Functional connectivity changes in meditators and novices during yoga nidra practice.
Scientific reports June 5, 2024 Suruchi Fialoke, Vaibhav Tripathi, Sonika Thakral et al. 21 citations
During yoga nidra, a practice that aims for deep relaxation with heightened awareness, experienced meditators show reduced connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) compared to novices, as measured by fMRI. This decoupling of DMN regions was not present during ordinary resting states before or after the practice. The degree of reduced DMN connectivity correlated with the participants' cumulative hours of meditation and yoga experience. The findings suggest that yoga nidra produces a distinct neural state in experienced practitioners, supporting their subjective experience of being restful yet aware, and offer insight into the neural mechanisms underlying the practice.