Should You Try Yoga Nidra Training to Fix Your Sleep? A Yoga Teacher’s POV

When everything feels like it’s falling apart—sleepless nights, war in your home country, a relationship ending—how do you find your way back to yourself?

For Masha, an inspiring yoga teacher and marketing expert, it wasn’t about numbing or escaping. She turned to Yoga Nidra, an ancient meditation technique for deep relaxation and self-discovery, which became her anchor during challenging times.

Fresh from completing a hands-on Yoga Nidra training in San Diego, Masha shares how this practice has helped her reset her sleep, let go, and how anyone can incorporate Yoga Nidra meditation into daily life to improve well-being. In our conversation, we discuss:

• Practical tips for beginners looking to try Yoga Nidra and make it part of their daily routine
• The connection between deep rest and improved creativity
• Why Yoga Nidra is called “The Art of Non-Doing” and its benefits
• The role of Sankalpa (intention-setting) in Yoga Nidra—and why it doesn’t need to feel overwhelming

Some takeaways:

1. Stillness is hard, but essential: Yoga Nidra teaches the art of simply being with yourself—no distractions, no to-do lists. It’s about living in the present.
2. Sankalpa can be fluid: Your intention doesn’t need to be a lifelong mission. It evolves with you, and Yoga Nidra helps guide you toward what truly matters.
3. Small steps are powerful: Starting with just 10–15 minutes of Yoga Nidra meditation can unlock profound relaxation, better sleep, and better self-awareness.

Q: What’s your story as a yoga teacher, and what inspired you take the Yoga Nidra training?

Yoga first surfaced in my life during one of the most difficult periods. I signed up for a 200-hour yoga teacher training when I was about a year and a half into practicing yoga. Still very fresh, I didn’t know much, but I decided to commit and see where it would take me.

Interestingly, the training started the same week the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. I’m originally from Ukraine and it was very difficult for me to interact with people or even be outside. Honestly, it saved my life during that time

The weekends were the worst because on workdays, I stayed busy with my job, but on weekends - what do you really do with yourself? So, it was the training that took my mind off the news and filled my Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with a lot of practice.

The training was in person at Prana Yoga Center in San Diego with an incredible teacher. He is in his 70s now but can still do handstands! The way he teaches is very close to how I see it - yoga is not really about physical performance; it's about the mindset.

What I valued most was his philosophy: “Make yoga work for you, not make yourself work for yoga.” Meaning make sure that you are connected with your body and you practice in a way that feels good. 

Q: It’s such a small world! When I first moved to San Diego in the 2010s, Prana Yoga was my first local studio too. My very first class was with Gerhard, and I distinctly remember how genuine it felt—his presence and his teaching. He really is like the Yoda of yoga. What drew you to Yoga Nidra?

Yoga Nidra training also came during a difficult time. I was going through the process of separating from my husband. I just stopped sleeping. I would sleep for maybe three or four hours a night. So for the last couple of months I’ve been really working to reset my sleep. I had heard about Yoga Nidra meditation for sleep before but hadn't practiced consistently.

When I saw the Yoga Nidra training from the Trilogy Sanctuary in San Diego, I had this feeling that I just have to make it work.

Q: How has the training shaped your personal Yoga Nidra practice and your teaching?

It helped me better understand the practice beyond simply listening to guided meditation recordings. For example, why we do visualizations in Yoga Nidra, the meaning of exploring the opposites—sensations like hot and cold, pain and pleasure. These techniques help us experience a wide range of feelings without external triggers, training the body and mind to access and be present with those feelings. This deeper awareness was new to me.

Q: One of the most mysterious elements of Yoga Nidra is Sankalpa. What is it, and how do you use it?

Sankalpa, as I understand it, is a deep, innate affirmation or intention that you can set at the beginning and end of your yoga practice. Our Yoga Nidra teacher explained it as a big objective or purpose that you manifest pretty much throughout your whole life. That sounds like a lot of pressure, doesn’t it?

What if I don’t know what my life’s purpose is yet? It feels like one of those chicken-or-egg questions: Are you doing Yoga Nidra to fulfill your Sankalpa, or is it more about doing Yoga Nidra to discover your Sankalpa first—and then, maybe, fulfill it later?

I like to think of Sankalpa as something more fluid—it doesn’t have to be one fixed thing throughout your life. It can evolve with you. Personally, I try not to force myself to define it. Instead, I focus on using Yoga Nidra for deep relaxation and connection with myself and the world, trusting that it will eventually guide me to the right path.

Q: Do you have any examples of Yoga Nidra Sankalpas that are safe and beneficial for those of us still discovering our life’s true purpose?

I am deeply relaxed, calm and blissful

I am safe and supported

I am healthy and peaceful

Q: What are the main benefits of Yoga Nidra?

Personally, I use Yoga Nidra to relax and improve my sleep. It helps me unlock a state of mind where I get a bit more creative and free, get that energy flowing. So, the top benefits for me are:

• Deep relaxation: letting go I think is the most powerful thing. How the body automatically relaxes as you rotate the attention throughout different parts of the body.

• Awareness and mind-body connection: I've noticed that a lot of people are disconnected from their bodies. Especially those in corporate jobs. Because we’re are constantly somewhere else - in your headspace or on our screens, but not in our bodies. The simplest things like noticing your toes, spreading the toes and connecting with the tiniest parts of the body are incredibly  grounding and calming.

• Enhanced learning and creativity: they talked about how Yoga Nidra can boost creative energy and subconscious learning. For example, they mentioned people sleeping while someone reads in a foreign language to them, and the person supposedly learns the language that way a lot faster. Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman talks a lot about using this practice to improve learning.

Q: How does Yoga Nidra help with sleep?

It relaxes your body and mind deeply, even more so than regular sleep. By calming the nervous system and promoting deep rest, Nidra helps reset your sleep patterns, leaving you more refreshed and rejuvenated.

Q: What is the most surprising thing you learned about Yoga Nidra during the course?

One surprising and frustrating discovery was learning about allegations against Swami Satyananda, who helped popularize Yoga Nidra in the West.

It was difficult to reconcile, but I focused on separating the person from the practice. Yoga Nidra is thousands of years old and was practiced by ancient sages in India. So on a positive note, I was fascinated by the historical roots of Nidra, including traditional ceremonies like burial rituals.

Q: Any tips for beginners looking to try the Yoga Nidra meditation?

Start with the shortest version you can find —10 to 15 minutes is ideal. Do it as often as you can. Ideally, I’d recommend practicing every day, but realistically, that’s not always possible.

You can do it anytime, though mornings are best if you want to build a habit—it’s done, and you’ve started your day on a positive note.

Even if it’s just a couple of times a week, pay attention to how you feel afterward. Noticing the benefits can be a great motivator to keep going.

Q: Any favorite yoga teacher-approved recordings of Yoga Nidra you’d like to share?

Yes, I'll send you my favorites soon!

✨ While we’re waiting, feel free to explore these Yoga Nidra meditations for sleep and deep rest.

Why is Yoga Nidra sometimes called “The Art of Non-Doing”?

Doing nothing is definitely an art—and one of the hardest at that! I think it’s because it teaches you to simply be with yourself, let go of control, and find profound stillness. It’s essentially about living—fully being in the moment, not stuck in the past or worrying about the future. That’s exactly what makes Yoga Nidra so impactful.

Why do you think Yoga Nidra isn’t as widely practiced in modern yoga studios as other yoga styles?

Active yoga styles like Vinyasa or Flow are so popular because people are so anxious—they need to move. That’s the first reason. The second is that we’re so goal-oriented. It’s really hard to stay still and just be present in the moment.

When you’re moving, you’re focused on your body, your muscles, your balance - focused on doing - so it feels like you’re in the moment.

But in a way, it’s almost a distraction. You’re keeping busy rather than truly being present. That’s what Yoga Nidra is about—learning to be still, learning to shift from doing to being with yourself.

I think it’s not as common because it’s hard to get someone to lie on a yoga mat and stay still for 20 minutes. People get anxious. But I believe it’s so important, even if you can only manage five minutes of healing stillness. I’ll be incorporating a bit more of that in my yoga classes!