Yoga Nidra is often called “yogic sleep”...but that’s not quite it. You aren’t sleeping in Yoga Nidra. 

Yoga Nidra is also called “guided meditation”...but that’s also not true. While the practice is guided by an instructor, the effect of Yoga Nidra on the mind is different from meditation.

The entire practice, which can be as short as five minutes and as long as an hour, is done in savasana. If lying on the floor is not comfortable for you, the session can be done seated. Some practitioners like to practice from their bed and allow themselves to drop into sleep. There is no wrong way to do Yoga Nidra.

Yoga Nidra, as it is done today, is a fairly modern creation. Most Yoga Nidra is based on the work of Satyananda Saraswati, who created the practice during the 1960s using a combination of ancient techniques (tantra) and the physical practice that was becoming more popular in the west.

How does Yoga Nidra work?

As you lie in savasana, the instructor will read to you from a script. The script follows a system designed to move you through what are called the pancha maya kosha—the five layers of self. Each nidra is focused around a sankalpa, sometimes also called an intention or resolve. The sankalpa is a simple phrase designed to create change from within. Some examples of sankalpa are: 

• I am healthy and whole
• I let go of what no longer serves me
• I am loved
• I have everything I need

What are the benefits of Yoga Nidra?

• Anxiety and Stress: Yoga Nidra has been shown to reduce anxiety and stress. Studies conducted on heart rate during practice have shown a favourable shift in the autonomous nervous system from sympathetic to parasympathetic. What this means is that the nervous system regulates from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest.” 
• Decreased Inflammation: Reduction in stress can mean a decrease in cortisol, a stress hormone that can cause inflammation, chronic pain and heart disease.
• Muscle Recovery and Healing: In Yoga Nidra, our brain waves drop between the theta and delta state. It’s where our brains are during our deepest state of sleep. When our brain waves slow, our bodies are able to heal and restore.
• Trauma: By working through the layers of self to plant a seed of growth (the sankalpa), Yoga Nidra works to change our subconscious thoughts outside of our nidra practice. It’s almost like rewiring the brain. Yoga Nidra has been used to treat soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to help with the side effects of PTSD. 

Tips for practicing Yoga Nidra at home:

• Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. If you are worried about noises in your household, consider using earbuds to listen to the class.
• Set the scene. Dim the lights. If you like to bring essential oils into your practice, you could rub some lavender or frankincense on your temples or add them to a diffuser. If you are feeling any body discomfort, stretch and move a bit before you settle.
• Take the best savasana for you and your body. In Yoga Nidra, savasana is held a lot longer than in most asana classes. This means that the floor may start to feel a little hard under you after five or ten minutes. Consider taking savasana on a carpet or placing a blanket or second mat over your mat. Your head may need a bit of extra support with a thin pillow or folded blanket. Some practitioners find that their lower back can become sore—placing a bolster or some pillow under the thighs can alleviate some of the pressure. Make sure you are warm enough. You might find that you get chilly after a few minutes of stillness. Consider wearing socks and covering yourself with a blanket. Finally, an eye pillow is a wonderful addition to any savasana. Not only does it block out the light, but it can help calm the nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve, an important player in our parasympathetic (rest and digest) system.

Okay, I could write about Yoga Nidra all day, but that would never replace actually experiencing it! Check out this recording to try it out. I would love to hear what you think.

This is my favourite style of class!

We will begin with a modified sun salutation to get the body moving and then settle onto the mat for some gentle stretching.

Accessibility: There will be some getting on and off the mat.

Props: I use two blocks, but two cushions or a bolster will also work.

“Self-care is how you take your power back”—Lalah Delia

Winters are hard for so many of us, and this year it will be especially true. We will all be spending more time at home and spending less time in close contact with our friends and family. If you are someone who puts yourself last or keeps going until you burn out, I want you to reconsider that. This is not the time to be a martyr. Self-care can act as a layer of protection against the anxiety of the outside world. Putting steps in place now will help protect your physical and (even more importantly) your mental health as we get into the colder season.

1. Find easy ways for you to eat nourishing foods.

2. Clean up your sleep.

3. Plan to be social.

4. Get outside.

I know that it can be hard to get outside when the weather is cold and the sidewalks are icy, but try to spend even fifteen minute outside every day. In the winter time, our vitamin D stores deplete, which can affect our moods. Getting some sun on your skin can help your body to synthesize vitamin D. Also consider supplementing your vitamin D during the winter.

If you are planning to buy any outside gear this year, invest in some good quality pieces that will make being outside comfortable. Walking is a great form of exercise. You can even make it social with a physically distanced walk break with a friend.

5. Get help if you need it.

Sometimes all the self-care in the world just won't be enough. There is no shame in asking for help when you need it. In fact, I would argue that recognizing when you need help shows strength. Seek out mental health support if you need it. Know that it’s okay to take mood medication if your health professional recommends you take them. And please reach out if you need help or resources. We’re all in this together.

Here is a list of great mental health resources.

This sixteen-minute class is perfect for when you have nervous energy that you need to burn off. We link breath with movement to help calm the mind and bring on stillness. This is a great class to do when you need to transition after a long day of work or to get your mind and body ready to sit in meditation.

You will need: A yoga mat, a blanket is also recommended

Accessibility: You will be on your hands and knees. There is one transition from the floor to standing and then back down.

1. Let people in.

I know this one can be tough. Panic attacks can be embarrassing and often we worry about bothering people. But consider letting one or two people know about what panic attacks look like for you. Let them know what you need in these moments—more space? A way out of the situation? If it is too hard to express this in high anxiety moments, maybe you could let them know what you were going through afterwards. Perhaps they would be open to your calling them and just being on the phone with you as you ride the wave. 

Also, always remember that professional help is available. Family doctors are trained to look after your overall health—this includes your mental health. Talking about your panic attacks with a family doctor or a therapist can be a great way to process what has happened and look at a path forward.

2. Use your breath.

The breath is one of the most overlooked tools that we have at our disposal. Why is that? The breath can so easily change the mood and mindset in a matter of minutes. Two breath techniques (or pranayama) that I recommend are Box Breathing and Alternate Nostril Breathing.

3. Take some movement.

Many people find that movement helps them shift the nervous energy that might be in their bodies during a panic attack. This can take many forms from high energy HIIT workouts to gentle yoga. Experiment and see what works best for you. Going for a walk is a technique used by a lot of people, as it has the advantage of giving you a change of scene. 

4. Try a grounding exercise.

When you're in the middle of an anxiety attack, it can feel like the world is spinning. We might be caught replaying something that happened in our past or getting upset over future events that haven't happened yet. Grounding is a way to get our minds back to the present space. The next time an anxiety attack sneaks up on you, try identifying:

• 5 things that you can see
• 4 things that you can hear
• 3 things that you can feel
• 2 things that you can smell
• 1 thing that you can taste

If this list feels like too much to remember, try just going through each of your senses and identifying one thing.

Yoga is so often recommended as a way to manage anxiety, but why is that? Why not Skiing for Anxiety or Golfing for Anxiety? While I do believe that any physical movement can and will help to reduce the effects of anxiety, yoga is especially powerful. Here’s why:

1. Movement and Mindfulness

While ANY form of yoga, such as meditation or breathwork, can help to reduce anxiety, I personally believe that asana, that is physical practice, can be an important key in calming both the mind and the body. Anxiety often manifests as nervous energy: to ask an anxious body to be still can increase the symptoms of anxiety. Yoga asana are wonderful because they link breath with movement. By burning off some of our nervous energy, it may become easier to come into meditation.

2. The Mind/Body Connection

Where do you feel anxiety in your body? Is it in your chest? Your stomach? Maybe it is tightness in your shoulders or clenching in your jaw. Sometimes this tightness causes other pain, such as headaches. Anxiety and depression are felt in the body:  yoga can help to relieve this tension. Without needing to get to the root of anxiety, the physical yoga practice can soothe the symptoms and build resiliency. While we may never completely eliminate anxiety, our goal is to reduce its effects.

3. Yoga Asks Us to Dig Deeper

There is a misconception that yoga is an excuse to “bliss out” or hit snooze on our lives. If a yoga practice is asking you to zone out and avoid what’s going on in your life, I would argue that it’s not really yoga. Yoga encourages us to ask questions, both on and off the mat. Sometimes this is called shadow work, and it can be the key to healing. 

Restorative yoga and pranayama (breathwork) have been shown to be the most effective to reduce anxiety, but any form of yoga is beneficial, as is any form of movement. Some tools work better than others—everyone is different. Experiment and see what works for you. For ideas on how to reduce your anxiety that don't involve yoga, check out this blog post. 

I’d love to hear what you use to help manage your anxiety. Leave me a comment below.

Our life is made up of the small actions that we take every day. After doing an action daily for some time, it can become a habit. Of all the habit to create, a regular movement practice is the one that will probably have the largest effect on your whole life. Leaving aside any aesthetic reasons to move, exercise has been linked to better sleep, resilience in mental health, increased productivity, and improved confidence. It is one of the best investments you can make in yourself. 

So how do you make regular exercise a habit? Here are the actions that have helped me the most in making movement a part of my life.

1. Find Something You Enjoy Doing.

If you follow any tip, let it be this one. We should always, always move for joy. Until you find a form of exercise that makes your heart sing, keep trying new ones. And know that just because one person enjoys an activity doesn’t mean that everyone will enjoy it. 

I learned long ago that I don’t like team sports. The social pressure and anxiety of letting down the team takes away all of the fun for me. I thrive in activities where I am only competing with myself, such as running, weight lifting, and HIIT. And while I do enjoy the community that can be created in a yoga class, as a participant, the solitude of my mat is incredibly appealing. For some people, joining a team and having regular practices helps them tremendously. If that is you, follow that! Learn your own sweet spot: it is different for everyone.

2. Find Accountability.

I love group fitness classes because of their built in accountability. The fact that I’ll lose my class (money) if I don’t attend is a big motivator to make it work. I also find that once I make friends in the class, we begin to check in with each other when we miss a class. “I didn’t feel like it” seems like less of a valid excuse when you have to speak it out loud to another person!

3. Keep track of everything and celebrate! 

I’m a big numbers girl. I love adding stickers to my calendar with each workout. Going into my booking app and seeing the number of classes I’ve attended lights me up. Break your goal into manageable pieces and celebrate each step along the way. It takes effort and courage to keep going—recognize your efforts. Big changes come from the things we do every day. 

4. Plan ahead—don’t let it be an afterthought. 

This one has tripped me up a lot along the way. When I first became a mother, I was very guilty of leaving my self-care for when everything else got done. If this is something that you tell yourself too, well...I’m sorry to break it to you...the to-do list is never going to be done. If you leave your exercise/movement/self-care to “if there’s time…” there won’t be time. It's as simple as that. Plan your movement (and anything else that brings you happiness for that matter) and work the things that you need to do around it. Make your self-care a non-negotiable and get the people in your life on board. 

The reasons you should develop a regular movement practice are too many to mention, and I’m sure most people don’t need to be convinced that exercise is good for them. The time that you spend on yourself moving your body will improve every aspect of your life. I promise. So find something that you love doing, invest the time in yourself, and do it with joy.

How are you planning to move in 2020?

Everyone has anxiety to some extent. Anxiety itself isn’t a bad thing: it is our body’s way of protecting ourselves against potential danger. But sometimes the body and the mind’s reaction to stressful situations isn’t proportional to the threat. When this happens, it can affect quality of life and relationships. While the cause of anxiety can be a complicated subject, there are simple changes that can be made in your daily life that can reduce anxiety’s impact and increase the time between panic attacks.

Try incorporating one (or all!) of these techniques for reducing anxiety and building resiliency.

1. Have a consistent wake time

Getting quality sleep is one of the best ways to improve the quality of your life. Sleep helps to regulate hormones, improves the mood and keeps the metabolism working properly. While it is important to try and maintain a regular bedtime, sleep experts have found that having a consistent wake up time is actually more helpful in ensuring that the sleep that you do get is high quality.

If you’d like more tips on getting a good night’s sleep, check out my tips in Five Ways to Improve Your Sleep Tonight. 

2. Schedule your "worry time"

It may seem silly to write the word “worry” in your planner, but this is a tip that can be really useful in changing the thought pattern around anxiety. Pick a time in your day when you will allow yourself to worry as much as you like about anything you like. Preferably, don’t schedule this time right before bed! Every time a worry pops into your head during your day, tell yourself that this isn’t the time to worry about it: you will do it later.

By consistently pushing your worry aside as it comes up, you’ll reinforce the idea that by worrying you can’t actually change anything in the outcome of your day. And chances are that when it’s time for your “worry time,” your worries won’t seem nearly as large.

3. Include some form of exercise in your day

Is there anything that exercise can’t do? Studies have shown that anxiety can often correlate with physical symptoms, such as chronic pain, migraines, digestive issues, and back pain. Taking care of your physical body can help relieve those symptoms. Not only that, exercise can help improve sleep and regulate hormones.

Restorative yoga is often promoted for anxiety, but really any type of exercise can be beneficial. Notice what you enjoy and feels best in your body. Try to make exercise and movement something that you look forward to.

4. Take a few minutes to focus on your breath

Where will you start?

I’d love it if you’d incorporate even just one of these suggestions into your daily life. Please let me know how it goes! As always, if you need help, please chat with your family doctor. There are many free or low-cost mental health resources available. Check out Anxiety Canada.