Yoga nidra
Are you one of those people who find solace in sleeping? Have you ever felt that sleeping makes you more happy than anything else? Then you must read this article in order to discover the wonderful aspects of a sound sleep with the help of yoga nidra.
What Is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga nidra is a practice where you awaken your state of consciousness and relax your mind and body. Also referred to as yogic sleep, it is a state somewhere between wakefulness and sleep that provides solace to your senses.
The yoga nidra meditation is something that transports you to a stage where you become aware of your inner self while your body is in a state of relaxation. It helps you explore your feelings and emotions so as to find solutions to the problem that you are experiencing and meditate upon them with a clear mind.
The Science Of Yoga Nidra
Yoga nidra is a form of meditation that aims at holding on to your consciousness without bothering about it. It simply refers to letting your mind go with the flow of thoughts without trying to pick on them and worrying over petty matters.
Although yoga nidra can be said to be the pre-stage before sleep, it is not exactly the same thing. While sleeping is a state of complete unconsciousness, yoga nidra is a state of semi-consciousness where you know what is happening around you but you choose to focus on what is happening within you.
As per scientific evidence, yoga nidra has proven to be a very effective way to deal with mental stress, depression, anxiety, nervousness, lower self-esteem and so on. Further, it has been observed that it releases dopamine in the brain making you feel relaxed and motivated. It also enhances the functioning of the heart and heals the nervous system by clearing the clutter of the brain.
How To Perform Yoga Nidra?
Yoga nidra is a form of guided meditation where you are supposed to practice the savasana or the corpse pose for a substantially longer period of time. In case you feel uncomfortable lying in that position, you can keep some soft pillows under your knees and lower back in order to avoid any pain in these areas.
So basically what happens is that when you try to meditate during savasana, your body and mind goes into a trance-like state where you linger between being awake and being asleep. You are faintly aware of your outer surroundings while your consciousness solely focuses on your inner self.
You are instructed to concentrate on your breathing pattern and are completely drowned into a state of relaxation. During this time, you may feel that your body has started releasing the toxins and negativity that you have stored in it for a long time.
As a result, your body temperature starts to drop and you feel shivery. Therefore, it is advisable to keep a blanket by your side before starting a yoga nidra session. This hypnotic state will be an enriching experience that will leave you feeling refreshed and relaxed.
Benefits Of Yoga Nidra:-
Yoga nidra is a very amazing way to relieve stress and relax your body and mind. Though many people have benefitted by performing yoga nidra for sleep improvement, there are various other benefits of this yoga practice as well. Some of these are discussed below:
- It helps in relieving stress and restoring balance between the body and the mind.
- A regular practice of yoga nidra will make you feel rejuvenated and relaxed and heal your body from the inside as well.
- It will help you gain clarity about your life and free your brain with unnecessary stress and negative thoughts.
- These sessions will improve upon the quality of your sleep and calm your senses in such a way that you will feel more confident about yourself. Also, it will improve your heart rate as well.
- Yoga nidra will help you find the higher purpose of your life by merging your conscious thoughts with the powerful subconscious that connects you to the Supreme Consciousness that rules over the entire universe.
Therefore, it can be said that yoga nidra can help you get rid of bad habits by increasing your awareness and enhancing your determination and willpower. It is an extremely powerful yet inexpensive technique that can be practiced anywhere and will enable you to understand your true calling.