Learning How To Rest

Jan 04, 2026

I learned how to rest last year.

In late spring, I dove into a new-to-me kind of meditation practice; and I have experienced deep rest, an easing of the mounting anxiety that began in early 2025, and a profound increase in well-being. In the process, I learned that rest is a nonnegotiable.

The back story: meditation, relaxation, hypnosis, mindfulness, and me.

Meditation

Meditation is something I’ve known would be deeply beneficial, even possibly transformational, since I was a 17-year-old college freshman, sitting in my dorm room, lonely and homesick.

Though I tried, I didn’t really learn to meditate at the time, and not until decades later. Even then, my meditation practice never really stuck.

Autogenic Training (AT)

Then later in college, as a stressed-out, all-too-serious student, I learned a relaxation technique called Autogenics, developed in 1920s by a German psychiatrist.

AT a series of exercises using the power of suggestion to induce relaxation and meant “…to enhance the body's self-healing powers.” It was a powerful experience but not a lasting one.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

When I worked as a trainer for the U.S. Army in my thirties, I taught soldiers another technique, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, which was developed by American physician back in 1908. Since then it’s been studied and used in many different ways, in hospital and nonhospital settings.

PMR is known to be helpful in stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and pain; and it is thought to have numerous beneficial, long-term effects. Did I apply this technique, myself? No…

Hypnosis

As a therapist, early in my career I was trained in clinical hypnosis, and used it as an adjunct to therapy to great effect.

The science on hypnosis is unambiguous, that “[C]linical hypnosis has clear benefits in psychotherapy, improving outcomes in areas such as pain management, anxiety, depression, sleep, and more.”

Hypnosis is also a deeply restful and relaxing experience for clients. Even seeing firsthand how hypnosis works for others, I haven’t experienced its benefits, myself.

Mindfulness Practices

Over more recent years in work with clients, my approach has included helping them build mindfulness skills through breathing processes, guided imagery work, and other practices. The goals are to help them learn how to ground into present-moment awareness, respond vs. react to distressing circumstances, and navigate stressful life experiences more effectively. But do I apply these tools in my own life? Only now and then.

So by now, you might wonder what finally “took” and has been so positive and instrumental in my daily life?

It’s the practice of Yoga Nidra.

Yoga Nidra is not a kind of yoga that involves holding postures or any movement, actually. It’s an ancient, meditative yoga practice that only requires lying comfortably still, listening to different sounds and a guided meditation (live or recorded), while focusing on the body, using some breathing processes. It includes a “sankalpa,” which is a brief, affirmative self-statement or intention, expressed in present-tense wording.

I had heard of Yoga Nidra over the previous year or so, cited as the inspiration for “Nonsleep Deep Rest” or NSDR, a popular protocol that has been promoted by social media influencer Andrew Huberman. He recommends it for deep relaxation and to partially counteract deficits in sleep.

I had tried NSDR but just didn’t click with it. However, I sensed potential in Yoga Nidra, since it has been around for a very long time, as a practice that has its origins in ancient Indian traditions. It has been practiced for centuries and was established in its modern form in the 1960s.

So I investigated Yoga Nidra.

I learned two very important things:

As I practiced it, I experienced Yoga Nidra as deeply restful and restorative.
Yoga Nidra (YN) has been scientifically studied. I surveyed the research over the past 25 years on the many mental health benefits of YN. One large review of the science found, “YN shows potential in managing mental health symptoms.” But they also noted, despite its great promise, more research is needed.

Yoga Nidra and therapy?

Of great interest to me: one idea highlighted was that Yoga Nidra could be useful as an app-based adjunct to psychotherapy.

In fact, I was so impressed with the potential for YN that I decided to recommend it to a client, who tried it between sessions and found it very beneficial.

So I ran a pilot project, with clients, former clients, and others over about 5 weeks to really test-drive it. Independently, they used a free app I suggested, “Insight Timer,” practicing 17-30 minutes a day.

The results of my very informal, nonscientific, qualitative “study” were essentially unanimous with clients saying that YN seemed to have real benefits, especially in the areas of lowering anxiety, promoting sleep, and navigating stressful experiences, big and small, more calmly (with less reactivity). Most said they would continue their practice after the project ended. To say I was pleased is an understatement!

I will be considering it routinely, to offer as a possible adjunct to therapy with clients who have anxiety, sleep issues, and more.

I finally became a meditator, and I learned how to rest last year.

As for me, I am still a daily practitioner of Yoga Nidra meditation. It’s made a beautiful difference in my own stress and anxiety, living in this era of drastic political upheaval, uncertainty in so many things, and massive societal change.

Disclaimer:

The information offered here and throughout my Substack is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment with a mental health professional. Substack is not therapy. If you are interested in starting therapy, please reach out to your counseling services in your community, or your employer for assistance, or contact a licensed and experienced mental health provider directly. Veterans can also contact the VA for help.

(Also note: I do not recommend AI-based “therapy companion” chatbots as a substitute for therapy with a human being. They may be useful as an adjunct to or preparation for therapy. If used for these purposes, tools built on psychological research, like Dartmouth's Therabot or apps like Wysa are thought to be better choices. So far, such tools are not regulated. The American Psychological Association advocates for stronger federal safeguards for AI in mental health.)

Notes:

Here are some references for you if you are interested in learning more:

History of Autogenic Training

https://autogenic-training-online.com/history-of-autogenic-training

Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Other Techniques

Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Deep Breathing, and Guided Imagery in Promoting Psychological and Physiological States of Relaxation

Loren Toussaint, Quang Anh et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_muscle_relaxation

Clinical Hypnosis

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/04/science-of-hypnosis

Nonsleep Deep Rest

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4MFy52YhdZJYhOk11KdfG9G&si=ywWCxUAbJFW4K-2H