Yoga Nidra, often known as slow-wave sleep or deep sleep is an ancient mental practice, almost of the same time as Yoga itself. It is a systematical voluntary relaxation of our bodies so as to assist us in the attainment of peace within ourselves, leading to reduced stress & anxiety and improvement of confidence and memory power. But before we dive into the subject of Yoga Nidra, we would like to entertain you with a few facts about the concept of deep sleep.
“It is believed that between 30% and 48% of older adults suffer from insomnia.”
“Around 75% of adults with depression suffer from insomnia.”
“Nearly 60% of people with frequent heartburn say that it has a negative effect on their sleep.”
Yoga Nidra is a state of mind in which the body is completely relaxed, induced by a set of verbal instructions. In this state of consciousness, the practitioner withdraws 4 out of 5 senses of their being and tap into their most helpful sense, hearing. It is one of the most possible deepest states of relaxation, resulting in conscious awareness of the deep sleep state.
Yoga Nidra helps manage immune function, blood pressure, induced restful sleep among other benefits. In recent studies, it was found that Yoga Nidra is effective in reducing stress and anxiety mainly due to the state of consciousness where, unlike a dream, we are aware of our actual surrounding environment. The regular practice of Yoga Nidra has been found to be helpful against tension, headaches, giddiness, chest pain and abdominal pain, all autonomic symptoms of high anxiety. It has been used to help soldiers from war cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and alleviate stress and improve self-esteem in university students.
Practicing Power Yoga or exercising may well be enough to keep up our physical appearance, but to attain inner peace and harmony, we need to tap into the most powerful parts of your body that hold strength to provide peace and calm to our inner self. Once one understands and learns the methods of maintaining inner peace, one can attain greatness without much effort. Let us be your guidance and allow us to take you on this journey of inner peace and strength.
Original source: Vedic Health