Yoga for Better Sleep

“Good Night and Sleep Tight”, is a nice rhyming phrase that we use to wish each other when going to bed. But not all of us enjoy good sleep the way we did when we were kids.

Insomnia is a gift of the tensions we carry from our daily stresses when we go to bed. This leads to sleeplessness, lack of sound sleep, frequent interruptions during sleep, etc. All these lead to a feeling of giddiness when you get up, in addition to morning sickness, nausea, burning sensation in the eyes, and many other discomforts, all of which combine to spoil your day.

Requiring sound sleep for between six to eight hours is a must if you are to remain in good health. Yoga has many poses to offer that help you in getting sound sleep.

A calm mind is a must to enjoy sound sleep. So the first thing you can do is to meditate and make your mind free of all thoughts that bedevil your mind. These thoughts originate from the different events that took place during the day, or at any time in the past.

There are different meditation techniques, but the common element in all of them is to focus your mind on any one single thought so that you keep away all other thoughts. You may also concentrate on your inhalation and exhalation to help in making your mind free of other thoughts. This would help you to breathe better and also to move away from the chain of thoughts that you carry over to sleep, and which in turn prevent you from sleeping well.

One yoga pose that is helpful to set your mind at rest is the Corpse pose. When you do this pose you lie in a supine position and spread your arms at a forty five degree angle. You place your palms facing upwards and your legs slightly away from each other. You do not engage any muscles of your body, and also close your eyes. All this helps to relax your body and to make your mind thought free. Herein are all the ingredients to give you sound sleep.

Other yoga poses which you can do before calling it a day, include the Easy Pose which is also known as the Sukhasana, and the Lotus Pose or the Padmasana. In both these poses you sit cross-legged and keep your spine straight as you breathe consciously and slowly. In the Lotus Pose, you place your foot soles facing upwards, while in the Easy pose you sit in a normal cross-legged position with your feet tucked under your thighs.

The Child pose is also a sleep inducing pose. You do this pose by being in a kneeling position and bending forward, lowering your forehead to the floor, and resting your forehead on the floor. You stretch your arms in front of you and close your eyes.

The essential element in all these poses is to relax your body and make your mind free of thoughts, so that you doze off to sleep without carrying with you any of the different thoughts that can prevent you from getting sound, good quality sleep.

Sources:

Yoga for better Sleep

http://ayurveda-foryou.com/yoga/yoga_sleep.html

8-Minute Workout: Yoga for Better Sleep

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga/poses/yoga-routine-before-sleep/

Hatha Yoga for Better Sleep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKm7Br6PaGw

Yoga for better sleep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCU-84rkzX8

Yoga for Better Sleep

http://www.wellsphere.com/wellpage/yoga-for-better-sleep

Backbend Cobra Pose

Doing the Backbend cobra pose with the help of a partner makes it easier for you to learn this rather difficult pose. This pose aims at strengthening your spine and nourishing the muscles of your back, by improving the circulation of blood around your back. It also helps in nourishing your shoulders, neck, triceps, and biceps.

This pose helps you to build immunity against spine and lower back related ailments like sciatica and slipped disc. But those who already suffer from these ailments should first consult with their physician and only then proceed to do this pose.

You start doing this pose by being on all fours and then lying down on your stomach. Your feet are placed so that your foot soles face upwards and your toes point away from you with your toenails touching the mat.

Place your arms alongside your body. Ask you partner to hold your wrists, and you too may hold on to your partner’s wrists for a better grip. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, your partner can tug at your arms, to help you to lift your chest up. Your partner can walk her feet towards your hips and in the process also pull your arms along. This helps you to lift your hips further up. Your partner lengthens her arms and rolls her shoulders behind to increase the stretch.

As your partner pulls your arms behind, you come into a chest and heart opening pose. Curve your neck and hold your face up. This move also stretches your spine. Your partner too comes into a chest and heart opening pose. Hold at this position for some time and then ask your partner to lower your chest to the mat. You may inhale, as your partner lowers your chest to the mat.

Pause for some time, after which you may repeat the above process for between three and five times, or as long as you are comfortable. You can co-ordinate the inhalation and exhalation with the physical movements, in a way that works out best for you. The advantage of doing this pose with a partner is that you can leverage on your partner’s ability to pull your chest up. If you are doing it alone, you can only lift your chest on your upper arms and there is a limitation to the height to which you can raise your chest this way. Herein lies the advantage of partner yoga.

Sources:

Partner Yoga Guide : Bhujangasana with Backbend Cobra Pose in Partner Yoga

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ-13z-RPEw

Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)

http://www.myyogaonline.com/poses/back-bends/bhujangasana-cobra-pose

Bhujangasana: The Cobra Pose

http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=501&section=9&cat=149

Bhujangasana – Cobra Pose

http://www.ihanuman.com/journal/bhujangasana-cobra-pose/

Foot to the Ear pose

The Foot to the Ear pose is also known as the Akarna Dhanurasana. This pose involves you giving your hips a comprehensive twist, as you literally bring your foot to touch your ear, or at least as near the ear as you can.

This pose nourishes your hips, glutes (buttocks), quads (thighs), calf muscles, spine, shoulders, neck and arms. Thus there are many benefits from this simple exercise.

You start doing this exercise, by sitting on your buttocks on a yoga mat. Spread your legs straight down your hips along the floor. Bend forward from your hips and extend your hands towards your feet. Bend enough to securely hold your right foot with your right hand and left foot with your left hand.

Inhale, and as you exhale, lift your right leg, by bending it from the knee. When you do this, keep your left leg outstretched along the floor, and keep holding the left foot with your left hand. Take your right thigh as much behind your back as you can, so that you can bring your right foot close enough to your ear.

This movement is quite similar to that of an archer, when he pulls the string of his bow to shoot an arrow. Hence the name of this pose Dhanurasana. Incidentally Dhanushya means a bow.

When you bring your foot close to your ear, you would have to apply pressure with your right arm to pull the right leg up. This is also a rectum opening pose, and also compresses the muscles of your abdomen and your abdominal organs. This in turn leads to better secretion of the digestive juices and better regulation of blood sugar.

Sources:

Yoga, Akarna Dhanurasana, Body fitness, Health

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP0yexb3dAI

Akarna Dhanurasana

http://www.yogasanaforhealth.com/2009/02/akarna-dhanurasana.html

Akarna Dhanurasana

http://health.indianetzone.com/yoga/1/akarna_dhanurasana.htm

Restorative Yoga's Side Lying pose

Restorative Yoga’s Side Lying pose, is both an exercise as well as a relaxation pose. This pose can also be done by expectant mothers. But you will need to consult your gynecologist before you go ahead with this pose. Others who suffer from any spine or neck related ailment would need to consult their physician before proceeding to do this pose.

You start doing this pose by sitting on a mat, on your buttocks. Now catch hold of a few yoga props including a bolster, a few pillows and couple of towels and a blanket. These make it comfortable for you when you do this pose. Now lay down on your right side and insert a pillow between your knees. Rest your hips against the bolster, which in turn should rest against a wall. This gives comfortable support to your back.

Now you may place a few towels or a folded blanket under your head. This kind of cushioning is especially relevant if you are an expectant mother. Even otherwise, using these props, makes it comfortable for you to lay down this way, as every part of your body is supported. Expectant mothers can keep another folded towel or a pillow underneath your belly to support its weight. Now take an eye mask and place it over your eyes, or simply close your eyes and relax. Be in this pose till you feel like dozing off and then change sides to lie on the other side.

Sources:

Side-Lying Stretch Restorative Yoga

http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4398340_sidelying-stretch-restorative-yoga.html

Restorative yoga poses

http://www.wikihealth.com/Restorative_yoga_poses

Restorative Yoga Poses

http://www.yogatohealth.com/Restorative_Yoga_Poses_-_The_Art_of_Active_Relaxation.html

Restorative Yoga : Yoga Side Lying Pose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL_UvAmeTQw

Do the Yoga Balance Pose to develop Strong and Supple Wrists

The Yoga Balance pose aims at nourishing your wrists, biceps triceps and shoulders. In doing this pose you lift yourself on your palms, with your wrists acting as the lever. This pose is similar to the Crow Pose (Kakasana), with some subtle differences.

Those who seek to develop strong, supple wrists should do the Balance pose which is also known as the Tulasana or Tulasana pose. But those who suffer from the carpal tunnel syndrome or any other wrist, elbow or shoulder related ailments should first consult their physician before they proceed to do this asana (pose). Learning to do it under the guidance of a trained yoga tutor is also a must, so that you learn to do this rather intricate pose, the right way.

You start by being seated on a mat, on your buttocks. Spread your legs down your hips and come into a cross legged position. This cross-legged position is not the normal cross-legged one, but now you need to place your right foot over your left thigh and then place your left foot over your right thigh. Now both your foot soles are facing upwards.

You need to cross your legs this way so that they are interlocked into each other. If you sit in the normal cross-legged position, your feet can drop back to the floor when you lift yourself in the next step.

Straighten your spine and lean back to place your palms on the floor behind you. Leave some distance between your hips and arms and stiffen the muscles of your arms and shoulders. Apply as much pressure as you can and then lift your hips up to balance yourself on your palms.

This is a difficult move and will have to be mastered over a few days or weeks. Many beginners are not able to do it right away, and you will need to practice it persistently. In the initial stages you may not be able to lift yourself up more than an inch or two and again, you will not be able to hold yourself up in this position for too long.

But keep at it and you will be able to hold on to this position for a longer duration. After you are able to lift yourself up, you may fix your gaze on any point in front of you. This will help you to psychologically hold on to this position for a longer duration. Be in this position for as long as you comfortably can and then lower yourself to the floor once again.

Sources:

yoga Tolasana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-AwO4VP3KQ

Scale Pose - Tolasana

http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/pendant.htm

Scale Pose

http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/1706

Tolasana

http://www.thesecretsofyoga.com/Ashtanga/TOLASANA.html