Yoga Nidra for Kids: History, Benefits & Practical Applications
Yoga nidra is a style of meditation that delivers the practitioner to the space between waking and sleeping. It is also known as “yogic sleep,” “transcendental sleep,” and “proprioceptive relaxation.”
History & Evolution of Yoga Nidra
Yoga nidra is mentioned in two canonical Hindu texts: the Upanishads (late Vedic Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy; 1500 – 500 BCE) and Mahabharata (4th Century CE, Book 1, section XXI). Although it describes “deep sleep under the spell of spiritual meditation,” there is no linear connection between what these texts describe and modern yoga nidra.
6th-4th Centuries BCE Buddhist and Shaiva tantras describe yoga nidra as “peace beyond words”
11th/12th Century Yoga nidra and Samadhi used interchangeably in Hatha and Raja texts
14th Century Yoga nidra described by the Yogatārāvalī as “that special thoughtless sleep, which consists of [just] consciousness.”
15th Century Haṭha Yoga Pradipika claims immortality for those who can achieve yoga nidra
17th Century Hatha Ratnavali introduces the portmanteau “yoganidrasana” to describe a posture for yoga nidra: legs wrapped behind the neck
1891 Annie Payson Call delineates specific techniques for deep rest in Power through Repose
1934 Psychiatrist Edmund Jacobson details the process of progressive muscle relaxation in You Must Relax
1973 French yoga practitioner Dennis Boyes introduces yoga nidra — its first explicit modern application — as a relaxation technique in Le Yoga du sommeil éveillé; méthode de relaxation, yoga nidra ("The Yoga of Waking Sleep: method of relaxation, yoga nidra")
1976 Satyananda Sraswati evangelizes and evolves the technique into an 8-stage meditation, drawing in facets of ancient tantra including assigning mantras to specific body parts. Linkages to ancient practices remain disputed. Still, Satyananda’s successor, Niranjanananda Saraswati, learned his proprietary technique starting at the age of four — and claimed to have learned several languages by the approach.
1970s Swami Rama and others export the practice worldwide (TW: convicted sex offender)
2010 Clinical psychologist and yoga researcher Richard Miller launches a variation of yoga nidra — dubbed Integrative Restoration — and pilots it at Walter Reed Army Medical Center with the U.S. Army as a method of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Important Takeaways
If you plan to mention yoga nidra’s history and roots, remember: Yoga nidra has ancient roots but they are not directly connected to specific modern practices.
If you plan to teach a particular style of yoga nidra, remember: Anyone who claims to practice “the original” or “the correct” or “the only authentic” yoga nidra is simply not truthful. There are various methods. As a result, the benefits of the practice depend on the method practiced.
If you plan to highlight a specific yoga nidra practitioner, remember: Proprietary methods of Yoga Nidra often center, elevate, and empower gurus — and historically, this had led to serious abuses. Yoga nidra should not be driven by a cult of personality and power. Nor should it create financial barriers while grossly enriching individuals. Just as the ethical precepts of the 8-limbed philosophy teach, yoga should promote non-harming, non-possession, and non-attachment.
One last note… Yoga nidra typically connects to a feminine energy — an energy of nurturance, care, grace, and receptivity. In some practices, yoga nidra expressly hearkens the spirit of mothering. If you plan to teach this style of yoga nidra, be careful to acknowledge femininity as an essence rather than a strict gender or role (anyone can mother without being a mom — just ask any toddler with a beloved comfort object!)
Benefits of Yoga Nidra for Kids
Increases self-confidence, self-understanding, and quality of interpersonal relationships [Dol, 2019: Effects of a yoga nidra on the life stress and self-esteem in university students]
Increases Heart Rate Variability and parasympathetic function [Markil, 2012: Yoga Nidra Relaxation Increases Heart Rate Variability and is Unaffected by a Prior Bout of Hatha Yoga]
Decreases stress, anxiety, fear, and depression [Walter Reed Using Yoga to Fight PTSD; Healing Life’s Traumas with Yoga; Rivers, 2008: A Breath of Hope]
Improves conscious attention and ability to enter a flow state [Parker, 2019: Training attention for conscious non-REM sleep: The yogic practice of yoga-nidra and its implications for neuroscience research]
Alleviates symptoms of insomnia and restless sleep [Datta & Karuna, 2022: Sleep Strategies for Sportsmen; What can they be? A Randomised Controlled Trial]
How to Teach Yoga Nidra to Kids
Manage your expectations. You probably won’t be able to unlock the wakeful resting state of yoga nidra on your first try (or ever) and that is both OKAY and expected! Yoga nidra requires awareness of the whole self: physical, energetic, emotional, mental, and pure being. In most cases, you must be able to think about thought — a skill most kids do not have before the age of 4 or 5. Here are some age-appropriate ways to ease kids into the practice:
Ages 0-18 months
Feel the floor: Tummy time, on the floor or on the belly of a supine caretaker, develops proprioceptive skills (that is, the body’s internal sense of where it is in space and what surrounds it).
Notice the breath
Lie prone and breathe deeply, in and out, noticing the pressure of the belly during inhales
Lie supine and breathe deeply, placing a hand or stuffed animal on the belly and watching the navel rise and fall
Ages 2-3
Explore the floor: Get playful and invite kids to find a way to “fall off the floor.” Allow them to roll around, jump and fall, etc. Afterward, put words to their discoveries: The earth always holds us. Many people think of the earth as a mother. Ask: Who holds you? How does that feel?
Witness and experience the breath
Move cotton balls, pompons, ping pong balls, feathers, and/or other light objects with focused exhales
Fog up mirrors, windows, or watercolor paint tablets (then dip a brush in and paint!)
Tune into the senses: Engage in sensory play. In a state of yoga nidra, the senses are powered “off.” Help kids tune into their senses and develop awareness of how they teach us about the world around us (i.e. cookies smell good!) and within us (the smell of cookies makes me feel hungry!)
Build a rest nest: Allow kids to collect blankets, bolsters, pillows — anything cozy in sight! — and build rest nests. Name what you see in their creations: rest is soft, cozy, relaxing, and warm. It’s a lot like the space of being in a momma’s belly.
Ages 4-5
Explore the imagination: Incorporate guided visualization that connects to nature.
Add mantras: Assign mantras to specific body parts. Keep it simple! For instance, a mantra for the hands might be “I feel.”
Ages 6-11
Tense and relax/scan the body: Guide students through tense-and-relax prompts for specific areas of the body, creating new awareness of the complexity of their physical form. For instance, you may begin with the head and have kids tense and relax their ears (lift and lower), eyes (squeeze shut and open gently), cheeks (puff and deflate), nostrils (flare and release), and tongue (contort and relax). Gradually, build toward a full-body scan, moving from the toes to head, or opposite.
Unpack what “rest” means: Guide children in a discussion about rest: What is rest? Who taught you rest? Who in your family is really good at rest? How does rest connect to your health?
Ages 12+
Put it all together! Build a comprehensive yoga nidra class — for example, start by building rest nests, lead a guided visualization focused on images from nature, assign mantras to different parts of the body, and scan from head to toe, noticing and releasing tension along the way. After rest, explore and discuss its meaning. Journal or create works of art that conjure the feelings associated with the experience. With older teens, really dig into what rest means in a society that elevates hustle and grind as virtues.