Restorative Yoga and the Benefits of Incorporating Yoga Nidra Meditation

When you practice yoga, there are many options for classes, including Gentle, Beginners, and Mixed-Level yoga.  Restorative yoga is a class that tends to be overlooked when it really is a beneficial practice helps you relax and focus deeply on the position you are in, rather than moving through multiple positions.  This is a class that should be utilized to really hone in on your practice of breathing, meditation, and relaxation.

So, What Specifically is Restorative Yoga?

Restorative yoga is a gentle form of yoga that aims to bring relaxation and calm to both the body and mind. Unlike more active yoga styles that focus on building strength or flexibility, restorative yoga emphasizes stillness and comfort. It’s about finding a pose that feels good and then holding it for about 10 minutes, with the help of props such as blankets, bolsters, or blocks. This practice is designed to promote healing, reduce stress, and build a sense of inner peace. It’s a great way to unwind and reconnect with yourself amidst the hustle of daily life.

Benefits of Restorative Yoga:

·       Lowers anxiety

·       Improves sleep quality

·       Increases energy

·       Releases tension

·       Relieves stress

·       Boosts your body’s recovery process

·       Helps overcome depression

·       Calms your nervous system

·       Eases muscle tension

·       Improves digestion

The restorative yoga practice activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the system that helps your body relax. Once this system is activated, your body can enter a state of rest. This is the state that allows your body to hit the brakes and begin its recovery. This helps bring your body into relaxation. When your body is in a relaxed state, your heart rate and breathing may slow down, your mind can become calmer, and your muscles will have a chance to recover.

Who is Restorative Yoga Ideal for?

Restorative yoga is accessible to anyone and everyone, no matter the age or fitness level. It’s ideal for those looking to reduce stress, improve quality of sleep, and enhance overall wellbeing. It can also be a supportive practice for recovering from injuries, dealing with chronic pain, or going through stressful life events. Additionally, it’s a wonderful complement to a more active lifestyle or exercise routine, providing a space for relaxation, recovery, and self-reflection. Restorative yoga is a nurturing practice that invites you into a world of calm, making it beneficial for a wide range of individuals.

What is Yoga Nidra?

Yoga nidra, also known as ‘sleep of the Yogis’, is a yogic practice that combines guided imagery and the yoga posture known as “corpse pose” – a lying down supine pose also called Shavasana. It promotes deep states of relaxation while maintaining awareness. During a yoga nidra session, an instructor guides the individual into a deep state of relaxation using specific techniques in different stages. The practice is meant to release emotional tension, allow one's muscles to relax, and calm the nervous system. It's one of many forms of guided meditation but also uses the movement and relaxation common to yoga. As with other meditation techniques, when practicing yoga nidra, one listens to an instructor lead the session either in person or through an app or virtual classroom. You simply lie down and listen to the teacher's voice guide you through holding your awareness on various parts of your body.

A typical yoga nidra session lasts approximately 45 minutes and involves a very structured approach comprising eight carefully sequenced stages. Practicing yoga nidra can yield benefits that have profound effects on your mental well-being. These include:

·      Achieving a trance-like state of relaxation

·      Deepening self-awareness

·      Stimulating the release of the stress-reducing hormone melatonin

·      Strengthening immune function

·      Improving mental focus and cognitive performance

These are the 8 Stages Involved in a Yoga Nidra Session:

1. POSITIONING

Prior to engaging in the mental exercises that comprise yoga nidra, it is important to properly position your body. This means getting into shavasana, otherwise known as the corpse pose. Lying down on your back in this manner will ensure that your body, and thus your mind, are fully relaxed.

2. MENTAL AFFIRMATION - THE SANKALPA

The next stage is performing a mental affirmation – known as a sankalpa – to provide a mechanism that is used to unlock the passive state through which your consciousness becomes detached from your surroundings. A sankalpa can be any type of personal mantra or decree that is repeated in your mind.

3. BODILY VISUALIZATION

The third stage of yoga nidra is a mental exercise by which each part of the body is visualized. You begin with the right side, starting from your fingers and ending at the toes. This exercise is repeated for the left side. The back of the body from head to toe is then visualized as is the front in the same manner, and in so doing, the practitioner becomes acutely aware of the entire body.

4. BREATHWORK

Proper breathing techniques are an important part of yoga nidra. Recommended practice is to count breaths and take note as they are drawn in and let out through the nostrils. Conscious breathwork should also involve the throat, chest, and abdomen.

5. SENSORY CONSCIOUSNESS

The fifth stage of yoga nidra is an association exercise where sensory experiences are linked to mental or physical stimuli. A common approach to performing this sensory consciousness phase is to focus on extremes such as hot and cold, dry and wet, light and heavy, and so on.

6. VISUALIZING THE CHIDAKASHA

The next stage of yoga nidra is another visualization exercise, this time involving the chidakasha, which is the dark space that lies in front of your eyes when your eyelids are closed. Practitioners are encouraged to visualize a vibrant scene within the chidakasha.

7. REVISITING THE SANKALPA

In the seventh stage of yoga nidra, practitioners are instructed to recall the sankalpa they recited in stage two and to repeat it three more times.

8. RETURNING TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS

As the yoga nidra session comes to a close, the eighth and final stage is where practitioners are slowly reacclimated to their surroundings. Emerging from a yoga nidra session is much like awakening from a deep, restful slumber.

Although it shares some attributes with meditation, such as emphasizing relaxation and breathing techniques, yoga nidra ventures deeper into the psyche in order to reach the realm of yogic sleep.

So Why Should you use Restorative Yoga in Conjunction with Yoga Nidra?

The benefits of both practices really help to get you to a relaxed state in order for your to be able to sleep better and to be more in tune with your breathing. I have had the privilege of attending classes that combine the two practices, and I leave feeling more calm, relaxed and comfortable than I did walking in.

While each practice can be done on its own, combining restorative poses and props with yoga nidra’s guided meditation allows you to relax your nervous system more completely - often leading to a night of deep, restorative sleep.

It is recommended that you try and use these practices in the morning to help ensure a more relaxed state of mind throughout the day or at night so that you can go to bed and continue your relaxation process. 

You can find yoga nidra videos online so that you can practice this at home.  For a restorative yoga class, look into the yoga studios in your area to see what is offered or you can try the practice at home through online videos as well.  It is well worth the time and effort so that you can achieve that relaxation that we all need in these stressful times!