Yoga Nidra is a safe and gentle way of allowing unresolved energy from an overwhelming event slowly begin to unwind and be released. You do not need to dig into the past and relive the event while practicing Yoga Nidra. This prevents the practitioner from becoming traumatised again and therefore allows healing to take place. The body will naturally dissolve what it is ready to release in a relaxed state.

Old fragments of trauma are often released outside of conscious awareness. People often feel lighter as if a weight has been lifted after practicing Yoga Nidra for a while. This happens in deep states of relaxation where the body can let go completely. In the meditative state the practitioner is resting in a safe place. Yoga Nidra re-teaches the body how to turn the light switch off so that it can return to a balanced state. The nervous system can reset itself so that it can operate normally rather than in a hyper-tense or dissociated state. The body can enter a state of homeostasis which allows the body to heal itself naturally. During a practice of Yoga Nidra the practitioner deliberately slows and deepens the breath to induce a state of deep relaxation. A deep breathing practice alone helps regulate the nervous system and bring the body back into a state of balance.

The practitioner becomes more ‘stress-resistant’ amidst the pressures, insecurities and difficulties of everyday life, and learns to thrive on the same difficulties which would lead others to the brink of mental anguish, emotional self-destruction and physical breakdown. This is the great secret of Yoga Nidra. It is not only a way of coping with stress; it also provides a means of transforming and positively utilizing tension as a steppingstone to greater awareness, efficiency and achievement in life. At the basic level the practice of Yoga Nidra helps us to process, integrate and release the experience of existing day to day.

For more information we recommend Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep by Kamini Desai.