Yoga Nidra – or Yogic Sleep – is an effortless practice that has the power to transform your life, from the inside out. When we’re seeking ways to return to our natural rhythms and our inner flow, it’s important to remember that doing more is often not the answer.
In fact, there is no ‘answer.’ It’s about remembering how to listen to the wisdom of your body again, to trust your own internal timing, and live with more ease.
Yoga Nidra can support us in coming back home to ourselves in this way. It supports our cyclical living in three unique ways: 1) circadian rhythm support 2) somatic connection and 3) the support of sex hormones.
If you’re ready to live in tune with your innate, feminine rhythms and inner flow, keep reading!
1. Yoga Nidra puts you in touch with your cosmic circadian rhythm
Your circadian rhythm is the cycle of day into night that connects us with the sun and moon cycles. It attunes us to the movement of the stars above. Our body’s circadian rhythm sets in motion the time to sleep, the time to be awake, and the transition between these states.
The circadian rhythm is so important to our health and well-being, that when it’s off balance, it can throw off all of the other cycles in our system. When we have trouble sleeping or feel fatigued and drained during the day, our body has few resources to work with to support our menstrual cycle health, nervous system health, digestive health, and all the rest of it. On the other hand, when we’re sleeping and waking well, we are energized, and the body can perform its natural functions. So how does Yoga Nidra fit into this?
Yoga Nidra, as a practice, effortlessly recalibrates your circadian rhythm. No matter what time of day or night you listen to a Yoga Nidra practice, you are helping your body to come back in touch with its natural circadian rhythm. How? Because Yoga Nidra entrains the brain’s electromagnetic waves responsible for sleep, wakefulness, and all the states in between. You are quite literally (and effortlessly) re-training your brain to be in tune with cosmic cycles.
I have a personal history of not sleeping well. I was wrongfully diagnosed with sleep apnea at a young age (and even underwent surgery for this), lived through bouts of sleep walking (that almost cost me my life), and have had general struggles with falling asleep. When I wasn’t sleeping well, my menstrual cycle was also ‘off.’ I’d experience bouts of insomnia during my luteal phase and be up with menstrual pain during the night. It was like my body was fighting sleep, even though sleep and rest were exactly what I most deeply needed; I just didn’t know how to receive it. So, I started practicing Yoga Nidra regularly and, honestly, my relationship with sleep has completely transformed. I now sleep deeply during my luteal and menstrual phases, and feel even more energized on the other side of my cycle. Perhaps the coolest part has been noticing the effect this has had on my menstrual phase. My blood now begins to flow in the middle of the night when my body is most relaxed and able to let go. There’s something really special about waking up to a brand new cycle.
The menstrual and circadian rhythms are like cycle sisters. They connect and communicate, with the balance of one affecting the other, and Yoga Nidra effortlessly supports both.
2. Yoga Nidra supports somatic connection and reconnects you with your body’s primal wisdom
Imagine being so caught up in the whirling of your thinking mind that your body’s messages and wisdom go unnoticed, ignored, or worse, are steamrolled over. This is the reality for most modern humans living in a technological society. We’re conditioned to believe that what we seek is ‘out there,’ that the authorities, teachers, and gurus we need are ‘out there,’ and that technology and the newest supplements will ‘fix’ us (as if we are broken in the first place). None of this is true, but many of us waste years and decades of our lives misplacing the true source of our power and healing.
The body is a piece of nature. And much like the forests and the oceans, it knows what it needs to survive and to thrive — if only we will get out of its way. We (our bodies) have an innate desire to live in harmony, health, and connection. When my thinking mind gets out of the way, I realize that my body already knows exactly what to do, and I can feel what is true for me with more clarity. The practice of Yoga Nidra is one of the most effective practices I’ve ever come across for quieting the thinking mind so that the wisdom of the body can speak, exist, and reach us. In fact, we don’t even need to be cognitively aware of what the body’s wisdom is trying to ‘tell’ us; we can simply relax into ourselves and allow the natural healing resonance to unfold within.
We don’t need more hacks, tips, tricks, and supplements. High-quality rest through practices like Yoga Nidra allows the natural healing on offer to us to blossom. In the state of Yoga Nidra, the eyes are closed, the mind is quiet and resting, and we relax into our felt-sense and the body’s primal wisdom. It’s not only a beautiful opportunity to heal, but also to connect with ourselves, the body’s subtle cues, and our intuition.
The world doesn’t need more answers; we need more humans who are willing to turn within and reconnect with themselves and their inner resources. Much like the forests and the oceans, the body’s wisdom has much to share with us, if only we’ll listen and hold space to feel (rather than think) our way through. Yoga Nidra supports your return home to sensory intelligence and somatic connection through simple and nourishing rest.
3. Sex Hormones (like estrogen) are produced and supported in rest and digest states
When we’re experiencing stress, the body’s intelligence system will temporarily shut down the production of sex hormones, like estrogen. Our sex hormones are responsible for our health, menstrual rhythms, fertility, and ability not only to survive, but to thrive. When we’re under stress, the message the body receives is that it’s not a time for thriving, creating, and conceiving, but a time to survive and bear down. Stress hormones take over the production line, and we enter a vicious cycle of stress > depletion > even deeper stress.
The good news is, we can choose to interrupt this vicious stress cycle with Yoga Nidra. I know that it can be difficult to choose rest when we’re living in a chronically stressed state; rest can seem so far away, or even useless during these times. But if we can remember to take the foot off the gas, even 15 minutes of Yoga Nidra can guide us out of the survival response, and into the rest and digest state. From here, our sex hormones begin flowing again, we begin to feel better and more connected to our inner resources, and the stress cycle is successfully interrupted; we’re now back into thrival mode.
One of the reasons I love Yoga Nidra so much is for its approachability. It doesn’t expect anything from us, and it provides a framework in which to rest and receive. I know it can sometimes be overwhelming to close your eyes and let go when it feels like the house is on fire, but the guided process of Yoga Nidra ensures that we feel supported along the way. We don’t have to force ourselves to turn off; the process of the practice will guide us into this state with ease. In Yoga Nidra, the entire body is welcome to rest, including the nervous system, and this communicates safety; safety is the foundation for thrival, creation, connectivity, and conception.
Yoga Nidra is not just another tool to add to your already over-weighted wellness belt; it’s a lived experience and a state of being that we practice being in, which feeds all other areas of our lives. Cyclical living is not about doing but about flowing and allowing; all we really need to do is hold space to support our natural process again.
If you’re ready to dive into the wondrous practice of Yoga Nidra, I invite you to check out my online Yoga Nidra Library. And if you feel called to step into your power and voice as a guide of this amazing practice (we all know how much the world needs it right now), you can check out my online Yoga Nidra Teacher Training Program here.
I’m here for you as a source of support and encouragement on your journey. You’re welcome to reach out to me anytime! I love receiving your questions and inspirations around rest, cyclical living, and whatever is on your heart today. My email is jaylyn@innerswim.com.
Yours in rest,
Jaylyn