Why are Entrepreneurs & Leaders Obsessed with Yoga Nidra?
The hustle and bustle of our current age doesn't always leave time for us (as individuals or as teams) to stay balanced in every aspect of life – struggling to juggle relationships, sleep, creativity, fun/play, stress, and performance.
And while an altogether slower and more mindful cultural backdrop is a wonderful goal, we know there’s a reason people seek quicker, easier solutions. While we’d never want to call it a “hack”, we do know this:
Plugging Yoga Nidra into your day is like getting to take a blissful nap at work, where you wake up refreshed, rejuvenated, and more focused.
Before we jump into the key benefits you can expect, let’s knock out some myths first.
Not all yoga is what first comes to mind (stretching, complicated postures, exercise). Yoga is a wide range of practices that tend to mind, body, and spirit. And Yoga Nidra specifically is a body-awareness-guided-meditation that mimics sleep.
It's also known as "the art of conscious relaxation". Through a specific series of guidance into body scans, breath counting, and visualizations, practitioners shift into relaxed states of consciousness (without fully falling asleep) and in these states can achieve deep rest and stress relief in the body, mind, and emotions.
It’s a practice that can ONLY be done under the guidance of a trained meditation teacher (whether live or recorded), especially one who knows your team’s specific pain points and stressors. It’s not a practice that can be self-guided.
More Key Benefits
Yoga Nidra…
Yoga Nidra…
Reduces stress
Contributes to better sleep
Heightens self-awareness and communication skills
Increases creativity and problem-solving skills
Helps heal psychological wounds such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression
Reduces excess tension and helps re-balance the body
How Does It Work?
There is a state of mind (and body) in between waking and dreaming – it’s called the hypnagogic state.
During this phase of rest, we experience a release of muscular tensions and a loss of awareness of our external environment. In regular sleep, this phase normally lasts about 3-5 minutes.
Yoga Nidra triggers a prolonged state of hypnagogia, leading to total relaxation and nervous system regulation. Of course, humans still need regular, healthy sleep at night. But you won’t need to actually sleep at work to “wake up” from Yoga Nidra having achieved all these benefits.
The activation of this state connects the subconscious mind to the conscious, leading to creativity, inspiration, divergent thinking and problem-solving, and confidence.
To give back to yourself, to show your team you care about their wellbeing and performance both inside and outside of work, Yoga Nidra is a wonderful and impactful offering you can do in-office.
Just be sure to hire a teacher+facilitator with experience not only in teams and meditation, but also the rich history and science behind Yoga Nidra and how to get the most out of the practice.
Or, learn more about ways to foster team wellbeing here and here.