What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra is an excellent way to give your body and mind a rest as you enter into a state of open awareness and dreamless sleep.
A private Yoga Nidra session can be tailored to your needs, and the recording will be yours to keep.
Yoga Nidra is quite similar to a guided relaxation, and is a practice of good quality rest. The benefits of Yoga Nidra can include:
Activation of the relaxation response to improve the functioning of your nervous system and endocrine system, which affects your hormones. Yoga nidra help cells regenerate and repair, and both help decrease anxiety and improve your mood. A 2013 study showed that practicing yoga nidra improved anxiety, depression, and overall well-being for women experiencing menstrual irregularities and psychological problems. -Source: Yoga Journal
In 2018 a study was published in the International Journal of Yoga which outlined the positive results of a test done on 60 people aged between 30 and 55 years. They were split into three groups to practice Yoga Nidra, Seated Mediation and a Control Group.
The Nidra group showed better results for improvement of anxiety than the other groups. "Results show that there was a significant improvement in positive well being, general health and vitality of the Yoga Nidra group." The study concluded that "this study shows the effectiveness of Yoga Nidra and seated meditation in reducing anxiety and stress levels... [of the group]. However, there was a tendency toward greater effectiveness of the Yoga Nidra intervention, regarding anxiety. Yoga Nidra is easy to perform, does not require a seated posture and concentration, and seems to positively impact psychological variables, such as anxiety and depression. Therefore it might represent a therapeutic technique with preventive, promotive, and curative values."
NIDRA TIPS:
Practice on a hard surface rather than your bed, so that you can remain alert enough to drift between awake and asleep.
Falling asleep is ok, and if you do, you must need it. By practicing outside of your bed (or sofa) there is more chance of staying engaged with the practice and being able to drift between awake and asleep more effectively.
Make sure you’re warm and comfortable, and use as many pillows, blankets and other props as you need as well as a warm pair of socks.
Try to do everything you can so you can be undisturbed. Tell any other people living with you not to disturb you, leave someone else in charge of childcare duties, make sure pets are settled or put away. Turn off your phone or if you are listening on your phone ensure that you’ve enabled the ‘do not disturb’ setting so if a call comes through it won’t make a sound on your phone.
You don’t have to put your computer back on again to log into Zoom. You can log in on your phone and use headphones for an immersive experience. Just download the app and follow the joining link from the reminder email.
There is no need to be on camera. All camera’s will be off when joining, and all mics will be muted.
If you want to go to sleep straight after the Nidra, you might like to follow your bedtime routine before the Nidra begins so you can get straight into bed afterwards.
If you think you might fall asleep but you need to wake up for something, it might be an idea to set an alarm after the end time of the Nidra to wake you up again.