It is of a blissful, higher quality altogether.

When awareness is separate and distinct from the vrittis,

When waking, dream and deep sleep pass like clouds,

Yet awareness of atma remains

This is the experience of total relaxation.  

Relaxation does not mean sleep.

Relaxation means to be blissfully happy, It has no end.

I call bliss absolute relaxation. Bliss relaxes the atma, the inner self;

That is why, in tantra, Yoga nidra is the doorway to Samadhi.  

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

We all accumulate tensions.  Whether you think too much, or too little, work too hard, or not work at all we accumulate tensions.

As humans we accumulate tensions in the muscular, emotional and mental systems.

In yoga we deal with these tensions.  When the mind is tense, the stomach will be tense; the whole circulatory system will be tense also.  It becomes a vicious cycle, and in yoga relaxation from these tensions is a priority.

All these ongoing inner tensions contribute and can manifest in unhappy family life, personal disharmony, anxiety, anger and depression – to name a few.

If we wish to create a more peaceful life and world, we must first learn how to relax and harmonize our own body and mind.

Yoga Nidra is a scientific method of removing tensions, so the body and mind can completely relax and rejuvenate.

In Yoga Nidra you are guided through awareness of different parts of the body into a relaxed and alpha state.

Researchers Dr Hans Lou and Dr Troels Kjaer from the Kennedy Institute of Copenhagen, Denmark took pictures with PET scanners of the brain, while subjects listened to a guided yoga nidra.

The measurements of the brains activity during yoga nidra indicated that the subjects were in a deeply relaxed state, similar to sleep.  However the state was different to a sleep state as the pictures also showed the subjects were not in a drowsy or unconscious state during the relaxation.

It also differed from sleep in that the state was constant and evenly distributed over the entire brain.  This meditative state is altogether different from the sleeping state.

When in this relaxed state, the mind is receptive and alpha brain waves are dominant.  This is when you make a Sankalpa or a resolve.

The statement should be positive and in the present tense. For example; “I love and accept myself as I am right now” or “I am in perfect health physically, mentally and emotionally.  You repeat this mentally three times, which allows you to plant the seed of change within the conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind.

This can be the perfect time also to use creative visualization, seeing yourself, circumstances etc exactly as you want them to be.

This can be done every morning before getting out of bed, and evening before sleep.  Guiding yourself into a relaxed state and affirming what you want as if you already have them – with all the positive emotions this brings.

These techniques have been used and taught with huge success by people such as Jose Silva, Shakti Gawain, Louise Hay and others.

There is now strong scientific evidence that visualization can be used to dramatically improve your results in sports, public speaking, performing arts and anything else which involves practice.

Some of the greatest thinkers in the world—Einstein, Edison, Jung, Carnegie and Goethe (the man with the highest recorded IQ, 210)—all believed in the power of the mind to create coincidences.

If you would like more information on Yoga Nidra and its effects I suggest reading Yoga Nidra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. It also contains all the scientific evidence and research into using this technique for different psychosomatic conditions.

Information on Yoga Nidra  was from:

Yoga Nidra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Bihar School of Yoga India