes way beyond sleep.  It also helps regulate immune function, blood pressure, cortisol levels, aid digestion, detox, etc. 

There was a study on 60 college professors aged between 30 and 55.  They were randomly assigned into three groups: yoga nidra group, meditation group, and control group.  The study lasted 3 months.  It found that both intervention groups (yoga nidra and meditation) helped with reducing stress and anxiety, but yoga nidra group showed a higher effectiveness in dealing with anxiety.

It has been proven that yoga practice in general changes your brain chemistry.  All that calmness and peace you feel is just not in your head, it’s a result of biochemical processes.  In a study conducted in 2002, with the help of brain scan imaging, it showed that a single session of yoga nidra could boost the dopamine level in the brain by as high as 65%. 

Another huge benefit of yoga nidra that has been revealed by studies is that a short practice of yoga nidra, usually less than an hour, can give you the restorative rest that is equivalent to hours of deep sleep.

Sounds like a good deal, right?   You may be a little anxious to get started already.  The best way is to follow an audio guide, especially when you just get started.  YouTube is always a good start.  irest.org is another good resource.  yoganidranetwork.org has a lot of free recordings you can follow in multiple languages.

If you don’t have access to an audio recording, it does not mean you cannot do it on your own.  Follow these steps, and you are on your way to deep relaxation.

Lie down, on a mat, or a bed.  The key word here is “comfort”.  Like the famous spiritual teacher David J always says: “comfort is queen”.  Put a cushion under your knees or back if needed, cover yourself with a blanket if necessary.

Extend your arms by your side, with palms facing up, close your eyes.

Feel the support of your bed, or the floor, or the ground, relax.

Start with 10 deep breathing to get centered.  Inhale slowly and deeply, exhale gently.  Try to make the exhale as long as possible.

Do a body scan.  Start with one side of the body.  Focus on one part at a time, pay attention to all the sensations, then move to the next.  Do it slowly.

Become aware of your breath, and try to focus on it.  You will inevitably be distracted by thoughts and feelings, and sometimes even get lost in them.  It’s alright.  Acknowledge them, without judgement, say hello and then say goodbye.  You do this as many times as necessary.  Don’t feel anxious or blame yourself.  This is all normal part of the practice.

When you are ready to end it, come back to your surroundings slowly.  

Though the goal here is not to fall asleep, you may find yourself drifting to sleep.  If this happens, it’s ok.  This shows that’s what your body needs at this moment.  This is your body telling you it is in desperate need of rest.

You may also find some feelings bubbling up, feelings that you may not be ready for.  This is normal.  Some long suppressed emotions may surface when you truly quiet down your mind.  If this happens, recognize the emotions, honor them, don’t fight.  Give them time and space for expression.

You may also feel bliss and joy.  If this is what you feel, embrace it, immerse yourself in it, let it wrap around you, become one with it.

The traditional yoga nidra practice takes about an hour and half.  But you don’t need to do the full 90 minutes to reap benefits.  Start with 20 minutes, and stay with what you can do.  Most of the days I do a 20 minutes sessions, and sometimes about an hour.

You may not experience dramatic change in one session.  Give yourself time.  Let your body get used to this kind of relaxation.  Like any practice, the benefits are cumulative.  You get as much as you put in.  Try to be persistent.

When I suggest people start a meditation practice, one obstacle I often hear is: I just cannot sit still.  If this is you, yoga nidra may be the perfect alternative to try.

References:

• Cleveland Clinic.  What Is Yoga Nidra

• Camila Ferreira-Vorkapic, Claudio Joaquim Borba-Pinheiro, Murilo Marchioro, and Daniel Santana. The Impact of Yoga Nidra and Seated Meditation on the Mental Health of College Professors

• Leah Zerbe.  How Yoga Changes Your Brain

• Eckhart Yoga.  What Is Yoga Nidra

• Dr. Axe. Yoga Nidra: Bliss Your Brain Out with This Ancient (Little-Known) Practice