Sleep Better with Yoga Nidra

In my quest for a good night's sleep, I have found yoga to be very helpful. Yoga nidra in particular is a wonderful practice to help you rest at night.

Yoga nidra is an ancient tantric meditation technique. It is also known as "yoga sleep" or "sleep with awareness". During a yoga nidra session, you will be guided into a complete state of relaxation. You will be in a deep sleep, but  fully awake and aware of your surroundings.

It is beneficial for calming the nervous system. It will alleviate anxiety, fears and worries you may have. It will reduce muscle tension. And it will improve the quality of your sleep. When you are sleeping, your body is at rest but your mind may carry on. Nervous or fearful thoughts can continue as you sleep and dream. You cannot let go of the stress of the day. This can result in a restless sleep and troublesome dreams. You wake up tired, groggy and just want to stay in bed.

Yoga nidra will give you the deepest sleep possible. They say one hour of yoga nidra sleep equals four hours of regular sleep. During a class, you will release all of your tensions. You will get up feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Yoga nidra is best practiced as a guided meditation. Listen to the instructions but try not to concentrate. Just let go of your thoughts. You will be guided to relax your entire body in corpse pose. As you relax your breathing will deepen, furthering your relaxation response. Make sure you are warm before you begin. Have a blanket handy as your body temperature will drop while you practice. And be sure you are in a quiet room where you will not be interrupted. Soon you will be asleep, but not. This is yoga nidra.

It will probably be difficult to get into a true yoga nidra state the first time you practice. Sometimes you will drop deeper than others when practicing this yoga. Keep trying. it is always beneficial even if you do not get deep enough at first.