Yoga Nidra

Guest blog by Muireann O’Callaghan, Certified I Am Yoga Nidra Teacher

A friend confided in me that when someone tells her to “Relax, chill out,” she becomes more tense. “In fact,” she added, “I have no idea how to relax.”

It’s not easy or normal to instantaneously turn off life’s daily, compounding stressors.

The American Psychological Association (APA) reports that 78% of adults say the coronavirus pandemic has been a significant source of stress in 2020. That’s extra stress on top of job and school uncertainty, disproportionate financial disruptions, stress and depression due to discrimination of people of color, relationship pressures, and general overwhelm.

But there is an easy, structured tool available to help us reach a state of deep peace and unity, and it’s available on Spotify, Youtube, or in yoga studios. The practice is called Yoga Nidra, and it is almost like plugging into a charging station that leaves our inner batteries feeling full of vibrant power.

What is Yoga Nidra?

You may have practiced a ten-minute version of Yoga Nidra at the end of your yoga class, where you lie on your back and listen to a guided relaxation. But a 45-minute version can leave you feeling like you had a three-hour deep sleep.

 It is designed to take you from the conscious awake state to the conscious sleep state, often called the lucid dream state. This means we are deeply relaxed but aware of what we’re dreaming, guiding our unconscious minds with conscious thoughts. Sounds trippy? It’s science.

Steps To Practice

First, the guide asks you to state your intention, a statement that is present tense, is meaningful, positive, concise, and personal. For example, instead of saying “Someday, I won’t worry about money,” reframe it to “I recognize the abundance in my life.” The point is to be in touch with the feeling of your goal right now.

 Second, the guide leads you through breathing exercises, focusing on longer exhales where you notice the natural breath without judging yourself. The point is to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system into a place of safety, releasing body chemicals and hormones like melatonin, serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine that help with digestion, sleep, mood, anxiety, and depression. At the same time, we are calming the fight or flight mode of the sympathetic system, calming cortisol levels in the bloodstream.

 Third, the guide will lead you through body part awareness, briskly naming parts on the right side and left side, then sections of the body (front and back, whole leg, whole arm) to whole body awareness. Again, the point is to move out of rapid thoughts and begin to be aware of what’s naturally happening in the landscape of our bodies.

Fourth, the guide may name images (a pink rose, a moon reflected on the sea, a clear sky) or opposites (crying and laughter, fear and safety), or other visualizations and statements that basically help us to feel safe, comfortable, and calm while taking the role of witness of our thoughts. This is another way to slow down and systematically move from doing to being.

Fifth, and my favorite part, the guide offers a moment of quiet time and lets you drop into deep silence. Here, you feel space, freedom, and transformation.

Sixth, the guide may ask you to silently repeat your intention and offer you positive affirmations (such as, I am free and clear of limitations). Because the brain waves have now slowed to an alpha and theta state, a place where space expands between thoughts, where creativity flows, where left and right brain are synched, where silence begins to bleed through, you can absorb your intention in an impactful way. Here, you have moved from a place of duality (what I want or don’t want), through polarity (opposites have come together), to unity—a space where we feel aligned with our inner wisdom, which can feel like a divine connection.

Seventh, the guide begins the gentle and deliberate return to sensation, where you softly notice your breathing again, your body parts, and you repeat your intention in this waking state. As you sit and open your eyes, the world feels less harried because your relationship to thinking and doing is better equipped to handle stress.

Is stress really such a bad thing?

Stress is a response to reality and change; it doesn’t need to be labeled as good or bad. Eustress is that healthy anticipation or challenge that motivates us. Distress is when a disruptive change takes us out of balance. We typically associate distress with stress. Practicing Yoga Nidra daily or a few times a week helps restore balance of body, mind, and spirit by managing our relationship to distress.

Benefits of Yoga Nidra

Over time, this conscious relaxation method trains our thought cycles to become less vulnerable to distress, and gain control of how we respond to change and daily life around us. Like a meditation practice, we train our fast thoughts to slow down and to notice the space between thoughts, and ultimately be more aware of the sensations inside and outside our bodies. But unlike what meditation provides, Yoga Nidra is easy to follow, and even if we fall asleep while practicing, we still benefit from a restorative relaxation.  

Types of Yoga Nidra

Integrated Amrit Method (I AM Yoga Nidra) focuses on energetic awareness, iRest focuses on helping trauma, and Swami Janakananda and Swami Satyananda methods focus on systematic relaxations. You can find samples on Spotify and Youtube, and for a more comprehensive understanding, try Kamini Desai’s book Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep.

I hope you love Yoga Nidra. Who knew sleeping with yourself could save yourself!

Guest blog by Muireann O’Callaghan, Certified I Am Yoga Nidra Teacher