Yoga Nidra: The In-Between State
by Hannah Moran, Inner Fire Yoga Teacher and Marketing Manager
If you’ve ever heard the term “Yoga Nidra” thrown around in your yoga community and wondered what it meant, this blog is for you. Read on!
What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra literally translates to “Yogic Sleep.” It involves coming to a deep state of conscious relaxation, somewhere in between sleeping and wakefulness. From that state of being we can come into our truest, most authentic versions of ourselves, finding connection to everything around us from within.
During a Yoga Nidra practice we move our conscious awareness from the external world to the internal by way of observing our thought patterns, moving our focus to various parts of the body, withdrawing our senses, and sometimes practicing visualizations.
This state of deeply relaxed wakefulness is usually induced by a guided meditation from a yoga teacher. Your teacher or guide will take you through the practice, but through staying awake and aware, you are always in full control of your body.
A typical Yoga Nidra experience lasts anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour or longer. Because of the length of the practice and the deep relaxation involved, it’s not uncommon to fall asleep during a Yoga Nidra session. However, if you do fall asleep, you are no longer practicing Yoga Nidra. If you feel fully awake, you are also not practicing Yoga Nidra.
Remaining in-between a state of sleep and wakefulness is crucial to the practice. It is in this state that our bodies experience the harmonious, restful existence which enables the practice to unfold into a deep, sublime state of meta-consciousness during which we can discover our truest selves and our connection to everything around us.
Benefits of Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra can have immense benefits for the practitioner, especially when practiced regularly. The four primary benefits are feelings of rejuvenation or “recharging your battery”, better sleep, reduced feelings of anxiety, and a better sense of self-awareness.
From those three core benefits a whole world of secondary benefits opens up, such as improved relationships, better ANS (autonomic nervous system) regulation, and improved overall well-being.
A Yoga Nidra practice can cause all sorts of mental and emotional breakthroughs, which can lead to profound healing and personal growth. When we tap into that deep state of self-awareness, any number of thoughts and feelings can come up. Past traumas or emotional sore points may bubble up to the surface, giving us the opportunity to observe those emotions from an objective, meditative standpoint and practice letting go. Yoga Nidra has been used successfully by therapists and counselors in this way – it has even been used to successfully treat PTSD in veterans.
At the very least, you’ll typically feel very calm and well-rested after a Yoga Nidra session. It’s a great way to “recharge the battery” so to speak. Some even experience feeling as if they’ve had a full night’s rest after just a 30-minute Yoga Nidra.
Where Did Yoga Nidra Come From?
Yoga Nidra is rooted in an ancient Indian philosophy called Samkhya, which was first written down in the 8th century BCE. This philosophy views the world as being composed of two independent principles, roughly translated to “spirit” or “consciousness,” and “nature” or “matter”.
Through the millenia, these philosophies have evolved and grown by way of teachers like Patanjali and the Buddha. A wave of western “relaxationism” philosophies in the 19th and 20th centuries brought the practice of yoga and meditation to the US, increasing its global popularity.
Dennis Boyes was the first known to use the term “Yoga Nidra” in his 1973 book titled: The Yoga of Waking Sleep: Method Of Relaxation, Yoga Nidra. Other modern pioneers of Yoga Nidra include Satyananda Saraswati, Swami Rama and Richard Miller.
How to Practice Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is best practiced in a supine position, laying down on your back. Any number of props can be used to make your body comfortable and allow for full, muscular release, such as a pillow under the head and/or a bolster under the knees. You might consider using an eye cover to block out light and distractions. You could also cover yourself with a blanket, as your body might become cold once you reach a state of deep relaxation.
In the modern, westernized Yoga Nidra style, your teacher will guide you through 10 distinct stages of the practice:
Connect with your deepest desire. Focus on a lifelong aspiration and visualize yourself reaching this goal, perhaps even experiencing all the joy that comes with it.
Set an intention, or Sankalpa. Center yourself around your “why,” or your reason for practicing. Keep that intention at the forefront for the remainder of the practice.
Tap into your safe place. Keep your footing here for the remainder of the practice so you can feel safe, secure and in-control as you explore your body and mind.
Follow the teacher’s guided body scan. The teacher will begin to call out different parts of the body. As they do, take your full awareness to each body part. This is the phase of practice where most people start to find deep relaxation.
Bring awareness to your breath. Slow down and even out the breath by paying close attention to the inhales and exhales.
Bring awareness to your feelings. Welcome anything that comes up. Try not to run away from it. Embrace all of it – the good and the bad.
Bring awareness to your thoughts. Notice as your mind naturally floats around due to different stimuli, following your thoughts without judgment or reaction. Simply bear witness to your mind.
Experience joy. At this point, it’s not uncommon to begin to experience a state of bliss. If you feel that, allow it to wrap around your whole body and fill you up. If you don’t feel that, no worries! Just experience whatever you’re feeling at the moment.
Bring awareness to your whole self. Be a witness to your own existence: mind, body and spirit, all at once. If that sounds overwhelming, don’t worry – your teacher will guide you through it.
Reflect on your practice. After you come back to full wakefulness, take a moment to reflect on what you experienced. Notice how rested and rejuvenated you feel. This could be a great time to journal, make amends with an old friend, or simply enjoy the rest of your day with a renewed sense of self.
Try Yoga Nidra
If you’re looking for an opportunity to try it out, sign up for my upcoming event on Saturday, Feb 23: Winter Yoga Nidra. The event is selling out fast, so don’t wait too long to book!
You can find any number of free, guided Yoga Nidra meditations on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts, but trust me when I say – nothing beats the in-person practice.
Yoga Nidra is more than just a guided meditation, or a long savasana. It’s a powerful, experiential practice of self-awareness.
My hope is that you’ll give it a try and experience it for yourself, whether it’s at Inner Fire Yoga or through a free YouTube video or podcast. If you’d like, share your experience in the comments below! We’d love to hear about your personal experience with Yoga Nidra :)
Thanks for reading! Namaste, yogis.
