Illustration by: Keiko Morimoto
If you’ve been a patient of mine at any point during the pandemic, the likelihood that I’ve given you a recommendation for Kerry Martinez’s (a local Yoga Nidra master and inspiration for my call to learn more about this practice) recorded Yoga Nidra session on Mend’s website is pretty high. I tried Yoga Nidra a few times pre-pandemic and loved it. I was blown away by how dramatically and instantly it relaxed me. I’ve recently taken an immersion certification with Kamini Desai of the Integrative Amrit Method of Yoga Nidra in which I learned what a powerful tool this can be for:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Trauma
- Chronic Pain
- Insomnia
- Habits + Addictions
What is Yoga Nidra?
It’s bliss. Okay, okay, you need more than a two word explanation, I get it!
Yoga Nidra is much more about energetic movement rather than physical movement. It is a sleep-based meditation that uses a combination of breath and body awareness techniques to guide you to a place of DEEP RELAXATION where the thoughts are few and far between (and what could be better than a place with less thoughts?). You are in a state of conscious awareness where there is nothing to do other than rest as the being that you are. Metaphorically speaking, you are the sky. Yoga Nidra helps you to rest as the whole vast and spacious sky that you are, regardless of, and separate from, whatever contents the sky may be holding (ie. sadness, storm clouds, too many airplanes, a boatload of overwhelm, etc.).
Yoga Nidra helps you to release excess tension that has built up within the body over time and is a potent way to physically, mentally and emotionally DETOX and RESTORE. One of my favorite things about Yoga Nidra is that it is truly EFFORTLESS (and what’s better than effortlessness?). Just you, as cozy as humanly possible, lying down, eyes closed, perhaps covered with a blanket…let’s get a little extra and throw in some slippers and an eye mask.
If you’ve experienced acupuncture, you know that during your treatments you often go to a magical place that is somewhere between dreaming, sleep and wakefulness. Yoga Nidra brings you to a very similar space. Studies show that 45 minutes of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to 3 hours of extremely restful sleep. It also increases the release of allllll the good feeling hormones:
- GABA (reduces stress + anxiety)
- Melatonin (aids in sleep, regulating circadian rhythms)
- Oxytocin (pleasure hormone that creates feelings of calm, security, contentment and reduces stress/anxiety/pain)
- Serotonin (good for mood)
- Dopamine (pleasure, reward, focus)
- Endorphins ( internal painkillers, happiness)
In other words, it’s pretty much guaranteed to make you feel like warm melted chocolate in the best possible way.
The GOOD NEWS is that I am soon to be offering Yoga Nidra at Mend’s Quarry Lake location starting in August. Here are the deets:
