Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra ~

Yoga Nidra is not your typical yoga session filled with asanas, rather this is a practice where no movement is involved. This ancient and effortless practice, known as a form of NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest), is often referred to as yogic sleep or bliss for your brain. It’s also been described as peace beyond words. In Sanskrit, the word Yoga means to unite or the state of oneness; Nidra means deep sleep.

This ancient practice offers a unique state of consciousness where the mind and body enter the deepest, most healing states of sleep even while awake.

Yoga nidra can be practiced anywhere at anytime. You don't require any fancy equipment or speical attire. While practicing you’re asked to lay in savasana or corpse pose, comfortably on your back, hips feet distance apart, arms resting at your sides with palms facing up. However, if you’re unable to lay comfortably, yoga nidra can also be practiced while seated. You’re encouraged to bring in props such as a bolster or pillow for support, a blanket for comfort and warmth, an eye covering to help remove unwanted light, and anything else that will help ensure you’re completely comfortable and feeling cocooned in what is often referred to as your yoga nidra nest.

The more comfortable you feel, the more easily your body will sink into the deep relaxation being offered through the guidance of the practice.

A session can last up to 90 minutes and will usually begin with breathing techniques or breath awareness followed by setting an intention, known in the practice as your sankalpa. Simply put, a sankalpa is a positive, heartfelt declaration to self. After stating your sankalpa, you’re gently guided through a body scan, systematically deepening your state of relaxation. From there you could be guided through a visualization, imagery, or affirmations. At the end, you're guided back to a fully waking state.

It's not unusual to fall asleep during this deeply restorative practice, and in fact, sleep is often encouraged as it's understood to be restoring sleep deficit. During yoga nidra you're guided to a state where the subconscious mind is most receptive, that magical place between wakefulness and dreaming. It’s in this uniquely relaxed state that deep healing can occur, whether it be emotional, mental, or physical healing. Even if you fall into sleep, you're subconscious still receives all the benefits.

Yoga Nidra is fantastic for helping to relieve mental, emotional, and muscular tension.

Mental Tension ~

All of your life experiences register in your consciousness and accumulate in your mind, the result is excessive mental activity. Yoga nidra helps to release and relax built up tension in your mind, thereby helping to bring harmony in your entire being.

Emotional Tension ~

When emotions aren't expressed freely and openly they become repressed. Over time repressed emotions become deeply rooted in the body causing a form of tension that requires much more than sleep to release. Yoga nidra is a practice that can bring the level of calm and relaxation required to help relieve deeply rooted emotional tensions.

Muscular Tension ~

Tensions that have accumlated in the body, the nervous system, and the endrocrine system are easily released through the deep physical relaxation that's achieved during yoga nidra.

There are so many reasons to incorporate yoga nidra into your daily wellness habits.

Here's just a few of the many benefits:

Has a profound effect on regulating the nervous system
Offers a unique state of deep relaxation not found in any other practice
Provides an opportunity to heal while in deep rest
Rejuvenates the mind and body (it’s said that one hour of yoga nidra is equivalent to four hours of sleep)
Helps one disconnect from an overactive mind
Improves sleep and eases insomnia
Reduces anxiety and alleviates stress
Increases energy levels
Boosts creatively
Cultivates body awareness

Additionally, the benefits of yoga nidra are cumulative. The more you practice, the more you receive all that this unique practice has to offer. You can find all my yoga nidra recordings on Your Live Well Journey ~ The Podcast and on Insight Timer. Namaste.