Classic Yoga NidrA:it’s sleep, jim, but not as we know it
Welcome to yoga nidra!
There is nothing more primal and essential to life than the need to feel safe. You may have experienced, as a child, the ritual of being tucked into bed and read a bedtime story which gently lulls you off to sleep. The voice, the imagery, the warmth, the heart connection and the sense of being cared for are part of a ritual children the world over love and long for, and intuitively respond to. As adults, many of us use audio books to fulfil a similar purpose and achieve a similar state before sleep. Yoga nidra intentionally fulfils all of this and more.
What is yoga nidra?
Yoga nidra (or yogic sleep), as taught by Swami Satyananda, is a simple yet profound technique that facilitates complete mental and physical relaxation with inner awareness. With practice, one can witness and receive communication between the conscious and subconscious minds. and can experience the transformative power of dynamic stillness - the ground substance of consciousness that underpins creativity, healing, form, movement, and ultimately all life.
In the threshold state between sleep and wakefulness that yoga nidra induces, a dialogue between the subconscious and unconscious dimensions occurs and facilitates a resolution of a range of issues within the practitioner.
What to Expect during a yoga nidra session
During yoga nidra, the body rests comfortably and completely motionless. The customary position is savasana/corpse pose but any position is fine as long as the body feels supported and can remain comfortable and motionless for the duration. Through the use of voice and other sounds as well as silence, the teacher systematically leads the student into a hypnogogic state - the state immediately before falling asleep. The mind is guided to hover in this state while it goes through different levels of consciousness, very similar to a lucid dream state.
The nidra itself lasts about 30 minutes. The lead-up to it includes gentle movement and possibly simple pranayama/breathing in order to begin to ease out any physical kinks and down-regulate the nervous system. Once the actual nidra begins, the practitioner remains motionless throughout; for this reason it’s important to use whatever props necessary to ensure physical comfort. These may include:
Comfortable clothes
A bolster or rolled up blanket under the knees to support the lower back
A folded blanket under the head to support the neck
A cover to keep the body warm - the body temperature often drops during yoga nidra.
Any other props for specific issues.
Most nidra sessions include the following components:
A lead into and out of savasana/corpse pose
A personal intention, akin to a resolution, which the practitioner sets privately
An exploration of the physical body, including senses and breath
Imagery, which often includes a narrative.
What not to expect during a yoga nidra session
Yoga nidra is an internal experience; the practitioner is still and silent throughout. Don’t expect to sweat, be physically challenged or jump around like in many asana classes, or even to change positions after a few minutes like a yin or restorative class. Don’t expect loud music that makes you want to move or takes your focus away from you. It is meant to be done in comfortable, supported motionlessness with minimal distractions so that the mind can be guided to explore and reveal itself, or simply to rest in awareness.
Who is yoga nidra suitable for? Are there any contraindications?
Most yoga nidra classes are aimed at adults, although children can benefit from modified, shorter sessions as long as they can remain still for the duration. Because it is done motionless, normally lying down, physical ability or energy does not need to be a consideration. If you have physical issues that prevent you from lying down, your teacher can suggest an alternative position.
If you have mental health issues, let your teacher know before the class so she can determine whether the class is appropriate for you. According to The Yoga Therapy Institute, yoga nidra is generally safe for most people, but there are some contraindications, including recent surgery, serious medical conditions, epilepsy, panic disorder, claustrophobia, and inability to lie still.
Can I do yoga nidra when I’m pregnant?
Yes! Few experiences are as creative as making a baby. Pregnancy is therefore a wonderful time to experience your inner world and your creative process through yoga nidra. Your senses heighten, your feelings intensify, your intuition speaks to you. Yoga nidra enhances and integrates all of that. Please note that from as early as 15 weeks and definitely after 28 weeks, you are advised to lie on your left side with a pillow or bolster between your legs.
What if I just fall sleep through the session?
While the yoga nidra experience resembles a lucid dream state where you are connected, in various degrees, to your inner process through the teacher’s voice, some people need to sleep! Yoga nidra is neither time to zone out, nor a power nap, but it is not uncommon for people to switch off. Either the body is just too tired or the mind needs to power down. It’s okay. In fact, one of the stories regarding the development of Yoga Nidra by Swami Satyananda says that when he was a night guard for a school he would doze off just as students were doing their morning prayers. Even though he didn’t study the prayers, he found that after some time, he knew them, just by hearing them while half-asleep. Sound is the last sense you let go of. The voice of the teacher will get in to guide your mind at the appropriate level.
Can I teach myself yoga nidra? Can I do yoga nidra without a teacher or guide?
There is some benefit in doing components of a nidra session yourself, for example a body scan, or breathing, or imagery.
But because receiving classic yoga nidra, by design, tones down the conscious mind, unless you are an advanced practitioner with a lot of experience of yoga nidra, teaching yourself has challenges. Your conscious mind would have to be involved in the process which makes access to your subconscious mind difficult. If you cannot attend a “live” class, it would be more effective to use a guided recording.
When is the best time of day to do yoga nidra?
Yoga nidra can be done any time! Many people do it just before bed, even as a way to drift into sleep. If you’ve had a rough morning (or night!), a late morning or afternoon, nidra can help to reset your system and give you a shot of energy for the remainder of the day.
How often should I do yoga nidra?
More is more! Once a week is good, once daily even better. Yoga Nidra can be done as many times during the day as you like or feel you need.
What is the history of Yoga Nidra?
According to Christian Mollenoff *, yoga nidra is a hybrid practice with roots both in India and in the west, just like modern asana practice.
When Swami Satyananda devised yoga nidra he built it on techniques that existed within the yoga tradition, especially Tantra. But by depicting yoga nidra as a method of relaxation he consciously placed his new technique in a western narrative.
Satyananda, contrary to some of his followers, never claimed yoga nidra to be an ancient practice. He was quite transparent with having created it himself, by modifying older practices to suit the needs, and perhaps also expectations, of modern practitioners.
What is the physiology behind Yoga Nidra?
Each part of yoga nidra contributes to awakening an aspect or function of the brain.
From a neuroscientific perspective, yoga nidra has the potential to allow the practitioner to experience and explore different brain states and frequencies.
The brain serves as the main organ of the Central Nervous System (CNS). The autonomic nervous system is the system in charge of the things your body does automatically, like maintaining your heart beat, blood pressure, body temperature, digestion, and metabolism. It is made up of two parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Physiologically, the practice of yoga nidra allows the practitioner to access and strengthen the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the default system responsible for resting and digesting. When the parasympathetic nervous system functions properly (not overridden by the fight, flight or freeze (FFF) response of the sympathetic, it produces a calm, relaxed, resourced feeling in the body.
The sympathetic nervous system helps your body manage stressful or emergency situations including:
Accelerated heart rate
Dilated pupils
Widened airways to make breathing easier
Increased muscular strength
Sweaty palms
Slowed digestion
This takes a lot of energy! Sometimes, your system may get stuck in FFF mode. When this happens, these normally short-term responses can become entrenched in the system as chronic stress-related conditions. Yoga nidra can help calm your sympathetic nervous system so that your parasympathetic nervous system can strengthen, restore and maintain order, help to reestablish normal body functioning and conserve energy for situations when you truly need to react.
Metaphysically, the technique of yoga nidra allows the practitioner to move through and explore different subtle layers of consciousness.
What is the benefit of doing yoga nidra?
Yoga nidra helps to regulate the nervous system. Your nervous system’s main function is to send messages from various parts of your body to your brain, and from your brain back out to your body to tell your body what to do. These messages regulate your:
Thoughts, memory, learning and feelings
Movements (balance and coordination)
Senses (how your brain interprets what you see, hear, taste, touch and feel)
Sleep
Heartbeat and breathing patterns
Response to stressful situations
Digestion
Hormones, including growth, menopause and aging.
Yoga nidra can improve function within all of these areas.
Yoga nidra provides you with a simple and inexpensive method to gain insight into your subconscious mind and learn about yourself at a profound level.
Yoga nidra cultivates and strengthens your Inner Witness, the direct observer. This is a fundamental part of yoga - especially meditation - and spiritual growth. The Sanskrit word for this is sakshi.
The sakshi is the capacity of awareness to disengage from its identification with thoughts, and at the same time, observe them “with its own eyes”. Your inner witness enables you to be in the world but not of it, to not be hijacked by the events around you, to have a choice and therefore to maintain your integrity as you navigate life. As your inner witness strengthens, your life comes into alignment with the highest expression of yourself.
*https://www.forceful-tranquility.com/origins-of-yoga-nidra/