What is The Difference Between Yoga Nidra and Savasana
Yoga nidra is most commonly practiced lying down in savasana. Because of these two practices being interlinked with each other, the most apparent confusion is regarding their differences.
- Yoga nidra and savasana are different techniques
- They are practiced with a different purpose
- They offer different benefits
- Yoga nidra is always aided while Savasana may not be
- Yoga Nidra includes savasana
This article looks at the differences between yoga Nidra and savasana and what makes them unique. We also discuss the similarities between the two.
Here are the main differences between yoga nidra and savasana.
1. Yoga nidra and savasana are different techniques
This is a fundamental difference between the two.
Savasana is the final asana in a yoga class
Savasana includes a body scan and a time of silence. It is a resting pose that helps the body and mind relax and assimilate the benefits of the yoga practice.
If you are in a yoga class, your teacher will primarily guide you by moving your attention to different body parts where you consciously relax.
If you are practicing by yourself, you might do this in silence.
Yoga Nidra is a guided practice
While yoga Nidra is not precisely a meditation technique, it is a guided journey to access a higher level of consciousness, break old habits, and form new ones.
It starts with setting an intention and can include creative visualizations, affirmations, body scans, breath awareness, and witnessing your thoughts and feelings.
2. The purpose of yoga nidra and savasana is different
Savasana is practiced at the end of a yoga class to scan the body for any tension and then let go of any effort in body and mind to reach a place of complete relaxation. Yoga Nidra is a yogic technique for achieving a state that is in between consciousness and sleep.
When in this state, the brain is receptive to altering and reprogramming thinking patterns.
Yoga nidra is used as a tool to attain the ultimate aim of yoga – Samadhi or spiritual enlightenment.
3. Yoga nidra and Savasana bring different benefits
Savasana offers profound relaxation and helps let go of residual stress. On the other hand, Yoga Nidra is a practice that allows you to intimately connect with the self by creating ease and reducing stress.
It activates the rest and digest mode of the parasympathetic nervous system that enables physical and mental restoration.
It is being widely used to help those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It helps improve self-esteem, reduce the sensation of pain, and reduce stress and anxiety.
This window that yoga Nidra provides into the self liberates oneself from repetitive habits and thoughts that are so deep-seated that they form mental grooves.
4. Yoga nidra is always aided while savasana may not be
Savasana can be an independent practice. You do not necessarily need a teacher, guide, or voice to practice savasana. Yoga Nidra is always guided.
If you have self-practice and you know how to do savasana, you do not need someone to guide it for you.
There is either a teacher who guides you through the practice or an audio recording that you would use for practicing yoga Nidra.
5. Yoga nidra includes but is not limited to savasana
The practice of yoga Nidra entails lying down in savasana or corpse pose for relaxation and rejuvenation and other yogic techniques like:
- Pratyahara or a conscious withdrawal of the senses
- Pratipaksha Bhavana or replacing negative thoughts with positive ones
- Breath meditation
- And creative visualization.
What are some similarities between yoga nidra and savasana?
There are areas of overlap between yoga nidra and savasana. Here are some similarities between the two:
Both yoga nidra and savasana are practiced lying down on the back
Yoga nidra is generally practiced in savasana or corpse pose. This posture similarity is why yoga Nidra and savasana can seem to be the same.
The posture is one of relaxation, the body lying flat on the floor, resting on the back, with some distance between the two legs, and arms spread out on the mat.
Both yoga nidra and savasana bring in a state of deep relaxation
While there are other benefits of yoga nidra, one thing that it shares with savasana is the level of peace it brings.
Both yoga Nidra and savasana can induce a sense of deep and lasting relaxation for the body and mind.
This happens as a result of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) getting activated when the body and mind experience this state that is achieved with yoga Nidra and savasana.
When the PNS gets activated, it starts the healing process, and the body and mind begin to repair and restore themselves.
Both yoga nidra and savasana include a body scan
Mentally scanning the body for any tension, stress, or strain is an integral part of savasana.
Yoga Nidra also involves scanning the body mentally and observing it like a witness for any sensations.
It entails becoming acutely aware of the different parts of the body, consciously relaxing, and reaching a place of surrender.
Both yoga nidra and savasana are of similar duration
Traditionally, both yoga Nidra and savasana are not practiced in a rush. They could last up to half an hour or more.
We usually rush through savasana as it symbolizes the end of a yoga class, and we are eager to get back to our daily chores.
With yoga Nidra, too, it is not very easy to feel relaxed lying down without feeling the familiar comfort of busyness.
We shorten these practices for ease and sometimes even lack patience.
However, a minimum duration of 12 -15 minutes is recommended for yoga Nidra and savasana to experience its full benefits.
Both yoga nidra and savasana help with sleep
A prerequisite for good sleep is for the body and mind to rest and relax; they need to come to a place where they feel safe and can let go of distractions in the form of activities and thoughts that they use to keep themselves busy.
Both yoga nidra and savasana help achieve that state of surrender and provide an opportunity to relax, nurture, rejuvenate deeply, and find nourishment.
Yoga nidra and savasana guide a practitioner into a state of complete rest while maintaining awareness and keeping clarity, which creates a feeling of being safe and protected.
The level of relaxation that the body and mind experience with both yoga Nidra and savasana is what they would experience in the state of deep sleep.
As a result, for those who struggle with sleep and experience sleep issues like not getting enough sleep or good quality sleep, yoga Nidra and savasana are great tools to get rest.
Wanna know more? 👉 Here Can Yoga Nidra Replace Sleep?
Conclusion
Both yoga nidra and savasana are powerful yogic techniques that, even as standalone practices, have immense benefits for our body, mind, and spirit.
They share similarities:
- Both yoga nidra and savasana are practiced lying down on the back
- They bring in a state of deep relaxation
- They include a body scan
- And they help with sleep
But their main differences include:
- Yoga Nidra includes savasana and is always aided, while Savasana alone may not be
- Being completely different techniques
- Being practiced with another purpose
- And offering different benefits
They are easily accessible as you can practice at whatever time it is available, and there is no wrong way to practice, even if you fall asleep.
You can very easily integrate them into your daily routine.
If you are familiar with savasana because of going to yoga class but could do with some help with yoga Nidra, this is an interesting article explaining how to practice yoga Nidra and experience some of its incredible benefits.