Let’s look at how Yoga Nidra is different from meditation.
Meditation is usually done while sitting upright, and most types of meditation are done while you are awake, sometimes focusing on a mantra or the breath. Yoga Nidra, on the other hand, is usually done lying down under a blanket, and it takes you from a waking state to a dreaming state, to a deep sleep state, and finally to the fourth state of consciousness, where all of your senses are activated.
Thoughts come to an end. Your mind enters the deepest state of relaxation possible without exerting any effort.
Origin of Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is thought to have originated in India. While Yoga Nidra has its roots in ancient tantra yoga, a branch of Indian spiritual study, it was developed in the 1960s in the West for a mainstream audience.
What is Yoga Nidra?
Yogic sleep is another name for Yoga Nidra. Yoga means “union” or “oneness,” and Nidra means “sleep,” or, more precisely, the awareness that engulfs all states of consciousness, from awakening to falling asleep.
Yoga Nidra guides you into a sleep state while inviting you to remain conscious in a semi-awake state while deeply relaxed. It’s similar to a nap in that you’re asleep, but it’s distinct in that a typical nap shuts down everything, including awareness, whereas Yoga Nidra meditation guides you to shut down everything. As a result, you become more aware of various parts of your body, and relaxation becomes more effective. You also become more open to letting go of emotional and mental patterns that have been holding you back.
Yoga Nidra Sleep Like Benefits
Yoga Nidra is not at odds with meditation. Both are fantastic. However, if Yoga Nidra provides all of the benefits of deep meditation as well as the benefits of deep sleep while allowing you to lie down while doing it, then it is clearly the hot-fudge sundae of meditation. Yoga Nidra is a conscious relaxation and meditation technique based on sleep.
You can also check Omidlif’s Yoga Nidra-Hypnotherapy Session to practice Yoga Nidra with perfection.
Yoga Nidra is an Extension of Savasana
Don’t be fooled by the term yoga. In Yoga Nidra meditation, there are no downward-facing dogs, warriors, or other physical poses. Instead, Yoga Nidra appears to be an extension of savasana, or corpse pose, a pose in which you lie down on the floor for rest and integration at the end of most yoga classes.
Yoga Nidra in Modern Times
The term Yoga Nidra is now commonly used to refer to this conscious relaxation and meditation technique, and its most distinguishing feature is the emphasis on different layers of consciousness, from the grossest, such as the physical body, to more subtle, nonphysical layers. Over the years, others have expanded and/or take different approaches to Yoga Nidra, according to Richard Miller, the creator of iRest meditation. In the Western world, however, most Yoga Nidra approaches are based on the original founder’s method.
The journey through the five bodies reminds me of a journey back to wholeness. Rotating your attention to these bodies relieves tension and stress in your body. Consider the layers of an onion; our five bodies are the five layers of awareness that reside within us. The more you concentrate on them, the clear they become, and the better you will feel. They also direct you to your true nature, which is your most genuine self.
Takeaway
Yoga Nidra is a quick and easy practice. It usually takes twenty to forty minutes to listen to a Yoga Nidra meditation. Omidlife has created Yoga Nidra meditations, each lasting about fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, and forty minutes. So get rid of the phrase “I’m too busy.” Most people can find spare moments, whether it’s during their lunch break at work or right before bedtime.
