Deep Rest: Transformation through Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a powerful yoga meditation practice that has been gaining popularity in recent years, but its roots can be traced back to ancient India. The term "Yoga Nidra" is Sanskrit for "yogic sleep," and it is a form of guided meditation that takes practitioners into a state of deep relaxation.
During a Yoga Nidra practice, you are guided through a series of breath awareness techniques and visualisation exercises that help to calm the mind and relax the body. The practice typically lasts for around 20-30 minutes, and practitioners often report feeling refreshed and rejuvenated afterwards. In modern times, Yoga Nidra has been used as a tool for stress reduction, improved sleep, and even pain management.
Benefits of practicing Yoga Nidra:
Reduced stress and anxiety
Improved sleep quality
Increased sense of calm and relaxation
Enhanced creativity and productivity
Improved focus and concentration
Reduced symptoms of PTSD and depression
Saraswati (2013) explains the practice in beautiful detail here (Yoga Nidra. 6th ed. Mungar: Yoga Publications Trust, p.1-2):
“Yoga Nidra, which is derived from the tantras, is a powerful technique in which you learn to relax consciously. In yoga Nidra, sleep is not regarded as relaxation. People feel that they are relaxing when they collapse in an easy chair with a cup of coffee, a drink or a cigarette, and read a newspaper or switch on the television. But this will never suffice as a scientific definition of relaxation. These are only sensory diversions. True relaxation is actually an experience far beyond all this. For absolute relaxation, you must remain aware. This is yoga Nidra, the state of dynamic sleep.
Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of inducing complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation. The term Yoga Nidra is derived from two Sanskrit words ‘yoga’ meaning union or one-pointed awareness, and ‘Nidra’ which means sleep. During the practice of Yoga Nidra, one appears to be asleep, but the consciousness is functioning at a deeper level of awareness. For this reason, Yoga Nidra is often referred to as psychic sleep or deep relaxation with inner awareness. In this threshold state between sleep and wakefulness contact with the subconscious and unconscious dimensions occurs spontaneously.
In Yoga Nidra, the state of relaxation is reached by turning inwards, away from outer experiences. If the consciousness can be separated from external awareness and from sleep, it becomes very powerful and can be applied in many ways, for example, to develop the memory, increase knowledge and creativity, or transform one’s nature.
In the Raja Yoga of Patanjali there is a state called pratyahara where the mind and mental awareness are dissociated from the sensory channels. Yoga Nidra is one aspect of pratyahara which leads to the higher states of concentration and Samadhi.”
How beautiful! Would you like to try it yourself?
Download my free Yoga Nidra Meditation here:
