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International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | January 2019 | Vol 6 | Issue 1 Page 446
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Dhamodhini K et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2019 Jan;6(1):446-449
http://www.ijcmph.com
pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040
Review Article
Outcome of yoga nidra practice on various mental health problems
and general wellbeing: a review study
Kalamani Dhamodhini1, Muthappan Sendhilkumar2*
INTRODUCTION
Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which
every individual realizes his or her own potential, can
cope with the normal stresses of life, can work
productively and fruitfully, and makes a contribution to
her or his community. WHO’s comprehensive mental
health action plan for 2013-2020 mentioned following
four main objectives. The objectives focus on effective
leadership and governance, comprehensive mental health
for community, promotion, and prevention of mental
health, use of IT systems and research on mental health.1,2
Mental disorders include broad range mental health
problems. The most of the mental health disorders are
successfully treated with proper treatment and care by
health facilities if identified early as the advanced
treatments are available now. The report also show that
nearly quarter of population has the chance get any
mental health problems in one lifetime. Globally, nearly
450 million mainly in developed and developing
suffering from mental health disorders and lies in top in a
table among the leading causes of ill-health and disability
worldwide.3,4 As per WHO report, the depression is
ranked single largest contributor to global disability
(7.5% of all years lived with disability in 2015) followed
by anxiety disorders (ranked 6th (3.4%).5
The overall prevalence for any mental morbidity was
13.7% in a lifetime. As per the Indian study, the small
North East Indian state Manipur (19.9) top in the list and
another North East Indian state Assam (8.1) in bottom of
the list for lifetime prevalence. India accounts for nearly
18% of the world population and loss nearly 15%
DALYs due to mental health problems. The burden of
depression (DALYs) increased by 67% between 1990
and 2013 globally.7
Yoga originated in India several thousand years and
played a vital role in keeping health of the people. The
great saints, sadhus, Siddhars were found, practiced and
spread all over the India. Now, yoga is universal in
ABSTRACT
Mental disorders comprise a wide range of mental health problems with different symptoms. The most of the mental
health disorders can be successfully treated with proper treatment and care by health facilities. The yoga founders
were great saints and sages from India. The great Yogis presented rational interpretation of their experiences of yoga
and brought about a practical and scientifically sound method within every one’s reach. Yoga nidra effectively
provides impact on stress, anxiety levels, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms like rage and anxiety and
increased feelings of relaxation and peace after yoga nidra as a therapy.
Keywords: Yoga, Yoga nidra, Mental health, Depression
1Government Yoga and Naturopathy College and hospital, Chennai, India
2Independent Siddha Researcher, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Received: 22 October 2018
Revised: 29 November 2018
Accepted: 30 November 2018
*Correspondence:
Dr. Muthappan Sendhilkumar,
E-mail: drsendhil1986@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20185286
Dhamodhini K et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2019 Jan;6(1):446-449
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | January 2019 | Vol 6 | Issue 1 Page 447
character and practiced all over the globe to improve the
physical and mental health of people. The yoga practice
and application is irrespective of culture, nationality,
gender, age and physical condition. Even though the
growing clinical research studies, and some reviews
shows the use of yoga as therapeutic effects, there is still
a lack of solid evidence regarding its clinical relevance
for many symptoms and medical conditions.8
The many studies show that the yoga has huge impact on
improving mental health and memory. The studies in
older adults reveal that Yoga is helpful in preventing
cognitive decline, focused attention and improve working
memory performance.9,10 An 8-week meditation program
resulted in improvements in neuropsychological function.
Kirtan Kriya yoga intervention showed that effective in
improving memory functions and functional
connectivity-related to verbal, attention, and self-
regulatory performance.11,12
Yoga nidra along with other advanced medical
procedures has been potentially used in the management
of many psychosomatic disorders such as menstrual
irregulations, cancer, asthma, peptic ulcer. Yoga nidra is
one such effective technique, not only for physical or
mental relaxation but also for preparing the mind for
yogic discipline. Many misunderstood that yoga nidra for
sleep only. Apart from relaxation, the yoga nidra provides
much more intense than ordinary sleep. Yoga nidra aims
to focus the mind to achieve relaxation and increase
wellness. Many research studies indicate that yoga nidra
can be used as a therapeutic technique to cure
psychological disorders like anxiety, hostility, insomnia
etc, and psychosomatic diseases like asthma, coronary
heart disease, cancer, and hypertension.13
YOGA NIDRA
Yoga nidra, also known as dynamic sleep, prompts the
body to relax deeply while the mind remains inwardly
alert.
PROCEDURE
To start yoga nidra practice, you begin by lying on the
floor (face up) in yoga corpse pose or Shavasana. Then,
based upon the guided meditation you’re following,
you’re prompted to begin sensing the body and breathing
in specific ways to incite a relaxation response in you.
Yoga nidra works by gently guiding you through four
main stages of brain wave activity – beta, alpha, theta,
and delta. In the end, the goal is to achieve a ―hypnagogic
state‖ — the state between wakefulness and sleep. It’s
that mysterious time just before you fall asleep when the
body rests while the mind is still reasonably clear.
Conscious thought then blends with dreams, and a trippy
certainty sets in.
YOGA NIDRA INTERVENTION
The yoga nidra procedure developed from Munger, Bihar
by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, School of Yoga in
India. A study conducted in Department of Physiology
King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar
Pradesh for first three months was a big breakthrough for
yoga nidra. Yoga instructor was selected by an expert
panel for this study. The yoga classes for the patients
consisted of 30 to 35 minute /day session, five days in a
week where yoga nidra taught by a trained yoga therapist.
Thereafter the patients were advised to continue the same
at their homes for next three months; the yoga lasted for 6
months in the intervention group.14 Yoga nidra can be a
successful therapy to overcome the psychiatric morbidity
associated with menstrual irregularities and other
psychosomatic disorders.15
BENEFITS OF A YOGA NIDRA
The researchers acknowledged the positive impact of
yoga nidra on mental health problems. A study conducted
on 100 women with depression and anxiety linked to
menstruation benefited from yoga nidra therapy.16 Yoga
nidra diminished stress and anxiety levels significantly 80
college students Military combat veterans reported
alleviation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
symptoms like rage and anxiety and increased feelings of
relaxation and peace after yoga nidra as a therapy.13,17,18
The study revealed significant improvement in anxiety
scores after six months of intervention with Yoga Nidra
in intervention group in comparison to control group.
Previous studies have also shown significant reduction in
the quality anxiety scores following meditation and
breathing exercises.19 There is an increased response of
hypothalamus and heightened sympathetic activity during
anxiety, yoga nidra appears to regulate a hypothalamus,
in a way resulting in decreased sympathetic (excitatory)
nervous activity and increased parasympathetic
(inhibitory) function.20,21 In the intervention group which
practiced yoga nidra for six months, there was significant
decrease in their degree of depressive symptoms
(according to the psychological general wellbeing
Index).22
Yoga Nidra gives some solid evidence for psychosomatic
problems. It is cost-effective and easy to implement. The
evidence from two RCTs done in different place with
different conditions that yoga nidra may have positive
effects in reducing psychological problems in women
with menstrual disorders.22,23 The findings suggest that
patients with menstrual irregularities having
psychological problems improved significantly in the
areas of their wellbeing, anxiety and depression by
learning and applying a program based on yoga nidra.24
The case group also show significant decreased anxiety.
Previous studies have also shown that employing yoga
interventions for other conditions (cancer survivors, self-
reported emotional distress) results in beneficial effects
Dhamodhini K et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2019 Jan;6(1):446-449
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | January 2019 | Vol 6 | Issue 1 Page 448
for depression and mood, as well as anxiety and physical
wellbeing.25-27
CONCLUSION
Most studies described beneficial effects in favour of the
yoga interventions, particularly when compared with
passive controls (i.e., examination anxiety), but also
compared with active controls such as relaxation
response or compared to standard drugs. The results show
that there was a significant improvement in positive
wellbeing, general health and vitality in the case group.
Yoga nidra is believed to balance psychic and vital
energies within the psychic channels (nadis) of the energy
framework underlying the physical body. Free flow of
these energies is considered to be the basis of optimal
physical and mental health.
Funding: No funding sources
Conflict of interest: None declared
Ethical approval: Not required
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Cite this article as: Dhamodhini K, Sendhilkumar
M. Outcome of yoga nidra practice on various mental
health problems and general wellbeing: a review
study. Int J Community Med Public Health
2019;6:446-9.