Losing Sleep Every Night? Let Yoga Help
I can tell when I am going to have a sleepless night. By mid-afternoon, my shoulders are hunched up around my ears and I am losing ground fast with some new problem that has just ambushed me.
We all know the feeling, but it is not always easy to solve the sleepless night that awaits us when we are carrying around a lot of tension.
Easy Yoga Moves to Let the Tension Go
Let yoga take some of the kinks out of your life during the day, and later when you want to sleep. If are just starting yoga, observe a class, talk to a local instructor, and then try a session at a local gym or studio. Or, if you are already into yoga these might be good reminders of what it can do.
Here some easy poses from YogaJournal for breaks at the office.
Front-of-the-Shoulder Stretch. Inhale and lift your arms overhead; exhaling, release them and take them together behind you. Either rest your knuckles on your sacrum and move your elbows together or, if you are looser, straighten your elbows and raise your hands behind you. Lift your chest into a light backbend for a few breaths.
Top-of-the-Shoulder Stretch. Straighten your back and take your interlaced fingers to one side of your waist, lowering your head in that direction. You’ll feel a stretch of the muscles along the top of the shoulder and the neck. Slowly rotate your head side to side by lifting and lowering your nose while keeping your head angled.
Between-the-Shoulder-Blades Release. Round your upper back, and push your hands away from you. Breathe here, feeling the release in the space between your shoulder blades. Then release your hands.
Later Care2 suggests these poses to wind down and sleep better.
The Seated Forward Bend can calm digestion problems that keep you awake. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Inhale, and raise your arms over your head and dive forward. Grab on to your feet, ankles, calves, or thighs as far as you can comfortably go. When you feel a gentle stretch in the backs of your legs, you’ve gone far enough to get the benefits of the pose. Hold for 10-12 slow breaths.
The Bridge Pose relieves stress calming you down and making sleep easier. Start by lying on your back, bend your knees, drawing your feet in, so that they’re flat on the floor by your bottom. Inhale, press down with your feet and your arms to raise your bottom off of the floor. Squeeze your shoulder blades together gently, and breathe for 10-15 slow breaths, then slowly release your back onto the floor.
If these yoga poses work for you keep right on going. Yoga is for all ages and there are poses for everything, energy, sleep, and stress to list just a few. Pick up on your favorites and use them whenever you need them.