Brain scans have revealed possible neural activity that could help one feel relaxed while performing yoga nidra or 'yogic sleep ' -- a meditation technique that induces a sleep-like state whilst maintaining heightened awareness, according to a study. A team, including researchers from IIT-Delhi, conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain of 30 experienced and 31 novice meditators. They looked at the participants' default mode network, which is the brain's "background mode," known to be at play when one is being introspective, or just letting their mind wander.
On comparing the results, the researchers found a reduced connectivity in the default mode network of the experienced meditators the entire time they practiced yoga nidra, compared to their resting state, which could indicate that they are "being more in the present." The default mode network is generally associated with thinking about the past or the future, autobiographical processes, thinking about others, scene construction and even goal directed cognition, explained study author Sonika Thakral, an associate professor in the department of computer science, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi. "During meditation in healthy participants, a drop in within-network default mode network connectivity would signify reduced processes associated with mind wandering or thinking about past or the future and being more in the present moment," Thakral told PTI.
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