HLL09 Yoga Therapy & Yoga Nidra for Superhuman Executive Brain, Body & Memory Function

Yoga Therapy for Enhanced Body & Immune Function

Time & Date: Saturday 1 November 2025, 9:30am – 1:00pm
Hosted By: TBA

The literature abounds on how yoga, yoga nidra, and various meditative practices that promote relaxation of the mind and body benefit our health. Not only do these practices greatly improve our mental health, but they improve our cognitive abilities, helping us become greater versions of ourselves. The capability of becoming a super version of yourself is likely much more possible than you likely imagine.

If you choose to optimise Your Brain-Body Function & Health, you must commit to setting our health and memory goals high (yogic sankalpa) and then really work to achieve them. There is a science to unlocking true mental strength. In finding your own inner resource, you can lead others to optimal performance.

A great example of this Superhuman capability is Wim Hof and the research on the Wim Hof Method is profound. The Wim Hof method or tummo breathing can be likened to a process called hormesis (and the link provided will help you understand more).

With deeper inner awareness of how to achieve these processes within our innate bodily pharmacy, we can become a more incredible version of ourselves.

We will be exploring:

• Breathing techniques to enhance immune function and gut function.
• Yoga Therapy tools for enhanced brain neuroplasticity & BDNF.
• Yoga Therapy Research based tools for enhancing flexibility, strength, limb and bodily function.
• Yoga and meditation to enhance immunity, combined with a researched based understanding of how this truly occurs.
• Unlocking true mental toughness and optimal performance through understanding the Quantum Mind and Body.
• Optimising your brain-body function & health.

Yogic Meditations for When the Body Says NO! (Psychoneuroimmunology: psychology, brain, nervous, immune health)

Time & Date: Saturday 1 November 2025, 1:45pm – 4:45pm
Hosted By: TBA

Mindfulness-based practices, such as mindfulness meditation, yoga, and yoga nidra, all have incredible benefits for the health of the mind and body. Though distinct in their implementation, all the mentioned practices share a common theme of reorienting the mind towards the present while resisting wandering thoughts. This mental practice helps fortify the mind and brings alongside it many cognitive benefits. One such possible benefit is the improvement of executive functioning skills. Executive functioning skills are higher-order cognitive processes that control behaviour, emotion and thought (Luu & Hall, 2016). This category typically includes inhibitory control, working memory, mental flexibility, problem-solving, decision-making, and planning (Luu & Hall, 2016). In general, executive function can be considered the capacity to successfully monitor and regulate behaviour to facilitate the attainment of chosen goals.

Several review studies have explored the effects yoga has on executive function. One review, which analysed studies that contained various forms of yoga practised by the elderly, found that yoga improved executive function (Chobe et al., 2020). In the same review, there was also evidence that yoga improved attention, partially indicating how yoga improves such cognitive behaviours (Chobe et al., 2020). Similarly, a memory improvement was also observed (Chobe et al., 2020). An earlier review focused solely on Hatha yoga’s studies across age groups and found similar results. However, this study focused more on specific aspects of executive function. For example, the review found evidence that Hatha yoga may improve inhibitory control, working memory and attention (Luu & Hall, 2016). The researchers also attempted to postulate how yoga improves these cognitive behavioural skills. They theorised that because yoga involves mindfulness, and mindfulness reduces the wandering of the mind, it enhances an individual’s ability to focus on completing desired tasks without being distracted (Luu & Hall, 2016). Additionally, because yoga and mindfulness reduce stress, it is also possible that this improves memory function because hypercortisolism (the increased abundance of the stress chemical cortisol) reduces hippocampus size (a brain area associated with memory)(Luu & Hall, 2016).

Yoga and the benefits of mental practice greatly enhance our cognitive abilities. It improves memory and other functions. True Yoga Nidra transcends the physical realm, encompassing a journey towards heightened consciousness while maintaining awareness, as elucidated by Dr Parker and other experts (Parker et al., 2013). It’s not about reaching a specific destination but rather about wholeheartedly embracing the practice itself, cultivating a state of living as a wholeness of Being and Well-Being.

We will be exploring:

• TOOLS TO IMPROVE YOUR FOCUS & CONCENTRATION
• Ways of memorising using the body & light
• Yogic and meditation practices to enhance neuroplasticity
• Tools to learn anything more effectively
• Understand and improve your memory using research
• Understanding Psychoneuroimmunology as taught by Dr Gabor Mate in his book “When the Body Says No”
• Exploring Quantum Mind, Quantum Body, Quantum Universe as described by Deepak Chopra

Yoga Nidra for Superhuman Executive Brain Function

Time & Date: Sunday 2 November 2025, 9:30am – 1:00pm
Hosted By: TBA

We live in a world where we are always encouraged to have something provide noise or distraction for our minds. Of course, this is precisely what yogic philosophy teaches us to avoid, rather to connect back to the rhythms of life. It is important to find times to be present in nature and simply be. The more time we spend this way, the freer we may truly become. Some may even argue that this way of being will bring about great wisdom and understanding of reality. There are various means to practice this kind of awareness. Some are physical, and some are static. Regardless, most human bodies can lie down in a deep, restful non-sleep prone position. Yoga nidra, in that sense, is available for everyone interested in finding the greater wisdom the world has to offer.

Modern science is slowly beginning to appreciate the profound impact yoga and meditation have on health. As science advances, programs are developed to help introduce these practices to western audiences so they can be reproduced within scientific experiments. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy (MBSR) is a famous program for teaching mindfulness meditation.

For yoga nidra, there is the iRest program.

iRest and the iRest institute were founded by Dr Richard Miller. It consists of a 6-week program, with a 90-minute class held weekly (Pritchard et al., 2010). Students are also given CDs to practice at home (Pritchard et al., 2010). The program consists of body scan meditation, breath worth, exploring emotions and thought patterns, and moving back and forth between feeling and witnessing (Pritchard et al., 2010). This practice encourages a reorientation of the mind regarding sensations that generates a more non-judgmental orientation towards the self and reality, akin to other meditation practices. The latest program is quite effective. It has been shown to decrease stress in practitioners and increase mindfulness (Livingston & Collette-Merrill, 2018; Pritchard et al., 2010). As these results are like the results of yoga nidra studies, it is safe to assume that the practice is adequate in replicating the ancient yogic style. However, remember that even if one practices this style of yoga, it is not truly yoga nidra until one obtains the non-REM state while sustaining consciousness, as argued by Dr Parker and others (Parker et al., 2013). However, it is not the destination that matters but the perseverance in practice.

We will be exploring:

• Learn how to practice Yoga Nidra
• Yoga Nidra evidence base (iRest)
• Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) evidence and practice by Andrew Huberman Lab
• Yoga Nidra for Superhuman Executive Brain Function

Yoga Nidra for Transcendence

Time & Date: Sunday 2 November 2025, 1:45pm – 4:45pm
Hosted By: TBA

Yoga nidra, which can be translated to yogic sleep, is a yogic practice that might simply look like the person is lying on their back sleeping. Don’t be fooled, of course, because something far more complex is occurring. Within the scientific community, it is always important to try and define yogic or meditative practices. In this case, Dr Stephen Parker, Swami Veda Bharati, and Dr Manuel Fernandez wrote a superb paper that attempted to explain the practice from both a yogic philosophical and scientific perspective (Parker et al., 2013). In this paper, yoga nidra is defined as a state in which an individual demonstrates all the symptoms of non-REM sleep while still being fully conscious. These symptoms include maintaining delta wave patterns (< 4 Hz) within the brain. The authors clarified that there are varying levels of a yoga nidra practice. They are as follows:

1. Level 1: a state of deep relaxation, usually reflected by alpha brain waves (8-13 Hz).
2. Level 2: a state represented by creativity, possibly reflected by theta brain waves (4-8hz).
3. Level 3: a state representing the actual arrival to yoga nidra or the state of abhava-pratyaya, usually represented by a shift from theta (4- 8 Hz) to delta waves (<4 Hz).
4. Level 4: is a deep meditative state where the individual is aware of kundalini, with similar brain waves to level 3.

It is important to note here that the authors felt that level 3, with very low-frequency brain waves, is what represents the full achievement of yoga nidra. The lower levels represent a practice aiming to achieve this state. A note about brain waves: the only other brain wave not mentioned throughout the four levels is beta brain waves (13-30 Hz) which usually represent alert functioning while awake. The reader may notice that as the brain wave frequency decreases, the deeper one goes into relaxation and meditation. One could even imagine that brain wave frequency is representative of the activity of the brain’s rumination or “monkey mind”. The lower the frequency, the freer the mind is from mental clutter. Meditation and yoga tend to decrease our brain wave frequency. Yoga nidra is achieved when the mind becomes incredibly relaxed as if sleeping.

For this reason, yoga nidra has been shown to dramatically decrease stress levels in various individuals (Dol, 2019; Ferreira-Vorkapic et al., 2018; Kumar, 2008). It also has been shown to improve sleep quality and mindfulness when awake (Moszeik et al., 2020). It seems to do so via a similar mechanism as mindfulness practices by increasing parasympathetic nervous system tone, as observed through an increase in heart rate variability (Markil et al., 2012).

We will be exploring:

• Yoga Nidra practice & evidence based benefits
• Yoga Nidra for concentration, healing trauma, overcoming depression and anxiety and learning
• Finding your inner resource
• Yoga philosophy
• Understanding how to reach states of transcendental awareness through the practice of Yoga Nidra
• Introducing the basics – experiential learning of Yoga Nidra.

References:
Chobe, S., Chobe, M., Metri, K., Patra, S. K., & Nagaratna, R. (2020). Impact of Yoga on cognition and mental health among elderly: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 52, 102421. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CTIM.2020.102421

Dol, K. S. (2019). Effects of a yoga nidra on the life stress and self-esteem in university students. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 35(December 2018), 232–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.03.004

Ferreira-Vorkapic, C., Borba-Pinheiro, C., Marchioro, M., & Santana, D. (2018). The impact of yoga Nidra and seated meditation on the mental health of college professors. International Journal of Yoga, 11(3), 215. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_57_17

Kumar, K. (2008). A study on the impact on stress and anxiety through Yoga nidra. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 7(3), 401–404.

Livingston, E., & Collette-Merrill, K. (2018). Effectiveness of Integrative Restoration (iRest) Yoga Nidra on mindfulness, sleep, and pain in health care workers. Holistic Nursing Practice, 32(3), 160–166. https://doi.org/10.1097/HNP.0000000000000266

Luu, K., & Hall, P. A. (2016). Hatha yoga and executive function: A systematic review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 22(2), 125–133. https://doi.org/10.1089/ACM.2014.0091/ASSET/IMAGES/LARGE/FIGURE1.JPEG

Markil, N., Whitehurst, M., Jacobs, P. L., & Zoeller, R. F. (2012). Yoga nidra relaxation increases heart rate variability and is unaffected by a prior bout of hatha yoga. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 18(10), 953–958. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2011.0331

Moszeik, E. N., von Oertzen, T., & Renner, K. H. (2020). Effectiveness of a short Yoga Nidra meditation on stress, sleep, and well-being in a large and diverse sample. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01042-2

Parker, S., Bharati, S. V. eda, & Fernandez, M. (2013). Defining yoga-nidra: traditional accounts, physiological research, and future directions. International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 23(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.17761/ijyt.23.1.t636651v22018148

Pritchard, M., Elison-Bowers, P., & Birdsall, B. (2010). Impact of integrative restoration (iRest) meditation on perceived stress levels in multiple sclerosis and cancer outpatients. Stress and Health, 26(3), 233–237. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.1290

Zwaag, J., Naaktgeboren, R., van Herwaarden, A. E., Pickkers, P., & Kox, M. (2022). The Effects of Cold Exposure Training and a Breathing Exercise on the Inflammatory Response in Humans: A Pilot Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 84(4), 457–467. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001065