The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Simple Cross-Legged Sitting Pose Come back to sitting comfortably tall. In doing so, try to bring your weight more to the front of your sitting bones, then actively press down through your sitting bones (the bones you feel that you are sitting on). If necessary, sit on a prop to get into, and sustain, this position. If you feel pressure in your inner knees, place folded blankets or blocks under them. Sitting upright, slightly lift your shoulders, draw them slightly back, then let your shoulder blades release down your back. Position your head in a way that feels as if it’s effortlessly floating on top of your head. The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Simple Cross-Legged Forward Fold Sit comfortably tall. Try to press down through your sit bones and rotate your pelvis to where you feel your weight more to the front of your sitting bones. Place the large bolster in front of you. Come back to ujjayi pranayama. With each inhale, extend up through your spine. Maintaining on exhale, slowly release the breath and give more weight to your sit bones with the completion of each exhale. Stay with the connection of breath-to-extension and breath-to-grounding. Try to rotate your pelvis forward without rounding your low back, bringing your arms and torso forward over the large bolster. Stay in this posture for three to five minutes. The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Peaceful Resting Pose Sit up tall with legs stretched in front of you. Bend your knees to slide your feet halfway to hips, with feet and knees separated about the width of your mat. Keep your knees bent to about 90 degrees. Release both knees to the right while turning torso to the right. Place torso and head on bolsters. If there's pressure in your low back, sit on higher bolsters. Drape your arms on the floor. Staying with ujjayi pranayama with visama vrtti pranayama, allow your body to relax. Sensitive to your neck, low back, and knees, very slowly rise, extend and shake out your legs, and quietly transition to the other side of this posture. Stay in this posture for three to five minutes on each side. The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Child's Pose Come onto your hands and knees with a large bolster placed between your knees. Slowly release hips back toward heels. If this causes tension in your shins, ankles, or feet, place a folded blanket under your shins with your feet dangling off the edge. If you feel tension in your knees or low back, bring your knees wider apart. Sensitive to your low back, bring your torso forward to relax your belly, chest, and head onto the bolster. Drape your arms on the floor along the sides of your legs or bring your arms to the floor overhead. Among the most relaxing postures, Child’s Pose is a place of rest and inner calm. Stay in this posture for three to five minutes. Pose 1 Pose 2 Pose 3 Pose 4 Tips for Better Sleep Supplement your yoga practice with tips for better sleep. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won’t fully make up for a lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning. Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least thirty minutes on most days but not later than two to three hours before your bedtime. Tips for Better Sleep Coffee, colas, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine... and its effects can take as long as eight hours to wear off fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing smokers to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the morning because of nicotine withdrawal. No more nightcaps. Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. Having a “nightcap” or alcoholic beverage before sleep may help you relax, but heavy use robs you of deep sleep and REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. Heavy alcohol ingestion also may contribute to breathing impairment at night. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off. A light snack is okay... but a large meal can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate. Tips for Better Sleep (If possible) Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to see whether any meds you’re taking might be contributing to your insomnia and ask whether they can be taken at other times during the day or early in the evening. Don’t take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night. Don’t overschedule your day so that no time is left for unwinding. A relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music, should be part of your bedtime ritual. Take a hot bath, unplug, and cozy up with a good book (with a non-blue light!) Better Sleep with Yoga Although our lives are conditioned by our genetics and accumulated life experience (samskaras), we can cultivate balance through the actions (kriyas) we take in our daily lives, starting with sleep hygiene practices. There are three primary types of yoga practice in part II of YOGA FOR BETTER SLEEP. Postural Sequences Postural practices involve bringing the body into various positions that release tension and allow the body to optimally function. Postures can be selected to target specific areas of tension, reducing embodied stress in ways that translate to greater emotional balance and peace of mind. Pranayama Pranayama consists of several specific, conscious breathing techniques that have different effects on internal energy, awareness, and mood. They are relatively calming or stimulating. Meditation Several meditation techniques—breath-focused, yoga nidra (the yoga form of progressive relaxation), counting, and chakra-based—expand mindfulness in ways that root out deeply held tension and empower us to embody healthier mental and behavioral patterns. Better Sleep with Yoga Poses Breathing Meditation
✔ Author(s): Mark Stephens,Sally Kempton
✔ Title: Yoga for Better Sleep: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science
✔ Rating : 4.3 out of 5 base on (50 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1623173639
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
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