Recovery/Sleeping

[Shaolin_Disciple_8]

Hi Doc,
I was posting on ShaolinWolf and someone suggested me to ask you my question.

It's about Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep). I want to know if it helps for recovery. Is it going to speed up the recovery after a tough strength workout for example?

Do we have to be unconscious (subconscious, whatever) for a complete healing/recovery?? (Is Yoga Nidra better than normal sleep for recovery?)

[xing_jian108]

Before asking which is better...

I think the better question is, yogic sleeping works the same way as normal sleeping to refresh the body in a shorter amount of time, but does it work in recovery from a strength training workout? I think recovery from strength training just takes rest time. Normal sleeping is resting the body fully. Yogic sleeping 10 mins is equal to a couple good hours of normal sleep in refreshing the body and being rested. So if rest is the key to recovery from strength training and yogic sleeping is a faster way to rest/sleep enough to refresh, will it also help to recovery from strength training faster?

If so, I think I know the answer to the first question of which is better. This means you need less time to fully recover which means more time to build in your strength training. Which then also means quicker results!

A mi tuo Fo
-Xing Jian

[Shaolin_Disciple_8]

Yeah like you said, i am not always good to express myself correctly.

"will it also help to recovery from strength training faster?"
I think we should add something:

So apparently 15min of yogic sleep is equal to 4hours of normal sleep but this is for normal energy recovery. If want more like strength training recovery, then maybe it will be: 15 minutes of yogic sleep is equal to 40minutes of normal sleep. I don't think there are some real Yoga masters here, i'm not really expecting a answer to this problem, but everybody reading this thread must consider that fact.

Quicker results but it's not always easy to stay awake. It's difficult techniques. I read on a yoga site that corpse pose (the one used in Yoga Nidra) seems the easiest posture but is one of the most difficult.

[pazman]

Yoga nidra is best done after extensive pranayama. Like meditation, it's not something you can just fall into easily. I would even say it is harder to attain yoga nidra than a dhyanic state. I'm not exactly sure where the idea that yogic sleep equals a certain amount of normal sleep. Most teachers I've asked replied not to worry about it and don't deliberately change your sleeping schedule just because you practice yoga nidra. With regards to training, yes, if you train more, you should rest more; learn to listen to your body. Yoga nidra in small amounts is a great practice to take up.

[zachsan]

just chiming in with my requisite request for evidence to back up the claim "15 minutes of yogic sleep is equal to 40 minutes of regular sleep". cheers.

[Shaolin_Disciple_8]

pazman, do you think it would be bad to do Yoga Nidra during the whole night? well, anybody who wishes to comment on that can... but pazman seems to have some yoga knowledge

[xing_jian108]

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-481.html

http://www.webindia123.com/yoga/savasana.htm

Some websites for you Zachsan...

[xing_jian108]

Yogic Sleep is a very powerful relaxation technique that you can do after you gain some control over the relaxation response. When practiced successfully, this technique is as restorative as sleep — except you remain fully aware throughout.

Its traditional name — yoga nidra (pronounced yoh-gah nee-drah)— makes reference to Brahma, the Hindu creator god, who "sleeps" between successive world creations. His sleep is never unconscious.

During Yogic Sleep, try to focus (in relatively quick succession) on individual parts of the body. Mentally name each part, then feel it as distinctly as possible.

In the beginning, you may find it difficult to actually "feel" certain body parts. Don't let this dismay you, but continue to rotate your awareness fairly rapidly. Later, as you become more skilled at this technique, you can slow down the rotation and feel each part ever more distinctly. With practice, you can even include some internal organs in this circuit.



Practice Yoga Nidra before actual sleep, because it's an excellent technique for inducing lucid dreaming and out-of-the-body experiences during sleep. Great Yoga masters remain aware even during deep sleep. Only the body and brain are fast asleep, whereas awareness is continuous.

Here is how you perform Yoga Nidra:

1. Lie flat on your back, with your arms stretched out by your sides, palms up (or whatever feels most comfortable).

Place a pillow behind your neck for support and another pillow under your knees for added comfort.



2. Close your eyes.

3. Form a clear intention.

4. Take a couple of deep breaths, emphasizing exhalation.

5. Starting with your right side, rotate your awareness through all parts of the body — limb by limb — in fairly quick succession.

Become aware of each finger, palm of the hand, back of the hand, the hand as a whole, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder joint, shoulder, neck, each section of the face (forehead, eyes, nose, chin, and so on), ear, scalp, throat, chest, side of the rib cage, shoulder blade, waist, stomach, lower abdomen, genitals, buttocks, whole spine, thigh, top and back of knee, shin, calf, ankle, top of foot, heel, sole, each toe.

6. Be aware of your body as a whole.

7. Repeat the rotation one or more times until adequate depth of relaxation is achieved, always ending with whole-body awareness.

8. Be aware of the whole body and the space surrounding it.

Feel the stillness and peace.

9. Reaffirm your initial intention.

10. Mentally prepare to return to ordinary consciousness.

11. Gently move your fingers for a few moments, take a deep breath, and then open your eyes.

No time limit applies to your Yoga Nidra performance, unless you impose one. Expect to come out of Yogic Sleep naturally, whether you return after only 15 minutes or a whole hour. Or you may just fall asleep. So if you have things to do afterward, make sure you set your wristwatch or clock for a gentle wakeup call.

[xing_jian108]

"Yoga Nidra means psychic sleep. It is a practice done in shavasana, which allows the body and the mind to relax while rejuvenating the tissues and processing any emotional or psychological tensions. A one-hour practice in Yoga Nidra can equal up to 3 hours of regular sleep. It is also an excellent meditation tool for stress in daily life."

http://www.elephantpharmacy.com/current/apr03/tue_15.html

[zachsan]

very nice explanations, but explanation does not equal evidence. it does sound similar to a few things i'm familiar with.

[xing_jian108]

Well, you don't need to look for evidence somewhere online. You have an explaination of the practice. Try it out and see the proof for yourself. I was interested the first day I heard about it. I tried it one night that I was out all day. I had to get up early in the morning for teaching classes and this and that. I had 10 mins of this yoga nidra practice then I slept for 45 mins. I got up and went on through the day feeling refreshed as ever. I taught 4 classes and practiced in between as well as walking two miles back and forth from the school to my friends home for food. After all of that I was still feeling fine like I got so much sleep. So that's proof enough for me.

If you want proof, you should try it out yourself and experience the feeling rather than want some scientific research on how it works. Just try it. If it works for you, there's your evidence.

A mi tuo Fo
-Xing Jian

[Shaolin_Disciple_8]

"which allows the body and the mind to relax while rejuvenating the tissues"
"When practiced successfully, this technique is as restorative as sleep �"
Regarding this quote, we still dont have any really good answers. Well, because our body fast fall asleep and is not disturbed during Yoga Nidra, it should be better for healing/recovery than normal sleep. But for having number of yoga nidra equals to number of normal sleep, i dont know if we'll have an answer unless someone here know a yoga master...

"A one-hour practice in Yoga Nidra can equal up to 3 hours of regular sleep."
On internet, it's always different numbers...

"and don't deliberately change your sleeping schedule"
Well, why not? I mean, it's probably not bad to reduce your sleeping time from 8 hours to 6 hours if you practice 45 minutes of Yoga Nidra...

My questions now are:
1)Do we have to be unconscious to heal the body tissues correctly?

2)Do we have to relax our mind like in normal sleep (unconscious) or Yoga Nidra is a good enough exercise to relax completly the mind?

3)The previous question leads to: Will it be bad to practice Yoga Nidra during the whole night?

[Shaolin_Disciple_8]

I must also had:
4) Will it be bad to do this practice everynights (during the whole night if possible)?

[zachsan]

well XJ, i have tried this kind of thing in the past and it certainly does feel refreshing and relaxing, that i am very sure of. that does not mean it's three times as effective for physical and mental fatigue or repairing or building muscle tissue or anything of the sort; it just means it's very relaxing (and i find watching TV pretty damn relaxing, too). i was specifically looking for evidence to back up the claim about it being so much faster or more effective than regular sleep, and that kind of thing takes controlled studies to determine, not just personal experience.

[Shaolin_Disciple_8]

http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/news/nidra.html is also a good page.

zachsan, i think you are wrong, watching TV is far from being a relaxation. Your mind is concentrated. You most of the time have a bad posture (curved back for example). Try a relaxation without using your senses. This is really more effective. I recommend music during Yoga Nidra. dont listen to the music though, just put it because it will hide the other sounds around.

Guys, this night i'm probably going to try a full night of Yoga Nidra. I have school tomorrow and a big homework to do tomorrow morning And right now, after writing this reply, i'm going to do some jumping rope. I will try to tire the more possible my leg muscles, the more sore I can without having a heart attack. That will prove if yoga nidra speed up the recovery time. I'll post the results tomorrow morning. I should go to sleep around 12pm and wake up at 4am, this means 4 hours of Yogic Sleep. (I hope I won't fall asleep) - this is also possible that the times change because i'm going to my uncle's place tonight. This is risky but it seems the only way to get my answers!

Peace and good night!
Chen