Yoga practice dates back over 2000 years to ancient India. It’s still practised by billions of people worldwide to better their physical health and manage mental well-being concerns like anxiety and depression.

Over the years, anecdotal evidence has shown that people who practise yoga feel happier, fuller and freer. Recently, numerous studies have corroborated these claims.

But you may not know that you can reap many of yoga’s mental health benefits through its meditative counterpart: Yoga nidra.

In many ways, yoga nidra is closer to meditation than what most people would consider to be yoga. This is because yoga nidra focuses on relaxation and reaching a deeper state of consciousness rather than on stretches and poses.

However, unlike regular meditation, yoga nidra is practised while lying down (in savasana), and when done correctly, it will put you into yogic sleep.

But don’t mistake yogic sleep for your everyday snooze. It’s the state between sleeping and waking, where you’re no longer aware of your surroundings but are still conscious. It’s in yogic sleep that the benefits of yoga nidra for anxiety lie.

In the words of guru Swami Satyananda Saraswati:

“Yoga nidra is a pratyahara technique in which the distractions of the mind are contained, and the mind is relaxed.”

But is yoga nidra as effective as the gurus would have us believe?

Today we take a closer look at yoga nidra for anxiety through empirical evidence from studies to determine its efficacy. We’ll look at:

• The research techniques used to assess yoga nidra’s benefits for anxiety
• Studies that support the effectiveness of yoga nidra for anxiety
• An overview of the different ways anxiety can manifest
• Proven tools you can use to enhance your yoga nidra practice

This is in line with the great yogi Swatmarama—the author of Hatha Yoga Pradipika, who classifies yoga nidra as the state of turiya:

“... the all expansive and encompassing ‘fourth dimension’ in which Shakti neither contracts nor expands, but is in union with Shiva, or supreme consciousness.”

In this study, 80 participants (40 male and 40 female) took part, with 30 (15 male and 15 female) acting as the control group.

All participants underwent a few psychological tests to establish their baseline stress and anxiety levels at the start of the study.

The participants in the test group then practised yoga nidra for thirty minutes every day, except on Sundays and holidays, in its simplest form—laying in the savasana position and following spoken instructions.

After six months, the participants underwent an assessment to determine the impact of yoga nidra through an appraisal of their psychological state, with stress and anxiety being the major parameters.

The study showed a significant decrease in stress and anxiety in both the male and female participants from the test group.

See Also: Our Guide to the Ultimate Savasana

After the six-month evaluation, researchers found a significant reduction in anxiety for subjects with mild to moderate anxiety and depressive symptoms related to menstrual disorders.

Note that anxiety may be categorised into these five types:

• Panic: The onset of intense but momentary fear with or without an external trigger
• Phobia: An irrational fear that causes total avoidance of certain people, places, things and situations
• General anxiety disorder: Constant worry and restlessness, which can cause difficulty concentrating
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder: An obsession with something rooted in fear or avoidance of an underlying unresolved stressful event
• Post-traumatic stress disorder: Anxiety from an unresolved traumatic event that causes hypervigilance and other symptoms

You see, children and adolescents with autism have elevated anxiety compared to their neurotypical counterparts. In the words of Dr. Yau;

“Up to 40 per cent of children on the spectrum have at least one anxiety disorder, which, if unmanaged, can develop into complex mental disorders in adolescence and adulthood.”

This heightened state of anxiety can significantly impact their quality of life. However, research has shown significant improvements in emotional regulation from yoga techniques and mindful meditation.

Dr. Yau, Dr. Danielle Mathersul, a lecturer in psychology and a yoga intervention expert, and Ph.D. student Tundi Loftus are working together to improve this methodology and analyse the outcomes of yoga mindfulness for children and teens with autism.

The first round of their co-designed intervention is through yoga nidra.

See Also: Choosing the Best Meditation Cushion For Your Practice

But that’s not all. We also have Yoga Nidra and Meditation Futon Bundles for the complete yogic sleep package. The bundles come with a meditation futon, a round yoga bolster, yoga pillow, eye pillow, a faux rug and 10% savings on each item.

Check Out Our Yoga Nidra and Meditation Futons

Discover Calm Buddhi

Calm Buddhi is a sustainable, artisanal yoga accessories store. Our goal is to provide you with beautifully designed yoga accessories steeped in tradition to help you fall deeper in love with your yoga and meditation practice.

Our products are hand-printed and ethically sourced from artisan communities in India, then assembled and delivered from our headquarters in Melbourne, Australia.

At Calm Buddhi, we strive to enhance your practice and sacred space and give our partner artisans a platform to shine.

Visit Calm Buddhi today and discover our various collections of Yoga Nidra Meditation Futons to enhance your practice. You can also join the Calm Buddhi community to share and further develop your yoga practice.