Yoga Poses for Better Sleep

I have a very dear friend who is struggling with insomnia. She is not alone as many people struggle to get enough quality sleep. Our sleep is so important to our bodies’ overall function and well-being, it can really zap you when you’re not getting it. There are all kinds of advice tidbits out there about limiting caffeine, not watching TV before bed, chamomile tea, etc… Trying to do it the natural old-fashioned way can be challenging when there are so many pills available to do the trick. For those of you committed to/interested in getting some Zzzz’s au natural, here are some yoga stretches and breathing exercises to add to your sleep toolkit. Please note these are really for the people who are tired at night, but find their mind is racing, thinking about the next day, etc…vs. those folks who have a lot of excess energy that they need to get rid of before bed (a future post for them). Enjoy and sleep well…

• Focused Breath – Breathing is really the key to calming your nervous system and easing into sleep. We want to do a focused breath, where you are just watching your breath – not trying to change it too much. Sit comfortably on the floor or in a straight-back chair. Breathe in and out through the nose and just observe your breath. Watch how your belly lifts and your ribs expand gently on your inhale and fall back on your exhale. As other thoughts come into your mind, release them and bring your attention back to your breath. As you do the follow stretches, continue to stay focused on your breathing.

• Seated Cat/Cow – Sitting tall, with your shoulders over the hips, ears over the collar bones, as you inhale gently lift your sternum and arch your back. As you exhale, reverse the movement, rounding your back, drawing the belly towards the spine. Continue moving with your breath 6-8 times each way. Remember to keep the shoulders down as you move and maintain a pretty slow, deliberate pace. You can also do this stretch on all 4’s (hands and knees) – just make sure your hands are under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

• Childs Pose – From all 4’s, rest your hips back over your heels and rest your forehead to the floor if it goes there comfortably. If not, place a small pillow in front of you to rest the forehead there. Allow your arms to rest along your sides, or overhead with hands on the floor. Breathe and stay as long as your body is comfortable. Childs Pose is great for relieving anxiety, calming a racing mind, and reducing stress.

• Forward Fold – For this one, you’ll want to move to the floor. Let your legs come out to a comfortable V. If you feel any discomfort here, place a small pillow underneath your hips which should help make this more comfortable. Your legs can be bent or straight, but don’t lock the knees. Take a full inhale lifting the spine and as you exhale, hinge at the hips and come forward, resting your hands or forearms on the floor in front of you. Continue to use your breath, and with each exhale, relaxing a bit more into your stretch. Hold and breathe for 8 breaths.

• Recline Twist – Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor, legs bent. Extend your arms out to shoulder level, resting on the floor. Inhale and as you exhale, allow your legs to rest over to the right side. You want the legs to be resting on the floor – so if they’re in mid-air, draw the legs farther away from you so that they can rest. Stay and breathe 6-8 breaths, come back to center and switch sides. Twists help us release toxins by helping to move along our lymphatic fluid. They also calm our nervous system and help that racing, to-do list mind take it easy.

• 2:1 Breath – Finally, breathing is so important, we’ll do two different exercises. With this one, we want to make our exhale twice as long as our inhale. Begin by watching your breath and noticing the length of both your inhale and exhale. Maybe count to yourself. Then, as you exhale, allow that breath to linger and be longer than the breath in. You want to continue breathing comfortably, and never force a longer breath than you can do. Continue for 10-12 breaths.

For more on yoga for better sleep, check out our new DVD: YogaXoga Demystified Yoga, Vol. 2 with a class devoted to yoga before bed.

Laughter Yoga

Note from YogaXogaGirl: I’ve been reading more and more about Laughter Yoga, but this article caught my eye, as it shares different kinds of laughs we can all try…(maybe I’ll get us laughing in class soon…)

(from www.NaturalNews.com) “Ho ho, ha ha ha,” students in a fitness class at the University of Michigan Health System chant repeatedly while clapping their hands and walking around the room. They’re just getting warmed up; in the next half-hour, they will stretch their muscles and work on breathing exercises. They’ll also laugh for most of the 30 minutes, from self-conscious giggles to uninhibited belly laughs. All in the name of fitness.

This is a “laughter yoga” course, part of a growing trend in parts of the United States, India and other countries. The students are re-learning something children already know instinctively: that laughter makes you feel better.

“Kids laugh about 400 times a day, and adults only about 15,” notes Barb Fisher, a certified laughter yoga leader and the instructor of this class offered by the U-M Health System’s MFit health promotion division. “Laughter is a gift that has been given to us to make us feel better.”

Fisher teaches her students that not only is it fun to laugh, but that laughter yoga (also known as hasya yoga) can provide many health benefits:

* Help to reduce stress

* Enhance the immune system

* Strengthen cardiovascular functions

* Oxygenate the body by boosting the respiratory system

* Improve circulation

* Tone muscles

* Help with digestion and constipation

Even with all of these health benefits, though, laughter yoga shouldn’t replace other types of aerobic and weight-bearing exercises.

“Studies have shown that 20 seconds of a good, hard belly laugh is worth three minutes on the rowing machine,” Fisher says. “However, that does not mean we want to stop doing all other exercises. It means that incorporating laughter yoga can add to the benefits we see from our regular exercise routine.”

Like more traditional fitness classes, laughter yoga requires a warm-up period. Since students can’t necessarily start a class prepared to break out into deep laughter, they begin with the clapping and chanting mentioned above. Then they perform breathing exercises, followed by stretches and laughing games.

As developed by laughter yoga creator Madan Kataria, a family physician from India, these laughing exercises can include many varieties, such as:

* Hearty laughter: Laughter by raising both the arms in the sky with the head tilted a little backwards.

* Greeting laughter: Joining both the hands and shaking hands with at least four or five people in the group.

* Appreciation laughter: Join your pointing finger with the thumb to make a small circle while making gestures as if you are appreciating your group members and laughing simultaneously.

* Milk shake laughter: Hold and mix two imaginary glasses of milk or coffee and pour the milk from one glass into the other by chanting “Aeee….,” and then pour it back into the first glass by chanting “Aeee…” Then, everyone laughs while making a gesture as if they are drinking milk.

The students in Fisher’s class have discovered the mental and physical benefits of these and other laughter exercises.

“The biggest effect that I’ve gotten from laughter yoga is what it’s done for me mentally, and that it has lightened up my day and my week,” says Deborah Slosberg. “I also think it has improved my breathing.”

“It gives me a relaxed feeling, and yet I actually feel like I worked out,” says Ann Twork. “You get back some of the child in you.”

For more information, visit these Web sites:

U-M Health System’s MFit: (http://www.med.umich.edu/mfit/index.htm)

What is laughter yoga? ((http://www.laughteryoga.org/about-laugh…)

Laughter yoga 101: (http://www.laughteryoga.us/laughter-yoga.php)

Laughter yoga training and certification: ((http://www.laughteryoga.org/certified-l…)

Yoga Journal article: (http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/298)

U-M Health Topics A-Z — Humor therapy: ((http://health.med.umich.edu/healthconte…)

It has been know for years that laughter can heal people. Maybe that is why we all love to be around people who make us laugh, they make us feel good.

Sources:

University of Michigan Health System
(http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/relarch.cfm)

Newswise
((http://www.newswise.com:80/articles/vie…)

About the author

Leslee Dru Browning is a 6th generation Medical Herbalist & Nutritionist from the ancestral line of Patty Bartlett Sessions; Pioneer Mid-Wife & Herbalist. Leslee practiced Medical Herbalism and Nutritional Healing for over 25 years and specialized in Cancer Wellness along with Chronic Illness. She now devotes her career to teaching people, through her writing, about Natural Healing from An Herbal Perspective.

YogaXoga Product Find: Priti Nail Polish & Polish Remover

As a wellness junkie who once majored in Fashion Merchandising (I know, you’d never know it now – I’m pretty much in yoga gear all week long), I do like to shop…Although it can be a bit challenging… Whether it’s looking for eco-friendly fabrics that don’t break my budget, or painstakingly reading the labels of cosmetics, skincare, toiletries to minimize the chemicals that I knowingly expose myself to – it can be very daunting!

So, when I find a product that works in a healthy and/or eco-friendly way, I’m telling you all about it, along with links so that you can learn more and get yours if you like. Just to let you know, I have no relationship or partnership with any of these companies – I just wanted to spread the word so that more people are introduced to their products…

My first find is Priti Nail Polish and Soy Polish Remover. These nail polishes are DBP, toulene and formaldehyde-free…a safer alternative to regular nail polish ($12.50 each). A lot of the marketing messages I’ve read about these polishes say they’re safe for expectant moms. (Even though I’m not an expectant mom, I’d gladly choose the healthier non-toxic path to pretty feet.) The polishes go on great and definitely have less odor than typical polish.

The Soy-based polish remover contains no petroleum ingredients, readily biodegradable and non-toxic ($22.50). I really like this remover, and you don’t use very much – one cottonball took care of all 10 of my toes…

Where to get the goods? I ordered mine from:

www.theycatalog.com The Y Catalog – 10% of your purchases go to a variety of charities.

Also available at www.beautyhabit.com