Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms: Difficulty falling asleep. Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep.
Yoga isn’t just beneficial for improving core strength, flexibility, and stress levels; it can also help you sleep better—especially if you suffer from insomnia
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- Adding yoga practice to your daily workout routine : work yoga into your bedtime routine, it’s important to do the right kind. Some types of yoga can be energizing (like hot yoga and vigorous vinyasa flow), which won’t help you relax as well as restorative styles of yoga like hatha and nidra. Daily yoga can improve your sleep by calming your nervous system and promoting relaxation. A soothing practice before bedtime can put the body in a restful state with just a few restorative postures
The pleasures and benefits of yoga are widely understood: yoga can improve physical strength and flexibility, improve breathing, reduce stress and enhance mental focus. What may be less well known are the positive effects that yoga can have on sleep. A new study indicates that yoga can help to improve sleep among people suffering from chronic insomnia. Researchers at Harvard Medical School investigated how a daily yoga practice might affect sleep for people with insomnia and found broad improvements to measurements of sleep quality and quantity.
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- Pranayama – The serpent power : Your breath is key to be able to relax in the movement. Breath in yoga is equally important, if not more important as the physical pose. Use a gentle and calming yoga breath technique called Ujjayi Breath, also known as Ocean Breath or Victorious Breath. Inhale deeply through the nose. With your mouth closed, exhale through your nose while constricting the back of your throat as if you are saying “ha” but keep your mouth closed. This exhalation should sound like the waves of the ocean. Use this slow and steady breath to soothe yourself in each of the movement. You can do pranayama before bed. Sleep is essential. ... When we are anxious and tense, we take short, shallow breaths, so instead we want to breathe slowly and deeply to induce a beautiful, relaxing sleep. Deep breathing will relax the body, slow the heart rate and calm the mind.
PRANAYAMA SEQUENCE ACCORDING TO ASHTANGA YOGA :.
- Begin with 3 ujjayi breaths (3 full breaths with sound)
1 Exhale retention – Take a deep breath in and the exhale fully. Hold the exhale. Engage your bandhas. Begin with a 5 second and build from there. Repeat 3 times
Three times ujjayi in between
2 Inhale retention – Take a full inhalation and hold. Engage the bandhas. Begin with 5 second hold and repeat 3 times
Three times ujjayi in between
3 Inhale and E1xhale retention – Inhale fully and hold 5 seconds. Exhale and hold 5 seconds. Engage all bandhas and repeat 3 times
Three times ujjayi in between
As your ability to control your breathe improves, increase the second of the holds.
Lay down and rest at the end to integrate the pranayama practice and feel the effects on your body and mind.