Is yoga nidra the answer to anxiety?
Does yoga nidra help anxiety, stress and sleep?
Yoga nidra has been said to help sleep, anxiety, stress, menstrual complaints and self-esteem amongst other things. And research* confirms that yoga nidra can improve our physical and emotional wellbeing.
I have always loved yoga nidra. I was introduced to it early on in my yoga journey and always found it incredibly powerful. It feels like meditation. And yet you are very aware. You are in your body yet observing without attachment.
For me, yoga nidra has been incredible in times when I experienced insomnia. And yoga nidra is also a way my busy mind can calm down. This in turn calms my body and breath. Everything is connected.
Yoga nidra as a spiritual practice
Yoga nidra wasn’t developed just for modern-day stress and anxiety. It’s a deeply spiritual practice. Yoga nidra follows some very specific stages. A specific pattern. The “body scan” or rotation of consciousness is actually from a Tantric practice called nyasa (to mindfully place… Think of vinyasa which is also to mindfully place). Here we move our awareness to different body parts. Traditionally this could involve mantra or visualisation and move to specific marma points.
We experience different sensations learning to be detached from and observant of these experiences. Such as hot and cold, light and heavy. We may do breath awareness and imagine or visualise symbols.
"At the point of sleep when sleep has not yet come and external wakefulness vanishes, at this point being is revealed." (Vigyana Bhairava Tantra)
Contrary to common belief yoga nidra is not about it being a “beautiful visualisation” or “soothing relaxation”. It is so much deeper than that. There are more layers. This is especially important if you teach it. You need to know why yoga uses these practices and why you choose certain images in your yoga nidra.
And this is why yoga nidra can be so helpful not just for our spiritual development but also for our modern-day challenges such as anxiety and stress.
What is a Sankalpa?
At the beginning of a yoga nidra you are asked to repeat a Sankalpa. Or a resolution or affirmation. I love how one of my teachers Swami Janakananda explains that a Sankalpa is “like a seed you plant and it becomes reality”. Sankalpa can also be translated as a “vow to our higher self or truth”
Swami Satyananda Saraswati (the linage where I did my yoga nidra training) said that:
‘The purpose of Sankalpa is to influence and transform the whole life pattern, not only physically but also mentally and spiritually.’
So what is a Sankalpa? It’s a positive statement. Said as if it is already happening. A bit like an affirmation or a resolution. But this is for your deeply spiritual practice of yoga nidra.
Usually, you use the phrasing of “I am” - as if it is already happening.
I am experiencing health
I am living my true purpose
I am feeling stronger
Most importantly a Sankalpa should feel natural and real to you. And if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just allow that time to be a space potentially free up space to receive a Sankalpa or become inspired.
I am currently offering yoga nidra at the end of my Wednesday zoom yoga classes (access through the membership). As well as in some of our BONUS classes in the Monthly Membership and online + in-person workshops.
*Ref: http://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2010.0676, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.03.004, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01042-2, https://doi.org/10.1186/s41606-017-0009-4