by Karen Brody
Your Brain on Yoga Nidra
Each time you practice yoga nidra meditation, you’re stilling the waves of the mind through conscious entry into the sleep state. How?
You start with sensing the body and breathing in specific ways in order to trigger the relaxation response. The relaxation response balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and balances the left and right brains. In the process, your brain shifts from beta, an awakened state with lots of brain activity, to alpha, a more relaxed state. In alpha, the mood-regulating hormone serotonin gets released, and this calms you down. People who spend little time in an alpha brain-wave state have more anxiety than those who spend more time in alpha. Think of a car: if you want to stop and turn off the engine, you first need to downshift. Shifting your brain into an alpha state starts its process of “powering down,” or coming into a rest state with slower, restorative brain-wave activity.
From alpha, you go into a deep alpha and high theta brain-wave state—the dream state, REM sleep. In theta, your thoughts slow down to 4 to 8 thoughts per second. This is where superlearning happens. Kids and artists experience a lot more theta activity in their brains. Emotional integration and release also happen here, and structures in the brain change. It’s here that some people have random thoughts or see images. A person in theta may see colors or visions or hear the voice of a person talking, yet at the same time not hear this voice. It’s where you begin to enter the gap of nothingness.
After theta, you are guided to delta, where your thoughts are only 1 to 3.9 thoughts per second. This is the most restorative state, in which your organs regenerate and the stress hormone cortisol is removed from your system.
When you’re put under anesthesia, you’re put into a delta brain-wave state. Also, people in comas are in a delta brain-wave state, which gives their bodies a chance to restore their systems. In our culture, very few people go into the deep states of sleep like theta and delta on a regular basis, and as a consequence, our bodies are not powering down and getting the chance to restore themselves. Depressed people go to beta and alpha states, but rarely go to theta and delta.
From delta, the guided yoga nidra experience takes you down into an even deeper brain-wave state—one that can’t be reached through conventional sleep. In this fourth state of consciousness, below delta, your brain is thoughtless. This state is sort of like a complete loss of consciousness, but you are awake. This state is one of such a deep surrender, where your consciousness is so far away from the physical body that living here every day would be difficult. Not everyone who practices yoga nidra touches this state, but the more you practice, the more you’ll receive glimpses of it.
After you touch into the fourth state of consciousness, you are guided back to a waking state. Again, you couldn’t live in this fourth state, but as a result of touching into it, you bring a little of its deep peace back with you to your waking, everyday brain state. You also are able to rewire your thoughts and emotions because your subconscious mind in this fourth state is fertile, more open to intentions and affirmations than it is when you are in your waking state. As a consequence, in your everyday life, you begin to rest more and more in the space between emotions and thoughts, and resting in this space gives rise to a sense of freedom, where you are not triggered so much by the stuff in your life.
Throughout the yoga nidra meditation I will teach you, you are often asked to bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows—a spot known as the third eye. Behind this spot lies the pineal gland, and this gland is stimulated when you bring your attention there. Studies confirm that the pineal-gland hormone, melatonin, is a powerful agent for reducing stress, inducing more restful sleep, and boosting the immune system, which helps prevent illness, promote healing, and slow premature aging.
Benefits of Yoga Nidra
While yoga nidra is not a substitute for sleep, the number-one reason most women I know say yes to yoga nidra is that it’s widely touted that forty-five minutes of yogic sleep feels like three hours of regular sleep. There’s some debate over the science that backs this up, but it is likely this effect is due to the series of brain-wave changes experienced during yoga nidra.1 In my work, I hear women tell me all the time that they wake up deeply refreshed after practicing yoga nidra and that yoga nidra helps them fall asleep and get back to sleep at night. Who can say no to sleep?
As you can imagine, feeling well rested is life changing, but yoga nidra also improves your overall health. A 2011 study showed that practicing yoga nidra improved anxiety, depression, and overall well-being for women having menstrual irregularities and psychological problems.2 I’ve worked with many women who have had tremendous success using yoga nidra to help them manage anxiety and pain, which has also been noted by Kamakhya Kumar in A Handbook of Yoga Nidra.3 And even more science points to how yoga nidra can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and improve blood glucose fluctuations and symptoms associated with diabetes.4
The explosion of studies supporting the benefits of meditation also apply to yoga nidra because yoga nidra is a form of meditation. Both meditation and yoga nidra help activate the relaxation response and improve the functioning of your nervous system and endocrine system, which affects your hormones. Both meditation and yoga nidra help cells regenerate and repair, and both help decrease anxiety and improve your mood.
Women tell me all the time how practicing yoga nidra meditation has positively impacted their family life. One mother who was checked out of her life due to exhaustion now practices yoga nidra and says that she is using more loving speech to herself, her children, and her spouse and is parenting from a more peaceful place. Another woman who felt imprisoned by her anxiety tells me she is now able to lead a full life with her family from a calm place. It’s clear to me that women get their family and freedom back when they practice yoga nidra regularly.
One yoga teacher told me that yoga nidra planted a seed in her to rest and practice kindness toward herself. She had always taught her students about the value of rest and kindness, but ironically, she found it challenging to give herself either. She told me that by practicing one yoga nidra meditation at a time, she noticed how everything in her body felt as if it flowed better and how her mind became clearer. Another woman—a mother, entrepreneur, and writer with an autoimmune disorder and crippling fatigue—told me that once everyone in her family is out of the house in the morning, she practices yoga nidra “around the time a newborn would take her first nap.” This regular practice of yoga nidra began shifting something inside her, renewing her energy and ability to focus, and boosting her drive to get to work on her projects that matter. I hear this same theme from women all the time, even in quite challenging circumstances: how yoga nidra feels like a magical force helping them feel deeply rested, focused, and then able to rise to a better place.
What You Need to Practice Yoga Nidra
The only essentials you’ll need to practice yoga nidra are (1) a yoga nidra meditation audio, (2) a means of listening to that audio, and (3) a place to rest, ideally lying down. There are no expensive props, and you can practice yoga nidra meditation in virtually any quiet space. For years, I regularly did yoga nidra parked in my minivan during my younger son’s soccer practice, reclining the front seat, putting in earbuds, and plugging into a yoga nidra meditation audio on my smartphone.
There are optional props that you might want to use to make your yoga nidra more relaxing. I’m a huge fan of using an eye pillow because it can help relax tension in your head and provide complete darkness. If you’re doing yoga nidra on an airplane or in a loud home (such as in an apartment in a city or when there are lots of kids at home), you might choose to use earbuds plugged into an MP3 player or smartphone. It’s also nice to have a blanket (or at least a sweater) because warmth helps you relax, and when you lie down, you tend to lose heat. Although some people won’t use a pillow under their heads, I find it’s okay to use one if you feel you need neck support. Also, you may want to put
pillows or a bolster under your knees to support your lower back.
Do you have to have a place to lie down when practicing yoga nidra? No. You can practice yoga nidra just as effectively when sitting upright in a chair. I practice yoga nidra leaning slightly back in airplane or bus seats all the time. If you’re in an office and can close your door, you can practice while sitting in your chair.
Many people ask me where they should lie down to practice yoga nidra, and I tell them anywhere that’s comfortable. If you take a yoga nidra class at a yoga studio, as I first did, you’ll probably be lying on a yoga mat with a blanket over your body. You can certainly do the same thing at home or in other settings, but you don’t have to lie on a yoga mat. In fact, I rarely do. At home, most people practice their yoga nidra while lying on a carpeted floor, on a couch, or on a bed.
Sometimes I practice yoga nidra in my bed before going to sleep at night or in the morning when I wake up. Practicing while in bed works for many, but not all people. If you have sleep issues and are not planning to go directly to sleep after your yoga nidra practice, listening to yoga nidra meditations while lying in your regular bed may not be the best option. Instead, try lying on a different bed or on your couch and doing yoga nidra outside of your regular sleep times. Let your intuition and experiences guide you.
Yoga nidra doesn’t take a lot of time. Listening to a yoga nidra meditation typically takes from twenty to forty minutes. The three yoga nidra meditations I’ve designed for the Daring to Rest program take about fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, and forty minutes, respectively. (Chapter three will tell you where and how to access these recorded Daring to Rest yoga nidra meditations or record them yourself.) So take “I’m too busy” out of your vocabulary. Most people can find pockets of time, whether it’s during a lunch break at work or before going to bed.
One single mom initially told me that there was no time in her day to practice yoga nidra, and she was too tired at night and got up too early in the morning to practice. My response to this problem is to be creative and to trust that kids above the age of eight (and even younger, sometimes) can be trained to respect your yoga nidra time. We decided that when she returned home from work, she would spend fifteen minutes catching up with the kids, and then before cooking dinner, she would take her twenty-minute yoga nidra nap. She told her kids that this was the new routine, and the kids made a “Mommy’s napping” sign for her door. If the sign was on the door, they were not to enter. If children are under eight, I normally tell moms to allow them to enter quietly to lie down beside you if they need to and see how it goes. Some kids can do it, others can’t. In her situation, within a week her kids were trained. She got her yoga nidra nap, and then she could continue her evening with the kids, feeling recharged.
What usually happens after women create a new yoga nidra routine is that yoga nidra time very quickly becomes nonnegotiable. It’s something they know they need. And everyone in the household also begins demanding that these women take their yoga nidra nap because the family sees the incredible results.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may have more questions about yoga nidra before or as you begin doing yoga nidra. Here are the questions I most frequently hear from women and the answers I give.
What If I fall asleep while doing yoga nidra? Falling asleep is actually quite common the first few times people practice yoga nidra. If you do fall asleep, it’s okay; your subconscious mind will still receive the instructions, and you will benefit because yoga nidra speaks to the part of you that never sleeps. But ideally you don’t want to sleep. So try practicing yoga nidra while seated in a chair—maybe do it this way for a week—and then, when you stop falling asleep, return to doing yoga nidra lying down. Sitting in a chair sends a signal to most bodies to stay awake.
Many times people think they have fallen asleep during yoga nidra, but they haven’t. You know you’ve fallen asleep if at the end of the meditation you do not wake up. If, however, you think you fell asleep, but you wake up at the end when prompted to wake, then you were most likely not asleep. Instead, you were deeply relaxed, often in a very deep state of meditation.
Is yoga nidra safe if I’ve experienced trauma? Multiple preliminary studies of iRest yoga nidra, a type of yoga nidra developed by Richard Miller, show that it significantly reduces symptoms and is a promising integrative therapy for women with sexual trauma.5 While the yoga nidra I teach isn’t strictly the iRest protocol, yoga nidra meditation is normally a safe practice for people with trauma, and many people, including me, have shifted out of trauma using yoga nidra. But if you have experienced or are experiencing severe trauma, it’s best to consult your medical provider before beginning to practice yoga nidra. Also, yoga nidra does not replace any needed therapy or medication.
If you have experienced trauma, it is important to imagine a safe space in your mind before you practice yoga nidra. This can be a quiet place in nature or at the home of someone who loves you deeply. It can also be an imagined place that you have not experienced, like beside a waterfall or in a calming blue room. Really feel as if you are in this space; experience the smells, the air, all the details of the environment. Then each time you practice yoga nidra, you can go to this safe space if you start to feel unsafe in any way. In iRest yoga nidra, Richard Miller calls this safe place “your inner resource.”6
Throughout the Daring to Rest program, I encourage you to use a touchstone during yoga nidra as your safety tool. You can read more about this in chapter three.
Is yoga nidra safe if I have a serious medical condition? If you have a serious medical condition, always check in with your medical care provider and yourself before starting a yoga nidra meditation practice. While yoga nidra is safe for most people, only you and your medical support people know your unique situation.
Is yoga nidra safe if I have a sleep disorder? You may greatly benefit from practicing yoga nidra meditation if you have sleep issues, such as trouble getting to sleep or getting back to sleep after waking during the night. During the Daring to Rest program, you will be asked to practice yoga nidra each day but not in the middle of the night. If you want to use yoga nidra to help you get back to sleep after waking up at night, you can use the same yoga nidra meditation an additional time. You don’t want to train your body to expect yoga nidra in the middle of the night.
Also, if you have sleep issues and practice yoga nidra during the day, ideally practice in a place that’s not your bed. That way, you’ll keep your bed a place for sleeping only.
What if my mind has lots of thoughts during yoga nidra? It’s common for lots of thoughts to flood your mind as soon as you lie down—everything from your to-do list to random thoughts. If this happens, try to focus on the guided instructions of the yoga nidra meditation. This can often help distract your mind from thoughts, so you can let them go.
What if I feel lots of sensations like emotions or pain during yoga nidra? Yoga nidra is a beautiful process that invites you to welcome all sensations in your body. Occasionally, you may feel sensations so deeply that it is uncomfortable. If you continue to stay with these feelings, nonjudgmentally, often you will feel a shift to a more comfortable place. If you don’t, and instead you feel these sensations shifting you to an even less comfortable place, first try squeezing your touchstone (explained in chapter three). You can also imagine a safe space in your mind, a place where you feel totally at ease, and go there. How to shift to a safe space is described in more detail under the earlier question, “Is yoga nidra safe if I’ve experienced trauma?”
What if I need to scratch an itch or move during yoga nidra? Can I do so? Yes, absolutely. But if you need to move, do it mindfully—slowly and with full awareness. The point is to be comfortable while doing yoga nidra, and moving quickly or suddenly can startle you out of a deeply relaxed state.
How do I practice yoga nidra if I have small children? I started practicing yoga nidra when my kids were two and four—not ages that easily allow Mom to get quie
t time. If you have a baby, you may want to practice while the baby is napping in another room; when you’re sitting in a chair and breastfeeding (a great time for you and the baby!); at bedtime, just after the baby has gone to bed; or early morning, before the baby wakes.
With toddlers and young children, you can take your yoga nidra nap at the same time as your kids’ regular nap. Also, as I mentioned earlier, try putting a sign on the door to your bedroom or practice area, and tell older children that when the sign is up, Mommy’s taking her (yoga nidra) nap. If they see that sign, they are not to disturb you.
Some young children are happy to lie down with you and listen to yoga nidra. This wasn’t possible with my older son, but my younger son loved to come in to lie down when I was doing yoga nidra. I like to ring a singing bowl before I begin my yoga nidra meditation and again at the end; when my son was with me, I’d let him ring my singing bowl. He loved that role. As he got older, he understood that if he could not wait until the end of the yoga nidra to move, he was to go into the other room and play until I was done; he could not play in the yoga nidra nap room. Most kids are very trainable to honor your yoga nidra time, but you must be clear and consistent with the boundaries, so everyone’s happy.
Is yoga nidra hypnosis? No, yoga nidra is not hypnosis. While there are some similarities, the purpose of hypnosis is to create shifts in the mind/body. In yoga nidra, the purpose is for you to rediscover the truth of who you are, your true nature. Shifts in mind/body do occur, but that’s not the purpose of yoga nidra. All changes within you happen spontaneously as a result of releasing stress and tension, as well as the intention you set. Also, hypnosis involves more of a switching off of the left side of the brain and letting the right side take over. Yoga nidra has clear rotations through the left and right sides of the brain, which gives rise to a state of oneness. From oneness, you feel well rested, you notice rhythm and resonance in your life, and you make changes in alignment with your heart’s desire.
