Yoga nidra

Yoga nidra or yogi sleep is a sleep-like state which

yogis report to experience during their meditations. Yoga
nidra, lucid sleeping is among the deepest possible states
of relaxation while still maintaining full consciousness.
(Lucid dreaming is an unrelated phenomenon.) The distinguishing dierence is the degree to which one remains
cognizant of the actual physical environment as opposed
to a dream environment. In lucid dreaming, one is only
(or mainly) cognizant of the dream environment, and
have little or no awareness of our actual environment.[1]

Anandmurti Gurumaa denes 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 eortless relaxation it is often held to be best
practised with an experienced yoga teacher who verbally
The practice of yoga relaxation has been found to re- delivers instructions.
duce tension and anxiety. The autonomic symptoms of Anandmurti Gurumaa taught two techniques based on
high anxiety such as headache, giddiness, chest pain, creative visualization.[5] Yoga nidra as Yoga of Clear
palpitations, sweating and abdominal pain respond well. Light is proposed as a spiritual path (sadhana) in its
It has been used to help soldiers from war cope with own right, held to prepare and rene a seeker (sadhaka)
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).[2]
spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically for
Yoga nidra refers to the conscious awareness of the deep consciousness and awareness. The yogi may work
sleep state, referred to as prajna in Mandukya Upan- through the consequences of deeds (karma), cleansing the
store consciousness and purifying the unconscious mind.
ishad.[3]
The state may lead to realisation (samdhi) and beingawareness-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
1 History and background
bhumi) or experience the astral planes.
The concept of yoga nidra is very ancient in Indian traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Krishna is often associated with yoga nidra in the epic Mahabharata.
Similarly, many yogis and rishis are supposed to have
experienced yoga nidra throughout their life. In modern times, yoga nidra was experienced by Satyananda
Saraswati when he was living with his guru Sivananda
Saraswati 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.[4] He explained yoga nidra as a state of mind between wakefulness and sleep that opened deep phases of
the mind, suggesting a connection with the ancient tantric
practice called nyasa, whereby Sanskrit mantras are mentally placed within specic body parts, while meditating
on each part (of the bodymind). The form of practice
taught by Satyananda includes eight stages (internalisation, sankalpa, rotation of consciousness, breath awareness, manifestation of opposites, creative visualization,
sankalpa and externalisation).

2 Scientic evaluation
Experimental evidence of the existence of a fourth state
of unied, transcendental consciousness, which lies in the
yoga nidra state at the transition between sensory and
sleep consciousness, was rst recorded at the Menninger
Foundation in Kansas, United States in 1971.[6] 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 scientic 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 rst entered
Satyananda used this technique, along with sugges- the yoga nidra state, producing 70% alpha wave discharge
tion, on the child who was to become his successor, for a predetermined 5 minute period, simply by imaginNiranjanananda Saraswati, from the age of four. He ing an empty blue sky with occasional drifting clouds.
claims to have taught him several languages by this Next, Swami Rama entered a state of dreaming sleep
method.
which was accompanied by slower theta waves for 75% of
1

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 (usually unconscious) deep sleep, as veried 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 uctuating 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 third
state (prajna) out of the total of four states of consciousness described in the Mandukya Upanishad. This is the
ultimate state of yoga nidra in which there are no dreams,
but only the deep sleep state with retained consciousness/awareness. The result is a single, semi-enlightened
state of consciousness and a perfectly integrated and relaxed personality.
In 2006, Kamakhya Kumar was awarded a PhD 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 of eects of yoga nidra
on some physiological, hematological and some psychological parameters on the practitioners and he found a signicant change on above mentioned parameters. One of
the pieces of research published, was 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. S. Dwivedi, S. Awasthi and B.B. Pandey
(2011) found in Yoga Nidra increased the -eeg on eeg biofeedback, that it is an open secret that yoga nidra
is a type of deep meditation. M. Nikhra and S.K. Dwivedi
(2010) found in a study Yoga Nidra Reduces the Level
of Stress.

See also
Bihar School of Yoga
Dream yoga
Mandukya Upanishad

REFERENCES

sel (yoga)
Richard Miller (psychologist)

4 Notes
[1] http://www.meditationmojo.com/meditation-articles/
advanced-meditation/lucid-sleeping-yoga-nidra
[2] Eileen Rivers, Washington Post Tuesday, May 6, 2008;
Page HE01
[3] Rama, Swami. Mandukya Upanishad: Enlightenment
Without God. ISBN 0-89389-084-7.
[4] Saraswati, Swami Satyananda (1974).
Tantra-yoga
panorama. International Yoga Fellowship Movement. p.
25. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
[5] http://www.gurumaa.com/yog-nidra-meditation-english.
php
[6] Green, E.E., Biofeedback for mind/body self-regulation,
healing and creativity, in Academy of parapsychology and
medicine (1972). The varieties of Healing Experience: exploring psychic phenomena in healing; transcript of the interdisciplinary symposium, Los Altos - Calif., October 30,
1971. Retrieved 13 April 2011.

5 References
ANAND, B; CHHINA, G; SINGH, B (1 June
1961).
Some aspects of electroencephalographic studies in Yogis". Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 13 (3): 452456.
doi:10.1016/0013-4694(61)90015-3. Retrieved 7
March 2011.
Boyd, D. (1995). Swami: Encounters with modern
mystics. Honesdale, PA: Himalayan Publishers.
Brown, K.W., Ryan, R.M., & Creswell, J.D. (in
press). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and
evidence for its salutary eects.
Kasamatsu, Akira; Hirai, Tomio (1 December 1966).
AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN)". Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 20 (4): 315336. doi:10.1111/j.14401819.1966.tb02646.x. PMID 6013341.
Dwivedi, S.K.(2009). The eect of Yoga nidra on
Anxiety. Shodh Dhara, 12(2), 80-84
Dwivedi, S.K., Awasthi.S. & Pandey,B.B.(2011).
The ecacy of Yoga Nidra on -eeg. Paper Presented at Seminar on Indigenous Techniques in Psychotherapy (26-03-2011). Best Paper Presentation
Awarded

3
Kumar, Kamakhya (2004) Yoga nidra and its impact on students well being; Yoga Mimamsha,
Kaivalyadhama, Lonavla; Vol.36 No.1
Kumar, Kamakhya (2005) Eect of Yoga nidra
on hypertension and other psychological co-relates;
Yoga the Science; Yoga Publications, Hubli, Karnataka; Volume 3, Issue 7.
Kumar, Kamakhya (2006) A study of the improvement of Physical and Mental Health through Yoga
nidra; Dev Sanskriti Journal, Vol. 4 Year
Kumar, Kamakhya (2007) The Healing Sleep; Yoga
Magazine Mind Body Spirit, York Street London,
Issue 50 March.
Kumar, Kamakhya (2008) A study on the impact on
stress and anxiety through Yoga nidra; Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol. 7 No 3.
Kumar, Kamakhya (2010)Psychological Changes as
related to Yoga Nidra; International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach 2010 (6) pp
129137
Madhavananda (Swami.); N. S. Mital (1998). LilaAmrit: the divine life of Sri Mahaprabhuji. International Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship.
Retrieved 7 March 2011.
Nikhra.M. & Dwivedi,S.K.(2010). A Study of the
Eect of Meditation on Stress. Indian Journal of
Psychology and Mental Health,4(6),78-81
Parker, Stephen, Veda Bharati, Swami, Fernandez,
Manuel. (2013). Dening Yoga-Nidra: Traditional
Accounts, Physiological Research, and Future Directions. International Journal of Yoga Therapy
No. 23 (1).
Resting in Stillness: Integrative Restoration - iRest
Yoga Nidra by Richard Miller PhD; rst published
2008 by Anahata Press, ISBN 978-1-893099-09-8
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda (1 August 2003).
Yoga Nidra. Yoga Publications Trust. ISBN 97881-85787-12-1. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
Saraswati, Swami Yogeshwranand (1972). Science
of soul: a practical exposition of ancient method of
visualisation of soul. Yoga Niketan Trust. Retrieved
7 March 2011.

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 brains activity during Yoga Nidra
Bindu Magazine article on Yoga Nidra research
from The State University Hospital in Copenhagen

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