The Benefits of Getting Better Sleep
Getting better sleep is crucial for maintaining overall health and well-being in adults. Here are some of the key health benefits associated with improving sleep quality:
- Enhanced Cognitive Function: Quality sleep is essential for optimal brain function. Adequate rest improves memory consolidation, problem-solving abilities, creativity, and overall cognitive performance.
- Mood Regulation: Sleep plays a significant role in emotional stability. Getting enough rest helps regulate mood and reduces the risk of mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
- Immune System Support: Quality sleep strengthens the immune system, making the body more resilient to infections and illnesses. It allows the immune system to produce cytokines, proteins that combat infection.
- Weight Management: Sleep is linked to the regulation of hunger hormones, such as ghrelin and leptin. When well-rested, individuals are better able to control their appetite and make healthier food choices, contributing to weight management.
- Cardiovascular Health: Chronic sleep deprivation is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Adequate sleep helps maintain healthy blood pressure and reduces inflammation in the body.
- Hormonal Balance: Sleep is crucial for the regulation of hormones, including insulin (related to blood sugar), cortisol (related to stress), and growth hormone (related to tissue repair and muscle growth).
- Pain Management: Better sleep can alleviate pain sensitivity and improve the body's ability to tolerate discomfort. This is especially beneficial for individuals with chronic pain conditions.
- Skin Health: Quality sleep promotes skin cell regeneration, collagen production, and overall skin health, contributing to a more youthful appearance.
- Improved Metabolism: Sleep influences metabolic processes, including glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity. Adequate sleep helps prevent metabolic disorders like diabetes.
- Longevity: Studies have suggested that individuals who consistently get sufficient sleep may have a longer lifespan and a reduced risk of premature death.
- Enhanced Physical Performance: Athletes and active individuals benefit from improved sleep as it aids in muscle recovery, coordination, and overall physical performance.
- Stress Reduction: Quality sleep reduces stress and helps the body better cope with daily challenges, enhancing overall mental and emotional resilience.
- Better Decision-Making: Sleep-deprived individuals often make impulsive and less informed decisions. Improved sleep quality supports better judgment and decision-making skills.
In conclusion, prioritizing better sleep has a profound impact on various aspects of adult health. It is not only essential for physical health but also for mental and emotional well-being. Incorporating healthy sleep habits into one's daily routine can lead to a more vibrant, productive, and fulfilling life.
How Yoga Therapy Can Help You Sleep Better
Yoga Therapy can help you get better sleep through various practices. Here are some of the key ways that yoga therapy can help you get better sleep.
- Stress Reduction: Yoga incorporates relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and mindfulness, which help reduce stress and anxiety, common culprits of sleep disturbances.
- Muscle Relaxation: Sleep plays a significant role in emotional stability. Getting enough rest helps regulate mood and reduces the risk of mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
- Improved Circulation: Yoga poses can enhance blood circulation, ensuring better oxygen flow to the brain, potentially aiding in sleep regulation.
- Hormonal Balance: Regular yoga practice may help balance hormones like cortisol and melatonin, essential for a healthy sleep-wake cycle.
- Mind-Body Connection: Yoga encourages a stronger mind-body connection, allowing individuals to become more aware of their body's needs, including those related to sleep.
- Enhanced Sleep Quality: Yoga can lead to better sleep quality by promoting longer periods of deep, restorative sleep.
- Bedside Routine: Incorporating calming yoga and breathing exercises into a bedtime routine signals the body that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep.
- Insomnia Management: Yoga therapy can be tailored to address specific sleep disorders like insomnia, offering tailored practices to alleviate these conditions.
In conclusion, individual responses to yoga therapy may vary, but it can be a valuable tool for improving sleep when practiced regularly and in conjunction with other healthy sleep habits. Good sleep is not only essential for physical health but also for mental and emotional well-being. Incorporating healthy sleep habits into one's daily routine can lead to a more vibrant, productive, and fulfilling life.
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Managing Anxiety with Yoga - Newsletter
Newsletter July, 2020
Managing Anxiety with Yoga -Video
This is a 50 minute webinar recorded by the HYL team about how to manage anxiety using the tools of yoga. Simple practices are demonstrated in this video.
Strengthen Your Immune System with Yoga - Video
Learn- Simple, gentle, and effective breathing and mindfulness techniques to calm body & mind.
- How to assess & change lifestyle habits to better support your immune system
- How to use breath centric movements, sound, and touch to energize your body and strengthen your defenses to germs
Americans are experiencing high levels of stress
Eight in ten Americans say that the Coronavirus pandemic is a significant source of stress. According to a recent study by the American Psychological Association, almost eight out of ten people who were surveyed reported stress about the future of the nation and the government’s response to coronavirus. Another 70% reported concerns about the long-term effects of Coronavirus on children. Added to that are worries that many Americans face about staying in their homes, feeding themselves and their families, and sending their children to school.
Yoga cannot impact these external factors, but yoga can help you cope with them to reduce the level of anxiety that you feel. Living in a constant and long-term state of chronic anxiety damages your physical and mental health. This newsletter highlights yogic techniques to help you manage anxiety and improve your overall sense of wellbeing.
Lifestyle Recommendations
Identify Your Stressors and Your Response to Them
The most important place to start with managing anxiety is with your mind. Close your eyes and identify one by one the things that cause you anxiety. Organize the images in your mind into groups; finance; housing, family relations; other relations such as neighbors, friends, co-workers; health issues; physical and mental. Fear of catching COVID-19. Fear of social and political unrest. Come up with the big picture of the items that make you anxious.One technique to identify the stressors that cause you anxiety is to write them down. What stressors are contributing to the anxiety? Now that you have your list, select one stressor to focus on. This process will help you identify your thoughts about the stressor and your pattern of behavior to relieve the stress.
Identify the negative thoughts about this stressor? Does your mind churn repeatedly with doomsday and negative thoughts? Do you spend more time in the past than the present? Do you spend a lot of time worrying about what bad things may happen in the future? Can you gaze at one object, and keep it as the focus of your attention for two minutes? If not, you probably could benefit from a breath and meditation practice.
If you routinely have repetitive negative thoughts, keep a journal with one column labeled thoughts, the second column labeled feelings, and the third column labeled actions. Identify how you respond to each negative thought. For example, for thought 1, under the column for feelings, do you feel anxious, sad, depressed, angry? For column 3, actions, do you find it difficult to sleep? Do you wake up feeling tired and drained? Is your appetite affected, i.e. do you eat too much, too little, or at irregular times? Do you have difficulty in concentrating on something. Just write down your self-observations without judgment so that you can become aware of your pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behavior around each stressor.
Living in the present moment is a critical habit that keeps you grounded in the now. The past is gone and cannot be changed. The future has not arrived – so worrying about it will not change the outcome. All we have for sure is the present moment. Learn to make the most of the present moment by giving it your full attention.
Change Your Response Habits
One technique to reduce anxiety is to reduce your exposure to the stressors.
If someone or something contributes to your anxiety, think about ways to limit contact with it. If that is not possible, then think about how you can change your response to the stressor. If someone says something mean to you, are you going to take it to heart or let it pass. Whenever I got mad at someone else, my grandmother would say: ‘let it pass like water on a duck’s back.’ Do you have an automatic stress response that is locked and loaded, and just waiting for a target so that you can unleash it? If you have this habit, consider releasing the stress in a non-violent manner without going into the equivalent of emotional mortal combat with another human being.
Does listening to the news broadcasts or following topics on social media upset you? If yes, then consider limiting your intake of news to a set time period so that you are not swamped with it day and night.
Establish Healthier Patterns
Gratitude
Gratitude for what we have is important. Every morning that you arise, develop a habit of being grateful for one thing. Perhaps it is that you woke up this morning without pain. Giving thanks for all the good things in your life is a habit that affirms your appreciation for your life and helps to counter-balance the negative thoughts.
Healthy eating
Do you eat watching television or listening to the radio? If you do, then try turning off the media and sitting quietly and paying attention to what you are eating and how it is affecting you. This technique helps you to stop eating when you feel full. It is harder to know when you feel full if your attention is focused elsewhere. Evaluate the quality of your food and how it is cooked. Eat more wholesome, fresh foods and cook them to retain their nutrients, rather than deep frying them in grease.
Exercise
Do the right kind of exercise for your body, age, and general condition. Consult your health care provider if you need advice about how to start or modify an exercise program. The National Institute of Health has a program, Go4Life, where they have information and online videos about healthy and safe exercise programs. Walking outside and getting fresh air is also a good habit to adopt. National guidelines are getting 150 minutes of mildly aerobic exercise a week.
Sleep
Getting good sleep is key to being healthy. If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, you will want to remedy that situation. Examine your sleep hygiene. First, adjust the physical surroundings of your bedroom so that there are no electronics and that it is sufficiently dark to encourage sleep. Adjust the temperature so that it is comfortable for you. Check your mattress and pillows to make sure that you are getting enough support. Review your pre-sleep routine to see if you are doing stimulating activities two hours before you go to bed. Develop a pre-sleep routine to calm your body and mind. There are yoga movements, breath and meditation practices that you can do to prepare yourself for sleep.
Meaningful Activities
Do you do things that give you a sense of purpose, such as volunteering to help others, or teaching, or supporting your favorite charity? Doing things that mean something to you is also important to managing anxiety because it diverts your attention from yourself to helping others.
Relaxation and Fun
Having a regular relaxation practice is an easy way to relieve stress. Perhaps reading a book, or listening to music, or watching a TV program, or just breathing and meditating. Doing ‘fun’ activities is also beneficial; it could be watching or doing sports, entertainment, or meeting with family and friends.
Spiritual Practices
Many people find it comforting to hold a set of beliefs about a source of energy or consciousness that is outside of the normal realm of human sensibility; i.e. it is not something that you can see, touch, hear, smell, or taste. Doing religious or other spiritual practices can connect you with something more important and larger than yourself.
In summary, examine how you can start or improve your foundation of solid, healthy life-style practices. Eating healthy food, exercising appropriately, sleeping well, staying connected with people, and doing something purposeful in your life are key building blocks to a healthier life. Finding suitable recreational activities is also important. Practicing your spiritual or religious practices may also be a bedrock of your life that brings you joy and peace.
Yoga Movements
A wonderful benefit of yoga is that it encourages an awareness of how the yoga practice affects your mind and body. One effective practice for managing anxiety is a seated forward bend.
Seated in a chair, with hands on top of your knees, inhale and your lift your sternum upwards. Exhale and bend down while lowering the chest to your thighs and your hands to the floor.
If you need grounding because you are having a panic attack, then look around you. Name five things you can see with your eyes; touch four things with your hands; and make sounds aloud.
Hold onto an object and focus your attention on it and breath while observing that object.
Breath Practice
The rate and frequency of the breaths that we take in a minute influence our physiology; that is the breath is like the orchestra conductor – telling us to speed up or slow down our bodily functions. The faster we breathe, the faster our blood pumps, the faster the heart beats, and if rapid breath is accompanied by a fear or flight response, certain bodily systems slow or shut down, such as digestion and the repair and renewal processes. The slower we breathe, the slower the heart pumps, and if that is accompanied by a relaxed frame of mind, digestion runs smoothly and thoughts calm down.
Learning how to control the breath to achieve a desired effect is an important skill to acquire. If you want to calm the mind, then you want to slow the breath on the exhalation. If you want to stimulate the breath, then you increase the inhale and retention of the breath. For a full explanation of why and how the breath can be controlled, see Gary Kraftsow’s book: Yoga for Transformation.
Meditation
After a breathing practice the mind is calm and ready for meditation. Meditation, which has many words in Sanskrit, the language that the ancient yogis used, means to focus the mind for a sustained. You can select a physical object in the natural world, a metaphysical concept, such as compassion or peace; or you can focus on an issue or situation. You can also simply let your mind go blank – although that is a state that advanced practitioners achieve more frequently than beginners.
Summary
Lifestyle habits that support healthy living in the present moment, coupled with a reasonable regime of exercise, breath and meditation practices, can do much to alleviate the anxiety that you feel. The more that you do these practices, the easier it becomes for you to recognize when you are having an anxiety attack, and deal with it immediately. The more that you do these practices, the easier it becomes for you to maintain your calm center of gravity. When the winds and high seas of life come, a consistent practice will help you stay on course, and if your boat capsizes, will help you recover quickly. Quick recovery is a handy skill to have, especially when you are in stormy weather.
Resources
View our free webinar on How You Can Manage Anxiety with Yoga by clicking here.
For information on the private, individual and group classes offered by Healing Yoga Live, contact us at:
hy@healingyoga.live
All of our classes are offered on-line and you can attend them in the privacy of your home.
A Short Meditation on Goodness
Yoga Sutra 2.33 When harassed by doubt, cultivate the opposite mental attitude.
A Short Meditation on Goodness
Yoga is many things, has many dimensions, and if there is a way to sum up what all the practices and teaching of yoga point to, it is to move toward establishing a core sense of contentment, calm, and clarity in the midst of the chaos and uncertainly of our lives.
One practice to cultivate is making a regular affirmation of ourselves as the embodiment of what we believe is good, and to make conscious our sense of being whole and vitally present in that goodness. This very short, very simple mediative practice can be done anywhere, anytime, in a few minutes taken out of a busy day. A potent time to do this meditation is in the morning, on rising, as a way of framing the beginning of each day.
To Begin
Choose any comfortable position, sitting or lying on your back. Allow for your back to be straight, your ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders aligned with each other. Neck long and straight, chin slightly drawn in toward your chest, body stretching long from feet through the crown of the head. Take a few moments to orient yourself to the sensations that surround you: temperature, sounds, scents and aromas, the quality of light and shadow, the feel of the support beneath you your body. Take a few breaths here, tuning in to the sensations of your position in space, your sensation of having weight in gravity, finding a sense of balance and stability in the core of your body.
Body and Breath
1. Bring attention to the muscles of your jaw and face, between the eyebrows and around the mouth, noticing if there is tension and relaxing these muscles, softening your gaze or closing your eyes if that feels all right. Take another few breaths now, bringing your attention to feeling the cool flow of the air as it is drawn in through your nose and down into your throat on inhale.
2. Draw your attention now to your neck, shoulders, and arms, gently pulling your shoulders back and then releasing, letting your hands fall naturally at your sides or resting on your thighs, elbows loose, hands relaxed, fingers loose and relaxed. In the next few breaths notice the rise and expansion of the chest as you breath in, and then the gentle drop and release in the chest on exhale.
3. Bring your attention to the center of your body, the core where your organs are held. Take a few breaths in which you allow your belly muscles to expand along with the lift and expansion of your chest on inhale and feel the gentle contraction and pulling in of your belly muscles on exhale. Continue to allow your breath to expand into your abdomen on inhale, slow and steady, full and easy. Continue to feel the slow, gentle contraction of your abdominal muscles on exhale, navel moving toward your spine.
5. Bring your awareness to the slight pause that comes between the parts of your breath – after inhale again after exhale – that quality of a tiny stillness in the body as the breath pauses. No need to try to change you natural breathing rhythm – just notice the sensations of the breath flowing - in and out of the body, the pulse of your breathing gently moving your torso and the curves of your spine with each in-breath and out-breath, the small stillness that rests within the flow of the breath.
6. Bring attention to the sensations in your hips and pelvic muscles, the large muscles of your legs, the sensation of your joints and their movements: hips, knees, ankles, toes. Take some breaths now to feel the full movement and flow of your breath as it moves in and through your body with each inhale and exhale. No need to change or evaluate what you are feeling, simply notice and feel the breath connecting all the parts your body from head to toes.
Affirmation
Allow a deep and heartfelt affirmation of your core goodness come to mind. Let this thought come without forcing or deliberation – accepting whatever arises. Hold this affirmation in the light of your awareness, repeating it mentally or aloud over the next few breaths, in the form of a positive statement of being. For example: “I am kind” or “I am courageous.” If an image arises, not words, hold that image in mind. Or simply hold a space of stillness and calm as you feel your breath flowing through you.
Intention
Create an intention in whatever way it comes to you - as a statement or an image - that gives your affirmation form and action: For example: “I will check in on my neighbor today” or “I will make that phone call I have been avoiding.” Through the next few breaths focus on and affirm your intention and commit to manifesting your deep core goodness in this way.
Integration
Rest into the rhythm and flow of your breath, bringing your full attention to the sensation of the cool flow of air is drawn in through the nose and down into the throat on inhale, to the gentle slow relaxation of the body on exhale, releasing what it no longer needs. Notice the sensations of the pulse of your breathing gently moving your torso and the curves of your spine with each in-breath and out- breath, and the stillness that rests within the flow of the breath. Rest in the feeling of balance and stability in the core of your body.
Return
Begin to orient yourself again to the sensations of your surroundings - temperature, sounds, smells, the touch of your clothing on your skin, the feel of the support beneath you.
When you are ready, open your eyes. Take a few moments to reflect on your meditation.
© Liz Huntington Skylark Yoga
skylarkviniyoga@gmail,com
www.skylark.yoga
Yoga Sutra 2.33 When harassed by doubt, cultivate the opposite mental attitude.
A Short Meditation on Goodness
Yoga is many things, has many dimensions, and if there is a way to sum up what all the practices and teaching of yoga point to, it is to move toward establishing a core sense of contentment, calm, and clarity in the midst of the chaos and uncertainly of our lives.
One practice to cultivate is making a regular affirmation of ourselves as the embodiment of what we believe is good, and to make conscious our sense of being whole and vitally present in that goodness. This very short, very simple mediative practice can be done anywhere, anytime, in a few minutes taken out of a busy day. A potent time to do this meditation is in the morning, on rising, as a way of framing the beginning of each day.
To Begin
Choose any comfortable position, sitting or lying on your back. Allow for your back to be straight, your ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders aligned with each other. Neck long and straight, chin slightly drawn in toward your chest, body stretching long from feet through the crown of the head. Take a few moments to orient yourself to the sensations that surround you: temperature, sounds, scents and aromas, the quality of light and shadow, the feel of the support beneath you your body. Take a few breaths here, tuning in to the sensations of your position in space, your sensation of having weight in gravity, finding a sense of balance and stability in the core of your body.
Body and Breath
1. Bring attention to the muscles of your jaw and face, between the eyebrows and around the mouth, noticing if there is tension and relaxing these muscles, softening your gaze or closing your eyes if that feels all right. Take another few breaths now, bringing your attention to feeling the cool flow of the air as it is drawn in through your nose and down into your throat on inhale.
2. Draw your attention now to your neck, shoulders, and arms, gently pulling your shoulders back and then releasing, letting your hands fall naturally at your sides or resting on your thighs, elbows loose, hands relaxed, fingers loose and relaxed. In the next few breaths notice the rise and expansion of the chest as you breath in, and then the gentle drop and release in the chest on exhale.
3. Bring your attention to the center of your body, the core where your organs are held. Take a few breaths in which you allow your belly muscles to expand along with the lift and expansion of your chest on inhale and feel the gentle contraction and pulling in of your belly muscles on exhale. Continue to allow your breath to expand into your abdomen on inhale, slow and steady, full and easy. Continue to feel the slow, gentle contraction of your abdominal muscles on exhale, navel moving toward your spine.
5. Bring your awareness to the slight pause that comes between the parts of your breath – after inhale again after exhale – that quality of a tiny stillness in the body as the breath pauses. No need to try to change you natural breathing rhythm – just notice the sensations of the breath flowing - in and out of the body, the pulse of your breathing gently moving your torso and the curves of your spine with each in-breath and out-breath, the small stillness that rests within the flow of the breath.
6. Bring attention to the sensations in your hips and pelvic muscles, the large muscles of your legs, the sensation of your joints and their movements: hips, knees, ankles, toes. Take some breaths now to feel the full movement and flow of your breath as it moves in and through your body with each inhale and exhale. No need to change or evaluate what you are feeling, simply notice and feel the breath connecting all the parts your body from head to toes.
Affirmation
Allow a deep and heartfelt affirmation of your core goodness come to mind. Let this thought come without forcing or deliberation – accepting whatever arises. Hold this affirmation in the light of your awareness, repeating it mentally or aloud over the next few breaths, in the form of a positive statement of being. For example: “I am kind” or “I am courageous.” If an image arises, not words, hold that image in mind. Or simply hold a space of stillness and calm as you feel your breath flowing through you.
Intention
Create an intention in whatever way it comes to you - as a statement or an image - that gives your affirmation form and action: For example: “I will check in on my neighbor today” or “I will make that phone call I have been avoiding.” Through the next few breaths focus on and affirm your intention and commit to manifesting your deep core goodness in this way.
Integration
Rest into the rhythm and flow of your breath, bringing your full attention to the sensation of the cool flow of air is drawn in through the nose and down into the throat on inhale, to the gentle slow relaxation of the body on exhale, releasing what it no longer needs. Notice the sensations of the pulse of your breathing gently moving your torso and the curves of your spine with each in-breath and out- breath, and the stillness that rests within the flow of the breath. Rest in the feeling of balance and stability in the core of your body.
Return
Begin to orient yourself again to the sensations of your surroundings - temperature, sounds, smells, the touch of your clothing on your skin, the feel of the support beneath you.
When you are ready, open your eyes. Take a few moments to reflect on your meditation.
© Liz Huntington Skylark Yoga
skylarkviniyoga@gmail,com
www.skylark.yoga
Recorded Practices
Access recorded video and audio resources which you can practice in the comfort of your own home. These resources guide you in breathing with ease which helps you relax your body and mind.
*HEALING YOGA LIVE*
