Why Bother?
The question is WHY MEDITATE?
We’ve all heard it’s supposedly good for us, but
WHY???
In my Yoga Nidra training with Kamini Desai, I got a lot of science on what happens to the brain during Yoga Nidra. Even if you’re not a science nerd, it is absolutely fascinating!
When practiced a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, one can experience the following:
The body produces its own version of Valium, called GABA. WHAT?!?!! YES, and YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR GABA with Yoga Nidra.
Yoga Nidra also increases Melatonin which is known for helping us sleep. But, DID YOU KNOW THAT Melatonin SLOWS DOWN THE AGING PROCESS? PLUS, a person’s sleep cycle after practicing yoga nidra is more restful b/c the person is able to go deeper into sleep. AND, 45 mins. of YN is equal to 3 hours of sleep!!!
YN increases Seratonin which help us with our MEMORY & MOOD! More Seratonin equals less depression.
YN increases Endorphins, known as our happy chemicals. Endorphins are our bodies’ natural Painkillers. Endorphins can also reduce blood pressure.
You know that buzz you get when you fall in love? That buzz is caused by a chemical our body produces known as Oxytocin, which is also increased by practicing YN.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a PAUSE button, instead of reacting to life and then paying the consequences? After practicing YN over time, you will notice that you have an ability to PAUSE instead of react to triggers. YN literally decreases our sensitivity to Fight/flight hormones.
Yoga Nidra reduces Cortisol which is basically linked to the following: weight gain, inflammation, high blood pressure, lowered immunity and all the other negative effects of aging.
All of the references for this data can be found in Kamini Desai’s book, Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep