Yoga Nidra is for everyone – those who have trouble letting go, experience insomnia, trauma, burnout, anxiety, or for an individual seeking a greater sense of serenity and a more meaningful reconnection with themselves. It helps us achieve a peaceful condition of being, post which we awaken to our true, happy, and eternal Self. People of all ages, and with diverse physical abilities, perform Yoga Nidra to relax their minds as well as their body. This practice entails one to first rest comfortably in Savasana and then following some basic steps, starting from relaxing your feet, knees, stomach, chest, and neck to easing your mind.
There is further a pivotal role of breathing in Yoga Nidra, wherein you focus your senses on the air you exhale and inhale. As the state of self-consciousness deepens in this ‘awastha’, your thoughts begin to travel unhindered, and it is the focus on the sound of your breathing that transports you to completely diverse horizons. For instance, someone in ultimate Yoga Nidramight finds themselves lying on the pampering sand on a tranquil beach while the other may wonder amid the serenity of mountains and valleys. Disconnected from worldly affairs, your senses awaken to hear the voice from within while in Yoga Nidra.
Here comes a very significant role of something that is universal – music. Manisha Sharma, Yoga Practitioner, Sitarist, and Communications Professional shares, “Technically an
arrangement of sound patterns, music helps in enhancing the evolution one goes through during Yoga Nidra, while speeding the process of transportation that is integral to this age-old practice. It assumes all the more efficacy when the music in the companionship of Yoga Nidra emanates from Sitar, an instrument intrinsic to Indian classical music that has close allegiance to nature.”
From Asavari and Bhaitav to Khamaj and Todi, there are myriad ragas in Indian classical music, each corresponding to different moods, time frames, settings, etc. These ragas have in fact proven to have a positive impact on both mind as well as body. Unlike other relatively more physically-intensive asanas, the purpose of Yoga Nidra is to basically relax, refresh and re-energize every part of our body.
When one performs Yoga Nidra in the companionship of Sitar Music based on Indian classical ragas, it makes the powerful meditation technique even more profound. It is the calming effect of Sitar music that enhances or maximizes that quiet and soothing inner environment created through Yoga Nidra. Ragas on Sitar that induce an inward focus is quite beneficial for the purpose. During the calm and contemplative practice of Yoga Nidra, Sitar music has been shown to have a deeper impact on our body, brain as well as nervous systems.
Though there are some who prefer complete silence during Yoga Nidra, as they feel music might be a distraction. Most possibly, they have not experienced Yoga Nidra under the right ragas on Sitar in modest volume, which induces absolute relaxation. In fact, one can benefit greatly from the way music lowers arterial blood pressure, reduces anxiety, and create a peaceful surrounding. Studies even suggest that performing Yoga Nidrain in a rightful manner may even help battle conditions like insomnia. So next time the yogi in you seeks that divine relaxation, accompany your Yoga Nidra with nothing but Sitar Music.
