If you’re unsure about movement-based yoga, don’t give up yet, there may still be the perfect type of yoga for you. Yoga nidra involves one core pose: lying down. If you love lounging, you’re in luck because there are many benefits.
Yoga nidra is a practice that is often misunderstood as meditation. While some of its benefits overlap, there are some differences.
Meditation generally involves sitting upright with the feet planted firmly on the ground. It consists of maintaining a conscious mind and acknowledging thoughts as they come and go.
Yoga nidra, however, takes place lying down on a mat or a bed. It involves moving your mind from a waking state of consciousness to a dream-like state of unconsciousness before moving back to consciousness, all while staying awake.
Read on, and discover some of the many benefits of yoga nidra before trying it yourself.
5. Alleviates symptoms of anxiety and depression ‒ helps to calm down an overactive mind
Yoga nidra has the ability to help unwind an overactive mind by slowing it down into a stage of complete relaxation. People who have lived experiences with depression and anxiety tend to experience racing thoughts and heightened stress patterns.
Yoga nidra can allow the practitioner to enter into a sleep-like state which enables them to process thoughts in a brand new way, which eases symptoms of depression and anxiety in turn. Therefore, benefiting your overall mental health.
This form of yoga can assist in the stabilisation of emotions and increase the ability to seek joy in every moment. Next time you’re feeling anxious, we urge you to roll out a yoga mat, look up a guided yoga nidra meditation, and discover the rewards for yourself.
4. Helps regulate sleep patterns and combat insomnia ‒ you will fall asleep faster and with more ease
We recommend that people with lived experience of insomnia or any other sleep disorder try cultivating a yoga nidra practice in their routines. Regular practice can train a person’s mind to relax.
With practice, the busy mind will become more accustomed to the calming sleep-like state. With a regular yoga nidra routine, the mind and body will grow more relaxed, helping to regulate sleep patterns.
Much like exercising in the gym, training your mind in this way takes some practice, and putting in the work may be difficult at first, but it will pay off with a bit of routine and training.
Try it out for a few weeks and discover the benefits of yoga nidra for yourself. You have nothing to lose, so what are you waiting for?
3. Increases dopamine levels by 65% ‒ dopamine plays a significant role in our brain make-up
The benefits of yoga nidra are sounding more and more intriguing, aren’t they? In a 2002 study, scientists used brain scanning technology to confirm that yoga nidra helps to boost dopamine levels in the brain by up to 65%.
Dopamine is a feel-good chemical produced by the brain that has many benefits, such as increased creativity, motivation, and improved sex drive, to name but a few. What’s not to love?
2. Combats chronic pain ‒ brings the mind and body to a place of healing
Another one of the benefits of yoga nidra is the reduction of chronic pain symptoms. Chronic pain can be a debilitating and frustrating condition often brushed off by general practitioners.
Yoga nidra is a gentle and beneficial way to help alleviate and heal some of that pain that is so often misunderstood.
The yogic sleep state induced by yoga nidra allows the body’s nervous system to slow down into a place that allows for deep healing. Reports state that it helps alleviate signs of inflammation, which can seriously affect chronic pain conditions.
1. Increased state of awareness ‒ allowing for a more mindful mode of being
With repeated yoga nidra practice, increased awareness of one’s thoughts will become evident. You will begin to incorporate this mindfulness practice into your everyday waking life.
No longer will worrying thoughts consume you, but you will be able to acknowledge them as a neutral bystander. Mindfulness in itself can have immense benefits in our lives. Such benefits include lowered stress, improved sleep, lower blood pressure, and reduced risk of heart disease.
With so many amazing benefits of yoga nidra, this mindful practice is a great addition to your lifestyle. Why not try it out for yourself and see what it does for you?