Do You Know About Yoga Nidra- The Yogic Powerful Nap
Yoga is a boon to mankind. Most people or I should say the people from the western countries see Yoga as a subject of body exercises but Yoga has mysterious aspects too. Ashtanga yoga includes 8 stages of Yoga. One of them is the ‘Dhyana’ or meditation. Meditation is the base for a healthy mind and consciousness.
Similar to Meditation, Yoga exposes us to the ‘Yoga Nidra’ or the powerful conscious nap. Yoga Nidra relaxes your body as well as energises your body. It gives you a perfect completion of daily yoga practice. After one exciting session of yoga, yogic nidra gives you a deep rest. Yoga warms up your body and Yoga nidra cools it down.
Through yogic nidra, you as a practitioner focus on each part of your body consciously and fill them with energy. Despite its benefits, Yogic Nidra is not known to many. People have heard about it but not have experienced it by themselves. However experts suggest all to practise Yogic Nidra under the supervision of an expert.
In this blog, I am going to discuss Yogic Nidra in complete detail. Be with this blog till the end.
What is Yogic Nidra?
Yogic Nidra also known as the conscious sleep is a powerful meditation technique. It helps your body to rejuvenate. Also it is highly effective for the mind as this process calms your mind down. Yogic Nidra focuses on your body parts which need energy. Often experts suggest you practise it after a Yoga session.
Yoga increases the energy level in your body. Yogic Nidra converse this energy and channels it to the different parts of your body. It stabilises your mind energy and prepares your body for a deep session of meditation.
As the name suggests, the practitioner is neither in sleep nor fully awake while performing Yogic Nidra. It’s a state somewhere between both. This is the reason why many call it conscious sleep.
How to Practise Yogic Nidra?
Yogic Nidra is considered as a sensitive practice. The experts suggest all to do it under the supervision of an expert only. As this affects your mind, it is important to go in and come out through safety and the right procedure only.
Here you will find the complete procedure given by the experts themselves. Follow them if you are unable to contact a teacher.
- Lie down on the floor. You can use a yoga mat or normal mat as well. Keep your body in a savasana position. Starting deep breathing in and out slowly.
- Start the procedure by giving undivided attention to your right foot. Hold your attention there for a minute. Then move to the right knee, thigh, and hip. Now focus on your complete right legs. Be aware of your right leg completely.
- Do the similar process for your left leg. Then move to your hands, belly, hlnaval, heart, eyes, forehead, and crown.
- Take deep breaths during practice. Observe your body sensations and relax in this state only.
- Now become aware of things around you. The goods, environment, any sound present in the moment.
- Turn to your right side. When you do this, you breathe only from your left nostril. This helps your body to cool down.
- Now gradually open your eyes. Take your own time. It’s essential as disturbed meditation can cause some issues.
Benefits of Yoga Nidra:
Yoga Nidra has a profound effect on both body and mind. Here is how it affects your life when you start practising it daily.
- Improved Thought Process:
What is thought? They are electric signals in our mind that generate from our subconscious procedure of all input from the outside world. But when we get lost into the world outside, we often get confused and stressed. This is because of our fast unhealthy lifestyle that we are living in today.
Yoga Nidra lets you go into a calm state of mind. In this state you don’t act or reject the thoughts but just observe them. It is common to see several thoughts popping up in your head and that’s completely normal. Yoga Nidra slows down your body and relaxes your nervous system. As a result you rejuvenate your body muscles and mind. Being an observer automatically improves your mind’s thinking process.
- Better Sleep:
Yoga Nidra effectively affects your sleep cycle. Since it calms your mind down, it helps you to reach a state of complete calmness & consciousness. Your body relaxes and you leave all your worries behind with deep breathing. This procedure affects your body as it slowly memorises it. As your body adapts to the state of being in Yogic Nidra, it automatically calms down when you go to sleep. It helps your body to get in rest quickly and have an overnight quality sleep.
- Makes You Mindful:
The practitioner does not sleep in the process. Instead he or she is in conscious sleep. This means they observe everything around them and inside them. They don’t live then by the regrets of the past and not with the worries of the future ; rather they stay in the present observing the present thoughts coming to their mind. The practitioner is no more a doer but only an observer.
In the Yogic sleep, you become mindful about all things happening and observe them closely but don’t interfere in them. This only choice of not acting at all makes you a thinker in the right ways. You do the similar in your real life situations. It improves your mindfulness, ability to analyse the situation, and cognitive decisions.
- Reduces Anxiety and PTSD:
Mind ailments such as anxiety and PTSD lead your mind to an overactive state. This creates problems in your daily activities as it highly boosts the negative thoughts and stress in your mind. You often go through an emotional rollercoaster and later fall into regret and sorrows.
Regularly practising Yogic Nidra makes you mindful. This means you have better over your actions. You don’t react instantly but deal with the situation calmly. It cultivates healing and relaxation to your mind and body.
Yogic Nidra also helps you to filter out the negative thoughts in your mind. You see your thoughts through a new lens. As a result, you don’t panic or react to situations. This decreases the chances of getting panic attacks from anxiety and PTSD.
- Treat Chronic Pains:
The US army first developed the Yogic Nidra sessions for treating chronic pain. In Yogic Nidra, you dive in a conscious state and observe everything. When your mind is in a calm state, your nervous system automatically goes into relaxation mode. During this state, your body heals itself. The body can relax, restore, and recover its natural state. As a result, your chronic pain reduces. It also helps you to reduce inflammation and improves immunity.
Points to Take Care Before Practising Yogic Nidra:
- Always be empty-stomach before doing any Yoga Posture or Pose. Yogic Nidra is no exception. Don’t eat anything before. The best time to do it is in the early morning.
- Start Yogic Nidra in a clutter-free environment. Disturbance from outside can affect the quality of your meditation.
- You may feel sleepy or get into sleep during the process. Don’t be guilty about it.
- You may feel cold after Yoga Nidra. Keeping a blanket would be a good idea.
What Nobody Tells You About Yoga Nidra?
Many people think and act like they need to focus on the process. This is not the case. It is completely opposite to what Yogic Nidra actually is.
You need not to focus but generally be aware of what’s happening. Give gentle attention to the body parts. The trick is to be effortless while letting your body relax.
In the middle of the session, you may go to sleep. It’s completely normal. Don’t be guilty about it. Relax and enjoy each moment of this yoga.
It is powerful and even sometimes more intense than sleep itself. People call it the Super Nap.
Conclusion:
Yogic Nidra is an ancient way and is considered highly beneficial around the globe. Although don’t treat it as an alternative to your regular medicines. The Yogic Nidra is a sensitive knowledge and should be done under the supervision of a ln expert only.
Beside the discussed benefits, the Yoga Nidra also has several benefits.
- Lowers Blood Pressure.
- Reduces Addiction
- Boosts Creativity
- Improve Immunity.
- Lowers Cholesterol levels.
- Improves your nervous system.
- Reduces the need of medicine for pain.
I hope through this blog you have gained in-depth knowledge about this ancient Yoga technique to improve your mind and body health.
