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How Yoga Nidra Transformed My Sleep | With Alicia Berkvens
38 Plays1 month ago
My first guest of 2026 is Alicia Berkvens, a deep rest facilitator and systems microbiology PhD researcher who brings together science, rest, and the wisdom of the body.
In this episode, we explore the practice of Yoga Nidra and the powerful, life-changing effects it can have on sleep, dreams, and the nervous system. Over the past year, I have been experiencing recurring nightmares, but since starting the practice of Yoga Nidra, my dreams have shifted into a space I actually look forward to entering.
We talk about why this shift can happen — how Yoga Nidra helps the nervous system process stress, how it brings awareness closer to the subconscious mind, and how this can influence the quality of our sleep and dreams. We also talk about intention setting and why deep rest is far more than “doing nothing.”
If you’ve been struggling with sleep, stress, or an overactive mind, this conversation will resonate.
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Transcript
Introduction to Alicia Bergwens and Yoga Nidra
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to Connected to Reva. Today I'm joined by Alicia Bergwens. I first found her Yoga Nidra meditations on Insight Timer and they completely changed the way i sleep.
00:00:12
Speaker
She's a deep rest facilitator and systems microbiology PhD researcher and in this conversation we talk about the power of Yoga Nidra and why deep rest can be so transformative.
00:00:25
Speaker
Insight Timer as a platform I've been using for a long time, but I've been struggling with sleep for so long. Having nightmares, like recurring nightmares.
00:00:35
Speaker
So, you know, I was doing meditations and it wasn't really doing much of a difference. And then I went to the sleep section and I saw Yoga Nidra and I said, I don't know what it is, but I'll try it It's changed the way i sleep and stopped the nightmares.
Impact of Yoga Nidra on Sleep Quality
00:00:52
Speaker
Like, I'm just so fascinated by this. Do you do Nidra before you get to sleep or do you do it during the day and then it helps you to fall into better sleep? Before. So when I stopped being on my phone and I kind of immersed myself in this meditation and I like the feeling of all your body parts. It's funny because what I notice is how my breathing becomes quite heavy in a way.
00:01:16
Speaker
Probably what happens then is that might actually be something that always happens when you fall asleep because always our breathing pattern changes slightly when we fall asleep. But when you're going into sleep doing yoga nidra, you're actually aware of like all the like subtle shifts happening.
00:01:32
Speaker
So that's really interesting that sometimes you're like, oh, I don't know this kind of breathing. I never like realized that in myself. But actually, probably you have that every night. But when you do a yoga nidra, you're just aware of it. So that's actually really interesting to hear that you already noticed that transition. Because some people already drift off like way before that starts to happen. They're like not there anymore.
00:01:52
Speaker
So it's interesting to know I mean, we always say about this practice, there's not really a way you could do it right or wrong, but you certainly can feel a sort of awareness growing.
00:02:02
Speaker
And like having that awareness of your breath shifting is actually a sign of like growing awareness of these different transitions through like different stages. But I'm really happy to hear your nightmares even, like, you know, are gone.
00:02:16
Speaker
it it was quite paralyzing because it was every night. So even if I have a nice day, it would be happening and I didn't really know how to deal with it. And then this happened and actually they stopped.
00:02:27
Speaker
But for everyone who's listening and not knowing what the yoga nidra is, could you give us a brief introduction?
Understanding Conscious Sleep and Relaxation Techniques
00:02:34
Speaker
There's so much to say about this always. But if we go back really, let's say to the basics, like the word yoga nidra actually means conscious sleep or meditative conscious sleep. The word has different meanings, but in, let's say, all of its essence, it's really about that state.
00:02:50
Speaker
like conscious sleep. So it means a state where the body is deeply asleep, but the mind is still aware. And that actually goes a bit to what we were just talking about, that you can actually feel your body shifting into sleep, but you're aware of what's happening. So you're aware of your like breathing changing, for example.
00:03:06
Speaker
And there's many different stages to this state of being, let's say. And then we also have the practice of yoga nidra, which is, let's say, separate from that. And that is something that's more new than that state that is being described.
00:03:21
Speaker
But that's really a practice where you're being guided through or you're guiding yourself through different tools, let's say. So there will most often be a rotation through the body. There'll be you know, awareness of breath, maybe different visualizations. And all these tools are really designed in a way to sometimes bring you to that state of yoga nidra. So that state where the body is asleep, the mind is still awake.
00:03:46
Speaker
But having said that, like the practice of yoga nidra can bring you to many different states. So not only that state of yoga nidra, but sometimes you fall into very deep sleep. Sometimes you'll notice that it's more challenging to let go and get into relaxation.
00:04:02
Speaker
And all of these different states actually have their own, let's say, you know, benefits or you can call them healing powers if you like. And sometimes they'll get us to that state of yoga nidra, but not always.
00:04:14
Speaker
And it's a very rich practice. The way we practice this is actually quite new. It's only been described in like the 60s and it has many different branches. So it's not always practiced the same way.
00:04:27
Speaker
And it's a practice that I love. Like, it's so interesting. It gets you to experience these like in-between states. And as you say, like it can change the way you sleep, the way you dream.
00:04:39
Speaker
But not just that, maybe you also notice that, I'm quite curious, but it can also change the way how awake we feel during the day. Like maybe you can notice that you start to feel tired.
00:04:51
Speaker
more present. I have that even more so than when I do a lot of meditation with yoga nidra. It will really, that just comes to mind, like sort of awake me out of the dream you're sometimes in, in waking life. That sometimes you can, you know, go about things on autopilot and yoga nidra can help me awake out of that, be more present.
00:05:12
Speaker
So that is, let's say, the essence of my idea of yoga nidra. But it's so fascinating because I get quite distracted. And I also get distracted when I do yoga nidra. But at the same time, it has had this effect even with the distraction. Oh, yes. I'm so happy you say that. That's something that students tell me really often, like, oh, I get distracted.
00:05:36
Speaker
That's not bad at all. You can just let that happen. Because when we're in yoga nidra, what we're practicing is really letting go of basically everything. So that means even letting go of a very like focused mind on the guidance that you go through, you can just you know let it pass through and there'll be like distractions. There'll be thoughts in going different directions.
00:05:57
Speaker
And sometimes when you notice you really go into like a stream of thoughts, you're like, oh, this is my to-do list of tomorrow. That might be, you know, maybe a scientist sort of trying to let go of that as well.
00:06:09
Speaker
But it's actually part of the practice that your mind starts to wonder and it'll sometimes... get you to these weird places. Like you'll get into states where thoughts might not even make sense anymore. I don't know if you recognize that as well. They sort of, I don't know, they go into weird places and you're like, oh, what is this passing by?
00:06:28
Speaker
But that's actually a good sign. We can let all of that happen. I really like to say that anything that happens in your experience during a yoga nidra is welcome. So everything happening within your body, all the thoughts passing by, all emotions sometimes arising, like maybe weird visuals that you get, everything is welcome. And it's interesting, as you say, that even when you notice that sort of distraction, you can still underneath that feel your body relaxing quite deeply.
00:06:56
Speaker
And that's so interesting because sometimes we're like, oh, I need to silence my mind before I can, you know, relax and That's not the case. Like underneath it, like underneath maybe all the wins and changes within the mind, we can actually feel our body relaxing. And sometimes that helps us to take away a bit of this, you know, strict like tension around needing to silence the mind and needing to be focused because really still when that's there, we can feel that relaxation.
00:07:23
Speaker
So it's interesting that you say that. For certain meditations, you do need to be empty your mind. But then with Yoga Nidra, even with my thoughts, it's still changed the way i sleep and it's still transformed my dreams.
00:07:37
Speaker
I've been so fascinated by that. It's changed my life because nightmares are a horrible thing to have, especially recurring ones. What do you think the connection between that is, the nightmares specifically?
Emotional Processing and Hypnagogic States
00:07:50
Speaker
Oh, I mean, this is a big topic. It's so interesting because when we practice yoga nidra, okay, there's a slight difference when you practice it right before falling asleep or when you practice it during the day because you're just in different states of your circadian rhythm, let's say. But no matter when we practice it, we go through different transitions in our states of consciousness. So there's this state, it's called the hypnagogic state, which is a state right before we actually fall asleep.
00:08:22
Speaker
This is a super interesting one because we're not, let's say, in our regular dreaming state of sleep that comes later on. Firstly, usually we go to like deep sleep and only after that we come to like the dreaming states of sleep. So they're REM states.
00:08:38
Speaker
But actually in that hypnagogic state, when we're in the transition of falling asleep, that's also something we have in yoga nidra. And that is a state where we can actually start to see visuals or, as I said, our thoughts can become quite strange.
00:08:54
Speaker
What we're doing in yoga nidra is actually prolonging that hypnagogic state. So we stay aware longer of that transition state when we fall asleep. It's very personal. Some people are very visual and they'll see like a lot of visuals when they go through the state.
00:09:09
Speaker
Some people are just less visual in the way they think and a way they perceive internally. So they have less of these visuals. But either way, we become aware of that state for longer.
00:09:20
Speaker
So in a way, we're also sort of practicing how to be relaxed. I need to point this out because this is not something that has been studied very directly because it's obviously quite challenging to study, but this is just how I've been interpreting it and seeing it in students.
00:09:37
Speaker
But I think it just makes us more aware of these dreaming states and it makes us able to be relaxed more in those dreaming states. And I see that also being translated then into later dream states when you're like in your nighttime sleep.
00:09:53
Speaker
That is one thing. Then secondly, we're just practicing relaxation in our bodies. So yoga nidra is, at least for me, and I know for many people, one of the best ways to really practice relaxation, you can feel that in your body. You can really feel the sort of like your body becoming heavier, sort of like, you know, like sinking down.
00:10:13
Speaker
And that means that we're going into sleep with a more relaxed mind, relaxed body, which can also influence the way we dream. I know that for many people who start to practice Nidra, indeed, like they might have less nightmares, but their dreams might become more vivid also. Have you noticed that? like Have you noticed a change like in general how you dream?
00:10:35
Speaker
I've always had extremely vivid dreams, storylines, Almost like a TV show. So one night I dream of episode one, the other night episode two. i still remember so many of my dreams. I used to remember that it's fly. I've had so many different dreams, but they're always very visual. It's just that over the past year or so, there are nightmares, which is scary because it's the time to relax. But then also when you're sleeping, that panicky side of the brain kind of wakes up because the rest is sleeping. So if there's anything that's not processed,
00:11:10
Speaker
Or maybe you're just like you say, because you're you're not relaxed. So you may be in a state of panic and that's coming out at night. Nightmares, not across the board, but it can be a sign of something unprocessed or something you haven't been facing yet.
00:11:24
Speaker
What also happens in yoga nidra is that without us having to do necessarily things for that, things are being cleared. Sometimes when you're in the yoga nidra state, you might have really random images of memories popping up and you'll be like, oh, where does that come from? Something you haven't like thought about for like ages.
00:11:44
Speaker
And that is one of those signs of like things internally being processed. So it might also be, without you consciously being aware of it, that while you were in that yoga nidra state, you might have face things and might have processed things and might have like hold space for things that that now have been processed and might not show up as nightmares any longer. So that could also definitely be the case.
00:12:07
Speaker
know. Now I'm looking forward to sleeping because I'm like, oh, what am I going to dream about tonight? Because I dream every night. I can remember my dreams. And last night, like I had this really cool dream that was a very good book idea. Oh, amazing. i have these complex dreams all the time because I also used to do a bit of writing. This was like a whole storyline for young adults.
00:12:29
Speaker
Anyway, dreams are such an interesting space. Like not everyone has this. a lot of people don't remember anything about their dreams. I've also always had a very interesting, you know, thing for dreams. They're just fascinating.
00:12:41
Speaker
But I'm glad that you're looking forward to them now again and like looking forward to sleep. Like you said, maybe it's being processed because it's the thing with energy, things get processed mostly subconsciously because that's where they live anyway to begin with. So when you're doing that, it's working its magic.
00:12:58
Speaker
Absolutely. And sometimes we can speak about something all we want, but that's not really getting us to the places that you know help us to process things. And indeed, like dreams and yoga nidra are, i want to say practices, but sleep is not. not necessarily practice, but are both ways to get us into the subconscious mind really naturally. So yeah, both of them are places where we actually get in touch to the things that maybe we don't get to when we speak or just by thinking.
00:13:27
Speaker
So um that's absolutely true. If we're not aware or if we're not doing practices before sleep, then we wouldn't have, in a way, control over our sleep. So like with me before, it would be a horrible experience.
00:13:40
Speaker
But then when you do that practice, that complementary practice, it becomes, you know, like a session, sleep session. Yeah, sleep session, true. No, that's right. It's very personal. I think I mentioned that already at the beginning, but some people love to practice yoga nidra right before bed.
00:13:58
Speaker
And for some people, it'll wake them up too much, interestingly. So it's more beneficial to do it during the day, around noon or whenever suits you best. I love to do it a bit earlier in the day or still in the evening, but not right before I fall asleep.
00:14:13
Speaker
I used to do it, but not anymore. But when you do it, it's sort of sad that your sleep becomes this like long yoga nidra practice. So that's also just interesting to think about. As you said, you know, what you do before something, it it really feeds into the sleep that comes after.
00:14:28
Speaker
You don't have to be very aware to feel the difference between falling asleep right after you've been scrolling through social media or or all the horrible news that's out there right now, or if you've done like Any type of relaxation practice, whether it is like yoga nidra or any other type of way to find deep relaxation before you fall asleep, you'll wake up completely different. like it's It's fascinating.
00:14:52
Speaker
I think that's why I do it before bed, because I like that separation between daytime and scrolling and thoughts. It kind of puts me into a different state.
00:15:03
Speaker
I haven't tried during the day. Maybe I'll do that as well. But it kind of separates, you know, all the commotion and the noise in the head from the day. Closes it in the room and locks it away and kind of prepares me for that restful sleep.
00:15:20
Speaker
So glad to hear. I saw something on your Instagram that I thought was quite interesting in regards to yoga
Intention Setting through Yoga Nidra
00:15:27
Speaker
nidra. And it was the relation between yoga nidra and intention setting. So I thought I'd ask about that because i love manifesting intention, all that.
00:15:37
Speaker
It's very powerful. And you mentioned that you did a few of my inside timer yoga nidras, and you might have noticed that I don't usually use intention or as we call it within the yoga nidra system, sankalpa, which is more of like a heartfelt intention.
00:15:53
Speaker
intention. The meaning is much deeper than that, but let's just call it like that. The reason I don't use it in one of recordings is because maybe it's our first time that we're doing yoga nidra or one of the first few times, and this is also the first time that we hear about that sankalpa or heartfelt intention.
00:16:12
Speaker
and you're being asked to make one at the beginning of practice, what you can imagine is what automatically starts happening is that your mind goes on because you're like, what is my heartfelt intention? Like, oh, how do I shape that? And it's it always goes with this very specific form or at least usually how it's being taught. It's like, well, don't go into much detail about that, but it it turns people on rather than helping them to Get into relaxation. So that's why I usually choose if I know there is a possibility of people who are new to yoga nidra doing a recording or coming to a class, I let go of that.
00:16:46
Speaker
I sprinkle it in in different ways, but maybe I'll talk a bit more about how I do that later. But it is such a powerful practice to do because as I said in Yoga Nidra, I mean, there's many reasons why it's so interesting to work with it, but we actually get to these deeper layers of our subconscious like we do in sleep.
00:17:07
Speaker
We talked about these transitions, right? When you transition from waking to sleep, etc. And you'll get to these places where we're more in contact with the subconscious. That's also the reason why sometimes weird images of long past memories might start to pop up.
00:17:22
Speaker
It goes in two ways. Like we get into that state and sometimes you will touch upon things that are hidden in your subconscious, like beliefs, etc. that all of a sudden a arise, which is very interesting. But we can also use it the other way around.
00:17:36
Speaker
So we can also use it when we're in that subconscious state, which is where a lot of our beliefs are like deep stored beliefs are stored. So for example, for many women, obviously, we are being bombarded, at least in our generation, with images of how a healthy or a beautiful body should look like through the media or TV, etc.,
00:17:58
Speaker
We have all these like deep stored beliefs because of seeing that always somewhere stored in our subconscious like this is what a healthy or beautiful body should look like. It's not something we consciously maybe think every day, but it's hidden there and it it changes the way we move through the day.
00:18:15
Speaker
If we know we have all these sort of beliefs within our subconscious, that means that we can also imprint new healthy beliefs that'll be able to, you know, shift our behaviors in heartfelt and healthy ways.
00:18:29
Speaker
That is, let's say, in essence, why it's such a powerful practice to work with Sankalpa in Yoga Nidra. Because we are in states where we're close to the subconscious or in the subconscious,
00:18:41
Speaker
And that'll make it a very fertile space to, you know, plenty seats. i i don't practice this too much with beginners because I like for you to already have been connected with your intention or your sankalpa, heartfelt desire.
00:18:56
Speaker
Before getting into the nidra, that it's already within you, that you've connected to it, you sort of know it by heart and not just in words, but by feeling that you already know before you get into practice what it is you've connected with it. And then usually what we do at the beginning of a yoga nidra practice, you sort of land it in your heart.
00:19:15
Speaker
Then you go through all these different tools. We go through a whole journey of yoga nidra, however long or short that is. And then when you're very deep in this state, like later on during practice, you repeat it again, usually three times.
00:19:29
Speaker
I would say that is the most powerful place to do that because then we're like deep into the practice. Sometimes you barely or not at all remember it anymore, but there's a part of you that'll be conscious of it, that you're sort of blended that.
00:19:42
Speaker
I think it's most powerful to stay with, one intention or one sankalpa over a period of time because then it'll actually start to take root. And interestingly, what people usually see is that the wording might slightly change or the feeling might slightly change. When you're in a nidra, it sort of starts to have its own life. You start to sort of unpeel the layers of an onion and get to the truth of what that heartfelt desire really is. And it's a very interesting and powerful practice.
00:20:13
Speaker
I would love to include this also into my online recordings, but there's a reason I don't. I love to sometimes do workshops online as well for people to get connected with it so they can use it in their practice because it's it's just so powerful.
00:20:26
Speaker
It's cool. And oh yeah, it's good to surely mention, like even if Yoga Nidra doesn't give the space for it to connect with it during a session, you can always like implement it yourself. When you have a sankalpa, even though a teacher shares it or not, you can use the state that you're in to plant that seed yourself. Either both before a yoga nidder that you remind yourself of it, and then at the end you're like repeating it three times. So you can find your own ways with it.
00:20:55
Speaker
When you say intention, the first intention for myself that I can think of is, I am safe. Oh yeah, that's a beautiful one. Yeah. Because I feel like all a lot of insecurities, for me maybe, come from fear of not being safe. So then it would be the, I am safe.
00:21:13
Speaker
That's such a powerful one. It really gets to the core of something. Sometimes we want to use a lot of words to describe something, but I feel like I am safe is maybe what really lies underneath like an intention that could be of more words, let's say.
00:21:28
Speaker
And it's also one that'll actually help you to get into your state of deep rest more easily. Because when you repeat that statement, I am safe, or at least when I say that, I already feel my body responding because i'm like, oh, true, yeah.
00:21:42
Speaker
And you'll have days where doesn't immediately feel true because you can get into practice and you don't feel safe. And that's okay. Like sometimes you're saying something, you're like, I don't completely feel that yet. But usually what you feel is that at the end of practice, when you repeat it, you can really feel it. And it can be actually like a deepener into your practice, like just those words itself. So that's a beautiful one.
00:22:04
Speaker
Absolutely. I mean, every intention is beautiful, but this just feels like a strong one. Yeah. Also, what I like about that is that a lot of affirmations are said in the conscious level.
00:22:15
Speaker
You might be saying a lot of things or you might be you know practicing affirmations, but they would not have an effect because subconsciously you feel differently, like you said, because that's where the problem is.
00:22:29
Speaker
So like during the day, you'll be like, yes, I am this, I am that, I am this, I am that, and they would just don't do anything for you. Yeah, if your energy, if your feeling is not behind it, you can say whatever you like, but it's not going to land.
00:22:42
Speaker
There needs to be a part of you that believes it. And sometimes it takes practice to come to a Sankalpa that you actually feel resonates and at least there's a part of you believing it. And if there's no part of you believing it, it's also not in the Yogo Nidra,
00:22:57
Speaker
Maybe that means taking a step back and just slightly adjusting it. I mean, yeah i I can tell myself every day that I'm a princess, but I'm really not. So, you know, maybe in in my own mind, in my dreams, maybe.
00:23:09
Speaker
Like I have superpowers maybe. Okay. I love that. i feel like because life gets very distracting and sometimes people feel like they really need to give something a hundred percent and they don't start or they don't continue with things because they say, I'm not doing things like I should be doing them. So I'm not doing this practice like I should be doing it. And I give up because there's probably no point, but Like I say, from my own experience, you can start and it it has that effect when you get into the practice anyway.
00:23:40
Speaker
For me also, that's a big lesson that I've learned in Yoga Nidra because deep down, i try to not tell myself I'm still perfectionist, but there is a part of me that's, you know. very leaning towards perfectionism. And I've blocked myself numerous times, especially when I was younger, like wanting to do something, wanting to start something. But then in my mind, it was already so big, or I already had such a clear idea of how it needed to be that something inside of me, like stopped me from actually doing it or pushed all the way, like through my boundaries. And I think yoga nidra is one of those practices where you practice like
00:24:18
Speaker
feeling the sort of non-duality, even within the practice of there is no right or wrong way you can do this. You're literally practicing letting go of beliefs of, you know, you're letting go of any type of tension and gripping and holding. And you can feel that sort of same letting go of tension and gripping and holding started to ripple out in through different parts of your life.
00:24:43
Speaker
And you can start to see also maybe when you're tricking yourself into making something way too big or way too complicated instead of just going for it, instead of letting go of all those mind-mint things. Before I'd wake up at night and again, because at night that part of the brain is awake that's quite stressing and makes everything quite big.
00:25:05
Speaker
So I'd wake up and I'm like, oh my gosh, everything's disastrous. Everything is disastrous. So now it's not really like that. It's really helping. It's really helping so much. And I find it so fascinating because a little bit goes a long way.
00:25:20
Speaker
You kind of see results quite quickly. Yes. And sometimes you don't. And sometimes you'll go through a phase where you feel a lot of, you know, effects. And then you'll be in a phase where you don't feel a lot. And that's also interesting. It's not a straight line of only feeling like results and more and more like You also have your own path in that practice, which is a practice in itself again as well, which is a bit cliche, but it really is. You're describing it so well that there's just this un-gripping of things that you maybe usually have a lot of tension around, especially in those half-sleepy states, let's say.
00:25:55
Speaker
Every person would have a meditation that kind of works for them specifically. So maybe I found one that kind of works for me for my own problems that I had, let's say.
00:26:06
Speaker
and Like you say, it's not to say that ah everyone has the same experience. And that's another thing. I feel like sometimes you have the expectations that things are linear and have specific results.
00:26:18
Speaker
We get into it and they're like, I am expecting this exact thing to happen. So when it doesn't, there's disappointment, but actually it might happen in combination with something else.
00:26:29
Speaker
Or it might just be that this practice is not for you, something else is. So that's why curiosity is so important. It is. Also staying curious when you feel something is not really going your way because usually like underneath the surface, things are still changing and being changed and just showing up for your practice is already more than enough. And sometimes indeed we can have these big expectations, especially funnily enough, if we are used to what the effects can be.
00:27:02
Speaker
Then maybe at some point you're showing up every time to practice being like, oh my God, this is going to bring me deep relaxation. Here we go. Like maybe if you've had like even a big spiritual experience once also in Nidra, maybe you're noticing that you're starting to chase that a little.
00:27:16
Speaker
So interestingly, we can show up with expectations a lot. And then maybe something smaller might happen or you might feel very little effect or there'll be a practice where it's very challenging to let go. It's also interesting to work with this curiosity also around these expectations, but also when practices go completely different and trust that there is always something there for you because things are shifting. You can trust that no matter how practice feels, even when things feel like you're not letting go at all.
00:27:45
Speaker
There are things happening, even if it's just, you know, in the subconscious mind or unconsciously happening. It can change from periods in our life what can be, well, quote unquote, the most effective. I don't like the wording of that, but what what might be the most nourishing? Let's call it like that. Practice for you.
00:28:03
Speaker
Sometimes you actually might not need very deep rest, but you'll need more of coming into motion in life. Maybe there was a period where you're feeling very lethargic. And I think even within that state, there is a beautiful time and place for yoga nidra, but maybe coming into movement might be more beneficial for you in the first place. But then again, what I really love about Yoga Nidra is that it's such an accessible practice.
00:28:29
Speaker
Even for people who haven't done it ever before, you don't need any experience for you to feel the benefits. And for you to get into that state of relaxation, it's unlike some meditation practices that really require a sense of training, of because there is like a sense of training the mind and training focus in a beautiful way. I love meditation, other forms of meditation as well in conjunction with Yoga Nidra.
00:28:55
Speaker
But sometimes it requires more for us to feel the deep states in that. And Yoga Nidra doesn't have that because it's a very passive practice. Even someone who has never done it before can get into extremely deep states. And I've seen that many, many times.
00:29:11
Speaker
So that makes it, I think, such a cool practice, even though the most nourishing practice might change through your life from face to face, from person to person. But it is a very interesting one that's so easy to practice and to feel the fruits of in a way.
Alicia's Journey with Yoga Nidra
00:29:29
Speaker
How did you discover it for yourself, actually? I'm quite curious. sort of by coincidence. like It's funny like whether our coincidence exists or not, but um I was studying in Copenhagen. Oh, it was 2016 or 17, so almost 10 years ago now.
00:29:46
Speaker
i was studying Copenhagen. I was already practicing yoga, vinyasa yoga, and meditation quite a bit, and that's really helped me to get into my body more and to already find like moments of stillness because I am still also a scientist and i love science and I was using my mind a lot and I knew how to work my mind and I knew how to work past my boundaries, as I said, very perfectionist.
00:30:12
Speaker
But in yoga, I had already found this sort of way to also get into my body and meditation was something I was doing more and more of. And I think I had heard of Yoga Nidra. It was sort of coming up a bit more in Copenhagen then and I am from Amsterdam, live there again now and it was calming up, but I was always being marketed just as like yogic sleep. So I always imagine it to like just be a class of like taking a nap and I love doing naps, but I was like, okay, that doesn't really sound like it's for me. But then ah once at the end of a vinyasa practice, we just had a longer shavasana.
00:30:46
Speaker
And the teacher just moved us through these different tools. And I was like, what is this? Like, I felt like my body was becoming really small and big. Like, I felt so deeply relaxed. It was a magical experience. And afterwards, I was like, what was that? Like, what did you do with us? That was amazing.
00:31:06
Speaker
And then she shared that that was sort of a fraction of yoga nidra. And I became super fascinated. And at that time, funnily, there weren't that many like online recordings yet.
00:31:18
Speaker
So there were a few out there, which I tried every now and then, but it was actually only when I got back to Amsterdam a couple years later that I really started to do it more and like go to classes and do more recordings and At some point I was like, i just want to know more about this. So i started a teacher training when I was also training to become a vinyasa teacher. um And it just started developing an even deeper interest. So I started to train with many different teachers and it's still one of my biggest fascinations.
00:31:51
Speaker
But that's sort of how I got started. Very like coincidentally, someone who just shared it, and I was like, okay, this is a type of relaxation, a type of feeling that I have never experienced.
00:32:02
Speaker
And I felt immediately that it was something that was so nourishing that I needed to stay with it or let that feeling grow or explore that.
00:32:14
Speaker
And I still feel that way. I am still exploring it. It's still like showing me new things. It just has so many layers. It keeps on surprising me. I feel like maybe also because sleep is such an unknown, mystical place, it's very difficult to research sleep, what happens in sleep. So everything about it is so fascinating and how we also reach the subconscious in that moment of deep sleep where everything is happening and where everything is stored. So fascinating.
00:32:44
Speaker
It's challenging to study, but they have done multiple studies on quite advanced yoga nidra practitioners or teachers or gurus, and they've been able to show that their brainwave states were in states that you normally only see in very deep sleep while they were completely aware. So while they were actually having a conversation, for example.
00:33:05
Speaker
either after yoga nidra, but these gurus can bring themselves into the state of yoga nidra, not just by a guidance, but just by, you know, bringing themselves there. And also in just more regular practitioners of yoga nidra, they have been able to show that you have these very deep states while the mind is aware. So while they're not signs of the whole brain being asleep, the mind being asleep, it's, yeah, it's fascinating. They have been able to show what these yogis already knew for a very long time.
00:33:32
Speaker
I hope more people discover it because it's life-changing. It is. I'm glad it changed your life and your sleeping life. And also, it's a process, so it's improving.
Subconscious Influence and Relaxation Benefits
00:33:43
Speaker
And I like, like I keep talking about that subconscious reach, which is so difficult normally.
00:33:50
Speaker
We have every everything that lives there, and it's so difficult to reach that normally and to change your belief systems. Yeah, and I mean, there's multiple ways to do this, right? I mean, this is not the only one, but it's it's a powerful one. If you stay with it, the seed isn't going to take root if you plant it once and never look at it again. It might. Usually it takes a bit of time and nurturing it and staying with it and then it'll, you know, eventually grow.
00:34:17
Speaker
But I find that side of it also very interesting. And some people only practice because they love the deep relaxation it gives. And that is super fine as well. That's healing on itself as well. But if you're interested in in exploring more of those deeper states, I mean, it's wildly interesting practice. I guess a lot of people do live in fight or flight quite continuously. So even like just this relaxation is a complete a different state to their normal state. So it makes such a big difference.
Where to Find Alicia's Work
00:34:46
Speaker
So where can people find you? Oh, the first thing that comes to mind is Inside Timer because that's the place I love most. That's the place where if they look for my name, which is Alicia Berkwens, which is a complicated Dutch name, but they'll find my Yoga Nidra recordings, which are there for free. And I hope that people mostly find me through that way. They can also find me on Instagram,
00:35:10
Speaker
which is a platform that I have an interesting relation with. Sometimes i love it. Sometimes like, oh my God, I wish no one had Instagram. They can find me when they look for alicia.deeprest.
00:35:22
Speaker
They'll probably find my website where they can see what's coming up. Sometimes there's teacher trainings or workshops or other things coming up.