Yoga Nidra for Sleep- A Simple & Complete Guide
Yoga Nidra
Concepts and Ideas
In this article I’ll like to discuss what is yoga nidra, the benefits of practising it, things to consider when practising yoga nidra and finally the steps to practising it correctly, to derive its maximum benefits. Many, incorrectly believe that yoga nidra is like following a hypnotic suggestive script. Even though it may look similar and practised in a similar manner to hypnotism and in the West, there is a vast difference between the two. Unfortunately, like many other yoga practises that have been butchered and culturally appropriated by the Western society, yoga nidra too has been culturally appropriated. For example, a psychologist named Richard Miller has taken the concept, branded, and patented it as IREST yoga nidra and provides certifications to instructors enabling them to practise this ancient system.
Yoga nidra as we know it today was codified by Swami Satyananda Saraswathi of the Bihar School of Yoga, in India. It should be remembered that yoga nidra has been practised and perfected by many yogis thousands of years ago and have always been a part of traditional yoga practise, in the South Asian culture. What Swami Satyananda Saraswathi did was to collect the diverse threads of these various yogic concepts and components and provide a systematic approach that can be followed by anyone without violating or diluting the traditional yoga practise.
Yoga nidra is derived from the tantras which teaches us certain concepts (amongst various other spiritual concepts) to help us learn to relax consciously. Sleep is not relaxation. During absolute relaxation you must remain aware. Yoga nidra is dynamic sleep which is a systematic method to induce complete physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. It looks as if a person is fast asleep during yoga nidra. However, during yoga nidra you are functioning at a deeper level of awareness. Yoga nidra is a state between the threshold of sleep and wakefulness. This means you only maintain internal awareness whilst removing all external awareness except the sound stimulus. What I mean by sound stimulus is the requirement to hear the instructor providing the instructions during yoga nidra whilst all other senses remain dormant or asleep.
One of the core ideas of yoga nidra is that even when you are sleep your self(jeevathma) is awake and aware. Yoga nidra incorporates pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), which is one of the eight elements of raja yoga that discusses the practise of mind and mental awareness while disassociating it from other sensory channels. This pure and focused concentration eventually leads to dharana (concentration) and finally to samadhi (union of self with the divine). This is a key concept and a secret of yoga nidra. Yoga nidra realises and recognisers that the illogical, conscious mind can be disobedient but the yoga nidra mind is obedient.
Yoga nidra moreover touches upon a concept in tantra called Nyasa. Nyasa simply means, to place or take the mind to a point which can be any part of the body to bless and heal it with appropriate mantra. In this way whilst the concentration or the touch is kept on a specific part of the body a mantra is recited to heal and activate that part of the body.
Benefits of Practising Yoga Nidra
There are many benefits of practising yoga nidra and I have listed a few below
1. One of the steps in yoga nidra is goal setting. This can be compared to sanskar re-engineering. This not only helps us achieve our goals and objectives on a physical, mental, and emotional level whilst on a grand scale helps to attain our spiritual goals.
2. Yoga nidra has been proven to improve memory. Many language learning programmes use this concept, where, when in-between the threshold of sleep and wakefulness which yoga nidra takes the practitioner, the teacher or instructor will feed in the knowledge (information such as grammar, literature, or phonetics) using only the auditory sense. Once the student is awake and in the conscious state the same information is read or repeated to the student. This double input of providing the information first in the sleep and wakefulness state (imprinting into the subconscious and long-term memory) and then again to reinforce it during the wakeful or conscious state has been proven the most successful method of teaching a language.
3. Yoga nidra increases our knowledge because we are capable of learning much more during the yoga nidra state. During the yoga nidra state you do not feel tired and hence a large volume of information can be taken in which is not possible during the conscious wakeful state. In this manner lots of complex information can be fed to a student within a short period of time with complete clarity, understanding, and retention.
4. Yoga nidra is a state that increases and improves your creativity, providing great insight into complex problems. It is a well-known fact that Thomas Edison used to practise yoga nidra in his laboratory. He is said to have practised a form of yoga nidra by first sitting on a chair and holding on to a heavy ball or object in his hand. As he moves from the wakeful to the sleep state (which is essentially the yoga nidra state), the ball would slip off his hand and the noise it made when it hits the floor would wake him. In this state he realised he was very creative and came up with unique and new ideas to continue with his scientific explorations. It is said Kekule, who drew up the atomic structure of the benzene ring was able to do this due to the insight he gained during the sleep and wakeful state while pondering the structure. A third example is Neil Bohr who provided us with the original structure of the atom which appeared to him during the yoga nidra state.
5. Yoga nidra reduces stress and other mental diseases. Psychosomatic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, migraine, asthma, ulcers, digestive disorders, and skin diseases arise from tensions in the body and mind. The leading causes of death in developed countries, cancer, and heart disease, also stem from tension. Modern medical science has been trying to tackle these problems in many ways, but frankly speaking, they have failed to deliver the necessary health to man. This is because the real problem does not lie in the body; it originates in man’s changing ideals, in his way of thinking and feeling.
6. As noted in the above point when stress and mental disease are reduced or removed it leads to a better family life and reduce physical, mental, and emotional tension.
7. Yoga nidra has been proven scientifically to give a 1:4 relationship to ordinary sleep. This means if you practise yoga nidra for one hour it equals to almost 4 to 5 hours of ordinary sleep. Many corporate yoga programmes incorporate yoga nidra during lunch breaks. This will help to provide the required rest, so employees are able to achieve their daily targets and meet deadlines scheduled at the end of the day.
Things to Consider When Practising Yoga Nidra
1. Yoga nidra should be practised in a quiet and closed room
2. The room must have a comfortable temperature
3. There shouldn't be any sudden disturbances whilst performing the yoga nidra.
4. A semi dark room is required for yoga nidra because, yoga nidra requires relaxed awareness. If the room is very bright it will not be conducive to sleep and if it is too dark, there is a high probability of the practitioner falling asleep. Remember, yoga nidra creates a state between sleep and awareness.
5. The room should be ventilated but not breezy.
6. During yoga nidra your body temperature can drop. Because of this it may be essential to cover your body with a soft blanket.
7. Clothing must be light and loose.
8. Yoga nidra should be practised in an empty stomach.
9. Ideally yoga nidra should be practised at the same time each day. It is recommended that it is practised first thing when you wake up in the morning between 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM or in the evening when you return home from work. When done in the evening it relaxes you, so you are ready to enjoy your evening with the family.
10. It is essential that you never fall asleep during yoga nidra. If you feel very sleepy it is advised, you take a cold shower before commencing the practise.
11. Self-instructions (quietly in your mind to yourself) can be given during yoga nidra, but it is advised for the beginner to first listen to the teacher's voice and then move on to a recorded audio or tape-recorded instructions. When the whole process is fully absorbed move to self-instructions.
12. It is best to do yoga nidra in savasana (corpse pose). If it is not possible to be in this sleeping position yoga nidra can also be done in a sitting position.
13. Yoga nidra has two specific steps where instructions should be provided and followed fast (speedy manner) which are rotation of consciousness and visualisation. This is because there should be no concentration and effort involved whilst performing yoga nidra. Yet many trip over during these two steps.
14. As yoga nidra has a few distinct components, it is permissible to leave out whole components rather than speeding up all the steps due to lack of time.
15. During the process of visualisation, it is important to add traumatic and negative thoughts. But this should come eventually as more experience is gained.
16. During yoga nidra do not concentrate and put in mental effort. It is important you relax and let it go.
17. Do not discuss your experiences during yoga nidra or compare it with someone else.
18. Do deep breathing along with savasana if deep relaxation and meditative state is achieved too quickly.
19. One of the steps in yoga nidra is sanskar reengineering which involves you making a resolve or intention of something that you want to achieve. This is the only situation when the practitioner is actively involved in the process. At all other times the instruction is given directly by a teacher or from a tape recorder. The intention should be natural and fit the nature of the person. If it does not fit the natural, nature of the person it will violate their sense of being and the resolve or intention will not be achieved.
Steps and Matters to Consider in Yoga Nidra
Preparation
Yoga nidra should be performed in savasana and usually takes between 20 to 40 minutes. Ensure that your palms are facing upwards in the savasana, and your eyes should be closed. There should be no eyeball, eyelid and physical movement.
It is important that you do not fall asleep during yoga nidra. You do not have to concentrate or control your breath. Often, the teacher or instructor will remind the practitioner that it is not necessary to concentrate, to control the breath and not to fall asleep. It is important during the whole process to keep your awareness. However, if you lose your awareness and fall asleep or drift into dreaming you can either come back or just sleep. The instructions will be absorbed.
You should wear loose clothing and be in a room which is neither too warm nor too cold.
During yoga you will concentrate on the sound only. You will listen and follow the instructions of the yoga teacher or from the tape recorder. Follow the instructions and watch it in your mind’s eye. The initial state may also involve antar mouna which is a form of meditation where you are watching and witnessing sound.
Making a Resolution (Sanskar Re-Engineering)
This is called a sankalpa (a resolve or goal in yoga nidra and it should be specific. the sankalpa should be something that you will specifically do (act) to specifically get something you want. I may add, the SMART principle in managerial goal setting can be incorporated here. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound.
There should only be one sankalpa and not many combined. Do not change the sankalpa at any time.
The sankalpa is evoked or considered twice during yoga nidra practise. First during the initial stage and then again at the final stages. At the initial stage the sankalpa is planted and in the final stage it is irrigated or harvested.
Rotation of Consciousness
It is important that you do not concentrate deeply during the process but just follow the instructions with your mind and visually think about each of the body parts and systems that are mentioned by the instructor. You should not move anytime during yoga nidra, but you should always be aware, listen and move your mind along with the instructions. Do not touch the parts of the body being mentioned.
During the rotation of consciousness which follows the tantric principle of Nyasa, the instructor will systematically move through all the body parts and the internal organs of the human body. The instructions should be similar from one day to the other and the order of mentally moving along the body parts should remain consistent. If the order is changed (from one day to another) it will confuse the listener and hence he may not be able to achieve the sleep and wakeful state.
Body awareness is often considered along with the rotation of consciousness. Here you will consider your body as a distinct element that is connected to your jeevathma. This may relate to the floor, patch of ground or earth you're sleeping on or may involve visually seeing your body by placing your consciousness over the body (like you looking at yourself on a mirror).
Breath Watching Meditation
Here you will concentrate on your breathing which prepares you for pratyahara. You will watch your breath as it rises and falls (inhalation an exhalation) along your abdomen, chest, throat, nose, and complete body. To help with concentration, counting backwards from a number such as 27 is recommended. Once you reach 0 from 27, you will then move your awareness of the breath from your abdomen to the chest and then from your chest to your throat and so on.
Feelings and Sensations
In this stage you will look at opposite emotions and sensations and try to relieve them. For example, you will first think of your body becoming very hot and then becoming extremely cold. Heavy to lightness of the body, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow and finally love and hate. Look at your past and try to bring back profound personal memories that has affected you at your deepest core. The purpose of this step is to watch the events and feel the emotions and let it go.
Another important purpose is to understand these as mere emotions and realise these are two sides of the same coin. This trains the practitioner to understand and accept emotions for what they are and build the capacity to become capable of being detached to such emotions whether they are positive or negative.
Visualisation
This step must be undertaken like all other steps in a very relaxed mental state. Usually the images should be positive which may be objects from nature such as the trees, oceans, rivers and mountains. It could involve symbols such as religious crosses, crucifixes and rosaries, statures and images. Gods and Saints and images of loved ones can also be visualised.
You can take visualisation to the next level by imagining complete scenes like walking on a park, bathing under a waterfall or sleeping under the stars.
Very young people may not have enough experiences to visualise as effectively as adults on the items and images I mentioned above. So simple things like numbers, colours and shapes could be used during this step.
Coming Out of Yoga Nidra
If the previous steps have been carried out well, you may reach a very still and silent state.
Here you will again make your resolve or sankalpa. This will be the same resolve made previously but will often be with more emotion, feelings and conviction.
You will gently open your eyes and come out of savasana with a positive outlook.
This is the end of the yoga nidra practise. This will be announced by the instructor to the practitioner.
Conclusion
Yoga nidra is a powerful practise with many benefits. These benefits are vouched by many who practise it daily. However, it must be conducted according to the steps laid out above to obtain these benefits. You will have to understand and follow the best practises and considerations mentioned above so that your efforts will become easier and bear fruit sooner.
Reference – Yoga Nidra by Swami Satyananda Saraswathi, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India,1997.
Copywrite- Skandakumar Kumarasingam (Sydney Yoga School)
