Sleeping can be stressful. How many of us have lain awake, aching to sleep, praying to sleep, practically giving ourselves a hernia trying to convince our body to “effing go to sleep already!”? 65% of all Americans have (National Sleep Foundation 2008), and, though Canada doesn’t have an official sleep pollster, I bet it’s safe to say the numbers would be similar.
From the moment I was born until early adulthood, I had more pissed off, sleepless nights than serene ones. (Fellow anxiety sufferers, I feel your pain.) Then I got into yoga.
It wasn’t just the stress-busting nature of the asana (physical posture) classes that had me sawing logs instead of swearing; it was the mind-calming, system-soothing tools and techniques I learned to do when I woke up, mind racing, in the middle of the night. The next time you find your self tossing and turning, get out of bed and try these two simple and effective techniques:
1. Pranayama
Skull Shining/Kapala Bhati (5 minutes)
HOW TO:
- Sit cross-legged on the floor, or just sit in a chair
- Lift the crown of your head to the sky; let your sit bones sink to the floor
- Through your nose, inhale deeply all the way up to your chest, exhale deeply all the way down to your belly, three times
- Inhale again all the way up to your chest, and begin rapidly pumping your belly right below your rib cage, exhaling through your nose on each contraction
- The inhales, if you can let your mind stay out of it, will take care of themselves, naturally drawing breath in, as you relax your belly after an exhale
- Take a break to breathe normally if you feel you need to
- At the end, take a deep breath in and slowly exhale
Benefits:
- Calms your breath and your mind
- Reduces mucous in the sinuses (Stuffed up? Have a tissue handy)
- Brings energy to the head region
Do NOT do this exercise if you have high blood pressure, lung or heart problems, are pregnant or in your first few days of menstrual cycle.
2. Asana
Uttanasana/Standing forward fold (10 long, deep breaths)
Any inversion is calming for our system, but at midnight, some are easier to handle than others. Standing forward fold is one of them.
HOW TO:
- Stand with your feet lined up under your hip bones
- Fold your torso forward, hinging from your hips
- Let your arms and head be super heavy, dangling
- Don’t try to reach for your toes. Just hang out
- Take long, deep breaths here
Try the pranayama (breathing exercise) first, then the asana (posture). This entire routine takes less than 10 minutes. I invite you see if taking this time to bring your entire system into a more relaxed state, gains you hours of sleep.
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Photo courtesy of Porcelaingirl°
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