When I was young, sleep was often like a butterfly sitting on my shoulder. If I tried to hold onto it, it would just fly away.
The worst was when I’d check the clock and think, “If I fall asleep right now I will get seven hours and thirty-two minutes of sleep.” A few minutes later, “If I fall asleep right now I will get seven hours and twenty-two minutes of sleep.”
Sometimes when I was tossing and turning in bed, I tried counting to a million (not sheep, just numbers).
If I lost track, I started over at one. This was a great way to develop mindfulness. It’s the same trick one of my yoga teachers uses — “If you forget how many Sun Salutations you’ve done, start over at one.”
But counting didn’t really help me sleep. Even worse, I never made it beyond a couple thousand.
As an adult, I still have trouble sleeping sometimes (especially when I drink caffeine or listen to CBC’s “Because News” quiz too close to bedtime).
Now, instead of counting to a million, I use yoga to help me fall asleep or to pre-empt any restlessness.
Yoga Poses and Breathing Techniques for Deeper Sleep
Here are a few simple yoga tips to keep the sleep butterflies from flying away prematurely. As with everything yoga-related, if these poses and breathing techniques don’t feel comfortable, don’t do them.
Legs-up-the-wall pose. This pose will calm your body and mind. It’s one that I used as a child, even before I started doing yoga. If you are pregnant or have high blood pressure or glaucoma, skip this pose or work one-on-one with a yoga teacher. To do: As the name implies, put your legs up the wall and lie there for 5 to 10 minutes. Here’s a good video on how to get into the pose.
Left nostril breathing. In yoga, breathing through the left nostril is associated with moon energy and is more cooling (right nostril breathing is related to the sun and is more activating). To do: Close your right nostril with a finger and breathe slowly and gently through the left nostril for 5 to 10 minutes. You can also combine this with the next one.
Lengthen the exhales or hold after exhale. Longer exhales tend to be calming and longer inhales tend to be activating. Holding after exhale has the same effect as a longer exhale. To do: Breathe through your nose, with an even inhale and exhale. With each breath, slowly lengthen the exhale (or hold after exhale) until you get to a longer, but comfortable length. For example, this might be: inhale 6, exhale 9; or inhale 6, exhale 6, hold the exhale for 6. Continue for 5 to 10 minutes.
Talk to a doctor. This isn’t a yoga tip, but if you are having trouble sleeping and it isn’t getting better, talk to your doctor. Insufficient sleep is linked to many other health problems, including high blood pressure, obesity, and anxiety, as well as car crashes due to drowsy driving.
