A Blissful Life 4/1/25: A Healing Practice To Revive Your Energy

Have you ever heard of yoga nidra?

A couple of weekends ago at our Yoga Teacher Training, we had Ocean Bliss Yoga’s yoga nidra specialist Kathy Pastina come teach on the subtle bodies and end the weekend with a yummy yoga nidra experience for our teachers-in-training. While I had participated in yoga nidra a few times over the years and understood its benefits, what happened after this session really blew me away. The next morning, I woke up feeling noticeably clear headed and energized! This was enough for me to start experimenting further.

Yoga nidra, also known as “yogic sleep” or “effortless relaxation”, is a form of guided meditation that settles you into a state between wakefulness and sleep where your body can experience deep, healing rest and find its natural state of equilibrium. Appropriate for everyone, this practice is performed lying down in a comfortable position. As the student, all you have to do is let yourself be guided.

While anyone can benefit from yoga nidra, it can be especially helpful for those suffering insomnia, anxiety, depression, trauma, or any other type of physical, mental, or emotional stress. Additionally, it can be appealing for those curious about deep states of meditation. I also feel it is a useful practice for people who have a challenging time “letting go” and surrendering into meditation, as in yoga nidra you are gradually led through the layers into that more profound state where your body can deeply rest and heal.

Over the past two weeks, I have made yoga nidra a part of my routine. Mostly, I have been using it during the day when I start to feel a slump in my energy. What I am discovering is that just one 20-minute session leaves me feeling completely refreshed and ready to go, as if I am just waking up from a deep and restful sleep. Yoga nidra can also be used right before bed to help you fall and stay asleep through the night.

You can find guided yoga nidra sessions of varying lengths on YouTube or apps like Insight Timer. I suggest doing a minimum of 20 minutes per session. Additionally, Kathy Pastina holds yoga nidra workshops at Ocean Bliss Yoga Studio approximately once a month– the next one is happening on May 28th.

In conclusion, yoga nidra is definitely a tool that I will keep handy in my toolbox. Feeling balanced and well-rested is such an important part of optimum health. It is during sleep and profound states of rest (like meditation and yoga nidra) when our body fully focuses on cleaning itself up and bringing itself back into a state of homeostasis. In fact, studies show that meditation and yoga nidra give the body a rest that is even deeper than sleep! The better we can help ourselves feel physically, the better our mindset is (the brain is part of the physical body), and the easier and more pleasant our life becomes.

So, what do you think? Will you try yoga nidra? I invite you to join Kathy Pastina for her monthly yoga nidra workshops at Ocean Bliss Yoga. You can also join us for daily yoga and Pilates classes. Sign up at oceanblissyoga.net. Call or text me with any questions at 917-318-1168.