NEW DELHI: Yoga nidra or the practice of sleeping consciously has been known globally for its potential to improve psychological well-being and health for decades.
However, for the first time, Indian researchers have carried out functional MRI – a non-invasive brain scan that measures brain activity by tracking blood flow changes – on followers of this ancient practice to explain how it works.
According to the study, published in international journal Scientific Reports researchers from IIT Delhi, AIIMS Delhi and Mahajan Imaging, experienced meditators had a unique neural mechanism during yoga nidra which resulted in being restful yet aware.
Our brain has a Default Mode Network (DMN) – a collection of interconnected brain regions – that are active when we are not focused on the outside world.
According to the IIT Delhi researchers, it’s like the brain’s “background mode” that operates when we are daydreaming, thinking about ourselves, or just letting our minds wander. The Scientific Reports study found that the DMN behaves differently (less connected) in experienced meditators compared to novices, promoting a state of deep relaxation while staying aware.
The study also found that while listening to the guided instructions during Yoga Nidra, both experienced meditators and novices showed activity in several parts of their brains involved in processing language and movements as expected.
However, what was more interesting was activation in regions associated with processing emotions, and in the brain area Thalamus, which is involved in controlling sleep. Professor Rahul Garg of IIT Delhi, who is a co-principal investigator in the study said, “According to Yogic texts, Yoga Nidra helps bring the ‘samskaras’ buried in deep subconscious minds to the surface and eventually helps release them, thereby promoting health.”
This may explain why it has been found effective in controlling anxiety in certain studies.
Dr Harsh Mahajan, chairman, Mahajan Imaging & Labs, said: “This study has, for the first time, used functional MRI to prove the beneficial effect of yoga nidra, an ancient yogic practice. It suggests a unique neural mechanism in experienced meditators during yoga nidra which results in being restful yet aware.”