Being deprived of sleep deprivation as well as stress can lead to a downward spiral. Often, we have trouble falling asleep as we’re worried or anxious. Because we didn’t get enough sleep this makes us stressed the following day. According to a study which was carried out recently, sleep deprivation is a major source of stress among adults.
We live in such a fast-paced world. In addition, our senses are constantly being stimulated. This has an adverse effect on our nervous system. The yoga technique of honing on your breath can be useful as the exhalation functions to stimulate the nervous system to relax. Other than this the asanas also help us relieve tension from the physical body.
The restorative properties of yoga
Yoga is gentle. This makes this exercise modality a restorative way to wind down your day and get to sleep easily. A survey found that more than 55% of people who practise yoga report that it assist them to get better sleep. In the same study, over 85% said that yoga helped them to reduce stress.
Through the process of lowering stress levels, calming the mind as well as relieving tension in the body, the soothing practice of yoga can be a powerful natural sleep remedy. Certain resting as well as inversion poses can be very helpful for combating restlessness as well as insomnia. This is especially when practised in the evening or in bed before going to sleep.
Yoga poses to help you to sleep better
There are a number of Yoga poses which will help you to sleep better. Here are some of them.
Balasana (Child’s Pose)
Balasana, or Child’s Pose, gently stretches your hips, thighs and ankles, it calms your brain and helps to relieve stress as well as fatigue. In addition, this pose helps to relieve back and neck pain when it’s done with the head and torso supported.
Technique:
- Kneel on the floor. Put your big toes together. Sit on your heels. After you’ve done this separate your knees as wide as your hips are.
- Lie your torso between your thighs. Widen your sacrum across the posterior of your pelvis. Narrow your hip points in the direction of your navel so that they nestle down onto your inner things.
- Lengthen your tailbone away from the posterior part of your pelvis at the same time that you lift the base of your skull away from the posterior part of your neck.
- Put your hands on the floor on either side of your torso with your palms up and release the fronts of your shoulders towards the floor. Feel how the weight of the front of your shoulders pulls your shoulder blades wide across your back.
Uttasana (Standing Forward Bend)
This asana stretches your hamstrings, calves and spine. It relieves stomach aches, improves digestion and tones the liver, spleen and kidneys. It alleviates depression, anxiety and an overactive mind. In addition to relieving insomnia, it also helps to combat headaches, assisting with asthma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and sinusitis.
Technique:
- Stand up straight, exhales and bend your upper body forward. Fold at your hips and draw your tailbone upward. Concentrate on lengthening the front of your torso as you move more fully into the position.
- Pull your shoulders away from your ears.
- Places your hands flat on the floor and lengthen your lower back and neck.
- Inhale and lengthen through to the crown of your head. Exhale and draw your trunk closer to your legs.
- Hold the pose for a period of between 30 seconds and two minutes. Breathe. Lengthen your breath on inhalations and folding more on exhalations.
- To come up, relax your arms, bend your knees slightly and tuck your tailbone down and into your pelvis. Come up slowly on an inhalation with a long front torso.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Want to learn more about yoga? If so, then you should definitely think about doing our certified yoga instructor course. For more information, please follow this link.
