Yoga nidra (Sanskrit: योग निद्रा) or yogic sleep is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping,
like the "going-to-sleep" stage, typically induced by a guided meditation.

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There is increasing evidence that yoga nidra helps to relieve stress. An ancient technique from India, it has now spread worldwide and is being applied in many contemporary settings, even by the US Army to assist soldiers to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Read more: https://www.pause-to-breathe.com/resources-articles

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Yoga nidra is a state in which the body is completely relaxed, and the practitioner becomes systematically and increasingly aware of the inner world by following a set of verbal instructions.

This state of consciousness is different from meditation, in which concentration on a single focus is required.
In yoga nidra the practitioner remains in a state of light withdrawal of the 5 senses (pratyahara) with four senses internalised, that is, withdrawn, and only hearing, one can still connect to any instructions given. It is among the deepest possible states of relaxation while still maintaining full consciousness. In contrast to lucid dreaming where the practitioner is mainly cognizant of the dream environment and usually has little or no awareness of one's actual outer environment.  The goals of both yogic paths, yoga nidra and meditation, are the same, a state of meditative consciousness called samadhi.

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Yoga Nidra is the yoga of aware sleep.
In this lies the secret of self-healing. 
—Swami Satyananda

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