What is yoga nidra

Yoga nidra, also known as ‘yogic sleep’, is a simplified form of an ancient tantric relaxation technique. The practice combines guided mental imagery with a specific yoga posture called Shavasana (corpse pose). The goal of yoga nidra is to promote a profound state of relaxation, which differs from sleep since there is still an awareness of one’s surroundings. While several components of the practice have been known since ancient times, it was not until the 1960s that a systematised system of practice was introduced to the public through the writings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Unlike other schools of yoga, which emphasize concentration or contemplation, yoga nidra’s goal is complete relaxation.

Accessible to everyone
Yoga Nidra is easy to follow, and does not require you to be flexible in any way. If you are worried about lying on the floor, there are many ways that the body can be supported using props so that you are comfortable. If you cannot lie on the floor, you can do the practice seated.

You can't get it wrong
All you have to do is follow your teacher's voice which will guide you through the practice. Your mind is likely to drift off sometimes but the teacher's voice is there to give your mind something to anchor to. Every time you come to the practice you encounter a new experience, the art of the practice is to explore what we feel and experience in a non-judgmental way. Sometimes people worry about falling asleep, but that is ok. If you do fall asleep your unconscious mind will still be absorbing the sound of the teacher's voice while your body will be sinking further into a state of deep relaxation.

Deep relaxation of the nervous system
Yoga Nidra promotes deep rest and relaxation, helping our nervous systems fully switch off. Many of us may have never experienced this kind of deep relaxation or believe that we don't know how to relax. The good news is that everyone can learn how to relax in this way, and the more we do it, the better we get at being able to relax when we want to.

A third mental state
Yoga Nidra is usually practised for 75 to 90 mins, but can be done for shorter periods. During the deepest part of the practice, which is considered qualitatively different from ordinary waking consciousness, practitioners are thought to be re-aligned with the most spiritual part of their inner nature. While it is not a substitute for sleep, its benefits go far beyond that of relaxation. This has led to the suggestion that yoga nidra is a “third mental state”, related to both sleep and relaxation, but still possessing properties that make it unique.

Many people believe that yoga nidra is qualitatively different from normal relaxation since many of the ongoing mental preoccupations of daily life are thrown off, even though awareness of the environment remains intact. Yoga nidra is also different from sleep, since in ordinary sleep, one’s mental tensions cannot always be resolved. Long-term practitioners believe that the practice can produce a major transformation of the self, one that extends to the promotion of physical, emotional, and spiritual health and well-being.

Scicence backs up what the ancient yogis discovered
Clinical studies have shown that yoga nidra is associated with positive physiological changes, including improvements in several haematological variables, red blood cell counts, blood glucose levels, and hormonal status. Two neuroimaging studies have shown that yoga nidra produces changes in endogenous dopamine release and cerebral blood flow, a further confirmation that its effects on the central nervous system (CNS) are objectively measurable. The practice has also been shown to reduce psychometrically measured indices of mild depression and anxiety.

“When awareness is separate and distinct from mental activity,

when waking, dream and deep sleep pass like clouds,

yet awareness of Self remains,

this is the experience of total relaxation…

That is why, in tantra,

yoga nidra is said to be the doorway to Samadhi.”

- Swami Satyananda