Find a comfortable place to relax – traditionally on the ground stretched out in Savasana (Corpse Pose, as in photo) but you can do this lying in bed or on the sofa or legs up the wall…. somewhere you can remain comfortable and warm (grab your warm socks and favourite blanket!) for 20-40 minutes. If you have trouble sleeping, try it at night as you are going to bed…

Regular practice of relaxation, yoga nidra or meditation reduces stress and creates more mental space.

Many of us are sleep deprived without even realising it!  Naturally it takes 20 minutes to fall asleep, so that the physical body can relax en route to deep sleep and the brain waves pass though different frequencies.  And waking naturally is also meant to take 20 minutes to shift from being asleep to being fully awake.  Yet many of us fall asleep as soon as the head hits the pillow and are still deeply asleep when the alarm abruptly wakes us up, this is also a sign that you are not getting enough good quality sleep!

One reason for this is that we live so much in the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) and don’t find it so easy to switch into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).  Even practising yoga regularly may not completely switch you off – especially if you are drawn to the more high energy practices.  Yoga Nidra and Pranayama help to induce the state of Pratayahara (turning inwards), activating the parasympathetic nervous system and calming the sympathetic nervous system.