This ancient technique can make you fall asleep in minutes.

In a recent story I posted on Instagram, a majority of them wanted to fall asleep quickly! Sleep is an important resolution for us- both quality and quantity. In a previous post on BioDiaries, you have seen the importance of good quality sleep. Have you heard of an ancient technique, Yoganidhra? This technique does wonders when it comes to your sleep cycle and sleep patterns. Let us dive deep and understand this technique.

What is Yoganidhra?

Also known as yogic sleeping, this term is derived from two Sanskrit words: Yoga- union, and nidhra- sleep.

It is a guided meditation that helps you transform your mind and body. It induces a state of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness.

How can you practice yoganidhra?

As mentioned previously, it is a guided meditation. The posture for this particular meditation is ‘shivasana’ where you lie comfortably on the floor or your bed. As you follow the meditation, you will feel relaxed very soon.

Why yoganidhra? Benefits beyond sleep

This technique comes with a wide range of benefits apart from putting you to sleep. They include:

• Stress management- in this competitive era, we constantly run around to get things done. Most of us are in stress. Inefficient management of stress can result in high levels of cortisol and negatively affect your lifestyle. This guided meditative technique can help you manage your stress.

• Deep relaxation- once in a while, who doesn’t enjoy deep relaxation? It helps you unwind and gear up for the next endeavor. It is essential to keep ourselves relaxed as good relaxation can give more than what an 8-hour sleep cannot give. You need to relax to heal, repair, and grow.

• Trauma care- Yoganidhra especially helps you with anxiety. It helps you rejuvenate and get back on track, all in a matter of 10-15 minutes.

• Others- it can also enhance creativity and increase your learning ability.
  

Procedure

Check out this research article for a detailed and step-by-step procedure for this guided medication. Firstly, follow the steps below-

1. You start with lying down in a ‘Shavasana’ / corpse pose.
2. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
3. You will then start relaxing your foot, then move your attention to the knee, thigh, and hip, relaxing each part as you go. 
4. You next move on to the abdomen, stomach, chest, back, right arm and shoulder, left arm and shoulder, throat, face, and head. 
5. Finally, you breathe deeply and become fully aware of your body.
6. Relax for a few minutes and feel your stress melting away.

Please note, that you should not drift off to sleep while practicing. You should be completely aware and conscious. When you are completely stress-free and relaxed, you will fall asleep within minutes.

Who can practice this technique?

It can be practiced by almost any age group, from beginners to advanced practitioners. It is very relaxing and helps you get a good sleep. A notable application of yoganidhra is used in the US Army to help soldiers recover from post-traumatic stress.

While yoganidhra sounds like a promising relaxation and sleep-inducing technique, do not replace this technique for sleep. One hour of yoganidhra session will correspond to nearly four hours of sleep, but never essentially replace your sleep. Yoganidhra is a relaxation technique that can reduce your mental tension and thereby help you sleep better. In hindsight, a mere 8 hours of sleep will not help relieve your mental stress.

Have a very good night’s sleep and let me know if you practiced this relaxing technique.

Stay happy, and Stay Blessed!