Surprise: Yoga Nidra Looks More Like Sleeping Than Yoga

Yoga nidra is a simple, accessible form of meditation that anyone can do. Seriously, you do it while lying down.

Some people call it “yogic sleep.” Others call it Integrative Restoration, or iRest. Whichever name you use, it guides you into restorative rest that’s proven to clear your mind, calm your emotions, and achieve lasting mindfulness.  Many experts say a session provides the equivalent benefits of 4 hours sleep.

(Don’t believe me? Ask the US Army, which found in a 2006 study that iRest was effective in easing post-traumatic stress (PTSD) in US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Army Surgeon General and Defense Centers of Excellence endorsed it in 2010 as a “CAM” or Complementary and Alternative Medicine – nowadays called “IM” or Integrative Medicine, of the mind-body variety.

So, we’re very excited to offer you a brand new book about it: Yoga Nidra Meditations: 24 Scripts for True Relaxation, by our longtime author, colleague, and good friend, Julie Lusk, MEd, E-RYT-500, NCC.

We’ve featured many of Julie’s excellent books over the years, all loaded with guided imagery, yoga, and meditation scripts for practitioners to use, but when she’s talking about yoga nidra, her enthusiasm and delight infuse every page, like nothing we’ve seen before.  She’s utterly crazy about this practice, and it’s no passing fancy; she’s been doing this for years.

Julie’s beautifully organized, user-friendly book dives deep into what yoga nidra is, how it works, and how to get the most benefit from it, with scripts carefully composed by a dozen master teachers from around the world.

Best of all, it allows a practitioner to skillfully, responsibly guide themselves or others into the practice of yoga nidra, and to experience its wide ranging benefits.

Central to yoga nidra is the ‘sankalpa’ or personal resolution/affirmation/intention that the end-user wants to bring into his or her life. Choosing the sankalpa is embedded in the narrative. It could be something as simple as “I am brave” or “My life is worthwhile” or something more specific or complex.

The end-result is bringing about positive life and attitude changes, all while enjoying an hour of profound relaxation that’s equivalent to four hours of delicious sleep.

Yoga nidra is great for making healthy, mindful lifestyle changes that really stick. As you relax into it, it can promote any of these results:

  • Increased immunity
  • Improved heart health
  • Decreased cravings
  • Enhanced memory, concentration, and brain function
  • Less anxiety, depression, chronic pain, or insomnia
  • Greater happiness, calmness, creativity, and energy

Whether you’re getting started with yoga nidra or you want to deepen your journey to inner peace, personal growth, and unconditional joy, Julie is your enthusiastic, experienced, trustworthy and sure-footed guide. She’s got decades of experience in yoga, relaxation training, guided imagery, and meditation – and, no coincidence, she’s also the brains and voice behind our powerful audio Yoga Nidra: Guided Meditations for Relaxation & Renewal.

Check it out!