By Nicole Coffey
Yoga Nidra is a meditation technique that is more than a thousand years old. It can be thought of as meditation made easy. The Sanskrit word ‘nidra’ means sleep. Yoga Nidra works by taking you to brainwave states similar to those in sleep, where it is easier to disengage from thoughts. Meditation happens when you are able to disengage from your thoughts and observe them rather than believe them. However, many people find traditional meditation challenging, either due to the discomfort experienced from sitting for long periods or simply because of the difficulty in maintaining concentration.
Yoga Nidra has some differences to traditional meditation. It is typically practiced lying in a comfortable position on the back but it can also be practiced seated if lying down isn’t possible. It is composed of a series of body, breath and awareness techniques designed to effortlessly guide you into a state of non-doing. You can’t do it wrong. The hardest thing is to not fall asleep but even if you do you will still receive benefits.
Another unique component of Yoga Nidra is the use of intention (Sankalpa). Intention is the conscious placement of energy in the direction we want to go. When we use an intention while in a deep meditative state we can more effectively create shifts in our consciousness. We can then reinforce these subtle shifts and strengthen them through our choices and actions in the waking state.
Yoga Nidra is designed to guide the practitioner to recognise the silent place of being that always resides within us. You are resting in a space where thoughts spontaneously come and go without preference or pull toward any one thought. Here, even first-time meditators can enter states of expanded awareness and deep relaxation.
Yogis state that 45 minutes of Yoga Nidra is as restorative as 3 hours of sleep. The body needs to let go and rest so it can regenerate itself. Yoga Nidra is regenerative but it is more than a nap. It is a spiritual practice that, through structured and conscious movement through sleep states, takes you to a state of consciousness that is beyond waking, dreaming and deep sleep. This state of consciousness is sometimes referred to as witness consciousness.
Like there are different styles of yoga asana (postures) coming from different lineages, there are also different styles of Yoga Nidra. The Integrative Amrit Method of Yoga Nidra (I AM Yoga Nidra) that I am certified to teach, was developed by Gurudev Shri Amritji (Yogi Amtri Desai) and his daughter Kamini Desai, PhD. It focuses primarily on quieting the mind and boosting the energy flow in the body (prana). This released energy in the body increases the healing potential available during Yoga Nidra and typically takes practitioners into deeper states of meditation more quickly. That is why this style is often referred to as “the deep one”.