Yoga nidra: 6 things you need to know

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You rest your physical body each night when you sleep, but our fast-paced, always-on, digital-everything world can make it tough to give your mind and emotions a break. The practice of yoga nidra (“yogic sleep”) was popularized in the mid 20th-century, but it couldn’t be more necessary than it is now.

Here’s what you need to know …

yoga nidra sleep savasana

Credit: Dreamstime.com savasana ID 83519236 (c) Fizkes

  1. You lie down for the whole class~~and you don’t even need a mat. Yoga nidra is more of a guided meditation instead of a typical movement class designed around multiple poses. This restful posture of savasana minimizes touch sensations, and thus elicits the relaxation response. Isn’t that cool?

  2. Many yoga nidra classes start with a resolution, or sankalpa. The sankalpa you decide to make can be as simple as changing a small negative habit, or as profound as transforming your life pattern. The choice is up to you.

  3. Sessions include instructions for different types of experiences. During a yoga nidra class your teacher may systematically draw your attention to different parts of your body, rotating your awareness so you can follow along. Then they might list a variety of universal or specific symbols for you to “follow,” as if watching a movie. Or they may provide pairs of physical sensations to imagine, such as heaviness and lightness. Each of these exercises is based on neuroscience, and brings you deeper into a restful state.

  4. One hour of yoga nidra is said to be as restful as many hours of sleep. Yoga nidra is designed to put you in a place between sleep and wakefulness, without a loss of awareness. Researchers have found that when the body is in a state of complete relaxation, receptivity is greater. But don’t be fooled …

  5. Yoga nidra is not hypnosis. Even though your senses are withdrawn (pratyahara, in Sanskrit), your brain remains awake during yoga nidra, so it doesn’t depend on suggestion and persuasion. Your instructor serves as a guide through this hypnagogic state, which includes a progressive release of muscular tension … ahhh.

  6. Try not to fall asleep! This can be challenging (you are lying down in a quiet, darkened space, after all), but it’s a critical bit that ensures you stay in that all-important state of detached awareness … a place that we almost never get to visit as part of our regular routine. Although you don’t need to concentrate, it’s important to keep your auditory channel open and maintain a “witness awareness.” Some people use yoga nidra to help them fall asleep, so of course if you’re doing that it’s OK to drift off. But do give yourself the opportunity to experience yoga nidra at a time when you can remain awake for the entire practice so you can reap the full benefits of being in this relaxed, witness place.

So, are you ready to hit pause? Get a taste of yoga nidra with me by clicking below. We’ll go on a tranquil walk through the forest, benefitting from the clearing, crisp autumn air even as we rest.

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