There are many reasons why people may not be getting a good night sleep.
Insomnia or sleep deprivation may be the result of;
- life’s daily demands,
- shift work,
- parenting young children,
- health problems,
- anxiety
- and the list can go on.
In 2012 the National Health Interview Survey was done in the US. In that survey results indicated that 55% of people practicing yoga felt it improved their quality of sleep.
I would be included as one of those. Over the course of my life, sleep has been disturbed at different time for different reasons and yoga helped in all cases.
- When I was a young mother, I was a light sleeper ever aware of what was up with my children. So, yoga was part of my self care and I learned how to rest during the day.
- As I got older I experience deep neck pain and frozen shoulder pain that made it very difficult to sleep. Through my yoga practice, I corrected posture, rehabilitated my shoulder and a good sleep was my reward.
- A few years ago I had surgery on both eyes for retinal detachments. The recovery period for this requires that the head be kept in a certain position for a week. My experience with yoga and props allowed me to find different positions to be in so that I could stretch and also to sleep in a supported restful position. Yoga saved me there yet again.
- Lastly, I am not immune to the concerns of the world, the mind and emotions can at times be frayed and disturb sleep. So, here again I go to my yoga practice, where we practice trusting and letting go. We learn to do our best and relinquish our need for control or a particular result.
My own experience has taught me how mindfulness through yoga can help us develop our awareness of where we are at and a sense of compassion for ourselves.
From that sense of awareness we learn are breathing and postures that help to induce a deep sense of relaxation, that can make sleep easier.
Yoga is not a quick fix. It is a healthy lifestyle choice that can feed our body and mind.
The combination of mindful exercise, relaxation and compassion are the foundation of our work.