By definition, Yoga is a form of meditation which creates a harmony between your mind and your body. Some forms are a combination of asanas or poses and deep breathing, engaging your body as well as your brain, and some other forms urge you to connect with yourself by focusing on your psyche alone. Yoga nidra, is the latter.
What is yoga nidra?
Yoga nidra or yogic sleep is a form of deep meditation where you’re required to lay down in a comfortable position without any stiffness or tension in your limbs and in the simplest words, semi-sleep; a state where you are not asleep but have little to no stray thoughts running through your brain. Your body will be relaxed and at ease and your mind will go through the pancha maya kosh or otherwise known as, five layers of self while drifting somewhere between wakefulness and unconsciousness.
Here are some excellent benefits of yoga nidra that will make you want to start practicing it from today itself!
- Relaxed mind
Pandemic or not, our lives and the ups and downs in it make it very hard for us to achieve even a few minutes of escape from pressing issues. A 45 minute yoga nidra session guided by naturescapes or calming music spent focusing on the pineal gland between the eyes will release melatonin which has been scientifically proven to reduce stress. It will help you deal with stressors more rationally and that way, also reduce the feeling of constant anxiety. Yoga nidra has also shown great results when it comes to improving sleep quality.
- Improved health
Regular practice of yoga nidra keeps the autonomic nervous system, which controls heart rate, blood flow, assimilation and such, healthy. So, not only does it improve and have a very positive impact on one’s attention span and concentration, one’s learning ability and memory, but it also boosts the immune system, digestive system and improves heart health, too.
- No incorrect method
One of the biggest benefits of yoga nidra is that there is no way you can do it wrong. It is a form of yoga that does not consist of difficult asanas or steps that require you to put in effort to hold a position with your inhales and exhales in sync. Yoga nidra can be practiced any time of the day, by anyone- be it an old person or a kid, in any position you like- sitting or on your back.
- Connection with self
In today’s day and age of social media where we are busy connecting with people from all around the world, we tend to forget who WE are at our very core. While practicing yoga nidra you will go through stages where you will learn to process and embrace your emotions, reflect on your thoughts, find yourself and learn to focus on sensations that we usually are too occupied to feel.
In the past couple of years, fatigue, stress and poor health is something we’ve all dealt with quite frequently. And these benefits of yoga nidra make it one of the healthiest ways of destressing, rejuvenating and getting not just your mental, but also physical health back on track.
Shraddha Singh
