If resting at night is impossible for you, you should try yoga nidra: you will sleep like a baby

We have all the confinement trying that do yoga. First, we introduce you to the best yoga teacher, Xuan Lan. Afterwards, we introduce you, dear reader, to the benefits of restorative yoga and finally, we select (with great care) all the books that any beginning yogi should read, at least once in a lifetime.

We always say that one of the best decisions we have made lately is to start practicing yoga: it is not only used to stretch, move the skeleton and improve flexibility. It is also a balm for anxiety, stress and it forces you to stop, breathe and feel the moment when you're racing.

If greetings to the sun, the pose of the tree and the dog on your back have become your only guidelines in life, we have something to tell you: we have found a type of yoga that will not only calm you instantly, but with the one that you will sleep better.

Its about yoga nidra a modality of yoga focused on the final part of the practice. After fully stretching the body with gentle, decontracting yoga positions, a guided meditation will help you relax and feel calmer. It is as if you turned off a computer little by little, closing one by one all the windows and applications to finally hit the shutdown button. Yoga nidra is a practice focused on a more restorative than physical sphere, it is a kind of Savasana prolonged that focuses on breathing to provide comfort. If you have done / or do yoga you will know what we are talking about. When we are in Savasana, we practice a very deep meditation that relaxes the muscles as if they were jelly (at least, that is what is intended), in which you do not get to sleep, but you are so calm that you could do it perfectly. It is about maintaining for a time, whether it is 15 minutes or 60, this state of 'sleep' in which the body is resting on the splinter and the brain is slightly 'on' without falling asleep.

This guided meditation can be done in person in a class while the teacher guides you, or failing that (and more so now under the circumstances in which we find ourselves) from home through YouTube or any podcast focused on this practice.

When to do yoga nidra?

Keep in mind that this variation of yoga focuses less on the body and more on the soul. As shock therapy for anxiety, stress and disturbed sleep patterns it is very beneficial, but it can also be practiced after a hatha yoga class if you need a 'plus' of relaxation or after any sports training to calm down.

Where to do it? Depending on what you want: if you do it post training, you can carry it out with your mat on the floor, yes, it is very important that you have a sweater or a blanket on hand to avoid catching cold after physical exertion. If you do it after a yoga class, you will have to lengthen your Savasana and that's it. If, on the other hand, you want me to help you sleep, the bed is a good place to do this practice.

Now alone, hit play and … take a deep breath.