Brought to the masses in the early 1950s by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, yoga nidra has its roots in ancient tantric texts. The practice claims to help you reach ‘the border between waking and sleeping states’. Sometimes described as ‘dynamic sleep’, it allows the body to get into a deep state of relaxation, while keeping the mind alert. It doesn’t involve holding poses or moving through sequences, but laying still while an instructor talks you through a set of relaxation techniques to put you in a meditative state.
There are various offshoots, like ‘Divine Sleep’, which claims to take you out of flight or fight mode and put you into a relaxation response, and iRest, which is a more ‘westernised’ version, with easy-to-understand terminology. It’s been steadily gaining in popularity, as it’s seen as an effective way to offset stressful modern lifestyles and reduce anxiety.
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About Healthy Magazine
How are you feeling today? I’m asking as this September edition is our first-ever dedicated healthy mind issue. With growing awareness of, and discussion
around, mental health (one in five of us experiences mental health problems, according to the Government), we wanted to unpack some of the most commonly experienced problems, such as anxiety, depression and stress. The aim: to give you a ‘mental health toolbox’ to help you feel empowered as you navigate the obstacles of modern life, such as feeling at breaking point doing
your ‘third shift’ (the first shift being your actual job and the second being chores at home; the third shift is managing your digital life). See our self-care
strategies in Your Healthy Mind Protection Plan, p32.
‘For me, it’s definitely a very personal battle against an ongoing buzz of stress – a racing mind and heart in the middle of the night, or when I wake up – that I am just Not Going To Get Everything Done. Somewhere, a ball will be dropped. The only remedy that regularly works for me is exercise – cycling, swimming (my favourite for mindfulness) and, now, as I prepare to take on the Three Peaks Charity Challenge with others in my office (including our writer, Hattie), it’s walking whenever I can. We deep dive into the idea of exercise as prescription on p120.
‘Elsewhere, we’ve gone mad for manuka honey, which is definitely having A Moment. Discover why this wonder stuff is better than ever, p17, and what exactly you can do with it, p108.
Editorial director
@elliehughesUK
PS If you want to know how Hattie and I get on in our mission to climb up (and down) the UK’s three tallest mountains in 24 hours this August, we’ll be keeping you updated on our website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Delicious and nutritious – now that’s my kind of superfood!’