A Brief History of Yoga Nidra: From Ancient Roots to Modern Practice

Yoga Nidra, often called “yogic sleep,” is more than a relaxation technique – it is a doorway to a unique state of consciousness. When I trained to teach Yoga Nidra in the late 1990's there were just a handful of tape cassettes of recordings available in the UK. Now it is widely available in many forms across the internet. While it is increasingly popular in wellness and therapeutic circles today, its roots stretch deep into yogic history. So, what exactly is Yoga Nidra, and how did it evolve into the practice we know now?

What Is Yoga Nidra?

Yoga means union or one-pointed awareness, Nidra means sleep. But Yoga Nidra is not about dropping off to sleep as we know it. It is a guided practice that can bring you into a deep state of rest while you remain alert and aware. In yogic terminology, it is a form of pratyahara, or withdrawal of the senses, which due to the systematic stages of Yoga Nidra, can lead to a unique borderline state between waking and sleeping. This state is marked by alpha and theta brain waves and can unlock powerful benefits for the body and mind. Practitioners experience what is often described as a “relaxation response,” which can lower stress, improve sleep, and offer access to deeper states of meditation. Yoga Nidra is in fact a form of meditation and an excellent introduction to meditation for people who find it hard to sit comfortably.

Ancient Inspirations

References to Yoga Nidra-like concepts can be found in ancient texts such as the Upanishads, the Mahabharata, and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Some passages refer to the "sleep of Vishnu", a philosophical idea symbolising deep, cosmic rest. Others describe dream states and the meditative space between consciousness and unconsciousness as gateways to Samadhi, or blissful absorption/one pointedness.

Long before the advent of modern neuroscience, yogis explored these altered states through sustained experiential practice, recognising their value and passing their knowledge on through oral teaching.

The Emergence of A Modern System of Yoga Nidra

Although ancient ideas laid the foundation, the structured Yoga Nidra practice we know today is widely believed to have been developed in the 1960s by Swami Satyananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga. Drawing inspiration from the tantric practice of Nyasa - the placing of awareness and long mantras on specific points of the body - he created a simplified, accessible, and non-sectarian method that could benefit people across cultures. Swami Satyananda also described early experiences from the 1930s in which he appeared to learn chants while asleep - an observation that helped shape his understanding of subconscious learning and awareness during deep rest.

Cross-Cultural Influences

Scholars such as Dr Mark Singleton have speculated that Yoga Nidra may also have been influenced by contemporaneous Western developments. These include autogenic training in Germany, proprioceptive awareness and conscious autosuggestion in France, and progressive relaxation techniques popular from the 1930s onward.  Swami Satyananda travelled through Europe in the 1950s and was known to be well-read, he may well have been aware of these methods too.

Global Spread and Evolving Forms of Yoga Nidra

From the 1960s onward, Yoga Nidra began slowly spreading around the world.

• In the United Kingdom, Swami Pragyamurti introduced it after returning from India, followed by teachers such as Swami Nishchalananda, Swami Vedantananda, Swami Satyaprakasha and Swami Janakananda. These pioneers, connected with the Bihar School at the time, produced recordings and training materials and courses to reach wider audiences.

• Key texts such as The Blue Yoga Nidra Book (1976), Yoga and Kriya (1981), and Yoga Darshan (1993) helped consolidate and share the teachings globally.

From this time onwards, other yoga schools began developing their own variations, for example:

• Swami Rama of the Himalayan Institute offered a looser, more intuitive version.

• Richard Miller’s iRest blended non-dual psychology with therapeutic approaches for trauma which was adopted by the US military.

• The Total Yoga Nidra Network, launched in 2014, offered a framework that allows Yoga Nidra to be explored in a comparative, creative, and therapeutic way.

• Rod Stryker’s ParaYoga Nidra and approaches from teachers like Kamini Desai (Amrit Yoga) added further diversity.

Each variation seems to retain the core principles while adjusting form, emphasis, and application to meet different needs and contexts.

In my experience as an assessor of Yoga Nidra trainee teachers, the traditional Bihar style of Yoga Nidra, as it is taught to teachers today, still follows its original structure. At the same time, the language used, especially in the United Kingdom, has evolved. It has become more inclusive, trauma sensitive, and attentive to the experiences of those practising it. The traditional Bihar texts on Yoga Nidra, written from the mid twentieth century onwards, continue to be foundational texts, but are most valuable when approached with an open mind and an awareness of the need to adapt certain content and language. In this way, the practices can remain relevant and accessible to contemporary audiences worldwide, while still honouring their original intent and depth.

The Science of Deep Rest

Modern research supports what yogis have long observed. During Yoga Nidra, regular practitioners have now been seen to shift from beta brain waves, associated with everyday alertness, to alpha waves, which indicate relaxed awareness. With experienced practice, delta waves may emerge during "visualisation" (or bringing to mind, however your mind works - if you are not a visualiser). Delta waves are typically linked to deep sleep, though in Yoga Nidra the practitioner aims to remain aware and responsive.

These shifts can bring measurable physiological benefits, including:

• Decreased sympathetic nervous system activity (fight/flight/freeze) and enhancing of the healing qualities of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest)

• Improved heart rate variability (HRV) which means a higher and more variable beat-to-beat interval, which is a sign of a resilient and adaptable autonomic nervous system.

• Improvements towards healthy ranges for heart rate and blood pressure.

• Reduced cortisol and catecholamine (e.g. adrenaline) levels

As with all beneficial mind-body practices, the effects of Yoga Nidra can vary from person to person. Individual experiences are shaped by many factors, including familiarity with the practice and how regularly it’s done. While even occasional sessions may offer a sense of rest and clarity, it is often through regular, ongoing practice that the deeper benefits gradually unfold.

Final Thoughts

Yoga Nidra exists today in many forms. Some are rooted in classical yoga; others are more therapeutic or experimental. These differences are not necessarily good or bad - just different. People guiding full Yoga Nidra practice for others should have undergone training to teach it, to understand the theory, purpose and effects of the individual stages and to guide it appropriately for the people doing the practice.

At its heart, Yoga Nidra is a deeply inclusive practice. It offers a simple but profound path to rest, healing, and expanded awareness.

If you feel inspired to explore Yoga Nidra further, I invite you to join my live online sessions, held twice a week.

Join a live session

You’ll also find a variety of recordings in the Library on my website if you become a

member, or recordings available in the Shop.

There’s a free short introductory Yoga Nidra waiting for you when you sign up to my mailing list.

Try your free Yoga Nidra