Yoga Nidra
Encyclopedia
Yoga-nidra or "yogi sleep" is a sleep-like state which yogi
s report to experience during their meditations.
The practice of yoga relaxation has been found to reduce tension and anxiety. The autonomic symptoms of high anxiety such as headache, giddiness, chest pain, palpitations, sweating, abdominal pain respond well. It has been used to help soldiers from war cope with PTSD.
Yoga nidra refers to the conscious awareness of the deep sleep state, referred to as "prajna
" in Mandukya Upanishad
.
when he was living with his guru Swami Sivananda in Rishikesh. He began studying the tantric scriptures and, after practice, constructed a system of relaxation, which he began popularizing in the mid 20th century. He explained yoga nidra as a state of mind between wakefulness and dream that opened deep phases of the mind, suggesting a connection with the ancient tantric
practice called nyasa, whereby Sanskrit
mantras are mentally placed within specific body parts, while meditating on each part (of the bodymind). The form of practice taught by Swami Satyananda includes eight stages (Internalisation, Sankalpa, Rotation of Consciousness, Breath Awareness, Manifestation of Opposites, Creative Visualization, Sankalpa and Externalisation).
Teachers such as Osho
and Anandmurti Gurumaa
define yoga nidra as a state of conscious deep sleep. One appears to be sleeping but the unconscious mind is functioning at a deeper level: it is sleep with a trace of deep awareness. In normal sleep we lose track of our self but in yoga nidra, while consciousness of the world is dim and relaxation is deep, there remains an inward lucidity and experiences may be absorbed to be recalled later. Since yoga nidra involves an aimless and effortless relaxation it is often held to be best practised with an experienced yoga teacher who verbally delivers instructions.
Anandmurti Gurumaa taught two techniques based on creative visualization. Yoga nidra as Yoga of Clear Light is proposed as a spiritual path (sadhana
) in its own right, held to prepare and refine a seeker (sadhaka
) spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically for consciousness
and awareness
. The yogi may work through the consequences of deeds (karma
), cleansing the store consciousness
and purifying the unconscious
mind. The state may lead to realisation (samādhi
) and being-awareness-bliss (satchitananda
). The yogi is held to be in communion with the divine
. A tantrika engaged in this sadhana may become aware of past or future lives (refer bhumi
) or experience the astral plane
s. Yoga nidra is also associated with the Breatharian movement.
Swami Satyananda's extensive worldwide tours with Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda
teaching the yoga nidra practice of Satyananda Yoga gradually spread the idea throughout India
, Europe
, Australia
and the United States
.
in Kansas, USA in 1971. Under the direction of Dr. Elmer Green, researchers used an electroencephalograph to record the brainwave activity of an Indian yogi, Swami Rama, while he progressively relaxed his entire physical, mental and emotional structure through the practice of Yoga Nidra.
What they recorded was a revelation to the scientific community. The swami demonstrated the capacity to enter the various states of consciousness at will, as evidenced by remarkable changes in the electrical activity of his brain. Upon relaxing himself in the laboratory, he first entered the yoga nidra state, producing 70% alpha wave discharge for a predetermined 5 minute period, simply by imagining an empty blue sky with occasional drifting clouds.
Next, Swami Rama entered a state of dreaming sleep which was accompanied by slower theta waves for 75% of the subsequent 5 minute test period. This state, which he later described as being 'noisy and unpleasant', was attained by 'stilling the conscious mind and bringing forth the subconscious'. In this state he had the internal experience of desires, ambitions, memories and past images in archetypal form rising sequentially from the subconscious and unconscious with a rush, each archetype occupying his whole awareness.
Finally, the swami entered the state of (unconscious) deep sleep, as verified by the emergence of the characteristic pattern of slow rhythm delta waves. However, he remained perfectly aware throughout the entire experimental period. He later recalled the various events which had occurred in the laboratory during the experiment, including all the questions that one of the scientists had asked him during the period of deep delta wave sleep, while his body lay snoring quietly.
Such remarkable mastery over the fluctuating patterns of consciousness had not previously been demonstrated under strict laboratory conditions. The capacity to remain consciously aware while producing delta waves and experiencing deep sleep is one of the indications of the superconscious state (turiya). This is the ultimate state of yoga nidra in which the conventional barriers between waking, dreaming and deep sleep are lifted, revealing the simultaneous operation of the conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind. The result is a single, enlightened state of consciousness and a perfectly integrated and relaxed personality.
Dr. Kamakhya Kumar in 2006 awarded by Ph. D. degree by Dr. A. P J Abdul Kalam (President of India) for his work "Psycho-physiological Changes as Related to Yoga Nidra". He observed six months effects of yoga nidra on some Physiological, hematological and some Psychological parameters on the practitioners and he found a significant change on above mentioned parameters. One of the research published entitled "A study on the impact on stress and anxiety through Yoga nidra; Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol. 7 No 3".(Published through NISCAIR)
Indian clinical psychologist Sachin Kumar Dwivedi (2009) found in his research that Yoga Nidra decreases levels of anxiety. Dwivedi, S., Awasthi , S.& Pandey,B.B.(2011) found in " Yoga Nidra increased the α-eeg on α-eeg biofeedback. That is open scrate [secret?] that Yoga Nidra is a type of deep meditation. Nikhra,M & Dwivedi,S.K.(2010) found in a study "Yoga nidra reduce the level of Stress."
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
s report to experience during their meditations.
The practice of yoga relaxation has been found to reduce tension and anxiety. The autonomic symptoms of high anxiety such as headache, giddiness, chest pain, palpitations, sweating, abdominal pain respond well. It has been used to help soldiers from war cope with PTSD.
Yoga nidra refers to the conscious awareness of the deep sleep state, referred to as "prajna
Prajña
Prajñā or paññā is wisdom, understanding, discernment or cognitive acuity. Such wisdom is understood to exist in the universal flux of being and can be intuitively experienced through meditation...
" in Mandukya Upanishad
Mandukya Upanishad
The Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of the Upanishads – the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta. It is in prose, consisting of twelve verses expounding the mystic syllable Aum, the three psychological states of waking, dreaming and sleeping, and the transcendent fourth state of illumination.This...
.
History and Background
Yoga nidra was first experienced by Swami Satyananda SaraswatiSwami Satyananda Saraswati
Swami Satyananda Saraswati , was a sannyasin, yoga teacher and guru in both his native India and the West. He founded the International Yoga Fellowship in 1956 and the Bihar School of Yoga in 1963...
when he was living with his guru Swami Sivananda in Rishikesh. He began studying the tantric scriptures and, after practice, constructed a system of relaxation, which he began popularizing in the mid 20th century. He explained yoga nidra as a state of mind between wakefulness and dream that opened deep phases of the mind, suggesting a connection with the ancient tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
practice called nyasa, whereby Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
mantras are mentally placed within specific body parts, while meditating on each part (of the bodymind). The form of practice taught by Swami Satyananda includes eight stages (Internalisation, Sankalpa, Rotation of Consciousness, Breath Awareness, Manifestation of Opposites, Creative Visualization, Sankalpa and Externalisation).
Teachers such as Osho
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
and Anandmurti Gurumaa
Anandmurti Gurumaa
Anandmurti Gurumaa , also known as Gurumaa born in Amritsar, Punjab India, is a New Age spiritual guide. She is respected by followers of many faiths including Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Sufism. Her message transcends gender, religious, political, geographic and...
define yoga nidra as a state of conscious deep sleep. One appears to be sleeping but the unconscious mind is functioning at a deeper level: it is sleep with a trace of deep awareness. In normal sleep we lose track of our self but in yoga nidra, while consciousness of the world is dim and relaxation is deep, there remains an inward lucidity and experiences may be absorbed to be recalled later. Since yoga nidra involves an aimless and effortless relaxation it is often held to be best practised with an experienced yoga teacher who verbally delivers instructions.
Anandmurti Gurumaa taught two techniques based on creative visualization. Yoga nidra as Yoga of Clear Light is proposed as a spiritual path (sadhana
Sadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
) in its own right, held to prepare and refine a seeker (sadhaka
Sadhaka
A sādhaka is someone who follows a particular sādhana, or a way of life designed to realize the goal of one's ultimate ideal, whether it is merging with brahman or realization of one's personal deity. The word is related to the Sanskrit sādhu, which is derived from the verb root sādh-, to accomplish...
) spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically for consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
and awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...
. The yogi may work through the consequences of deeds (karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
), cleansing the store consciousness
Store consciousness
The Eight Consciousnesses are concepts developed in the tradition of the Yogacara school of Buddhism...
and purifying the unconscious
Unconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
mind. The state may lead to realisation (samādhi
Samadhi
Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
) and being-awareness-bliss (satchitananda
Satchitananda
Saccidānanda, Satchidananda, or Sat-cit-ānanda is a compound of three Sanskrit words, Sat , Cit , and Ānanda , meaning Existence , Consciousness, and Bliss respectively...
). The yogi is held to be in communion with the divine
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
. A tantrika engaged in this sadhana may become aware of past or future lives (refer bhumi
Bhumi (Buddhism)
The bodhisattva's path of awakening in the Mahayana tradition progresses through ten hierarchically arranged stages, referred to as the "bodhisattva bhūmis"...
) or experience the astral plane
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
s. Yoga nidra is also associated with the Breatharian movement.
Swami Satyananda's extensive worldwide tours with Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda
Swami Maheshwarananda, born Mangilal Garg, known as Swamiji , is a yogi, guru and the author and founder of the system Yoga In Daily Life....
teaching the yoga nidra practice of Satyananda Yoga gradually spread the idea throughout India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Scientific evaluation
Experimental evidence of the existence of a fourth state of unified, transcendental consciousness, which lies in the yoga nidra state at the transition between sensory and sleep consciousness, was first recorded at the Menninger FoundationMenninger Foundation
The Menninger Foundation was founded in 1919 by the Menninger family in Topeka, Kansas, and consists of a clinic, a sanatorium, and a school of psychiatry, all of which bear the Menninger name. In 2003, the Menninger Clinic moved to Houston. The foundation was started by Drs. Karl, Will, and...
in Kansas, USA in 1971. Under the direction of Dr. Elmer Green, researchers used an electroencephalograph to record the brainwave activity of an Indian yogi, Swami Rama, while he progressively relaxed his entire physical, mental and emotional structure through the practice of Yoga Nidra.
What they recorded was a revelation to the scientific community. The swami demonstrated the capacity to enter the various states of consciousness at will, as evidenced by remarkable changes in the electrical activity of his brain. Upon relaxing himself in the laboratory, he first entered the yoga nidra state, producing 70% alpha wave discharge for a predetermined 5 minute period, simply by imagining an empty blue sky with occasional drifting clouds.
Next, Swami Rama entered a state of dreaming sleep which was accompanied by slower theta waves for 75% of the subsequent 5 minute test period. This state, which he later described as being 'noisy and unpleasant', was attained by 'stilling the conscious mind and bringing forth the subconscious'. In this state he had the internal experience of desires, ambitions, memories and past images in archetypal form rising sequentially from the subconscious and unconscious with a rush, each archetype occupying his whole awareness.
Finally, the swami entered the state of (unconscious) deep sleep, as verified by the emergence of the characteristic pattern of slow rhythm delta waves. However, he remained perfectly aware throughout the entire experimental period. He later recalled the various events which had occurred in the laboratory during the experiment, including all the questions that one of the scientists had asked him during the period of deep delta wave sleep, while his body lay snoring quietly.
Such remarkable mastery over the fluctuating patterns of consciousness had not previously been demonstrated under strict laboratory conditions. The capacity to remain consciously aware while producing delta waves and experiencing deep sleep is one of the indications of the superconscious state (turiya). This is the ultimate state of yoga nidra in which the conventional barriers between waking, dreaming and deep sleep are lifted, revealing the simultaneous operation of the conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind. The result is a single, enlightened state of consciousness and a perfectly integrated and relaxed personality.
Dr. Kamakhya Kumar in 2006 awarded by Ph. D. degree by Dr. A. P J Abdul Kalam (President of India) for his work "Psycho-physiological Changes as Related to Yoga Nidra". He observed six months effects of yoga nidra on some Physiological, hematological and some Psychological parameters on the practitioners and he found a significant change on above mentioned parameters. One of the research published entitled "A study on the impact on stress and anxiety through Yoga nidra; Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol. 7 No 3".(Published through NISCAIR)
Indian clinical psychologist Sachin Kumar Dwivedi (2009) found in his research that Yoga Nidra decreases levels of anxiety. Dwivedi, S., Awasthi , S.& Pandey,B.B.(2011) found in " Yoga Nidra increased the α-eeg on α-eeg biofeedback. That is open scrate [secret?] that Yoga Nidra is a type of deep meditation. Nikhra,M & Dwivedi,S.K.(2010) found in a study "Yoga nidra reduce the level of Stress."
See also
- Bihar School of YogaBihar School of YogaThe Bihar School of Yoga is an internationally acclaimed school of Yoga founded by Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1964 to fulfill the instruction given by his Guru, Sri Swami Sivananda of propagating the ancient wisdom of yoga from door to door and from shore to shore...
- Bihar Yoga BharatiBihar Yoga BharatiLocated near Munger, in the Indian state of Bihar, Bihar Yoga Bharati is a yoga institute for the study of yoga in a gurukul environment. BYB is dedicated to the Indian Rishi tradition, Vedic lifestyle and Sanatan Sanskriti of yoga....
- Dream yogaDream yogaDream Yoga or Milam — the Yoga of the Dream State are a suite of advanced tantric sadhana of the entwined Mantrayana lineages of Dzogchen...
- Mandukya UpanishadMandukya UpanishadThe Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of the Upanishads – the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta. It is in prose, consisting of twelve verses expounding the mystic syllable Aum, the three psychological states of waking, dreaming and sleeping, and the transcendent fourth state of illumination.This...
- Ösel (yoga)Ösel (yoga)Ösel , the Yoga of the Clear Light Ösel (tib. hod-gsal; od gsal), the Yoga of the Clear Light Ösel (tib. hod-gsal; od gsal), the Yoga of the Clear Light (often translated as 'Radiant Light' (Sanskrit: prabhasvara), referring to the 'intrinsic purity' (Tibetan: ka-dag) of the substratum of the...
- Swami NiranjananandaSwami NiranjananandaSwami Niranjanananda Saraswati is the successor of Paramahamsa Satyananda, founder of Satyananda Yoga, who passed on the worldwide coordination of Satyananda Yoga to Swami Niranjanananda in 1988....
- Paramahamsa Satyananda
- SamadhiSamadhiSamadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
External links
- Washington Post Article on study of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder using Yoga Nidra
- Science Direct Study of dopamine response during Yoga Nidra
- Human Brain Mapping Study using PET scans during Yoga Nidra
- Pictures of the brain's activity during Yoga Nidra Bindu Magazine article on Yoga Nidra research from The State University Hospital in Copenhagen