My Battle with Yoga Poses For Insomniaand the Solution I Found
I would lie in bed and what seemed to be an eternity of time went on where my mind was overrun with a million things as the clock mercilessly ticked onward towards morning. I found myself stuck in a rut of tiredness and frustration in my attempt to calm my mind in a natural manner. After that, I found the strength of particular Yoga Poses For Insomnia. It was not a sudden miracle but one that was significant.
I found myself feeling relaxed as I never had in many years by simply taking 15-20 minutes before bed time to a simple sequence. And this is not a theory, but my experience. In this article, I will include the specific poses and routine that have helped me to get out of restless to restful and make me a reclaimed owner of the night without the use of anything but the breath and the body.
Heading: The Science of Yoga Poses to Insomnia.
You may be thinking, how would just moving your body make you sleep. I was skeptical too. Nevertheless, the relationship is strong and supported by science. According to a research conducted at the Harvard medical school, the regular yoga sessions can greatly enhance the quality of sleep in individuals suffering insomnia. The straightforward version of how it worked out with my case is as follows:
It Soothes the Nervous System: The nervous system is usually stressed out and its nervous system becomes a fueling factor towards insomnia. The Poses of Gentle Yoga Relaxation help engage the parasympathetic nervous system also known as the rest-and-digest mode. This informs your body that it is safe to shut down.
It Decreases Physical Tension: It is so much tension that we have in our shoulders, neck, and back. These will ease up that physical strain a bit, and your body will be able to completely rest on the mattress.
It Calms the Mind: When you calm down and concentrate on breathing and the little things happening in your body, yoga provides your busy mind with one and one point of attention. It is a kind of moving meditation that provides a clearance of the anxieties of the day.
Your Pre-Bedtime Yoga: Preparing to Sleep.
Context is all before we venture into the poses. This isn’t a workout. I learned that the hard way. You are not trying to get a sweat on or to test your flexibility. You are caressing your body to sleep.
My Pre-Yoga Wind-Down Ritual (5 Minutes):
My lights are switched off an hour or so before I am ready to sleep. I turn my phone on “Do Not Disturb” and possibly play a low background music or the sound of nature. I am lying out my mat in my bedroom, with or without a candle (safe and out of the mat). It is aimed at making the end of the day noticeable to all the parts of my being.
What You’ll Need:
A yoga mat or a soft carpet.
A pillow or two from your bed.
A warm blanket (you would not believe how chilly you get when you really get down).
The lack of expectations and an open mind.
Eight best yoga poses to overcome insomnia.
pose each of these 1 to 3 minutes, emphasize slow deep breathing. There is no rush.
Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
It was this pose with which I became a believer. It is so easy and at the same time amazingly good.
How it is done: Sit up against the wall with one hip. Lying on the floor, bring the legs slowly up the wall. It is not necessary that your sitting bones touch the wall; a few inches distance is all. Balance your arms on your sides, face up.
Why it works: It changes the direction of blood and lymph, and it will relax weary legs and relax the nervous system. My relaxation begins to pass by me within the first minute.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
A classic for a reason. It is an attitude of submission and rest.
Effect: Sit on your heels, big toes together, to a point of contact, kneeling on your mat. Bring your knees apart approximately to the width of your hips and do the down dog pose bending your body in between your thighs. You may lean your forehead on the mat, or on a pillow. Move your arms forward or place them beside your body.
Why it helps: it lightly presses the abdomen which may help in digestion (a major sleep disturbance), and relieves tension in the back, shoulders, and the neck.
Reclining Bound Angle Pose ( Supta Baddha Konasana ).
It is an effective hip and heart opener that would be extremely soothing to me emotionally.
How to do it: Lie on your back. Draw your soles together and fall out on your knees. Pillows or folded blankets can be put under every knee. One hand on your heart, the other on your belly.
Why it works: Hip opening has the power of unleashing stored emotional tension. Putting hands on your heart and belly helps you develop an awareness of your body and breath.
Seated Forward Bends (Paschimottanasana).
A splendid rest pose in the whole central nervous system.
It is done by sitting straight with the legs out in front of you. As you breathe in, stretch your spine and as you breathe out bend forward in front of your hips, not in front of your waist. Touch your ankles, shins or feet. In case you can not reach, tie a strap to your feet. Always remember to have a slight bend in your knees.
Why it works: It gives the whole back body (calves to spine) a nice stretch that will release physical stress which can cause you to be awake.
Supine Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)
Twists are as though the wringing of a sponge; they give you sore tension down the line.
How to do it: Lie on your back. Bend your right knee to bring it into your chest and then carefully bend it to the left side of the body. Take your right hand and prick it out to the side and look to the right. It is advisable to keep both shoulders straight on the floor. Repeat on the other side.
The benefits of it: This position works on lowering and middle back tightness by soothing internal organs, and is easier to use to fall asleep in a comfortable position.
Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)
Do not be misled by the foolish name. This is a brilliant pose of relieving tension in the lower back and hip.
How to do it: Lie on your back. Pull your knees to the armpits. Use your hands to hold the edges of your feet. Rock back and forth very gently, but in any way that is comfortable to you, massaging your spine.
Why it practices are effective: It is a highly releasing position to the sacrum and hips where we tend to have a great deal of left over stress in this area due to sitting all day.
Corpse Pose (Savasana) Bolster.
This is the final resting posture and the best manner of closing your practice before getting into bed.
How to perform it: Lying flat on your back. And drop your feet on the sides. Get your hands a few inches off the body with the palms upward. I also enjoy putting a pillow or a folded blanket under my knees- this way all the pressure of my lower back is then relieved. Close your eyes.
Why it is helpful: It enables the advantages of all the above poses to combine. It is a discipline of utter submission, and it is a way of training body and mind to be in the state of sleep.
Brooodling It All together: My 15-Minute Bedtime Routine.
This is my precise routine that I adhere to most of the nights. I do not even time the poses but I just hold on until I have a real release.
Begin with Legs-Up-The-Wall 3-5 minutes. (This is my non-negotiable!)
Forward Seated Fold 1-2 minutes.
Move to Childs Pose 1-2 minutes.
One more reclining Bound Angle 2-3 minutes.
Perform Supine Twists of both sides and 1-2 minutes each.
Put into Happy Baby 1 minute.
hold Corpse Pose at least 3-5 minutes.
Once this is done, I feel so weighty and calm that the last natural action in the world is to get into bed.
One Last Lesson of My experience.
Through Yoga Poses For Insomnia, I learned that sleep is not something that can be desperately imposed. It’s a state you have to allow. This little, sacrosanct window in time, before bed, helped me to cease struggling with my insomnia and begin welcoming sleep.
It is a self-care habit and not an act. Be forgiving and gentle with oneself. There are those nights when your mind is going to be busy yet it is alright. You have already won by coming to your mat and breathing. Sweet dreams.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q: When do I do these Yoga Poses For Insomnia- how far before bed?
A: I realized that the optimal location was approximately 15-30 minutes before I was going to bed. This provides your body and mind to calm down and be in the relaxed state without the stress of feeling like you need to fall asleep immediately.