Yoga Nidra
The Art of Conscious Rest
An article by Lionsgate Events
Yoga Nidra - often called “yogic sleep” - is a deeply restorative and ancient relaxation practice that invites you to rest in the
space between wakefulness and dreaming.
Unlike regular sleep, your body fully relaxes while your mind remains aware, entering a powerful state of healing, release, and rejuvenation.
Practised lying down in Shavasana (corpse pose), Yoga Nidra combines breath awareness, guided visualisation, and heartfelt intention setting to bring the nervous system into profound stillness. It is one of the most accessible yet transformative forms of yoga - no flexibility or previous experience required.
“When awareness is separate and distinct from mental activity… this is the experience of total relaxation.
Yoga Nidra is said to be the doorway to Samadhi.”
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati
What is Yoga Nidra?
The origins of Yoga Nidra trace back to the Upanishads (circa 600 BCE), with ancient texts describing it as a pathway to Turiya - the “fourth state” of consciousness, beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.
Modern research now supports what the ancients intuited:
Activates the body’s relaxation response and parasympathetic nervous system
Increases dopamine release and cerebral blood flow
Supports healthy blood pressure and heart rate variability
Reduces stress, anxiety, and mild depression
Improves sleep quality and emotional regulation
This unique state of conscious rest allows the body to heal, the mind to soften, and the soul to expand.
Ancient Roots, Modern Science
A Yoga Nidra session typically lasts 30–45 minutes and follows a gentle, structured flow:
Preparation - Settling into Shavasana with relaxed stillness.
Sankalpa - Setting a heartfelt personal intention.
Rotation of Consciousness - Moving awareness systematically through the body.
Breath Awareness - Observing the natural rhythm of the breath.
Opposite Sensations - Experiencing contrasts like light/heavy, warm/cool.
Visualisation - Creating peaceful inner imagery.
Return & Integration - Gently waking the body, integrating calm and clarity.
This process brings the body into deep rest while awakening the subtler layers of the mind.
The Practice Journey
Regular practice offers profound physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits:
Nervous system regulation & deep relaxation
Relief from stress, tension, and anxiety
Improved sleep quality & balanced energy
Hormonal and cardiovascular support
Enhanced emotional clarity, creativity, and self-healing
A sense of spaciousness, trust, and connection to self
Many describe Yoga Nidra as “a massage for the nervous system” - an effortless surrender that invites inner peace.
Healing Benefits of Yoga Nidra
Both Yoga Nidra and Meditation are powerful practices that calm the mind and guide us inward, but they work in beautifully different ways.
In Yoga Nidra, you lie down comfortably and allow your awareness to float between wakefulness and sleep - a deeply restorative yet conscious state.
In Meditation, you typically sit upright, maintaining alertness and mental focus. It asks the mind to quieten while remaining fully awake.
Yoga Nidra vs Meditation: Two Pathways Inward
Join a Harmony Within Workshop at Heartwood Farm
For many people, sitting meditation can feel challenging at first:
Fidgeting and restlessness may arise.
A busy mind or tense body can make stillness difficult.
The pressure to “get it right” can be discouraging.
Yoga Nidra offers a gentle bridge. By calming the nervous system and drawing the senses inward, it prepares mind and body for deeper meditation. Think of it as your soft landing place - the step that makes stillness not just possible, but pleasurable.
“Yoga Nidra is not sleep. It’s where your body sleeps and your consciousness awakens.”
Tips for a Transformative Practice
Attend a live class or guided session - it helps you stay present.
Consistency matters - even 20 minutes can be deeply restorative.
Falling asleep is okay - your body still receives the benefits.
Remember - 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra can feel as nourishing as several hours of sleep.
This is why Yoga Nidra has become a beloved tool for stress relief, emotional healing, and nervous system reset.
Why Yoga Nidra is the Perfect Gateway
At Lionsgate, our Yoga Nidra & Sound Bath afternoons are held on the ancient healing lands of Heartwood Farm in the Byron Hinterland. Here, surrounded by nature’s quiet power, you’ll be gently guided into a state of effortless stillness, held, supported, and safe.
We weave traditional Yoga Nidra with sound healing to create a multi-sensory journey that nourishes mind, body, and spirit. Whether you’re new to the practice or deepening your inner work, these sessions offer the perfect space to pause, breathe, and reconnect.
Yoga Nidra at Heartwood Farm Byron Bay
Private 1:1 sessions for personal healing
Small group workshops for friends, families, or special occasions
Corporate sessions for team well-being and stress release
Integration with Breathwork and Retreats at Heartwood Farm
Enquire About Private & Corporate Sessions
Private Groups & Corporate Sessions
Begin Your Journey Inward?
Let your body rest and your spirit rise.
“Yoga Nidra is a return to your truest nature, a journey from doing to simply being.”
Leigh Ostermeier
Yoga Nidra
Leigh is an experienced practitioner and dedicated student of the eight fold path of Ashtanga Yoga.
She particularly loves teaching and practising the slower forms of asana and pranayama, and yoga nidra. In this fast paced and somewhat disconnected modern day, these practices provide Leigh and her students with nervous system regulation and a reconnection to self required to maintain a sense of ease and comfort through the every day ups and downs.
Having moved to the Byron Shire almost twenty years ago, Leigh has had many an opportunity to learn from and practice, teach and co create with many of the regions most internationally renowned teachers.
As a teacher of yoga, Leigh’s passions are seeped in helping the very stressed and dysregulated individual to return to a state of calm, ease and overall balance and well- being. She is grateful for the opportunities she has had to help hundreds of such individuals and is committed to helping more people in the future. Leigh’s hope is that by creating more internal peace on an individual level, there will be a flow on effect into the greater web of humanity.