What is Yoga Nidra
- Written by News Co
Anyone can practice yoga Nidra. It helps those who have a hard time letting go, including sleep deprivation, trauma, burnout, and anxiety. It is also beneficial and healing to anyone who wants to experience a more profound sense of peace and reconnection with themselves.
Yoga Nidra helps us achieve a harmonious state of rest. From here, we can heal, restore, and awaken to our True Self. The practice of energy healing is gaining popularity worldwide as more and more people experience its healing powers.
What is Yoga Nidra, and by extension, what isn't Yoga Nidra? Read on to learn more!
Yogic sleep means a relaxation response. Yoga is a tool that uses deep mental states. It is a method of moving consciousness
from the external world to the internal.
Meditation helps us relax and allows our mind to stop working. We become liberated from time, space, and reason. Decreases in brain activity (healing state) cause the body to heal. Therefore, one hour of yoga Nidra can provide the same benefit as four hours of sleep. When your body is in the healing stage, toxins can be removed from the body at a cellular level.
What Isn't Yoga Nidra?
It isn't just relaxation: Now, yoga Nidra is widely used to describe any form of relaxation. Although Yoga Nidra offers deep relaxation, it is not only a relaxation method. Yoga Nidra is a specific state of awareness. An unconscious state in which the person becomes connected with the inner world and disconnected from the outer world.
Even though guided visualization is sometimes used in Yoga Nidra's practice, the purpose is to shift consciousness from the outer world to the internal world. Guided visualization is mainly used to activate our senses and become conscious of our surroundings.
While affirmations and autosuggestions are the tip of the iceberg in my Yoga Nidra session, they are by no means the sol part of the iceberg. Check this link for information on Yoga Nidra Teacher Trainings.
Reverie is the state of being enjoyably lost in dreamlike thoughts. It is similar to Yoga Nidra, which is meant to move the consciousness into a more profound realm.
It is not just dreaming. Yoga Nidra is not a dreamlike state. During dreaming, the senses and the mind are fully active. During Yoga Nidra, mental processes cease, our senses rest, and the mind becomes clear and calm.
Napping versus Sleeping.
Shavasana is a relaxing yoga pose in which the physical body and the mind are meant to be silent and still. 'Shav' means 'dead body,' and the pose is, therefore, 'Corpse Pose.' It brings deep relaxation to the body and mind. Corpse pose appears easy, but it is particularly challenging because the body parts are temporarily released, allowing the breath to slow down and the mind to relax.
Savasana is generally practiced for 1 to 5 minutes. It is common for some people to fall asleep during a Savasana. It is meant to still the mind, breath, and senses like a dead state.
In Yoga Nidra, a student is guided to lie down comfortably. Students should lie down in Shavasana for optimal relaxation. But it is also common and acceptable to lie down on one's belly or side. The teacher provides a detailed script. In the beginning, you are asked to decide to do it or call upon the most profound desire.
When you are half asleep, you may feel like your brain is dozing. The state of mind in between being awake and being asleep is called Yoga Nidra.
So, this is a yoga asana and this posture. Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness. It is total relaxation, but the mind stays awake. Proper use of Shavasana may lead to Yoga Nidra, but the two are not the same. Yoga Nidra is not required to have Savasana, and Shavasana is not a prerequisite for Yoga Nidra.
Yoga Nidra vs. Hypnosis
The body is deeply calm, and the subconscious is active. However, there are no similarities.
Yoga Nidra can be used to influence the mind. Many people think Yoga Nidra is a form of hypnosis. It is different from its purpose and practice. While both Yoga Nidra and hypnosis begin with relaxation, each has other goals. However, when the senses and mind settle down, one may experience a hypnotic state. You can avoid that state by being aware of ongoing processes.
That's why the teacher often asks you not to sleep. In Yoga Nidra, you stay awake. You don't want to sleep deeply. You are aware that you are in Yoga Nidra. In Yoga Nidra, your conscious mind is still active, and you are in control at any time. In hypnosis, you often lose your memory and can become a different person.
In Yoga Nidra, the teacher guides and brings you to a state of deep awareness. The therapist takes control of the conscious mind to explore the subconscious.
YNA vs. Relaxation.
When we get tired, we need to take breaks to relax. Most people do activities like going for a walk, listening to music, reading, etc. It's not relaxation; it's a diversion. We rest to more pleasurable activities.
Proper relaxation means the body, mind, and senses are resting. During deep sleep (dreamless sleep), we are sleeping. Body, mind, and senses relax while sleeping. Relaxation is essential for the body to heal, repair, and grow. The dreamer loses consciousness. We are not aware of what happens while we are sleeping.
Yoga Nidra begins with relaxation but continues. Peace of body, mind, and senses is essential, but it is not the ultimate goal. The conscious mind is active and an observer. Relaxation isn't just a mental state, but also a body, mind, and senses state.
To Depart
A subtle yet powerful practice can help us deal with everyday stress and triggers. On the one hand, however, EFT can provide help with traumas, while on the other hand, it helps us experience new possibilities and relax.
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