Could This Practice Improve Your Sleep, Sharpen Your Mind, and Decrease Unhealthy Cravings? | Kelly Boys
Mindfulness trainer Kelly Boys, author of "The Blind Spot Effect," discusses Yoga Nidra, a lying-down guided meditation. She explains how it can improve sleep, working memory, and decrease cravings, offering practical ways to integrate its principles into daily life to get out of your head and into your body.
Deep Dive Analysis
17 Topic Outline
Introduction to Yoga Nidra and its benefits
Defining Non-Dual Yoga Tradition
Yoga Philosophy: Self vs. No-Self
Understanding 'Emptiness' in Buddhist Context
Historical Roots and Evolution of Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra's Connection to Sleep and Awareness
Distinguishing Yoga Nidra from Mindfulness Meditation
Scientific Research on Yoga Nidra (Non-Sleep Deep Rest)
Integrating Mindfulness and Yoga Nidra
Defining and Applying 'Parts Work' in Meditation
Practice: Resting into Backside Body Awareness
Practice: Cultivating an Inner Resource of Safety and Ease
Practice: Working with Opposites to Get Unstuck
The Power and Value of Setting Intentions
Understanding 'The Blind Spot Effect'
Working with Core Beliefs for Self-Integration
Accessing Guided Yoga Nidra Practices
5 Key Concepts
Non-Dual Yoga Tradition
This philosophy, specifically Kashmiri Shaivism, posits that we are not separate from the world or each other. The ultimate understanding in yoga is to realize the interconnectedness of all things, seeing that the self is not distinct from the universe.
Emptiness (Buddhist Context)
In Buddhism, emptiness refers to the idea that the self is not as solid or fixed as we perceive it to be. This is considered a positive insight because it allows one to not take thoughts, urges, and impulses so personally, realizing they are not intrinsically 'you' and therefore you don't have to be owned by them.
Conscious Nap
A term used by Andrew Huberman to describe Yoga Nidra, highlighting its ability to induce a deeply relaxed, in-between state of consciousness. It allows for inquiry into experience while in a receptive, non-doing state, potentially bringing unconscious elements to the surface.
Parts Work
A therapeutic approach, integrated into Yoga Nidra, where recurring emotions or beliefs are personified as 'parts' of oneself. By objectifying these experiences (e.g., 'anxiety' as an 8-year-old self) and interacting with them compassionately, one can understand their messages and integrate them into a sense of wholeness.
The Blind Spot Effect
This term refers to the impact of unconscious impulses, core beliefs, or attendant emotions that drive behavior without conscious awareness. It describes living out patterns that create difficulties, which others might see, but the individual doesn't fully understand the core cause of, hindering self-awareness and growth.
10 Questions Answered
Yoga Nidra is a lying-down guided meditation practice that originated from the non-dual yoga tradition, often done in the corpse pose (shavasana), and is known for promoting relaxation, improving sleep, and enhancing working memory.
The non-dual yoga tradition, exemplified by Kashmiri Shaivism, is rooted in the idea that we are not separate from each other or the world, aiming for the ultimate understanding that the self is deeply interconnected with everything.
Yoga Nidra can be very effective for falling asleep, as it invites individuals to remain consciously aware while their body goes in and out of different states, essentially being as awake as possible while entering sleep states. It's often called 'non-sleep deep rest'.
Mindfulness typically involves sitting and observing, while Yoga Nidra is a lying-down, guided practice that often starts with an intention, emphasizes a sense of safety and ease in the body (making it trauma-sensitive), and is very somatically focused, exploring the body's correlation to beliefs and emotions.
Research by Andrew Huberman suggests that Yoga Nidra, or 'non-sleep deep rest,' can reset dopamine levels, helping to move out of a drive state, and also improves working memory, potentially by integrating memories more effectively when practiced before sleep.
You can practice by consistently drawing your attention to the entire backside of your body throughout the day, allowing a sense of rest and awareness of what's present, which can downregulate the nervous system and disrupt overthinking.
You can create an 'inner resource' by recalling a memory or imagining a place where you feel completely safe, secure, and at ease, then focusing on the felt sense of that experience in your body, making it accessible even during challenging moments.
Practice working with 'opposites' by holding the difficult emotion (e.g., disappointment) in one hand and its opposite (e.g., satisfaction) in the other, then moving attention back and forth, and finally holding both simultaneously. This can induce cognitive perspective-taking and relaxation.
Setting intentions is a powerful way to build self-trust and drive behavior change. By consciously deciding what you want to do or how you want to be, and then checking in on your follow-through, you create a positive feedback loop that reinforces your ability to achieve your goals and fosters self-awareness.
Identify recurring self-statements (e.g., 'I'm not safe') and inquire into what feels most true when you believe them. Personify this core belief, welcome it in, ask what it wants or needs, and if there's an action you can take to address that need, transforming it into an ally.
14 Actionable Insights
1. Interrogate & Ally Core Beliefs
Overhear recurring self-expressions or thoughts that stem from a core belief (e.g., ‘I’m not safe’ or ‘I’m a bad person’). Articulate it in one sentence, welcome it as a ‘part,’ and then ask what it wants or needs, and what action you can take to address it. This process helps uncover the root of misperceptions, transform limiting beliefs into allies, and change actions that stem from these unconscious drivers.
2. Engage Emotions as Inner Parts
When a recurring emotion (e.g., anger, anxiety) arises, personify it as a ‘part’ of yourself (e.g., an eight-year-old self) and actively engage with it. Ask what it needs or wants to integrate these aspects into your wholeness, preventing them from taking over or leading to misperceptions.
3. Develop Reliable Inner Resource
Identify a memory, natural place, or imagined space where you feel completely safe, secure, and at ease. Regularly connect with this image and its corresponding felt sense in your body, eventually focusing only on the bodily sensation. This practice builds a skill of accessing a baseline of ease and well-being, providing resilience and a quick way to downregulate the nervous system when triggered or facing challenges.
4. Regularly Set Heartfelt Intentions
Identify what is most important to you and set clear intentions around it, either daily (e.g., in the morning) or as a long-term ‘heartfelt intention.’ Regularly check in with how you are doing in relation to these intentions. This builds self-trust, promotes self-awareness, and drives behavior change, serving as a ‘North Star’ to guide your actions.
5. Cultivate Backside Body Awareness
Throughout the day, periodically bring your attention to the entire backside of your body (head, neck, back, legs) and allow a sense of rest to permeate your awareness. This simple practice helps to downregulate the nervous system, disrupt overthinking, and foster a sense of resting presence, cutting through mind illusions and promoting clearer perception.
6. Practice Holding Emotional Opposites
When stuck in a challenging emotion (e.g., disappointment), mentally ‘hold’ it in one hand and its opposite (e.g., satisfaction) in the other. Alternate attention between them, then try to hold both simultaneously. This practice helps to remind you of the full spectrum of experience, prevents fusion with one extreme, and can lead to relaxation or a ’third, more true insight,’ helping you get unstuck.
7. Practice Yoga Nidra Meditation
Engage in Yoga Nidra, a lying down guided meditation that has been shown to help you sleep better, improve working memory, and decrease cravings. Seek out mindfulness-based approaches for a practical and accessible experience, as these articulate the underlying mechanisms.
8. Use Yoga Nidra for Sleep
Practice Yoga Nidra specifically when trying to fall asleep, as it can be very effective for inducing sleep. If you fall asleep during the practice, it is considered perfectly fine and still beneficial.
9. Explore Physical Belief Correlates
When holding a belief or experiencing an emotion (e.g., in meditation or Yoga Nidra), actively look for and feel its physical manifestation or ‘correlate’ in your body. This somatic focus helps to understand how beliefs and emotions manifest physically.
10. Inquire Into Personal Blindspots
Reflect on patterns or behaviors in your life that create ‘messes’ or where you feel stuck, and actively inquire into how you might be unconsciously getting in your own way. This process illuminates misperceptions, helping to integrate different impulses and beliefs for greater wholeness and to ‘get out of your own way.’
11. Develop Compassion for Emotions
When difficult emotions arise, send them warmth and recognize that they might be trying to help you, rather than being something to be ashamed of or pushed away. This compassionate approach helps to integrate and understand these emotions, moving beyond fusion with them.
12. Embrace Yoga Nidra’s Receptive State
Approach Yoga Nidra with a sense of receptivity, allowing for a ‘conscious nap’ state rather than a strong feeling of ‘doing’ a practice. This state is powerful for working with the unconscious and allowing underlying drivers to emerge to the surface.
13. Yoga Nidra for Trauma Sensitivity
Engage in Yoga Nidra, noting its initial focus on establishing a sense of safety and ease in the body. This approach allows challenging experiences to be met within a context of safety and ease, making it particularly beneficial for trauma sensitivity.
14. Yoga Nidra for Dopamine, Memory
Practice Yoga Nidra (or other non-sleep deep rest practices) as research suggests it can help reset dopamine levels and improve working memory. This can help you move out of a ‘drive state’ and sharpen your mind.
8 Key Quotes
You say self, we say no self, same thing.
The Dalai Lama
Emptiness in the Buddhist context is not in the pejorative. Like if in common English parlance, when we talk about emptiness, it's not necessarily a good thing. But in Buddhism, emptiness of self, meaning that you're not as solid as you think you are, that's a good thing because you don't have to take all of your thoughts and urges and impulses so personally.
Dan Harris
It's kind of like being as awake as you can while you are going into states of sleep. So it's maintaining that awareness.
Kelly Boys
It's interesting that it, quote, works, and it also stops working when you start to have a really strong agenda that you have to get somewhere.
Kelly Boys
The biggest development for me was moving from just a pure mindfulness mode where I would see whatever came up in my mind and not try to engage with it or entangle with it... to actually send it warmth and realize it's trying to help me.
Dan Harris
I couldn't get away from the awareness that I was suddenly in touch with. And it's interesting not to be able to sleepwalk, or when you're sleepwalking, you see it immediately, like where you get lost in something and it's just seen. And the process of that, I don't mind it, but it's like it couldn't turn off.
Kelly Boys
The thing that has excited me from day one, as I've gotten interested in meditation, is the notion that all of these mental states that we want and need to do life better are skills, and that you can really get better at them.
Dan Harris
The brain, as Dr. Judson Brewer points out all the time, is a pleasure-seeking machine. So if we're doing something, our brain thinks we're getting a benefit out of it.
Dan Harris
4 Protocols
Backside Body Awareness Practice
Kelly Boys- Feel the entire backside of your body (back of head, neck, back, back of legs).
- Allow a sense of rest as you are aware of whatever is in your experience.
- Move through your day with this resting or holding presence, aware of coming and going, without needing to hold yourself separate from what you're observing.
Creating an Inner Resource of Safety and Ease
Kelly Boys- Recall a memory, a place in nature, or build a place in your imagination where you feel truly at ease, safe, and secure.
- Feel the physical correlate of that memory or image in your body.
- Over time, let the image go and stay with just the felt sense of ease and well-being in your body.
- Return to this felt sense repeatedly throughout the day or in meditation practice to strengthen its accessibility.
Working with Opposites for Stuckness
Kelly Boys- Identify something you're experiencing (e.g., disappointment, a thought) and imagine holding it in your left hand.
- Consider what would be in your right hand if you weren't experiencing that; identify its opposite (e.g., satisfaction, pleasure).
- Go back and forth, focusing attention on the sensation or feeling of each opposite in its respective hand.
- Hold both opposites simultaneously, noticing any relaxation or new insight that arises as your mind struggles to focus on two objects at once.
Interrogating and Befriending Core Beliefs
Kelly Boys- Overhear yourself throughout the day for recurring statements or thoughts about yourself that seem to have a signature of 'I am this,' 'I'm not this,' 'I need this,' or 'I'm not that.'
- Gently inquire into what feels most salient or true when you believe this core statement (e.g., 'I'm not safe').
- Welcome this core belief in, as you would an emotion or breath, and if it personifies, open the door to see what comes in (e.g., yourself at a certain age).
- Ask the personified core belief: 'What is it that you want?' 'What is it that you need?' 'Is there an action I can take to give you what you need?'
- Interact with this personified core belief to understand its message and integrate it, transforming it into an ally rather than a limiting factor.