Yoga Nidra is going to be a biohacker thing.
I’ve been practicing Yoga Nidra and rambling about it to anyone who will listen since 2008. Over the last several years, I’ve been watching it steadily grow in popularity, as sleep and rest have (blessedly!) become trendy in the wellness community.
Remember when Mindfulness started to become a thing? That’s where we are now….riiiight on the edge of that moment. Yoga Nidra is going to become a ‘mainstream’ meditation practice, y’all.
Here’s how I know:
Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neurobiologist at Stanford Lab, has been talking about the last couple of years as an ideal tool for stress management and sleep. He’s basically the coolest scientist on the planet, with over a million Instagram followers, a science-y podcast and an extremely relatable way of presenting complex material. And he’s been talking a LOT about Yoga Nidra for the last couple of years. He’s (sort of) calling it NSDR - Non-Sleep Deep Rest. Sometimes he differentiates between the two, sometimes he doesn’t.
From what I understand, NSDR is basically Yoga Nidra Lite for the Biohacking Bros. And they’re into it. Huberman was recently on Tim Ferris’ podcast and Lewis Howe’s podcast.
And now Yoga Nidra is on the schedule for Dave Asprey’s Biohacker Conference. AND I AM TEACHING IT. Super grateful for the opportunity, but that’s another conversation.
Personally, I prefer calling it Yoga Nidra - but if a catchy acronym is going to bring Yoga Nidra into every school, every workplace - and every bed - I’m all for it. Whatever it takes. We got MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) - and now we got NSDR! Let’s goooooo!!
A decade ago, I would have been a total dogmatic jerk about it - saying that we can’t water down these ancient practices. Saying that we need to call things by their name. I guess I’ve changed - maybe I’ve matured. I realize now that practices and teachings evolve over the years.
I want as many people as possible to know that Yoga Nidra is easy, enjoyable - and can powerfully address the pain points they’re experiencing in their daily lives. If folks need things like this presented in a secular acronym-y way in order to be motivated to try them, that’s okay with me.
On a daily basis, most people are stressed, tired, emotionally reactive, and tense. People are dangerously close to burnout, overwhelmed with their never-ending to-do list of Work and Home tasks. When they finally fall into bed, they can’t sleep because they can’t release tension from their bodies or quiet their minds.
Not only does Yoga Nidra powerfully addresses all of these ‘pain points, but it’s easy and it feels amazing. Also, most meditation practices take time to get to the ‘good stuff.’ With Yoga Nidra, there is no barrier to entry.
Whether you’ve been meditating for 20 years - or you’ve never tried meditation before in your life - it makes no difference. Yoga Nidra will meet you where you are, and you will receive benefits immediately.
Once this goes mainstream, the world will be a better place… I can’t wait!
Side bar: I really hope Yoga Nidra doesn’t get turned into a sleep hack - as in, a way to sleep less and get more done. I’m so not down with that. While it definitely can be a powerful sleep supplement - it’s not a sleep substitute.
