31 Jul How To Yoga Your Way In To Blissful Sleep Nights
Humans are the only mammals that purposely delay going to sleep. Still, for some people, their lack of quality or quantity sleep isn’t on purpose, but actually the result of high stress levels.
Lack of sleep, in turn, can contribute to higher stress; talk about a vicious cycle. Slowing down and managing stress are key when it comes to improving your sleep quality. You can easily incorporate a few simple yoga poses to help you do exactly that.
Make Sukhasana Your Go-To
Stress is a response which allows us to deal with dangerous situations, like being chased by a predator, AKA the fight or flight response. These days, this response is far less necessary, but still present, releasing an array of hormones, increasing heart rate, and triggering other biological responses that keep us alert- and awake, even if we don’t need to be.
To remedy sleep deprivation and other effects on your sleeping patterns, ease yourself into a simple Sukhasana pose. This position allows you to slow your body’s autonomic rhythms, which means a decrease in heart rate, respiration, and other vitals that can remain heightened from stress. This is an easy pose for anyone to use, and can be done to help you get to sleep, or return to sleep should you wake.
You can sit in this position for any length of time. If you sit longer, make sure you to alternate the cross of the legs.
Try Balasana for Muscle relaxation
If you find your internal stress leads to tense muscles, this can also contribute to restlessness. Turn to Balasana, also known as Child’s Pose, to help you slow your mind as well as relax your muscles. This pose helps block out light and sound while drawing your mental attention to the weight of your head, shoulders and arms on the ground. As you ease into the pose, your muscles will naturally begin to loosen as a response to this awareness.
If you’re uncomfortable in this position, use a soft block or pillow to raise your forehead further up from your mat, to decrease the amount of stretch.
After 5-10 minutes in this pose, you’re bound to easily drift off.
Try a Full-Body Routine in the Morning
In addition to some simple, relaxing poses to incorporate at bedtime, consider introducing a full-body yoga routine in the morning. Or a few hours before bedtime. Physical activity helps reduce your stress levels as a whole.
If you don’t have time for a full session, doing just a few minutes can benefit you greatly.
Self-care is an important part of maintaining a healthy mind and body. Yoga is a perfect means of caring for yourself, whether you have 10 minutes or an entire hour, there are benefits awaiting you.
Next time you are not catching enough zzz’s and give your body and mind a little time out to rejuvenate and restore. Choose a yin class instead of practising a strong vinyasa class.
No studio near you or can’t fit a class into your busy schedule? Not a problem, you can practice in the comfort of your living room with Yogaholics, Power Living’s online yoga studio. Try out Keenan’s juicy Yin for happy hips class. Relax, slow down and surrender to long holds in this practice. Then drift off into a blissful sleep afterwards.
Once you go yin – you won’t go back.
Written by Karoline Gore
