Kate Rock is a certified Yoga teacher who has undergone additional, specialist training in Yoga Nidra, has set up Nidra Works with the intention of helping take the profound power of this practice to as many people as possible.
If you live with insomnia, struggle to get to sleep at night, or find you wake frequently and in the morning feel like you haven’t had enough rest, you may wish to consider changing things up. Kate explains:
After a career in the global music industry that spanned over twenty years, I needed balance. I needed rest. Conscious, intelligent rest. I didn’t know it then, but I look back now and am so thankful I found Yoga Nidra. Or rather, Yoga Nidra found me!
Here, Kate tells us all about the benefits of the Nidra practice.
What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation practice offering deep, restorative rest which anyone can do, regardless of any experience or knowledge of yoga (as we understand it in the West) or meditation. Translating to ‘Yogic Sleep’, this is the art of effortlessness, guiding you to a state of conscious rest, the liminal space between being asleep and awake, offering profound physical, mental, and emotional relaxation.
Rest is crucial for individuals with bladder and bowel dysfunction as it plays a vital role in managing symptoms and improving overall quality of life. Adequate rest helps regulate bodily functions and promotes the healing and repair of tissues, which can mitigate the discomfort and disruptions caused by bladder and bowel issues. Insufficient rest can exacerbate symptoms, leading to increased frequency and urgency, which in turn can cause further interruptions to rest, creating a vicious cycle.
Additionally, proper rest enhances immune function and reduces inflammation, both of which are important for individuals dealing with chronic conditions. By prioritising restorative rest, individuals with bladder and bowel dysfunction can better manage their symptoms, reduce the impact on daily activities, and enhance their overall well-being.
7 Key Benefits of Yoga Nidra:
- Regulate bodily functions
- Reduce bladder symptoms
- Support immune function
- Improve general well-being
- Moderate chronic conditions
- Balance hormones
- Relieve stress
The phrase Yoga Nidra translates to Yogic Sleep, and whilst there are many claims onlinethat a Yoga Nidra session of ‘X’ minutes equates to ‘X’ hours of deep sleep, but it’s important to note that nothing can, nor should, replace sleep.
How does Yoga Nidra Work?
In Yoga Nidra, we stay awake in our consciousness while our body and our mind go into a state of profound, deep rest. Similar to sleep. The reason why Yoga Nidra helps with sleep and insomnia is that it trains the body to relax so that sleep comes more easily.
The practice activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting a state of deep relaxation and helping with stress and anxiety which are common causes of insomnia. It helps the body move from ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ to ‘feeling’ and ‘being’—from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’. As one relaxes in the practice, physical tension is released, which can also often interrupt and interfere with sleep.
Activating the parasympathetic nervous system counteracts our stress response, lowering heart rate, reducing blood pressure, and calming the nervous system, all promoting a sense of peace and well-being. Yoga Nidra also improves sleep quality, making it a valuable tool for those struggling with insomnia or other sleep disorders. The practice retrains the mind and body to relax, aiding in easier transitions to natural sleep states.
Yoga Nidra and Anxiety
Yoga Nidra can help reduce anxiety. It quietens the mind – and the mental chatter that can keep us awake – with a focus on the breath and body. The practice also includes rapid visualisation, which helps calm the mind and takes the practitioner to deeper states of relaxation. It balances hormones, reducing the bad guys (like cortisol) and promoting the good ones, such as dopamine, serotonin, and melatonin, which, in turn, helps regulate sleep.
The practice increases mindfulness and body awareness, helping to release tension and stress patterns that can cause problems with sleep. Repeating the same structure in the Rotation of Consciousness, regular practitioners receive a signal to the mind and the body that it’s safe to wind down and relax – making it especially effective for those who find it hard to rest. Yoga Nidra also offers the experience of non-attachment, which reduces worries and frustrations, another often underlying cause of the inability to sleep.
It is a profound and powerful practice. As well as being a wonderful way to enjoy deep rest and all the benefits that brings, if you’re tired, do a Nidra practice created for vitality and energy, and you’ll come out of it feeling completely refreshed and revitalised! I think the acclaimed neuroscientist from Stanford, Andrew Huberman, puts it best when he says Yoga Nidra “ain’t no weak sauce”!!!
This is a wonderful, easily accessible practice that offers numerous benefits, including deep relaxation, stress reduction, improved sleep, and personal growth. Incorporating Yoga Nidra into your routine can lead to greater well-being and inner peace.
Further Information
You can find a variety of offerings on the Nidra Works YouTube channel—see link below—or sign up for the newsletter at www.nidraworks.com to find out more about live practices offered by Kate.
Connect with Kate:
Kate has been practising Yoga Nidra for 5 years, and traditional yoga for many more. She did her postgraduate mentorship with Anis Fishman at the School of Sankalpa, and is passionate about regular training and retreats to improve her practice. She tells us:
“I was first introduced to the practice when I trained as a yoga teacher in 2019 and fell in love with it: from my very first session, I knew it was something special. I went on to do further training, wanting to understand its potency and be able to share it, with the properknowledge to reflect that.“
