The Benefits of Yoga Nidra

Hi,

This is a short introduction to the meditation and relaxation practice Yoga Nidra.

And Yoga Nidra means yogic sleep.

It's a state where you feel like your body has fallen asleep,

But where your awareness is still awake and aware.

So when you're practicing Yoga Nidra,

Your body is getting all of the benefits of sleep and deep rest,

And your mind is getting all of the benefits of meditation.

Thank you for watching.

And traditionally,

Yoga nidra was practiced as a form of meditation,

As a way to turn our senses inwards,

Away from the outside world,

And to enter into this liminal or in-between state,

Which isn't sleeping,

It's not waking,

It's not dreaming,

But something else,

Something beyond.

So it can have very deep meditative benefits as a form of meditation,

Which brings us into that altered state of consciousness.

Deliciousness.

There are lots of different lineages and traditions and styles of practice for yoga nidra which you can focus on slightly different things depending on the lineage and the style of the practice but essentially whichever version of yoga nidra you're doing it's guiding your body into relaxation and then it's guiding you to relax the various layers of your mind so that you can move into this state of meditation.

And because yoga nidra is such a restful practice,

It can also be a very useful practice to help to rejuvenate and re-energize if you're feeling tired or if you're having difficulty sleeping or if you just need a rest during the day.

There can be quite a profound reset that happens when you're practicing yoga nidra because you are relaxing every layer.

So some of the tensions in your body,

The stresses,

And anxieties in your minds can all be relaxed and released when you're practicing.

Because of this,

Sometimes even a very short yoga nidra practice can give you quite a big sense of reset and renewal.

So it can be a really helpful practice to re-energise and to get a good rest on every level when you need it.

Another way that Yoga Nidra is used in our modern times is as a meditation to help fall asleep.

Because Yoga Nidra is resting in that area between sleeping and waking,

It can be really helpful for guiding you all the way to sleep.

So there are a lot of Yoga Nidra sleep meditations which talk you through the relaxation practices,

But then guide you a bit deeper and past the meditation so that you can fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.

Night.

So there are hundreds of yoga nidra practices on Insight Timer ranging from a few minutes to over an hour and lots of different themes and intentions and visualizations.

So I recommend that if this is something that interests you and a type of meditation that you would like to try to just have a look through and try out some of the practices.