Yoga Nidra and Sleep

Who couldn’t use some extra shut-eye?  Sleep is vital to our health and sleep experts tell us we need an average of eight hours at a shot.  Even if there’s time for sleep, many of us have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep.  Let’s take a look yoga nidra and sleep.  Yoga nidra can help in replenishing ourselves, can be used as a natural sleep aid, and more.

Yoga nidra  means “yogic sleep” and has many documented benefits for your body, mind, and spirit. It is when your bodymind is actually in deep sleep but with one big difference – you remain consciously aware.  This is done by going through a series of techniques to systematically get physically, energetically, mentally, emotionally relaxed.  In addition, yoga nidra sparks intuition, unconditional joy, and a timeless, spacious sense of being.  Witness consciousness is experienced and even surpassed.  Due to the fertile brainwave states experienced, it’s also entirely possible to make positive behavior and personality changes. See the yoga nidra FAQ on setting intentions and sankalpas here.

In fact, while not a substitute for actual sleep, one hour of yoga nidra practice is equivalent to four hours of sleep.  This is due to the series of brain waves experienced along the way.  (Saraswati 1998, Kumar 2008) With practice, you’ll eventually be able to enter the delta brainwave state but remain aware.  It resembles what it feels like to be on the verge of being awake and asleep. The conscious experience of deep sleep is what makes it so restorative and unique.

Yoga nidra can also be practiced at bedtime as a sleep aid.  Layer after layer of stress is cleared out so it doesn’t follow you to bed and disturb sleeping.  Using yoga nidra techniques as a sleep aid should not be confused with the yoga nidra experience itself.  Be careful or you will find it difficult to practice yoga nidra itself and will fall into deep sleep instead.

Yogic sleep is also a play on words of sorts.  It refers to how most of us are walking around “asleep” and unaware of our True Self, the indestructible aspect in each of us that is already peaceful, joyful, wise, soulful, luminous, and loving.  Whereas, the yogi is awake to one’s True Self no matter what the state of consciousness – waking, dreaming, deep sleep.  Realizing this enables us to recognize the true nature of oneself and reality so we are not swayed by the changeability and unpredictability of thoughts, feelings, beliefs and such.  Yoga nidra helps us experience and realize this.

How to Experience Yoga Nidra:  

Like all worthwhile things, regular practice yields the best results.  It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Listen to Yoga Nidra: Guided Meditations for Relaxation and Renewal (Health Journeys, 2016) or use the recordings listed below. Read about it and get free audio downloads in Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief (New Harbinger, 2015).
2. Go to a yoga nidra workshop or retreat here.
3. Take a yoga nidra teacher training course and earn a certificate here.  

Get Related article:

• Sleep Solutions: Yoga-Style

Resources: Books, Recordings & More

Sleep Well ~ Yoga Nidra CD

Ease into sleep with yoga nidra with deep relaxation, soothing flute music, and ocean waves. "I slept like a log." "I've never been so relaxed." Digital downloads are also available. From Julie Lusk, author of Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief.

Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief - Printed Book & Audio download

If you feel stressed out, you’re not alone. Stress is a modern-day epidemic that can take a toll on your mind, body, and spirit. That’s why it’s so important to develop relaxation skills to restore your health, happiness, and inner strength. Yoga Nidra—a powerful and unique state of deep relaxation, mental clarity, and insightful awareness—is the answer. In this book, mind-body health professional Julie Lusk presents a powerful Yoga Nidra program to stop stress in its tracks. Yoga Nidra, based on classical yoga and backed by contemporary science, focuses specifically on alleviating both mental and physical manifestations of stress so you can find your calm spot and live a more balanced, confident, and meaningful life. Packed with empowering relaxation exercises, meditations that soothe, and visualizations that renew, the practical exercises in this book will help you unwind, replenish, and feel revitalized with durable peace and unconditional joy. CLICK on the blue title link above to find out more...

Yoga Nidra Essentials CD

Find your calm spot and brighten your energy for a more enjoyable, meaningful life. Benefit from six levels of relaxation to reclaim optimal health for your body, mind and heart. Laura, a HS teacher says "This focused my mind. I was 100% worry-free. It's easy to experience. Yoga nidra is wonderful." This is from Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, a book and audio set by Julie Lusk. Digital downloads of Yoga Nidra Essentials are also available.

Julie Lusk, MEd, E-RYT 500, has over 35 years of expertise in stress relief, yoga, relaxation training, guided imagery, and meditation as an international author, recording artist, and workshop leader. Julie is the author of Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, Yoga Meditations, two volumes of 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing, and Desktop Yoga®. Her CDs include Wholesome Relaxation, Power of Presence, Blue Moon Rising, and many others. Learn more at WholesomeResources.com