When your eyelids are heavy, but your thoughts are heavier
Jan Normanton • May 2, 2020
If you’re having trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep, yoga nidra is a lovely way to ease into a state of deep relaxation in order to set yourself up for a restful night.
Yoga nidra means yogic sleep and induces the state between wakefulness and sleeping, and so can prepare the body and mind to deeply relax, relieve stress and aid with sleep.
A yoga nidra is a recording of verbal instructions which take us within to a state of consciousness. The practice encourages us to pay attention to our breath and shut off from our senses and the outside world, whilst we concentrate on the instructions. These run us gently through a body scan, enabling our wandering mind to keep focused and to keep going within.
Evidence has found this practice can reduce tension and anxiety as it supports our nervous system to drop into the relaxed state and out of our stress state of fight or flight, as well as increases dopamine. It induces one of the deepest states of relaxation possible whilst still being fully conscious.
I have been practising this specific beautiful yoga nidra by Devi Mohan for some weeks now and noticed a great improvement to the quality of my sleep. I have phases of insomnia and this practice has been wonderful! It is important to find a guided yoga nidra that suits you and if this one doesn’t, there are many fabulous yoga nidras on the following website: https://www.yoganidranetwork.org/
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