Learn Yoga Techniques to Treat or Ease Insomnia
Insomnia is one of the most common complaints of those who suffer from a chronic sleep disorder. Most people with insomnia will try many different treatments, hoping for a remedy to ease their troubles. Whether it’s medical treatment or lifestyle adjustment, yoga has been shown to be a great alternative treatment.
Yoga Poses to Treat Insomnia
Below are five yoga poses that can provide relief for those suffering from insomnia? Try these poses and see which ones work best for you!
1) Chatturanga
From standing at the top of your mat, bend your knees and crouch down until your butt is on your heels, and slide your toes out as far as appropriate without swaying too much from side to side or front to back. The primary actions in this pose are your hamstrings.
2) Balasana
From kneeling on the mat, bring your right knee in towards your chest and gently rest it on your left thigh. Press down with the outer edges of the palms of the hands to encourage this action. The primary action here in Balasana is to help release tension from the back leg.
3) Adho Mukha Svanasana
From standing at the top of your mat, step right foot forward until you feel a stretch through your right side. Bend your right arm and reach it overhead. Push back with the outer edges of the hands to help release tension from the shoulder and chest area. The primary action in Adho Mukha Svanasana is your upper back muscles.
4) Ustrasana
From lying on your mat, bring your feet into a cow position and extend your arms out behind you for support. Bring shoulders down and rest them on top of your mat; then draw your head up towards the ceiling. Tighten the rectus abdominis (the eight-pack muscle) and press up through your palms to support yourself.
5) Tadasana
From standing at the top of your mat, create a tall mountain pose by lifting arms up to the sky and stacking them back overhead. Strengthen your abdominals to lift hips up and stack one shin over the other.
As you can see from the above poses, yoga is a wonderful way to relax and alleviate stress. Try these simple techniques and find which ones work best for you!
Yoga can help to improve the Quality of Sleep
Sleep is an important part of our daily lives and when we're not getting enough sleep it can cause a wide range of health problems such as depression, obesity, and heart disease. The consequences of poor sleep are especially high for adults over the age of 40.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how much sleep you should be getting every night due to individual biological, social, work obligations, and lifestyle adjustments that can affect your ideal amount of sleep each night. However, there are some basic guidelines that have been put in place by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to help promote healthy sleeping habits for adults. What's more these recommendations aren't hard - they just take a few minutes each day to maintain.
