This body-centered form of Meditation helps to relax the body and switch off the busy mind – leaving many feeling tranquil and ready to face life’s daily challenges. However, despite the term Yoga - Yoga Nidra involves no movement, in fact the very opposite - it depends on lying in complete stillness, listening and breathing.

The term yoga nidra is derived from two Sanskrit words: yoga (meaning union or one-pointed awareness) and nidra (meaning sleep) sometimes termed ‘Yogic or Psychic Sleep’ - which is a state of Conscious Deep Sleep. Yoga Nidra is one of the deepest of all forms of meditation, leading awareness through many levels of mental process to a state of supreme stillness and insight. Yoga Nidra is a profoundly powerful and systematic method of inducing total physical, mental and emotional relaxation.

Yoga Nidra brings an incredible calmness, quietness and clarity of mind.

While you are in Meditation, you remain in the Waking state of consciousness, and gently focus the mind, while allowing thought patterns, emotions, sensations, and images to arise and go on. However, in Yoga Nidra, you leave the Waking state, go past the Dreaming state, and go to Deep Sleep, yet remain awake.

To provide a space where you can actively switch off your brain and truly relax both Body and Mind. 

Many of us may find it difficult to switch off our mind. This could be due to an endless number of causes including: to-do lists, re-running scenarios, thinking about reports and deadlines or worrying about the things that life throws at us, each causing a level of stress.

With all this going on in our heads, our bodies are often in a reactive state to these thoughts and feelings - even while we sleep. As a result we often wake in the morning feeling lethargic and in need of a cup of tea or coffee to get us going and kick-start the day. We, therefore, start the day from a state of imbalance and with our bodies holding some form of tension. If this cycle continues, our immune system starts to suffer, our concentration levels will also diminish as the body tries to get back to a state of equilibrium.

Traditional Yoga Nidra can help break this cycle.

Physical brain activity can be measured by looking at the brainwave patterns of the brain. Each frequency relates to a certain level of activity, sleep and everything in between. There are all frequencies active in the brain at all times - but the 'dominant frequency' determines our mental activity / alertness and often mood as well.

When we are 'working' at optimum levels there is a balance between Alpha and Beta levels - where we can be alert yet relaxed so that concentration is not forced, memory function is improved and we are generally happier and in a brighter mood. By consciously going even deeper we not only go deeper into our subconscious-mind but also assist in re-adjusting the balance of brainwave patterns whilst awake.

Beta - Typical level of daily mental activity, alert, active. Levels of Beta activity increase with the 'fight or flight' response in the body - i.e. at times of stress, when we have a caffeine fix. Too much of the beta state for long periods of time starts to become counter-productive - impeding concentration, causing a more aggressive emotional response (a short fuse), feelings of being overwhelmed, less able to cope, anxiety and confusion. This in turn will have a physiological effect on the body, creating various tension patterns, muscle stiffness, lowered immune system, restless sleep to name a few.

Alpha - Relaxed, passive attention, often the goal of relaxation exercises/ classes. Also known as the 'zone out' state and when day dreaming occurs and those moments during the day when we stare into space for a few seconds. While this is a very relaxing state, and useful to be practiced on a regular basis the aim of Yoga Nidra is to go deeper.

Theta - Normally considered to be unconscious, possibly drowsy, or half-asleep. At this level or when this brainwave pattern is dominant there is still the experience of images and streams of thoughts. Often associated with REM sleep where we dream and the conscious part of our brain is active. When stressed or during times when you are unable to 'switch off' this is often the more dominant brain pattern during sleep - and often our conscious thoughts can wake or stir us depending on the emotional response they generate, meaning that sleep isn't as rested as it could be.

Delta - Considered to be unconscious, dreamless, deep sleep. In Yoga Nidra, the aim is to get the brain waves to this level - as the practitioner is in Conscious Deep Sleep - beyond the activity experienced at the other levels.
Being at this level of dominant brainwave activity one is able to consciously access the sub-conscious brain/mind. A space where images of the conscious mind can be observed without the emotional response of Alpha, Beta and Theta states - like truly observing the self. This is where habitual emotions and responses are created and programmed and through the Deep Conscious Sleep of Yoga Nidra can be directly accessed and re-programmed.

This isn't to say that one will reach this Yoga Nidra 'state' in the first session as generating the focus and being able to be 'consciously asleep' takes practice - however - one will experience a sense of deep relaxation - gradually going deeper as practice continues. Over time this feeling of deep relaxation spills over into the wakeful states as the underlying resonance of the Delta Brainwaves gets stronger - helping to better deal with stressful situations and 'recover' from them more easily.


For more information or to book onto a Yoga Nidra series please feel free to contact us.