How Yoga Nidra Can Help You
By: Dr. Denise Renye
Last week I wrote about using savasana or corpse pose as an embodied experience of metaphorical death and rebirth. It got me thinking about another powerful yoga practice: yoga nidra, or yogic sleep. This technique is something I have been trained in and have used in my personal psychospiritual practice as well as my professional practice with unexpectedly excellent results for a wide variety of people.
Yoga nidra isn’t the same as “regular” sleep. There are special benefits above and beyond sleep as we normally think of it, which also does more than keep you from feeling tired. Getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night will lower your risk of heart disease and reduce stress.
However, yoga nidra can help with issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, insomnia, anxiety, and more. That’s not conjecture, by the way. A study from 2011 found yoga nidra helped war veterans reduce rage, anxiety, and emotional reactivity while increasing feelings of relaxation, peace, self-awareness, and self-efficacy. In 2014, a study by Pamela Pence found sexual trauma survivors reported significant decreases in PTSD symptoms, negative thoughts of self-blame, and depression. They also reported an increased feeling of joy.
A caveat here. As someone who has taught yoga nidra for years, I have a word of caution for trauma survivors: It’s best used after the person has already started trauma treatment. When there are high levels of trauma, restorative yoga and yoga nidra can sometimes be too intense for the consciousness to handle. Slipping into a place between wakefulness and somnolence may resurrect memories or sensations the person isn’t equipped to handle just yet.
What exactly is yoga nidra? It’s a structured, guided, meditation technique wherein you are assisted in moving into a state of conscious awareness between asleep and awake. It’s a deep form of relaxation with awareness. The body and mind rest while the consciousness is awake. Essentially, yoga nidra creates space for you to flow with your natural state of self and allows you to meet the inner you, with awareness. Even though it translates as “yogic sleep,” you’re trying not to fall asleep during yoga nidra because maintaining awareness and consciousness is the goal. And there’s not much needed in the way of trying as the voice guiding through yoga nidra acts as an anchor to stay in conscious awareness.
Also, while yoga nidra involves a guided visualization, the purpose is to shift your awareness from the external world to the internal one. It provides a space in which you can begin to explore your internal landscape, going beyond guided visualization and being with you. It’s also not getting lost in your thoughts and letting your mind run wild. The structure of yoga nidra is key in order to provide a framework to make this inner work possible.
As part of the process, you get in touch with the unconscious, which also makes yoga nidra a fine technique to prepare for as well as integrate a psychedelic experience. Because psychedelic experiences are not something to be taken lightly, proper preparation and integration are essential.
If you’re interested in yoga nidra, I recommend clicking on this link for a yoga nidra relaxation audio.
Also, be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can find out when I’ll resume teaching yoga nidra workshops.
References
Pence, Pamela G.; Katz Lori; Huffman, Cristi; Cojucar, Geta. “Delivering Integrative Restoration-Yoga Nidra Meditation (iRest) to Women with Sexual Trauma at a Veteran's Medical Center: A Pilot Study.” Int J Yoga Therap. 2014;24:53-62. PMID: 25858651.
Stankovic L. “Transforming trauma: a qualitative feasibility study of integrative restoration (iRest) yoga Nidra on combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.” Int J Yoga Therap. 2011;(21):23-37. PMID: 22398342.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Get Enough Sleep.” April 8, 2022. https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/topics/everyday-healthy-living/mental-health-and-relationships/get-enough-sleep#panel-2