Yoga Nidra, aka “psychic sleep”, is a guided meditation done lying on the back in a comfortable position to help guide you into a state of deep conscious relaxation. You are then channeled into a peaceful state of sleep while still bringing some amount of awareness to your practice. This process helps send the message to your body to relax and surrender. This state of awareness also stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system and puts you in the rest and digest response by staying relaxed and placing your attention in the present moment - in the here and now.
Yoga Nidra when done correctly may provide you with the feeling of having many hours of sleep in a short amount of time. Especially powerful for people with insomnia. The longer you let yourself remain in this altered state of consciousness — the more intense the physiological response will be felt in your body.
Yoga Nidra helps regulate the stress response, hence suppressing persistent inflammation states and maintaining a healthy gut-barrier function. It has the ability to promote positive change which directly affects your gut and the trillions of microorganisms that make up your microbiome.
