Yoga Nidra at a Glance

Yoga Nidra is a deep meditative practice that takes the practitioner into a deep, sleep-like calmness. The word “nidra” actually means deep sleep, but that is not exactly what we do when we practice Nidra. When you are completely exhausted and “crash” as soon as your head hits the pillow, we usually think of that as a deep sleep also. But the word “crash” is actually more appropriate. A deep meditative state might feel like sleep, but that’s only because it is so relaxing and restorative.

In Yoga Nidra, we first practice yoga postures to obtain freshness and balance. Then, the concluding meditation is designed to take us deeper in order to fully relax both body and mind. As the body cools, the nervous system is activated to fully absorb the effects of the postures.

The teacher uses hypnotherapy and autosuggestion to take you into a deep state of relaxation, though you are still conscious. At the conclusion of the meditation, the teacher guides participants back to the present moment and into full awareness and active consciousness.

Benefits vary depending on your specific needs at the time of the practice and certainly increase with regular practice. The most common benefits include, but are not limited to the following:

• Deeper connection to self, resulting in improved self-awareness and appreciation
• Sleep improvement
• Reduction of high blood pressure
• Stress reduction
• Renewed energy
• Fatigue reduction
• Psychological promotion of work on depression, overcoming trauma, substance dependency
• Improved happiness and joy