2. HISTORY
Yoga Nidra is comparatively new as a practice (1940‟s) and has recently had a
re-boot by Richard Miller as “I-rest” yoga (2006).
Swami Satyananda stumbled upon this type of yoga when he fell asleep while
listening to tantric chants. Except he was not asleep, he was in a focused
meditative state and resurfaced even more relaxed than if he had been
sleeping.
3. HOW IT WORKS
Yoga Nidra is essentially a deep, guided meditation that will leave the body
very relaxed.
Goals: to consciously explore your own personal experiences and emotions in
a safe and non-judgmental space within your own consciousness.
To stimulate Beta Waves within the brain. Deep sleep induces Delta waves, we
are looking to maintain the Beta waves of wakefulness and yet be as relaxed as
you would be in a deep sleep. This is done by stimulating the prefrontal
cortex.
4. WHAT THE PREFRONTAL
CORTEX DOES
• Does not pertain to movement, therefore movement in not necessary to stimulate.
• It has been postulated that the human personality is housed in this region of the brain, as
is the ability to perceive reality and experience subjectivity.
• What does that mean for Yoga Nidra?
• This means that while practicing Yoga Nidra, if you are successfully
stimulating Beta Waves in the prefrontal cortex you will be able
to not only heighten your awareness of yourself but of
your reality and increase your mindful awareness of your
own emotions and experience and allow you to look
at your life in a subjective fashion.
5. WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Our own thought patterns can be difficult to
break. We get „stuck in the ruts‟ like you would
see on a ski hill. In order to break out of these
„ruts‟ in thought we must learn to subjectively
and detachedly look at our lives and discover
what is good in our lives and what is bad for our
mental health.
6. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
I-rest and Yoga Nidra have a wide range of applicability treating:
• PTSD
• Eating disorders
• Reducing anxiety and stress (Type A personality)
• Decreasing chronic pain
• Insomnia
With the added benefits of:
• Increased energy levels
• Better interpersonal skills
• Better and more restful nights sleep
7. FUN FACTS
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Einstein used Yoga Nidra when he was particularly stuck on a problem.
Napoleon used Yoga Nidra-like tactics when devising a battle plan.
Yoga Nidra has been proven to increase concentration.
1 hour of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to 5 hours of deep sleep.
With regular practice you can actually increase grey matter and neural
connectivity in the prefrontal cortex.
8. WHERE TO FIND IT
If you enjoy the practice we do today, you can find Yoga Nidra at the
Breathing Room on the last Thursday of every month from 7:30-8:30 or
search Yoga Nidra on iTunes and you can purchase a 20 or 30 minute practice
for 99¢.
9. CITATIONS
• Integrative Restoration Institute . (n.d.). Home Page for I-Rest. Retrieved
October 3, 2013, from Google.
• Big Shakti . (2013). Origin of Yoga Nidra. In Big Shakti, Health Wellbeing
Yoga Meditation . Retrieved October 3, 2013, from Google.
• Wikipedia. (2013, October 23). Prefrontal Cortex. In Wikipedia. Retrieved
October 18, 2013, from Google.
• Brown, C. F. (n.d.). Yoga Nidra. In YogaCheryl. Retrieved October 11, 2013,
from http://www.yogacheryl.com/sample-yoga-nidra-script.html
• Reis, J. (n.d.). Divine Sleep. In Jennifer Reis Yoga. Retrieved October 25,
2013,
from Google.
• Special Thanks to Anomi Bearden, Sandra Thorn and Suzanne Blackwell!
