What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra, widely known as “yogic sleep” or “effortless relaxation,” is the conscious state between wakefulness and sleep, allowing a sense of well-being and deep relaxation throughout your body.
Yoga Nidra is all about ‘undoing, unlearning’, letting go of any goal or even the idea of ‘being spiritual’. It works by taking you to brainwave states similar to those in sleep where you may be able to completely disengage from your thoughts and emotions, creating the possibility to access deeper layers of the mind.
How does Yoga Nidra Work?
Yoga Nidra is a form of deep relaxation. A typical session lasts 30 to 45 minutes. The practitioner’s body rests comfortably relaxed in a savasana, i.e., corpse position, and I will guide you through several stages with verbal instructions.
It begins with gradually developing concentration, asking ourselves what we want from life, and setting intentions to achieve those goals.
The teacher guides the student to concentrate their awareness on body sensations, breath, thoughts, and emotions, which develops “witness consciousness” – the understanding that we are more than our thoughts and recognizing ourselves as the one who is aware, i.e., the witness.
An hour session of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to a 4-hour sleep cycle.
Benefits of Yoga Nidra
Yoga has so many benefits for us all that we’ve posted a blog piece about it here. Feel free to read through.
But in short, the main benefits of Yoga Nidra are:
- Relaxation
- Mindfulness
- Reduces Stress & Anxiety
- Improves Sleep
- Reduces Insomnia
- Improves outlook towards life
- Improves Work/Life balance
