Yoga for Sleep

There are many useful practices to help relax the body for sleep. Perhaps the most effective is Yoga Nidra, where you systematically relax each part of the body. Starting with the feet, say to yourself, feet relax, feet reeeeelaaaax, my feet are relaxed, legs relax, legs reeeelaax, my legs are relaxed. Continue up through hips, buttocks, stomach, lungs, chest, arms, hands, shoulders to the head, ending with eyes and jaw.

Here are three other simple techniques to help prepare for sleep.

• Asana - Padangusthasana - Lying on your back in bed, without a pillow, lengthen your body by stretching your heels away from your hips, and your head away from your shoulders. Lift first your right leg then the left, holding your foot for 20-30 seconds on each side.
• Pranayama - Viloma I and II - lying on your back, with your eyes closed, take a couple of normal breaths. Then inhale in three parts, stopping for a few seconds in between, then exhale slowly. Take a normal breath, then repeat two more times. Then inhale slowly, and exhale in three parts, take a normal breath, and repeat two more times.
• Tantric Yoga - contemplate the following concepts for about 30 seconds each:

1. Love
2. Radiance
3. Unity
4. Health
5. Strength
6. Abundance
7. Wisdom
8. Light as air
9. Inner space 
10. Trust

Yoga for Pregnancy - Five Key Asanas

Child's Pose or Balasana: This is a good pose for relaxation. With toes together, open the knees to the width of the mat (to allow space for your belly and baby), and fold over onto a bolster, several folded blankets, or a large pillow. Halfway through, change your head to the other side.  Practice for 5-10 minutes.

Supported Butterfly Pose or Baddha Konasana: Bring the soles of your feet together, and support the knees using two blocks, or folded blankets. Your hands can rest on your thighs, or you can support yourself from behind as illustrated in this picture. This pose will help strengthen your inner thighs.

Squat or Malasana: To help strengthen the pelvic floor, it is recommended to practice squats as often as possible. Ideally, your feet will be flat on the floor, and you can squat against a wall for better balance. If your heels do not touch the floor, roll a blanket underneath to support the heels. With your hands in prayer, use the elbows to gently encourage the knees to open. Hold for 3-5 minutes.

Chair or Utkatasana: In the last trimester, squats may not be available to you. Instead, you can place yourself in a supported chair pose. With feet hips width apart, about a foot or half a metre from the wall, slide your back down the wall until you are sitting against the wall, and can feel your pelvic floor strengthening. Rest your hands on your thighs. Hold for 3-5 minutes.

Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana): Lying on your back, place a belt around your feet, then bend your knees so that the soles of your feet are facing the ceiling. Use the belt to gently open the hips, encouraging the knees towards the floor. Hold for 3 to 5 minutes.

This posture is a good hip opener. It stretches the inner thighs and groin as well as the hamstrings. It releases the spine and sacrum, and is particularly beneficial in releasing or decompressing the sacroiliac joint.

It helps to build strength in the hips, legs, thighs, and arms, while opening up and building flexibility in the hips. Internally, it can also massage the stomach organs and stimulate the digestive system. Happy Baby Pose awakens your inner child to relieve stress, and reinvigorate your mind, body and soul.

Pranayama: Breathwork for Pregnancy and New Motherhood

Pregnancy and new motherhood is a magical time in a woman's life.  Not only do you go through tremendous changes in your physical body, but also you experience changes emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Yoga has much to offer this roller-coaster time of joy and emotion, to help relax the body and calm the emotions, and in doing so, send peaceful messages to your baby.

The following pranayama breathing exercises can be done for 3-10 minutes, in the morning, or whenever you need to bring yourself back in balance. With both these techniques, the important thing is to find a natural rhythm without forcing the breath. These are useful both before and after the birth.

Deep Belly Breathing

The benefits of deep belly breathing include relaxation, stress release, stimulation of endorphins that fight depression, expansion of lung capacity and an increase in patience.

Start by closing your eyes, slowing down your breath, breathing smoothly through your nose.  Allow your belly to expand.  Think about expanding the rib cage, including to the side and back. The breath moves into the body from the bottom of the lungs to the top of the lungs. When you exhale, start at the top and move down to the bottom of the lungs, drawing your navel towards the spine. (This movement will be less in the later months of pregnancy.)

Alternate Nostril Breathing

This breath brings mental and emotional balance, as it balances the hemispheres of the brain. It creates a sense of harmony and well-being, and helps relieve stress related tension headaches.

Close your eyes and begin to slow down your breathing through the nose. Let your left hand rest on your left knee with the palm facing up and your index finger and thumb tips touching in gian mudra.  Fold the right index and middle finger. Use your right thumb to gently close your right nostril to inhale through the left nostril.  To exhale, gently close the left nostril with your ring and little fingers to allow the breath to release through the right. On the next inhale, breathe in through the right nostril and exhale through the left. Whichever nostril you exhale out of, that will be the nostril through which you take your next inhale. Continue directing the breath through the alternate nostrils in this way. With practice you can also do this breath without blocking the nostrils with your fingers.

Home Practice - 30 Minute Morning Vinyasa

1.          Tadasana (Mountain Pose) - 3 deep ujayi breaths.

2.         Slow Surya Namaskar A – holding each part for 5 breaths.

3.         Surya Namaskar A – 2 more times as flow.

4.       Take 5 resting breaths.

5.      Surya Namasakara B Vinyasa – holding each part for 5 breaths, starting on the right side, and repeating on the left side.

•        Utkatasana (chair pose)
•        Warrior I
•        Warrior II
•        Warrior Crescent Moon
•        Trikonasana (triangle pose)
•        Ardha Chandrasana
•        Utthita Parvotanasana
•        Runner’s stretch
•        Downward dog

6.         Take 3 resting breaths.

7.         Dandasana (seated forward bend) for 15 breaths.
8.   Seated flow
- with the left leg bent, raise the right leg in half boat for 5 breaths
- holding the ankle, stretch the right leg for 5 breaths
- holding the outside of the right foot with leg extended, twist to the right for 5 breaths. Left hand provides support on the ground behind you.
- release the right leg and fold over the extended leg for 5 breaths
- bend the right leg towards the ceiling and twist to the right for 5 breaths
- repeat on the other side

9.         Full wheel – supported with exercise ball – 1-3 minutes

10.        Salamba sarvangasana (shoulderstand) – 3-5 minutes.  Shoulderstand variations -   can do shoulderstand flow holding each part for 18+ breaths – shoulderstand using wall for support with knees bent and feet flat on the wall, shoulder-stand, plough, shoulderstand, wall shoulderstand.

11.         Sirsasana (headstand) - hold for 3 to 5 minutes, beginning and ending in child’s pose.  Alternative – half headstand supported by a wall.

12.   Lying on your back, using belt around your foot, lift and stretch the right leg for 5 breaths. Open the right leg to the right side, keeping your left side grounded, for 5 breaths. Bring the right leg to the left side for 5 breaths. Come into half baby buddha on the right for 5 breaths. Repeat on the left side, ending in a full baby buddha.
13.   Savasana for 5 minutes.

Home Practice - 30+ Minute Gentle Flow

1. Uttanasana

1. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) for 10 breaths (hold your elbows and let head and neck relax completely, or rest your hands lightly on the floor or your ankles, or support head and hands on bolster and blocks as needed)

2. Balasana

2. Balasana (Child's Pose) for 5 minutes with knees open to the width of your mat.

3. Supta Virasana

3. Supta Virasana (Reclined Hero) for 5 minutes, with or without bolsters and blankets for support.

4. Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) for 3-5 minutes using folded blankets under the shoulders. Slide off the blankets so your shoulders are on the floor and rest for a few breaths after you come down.

5. Full headstand, headstand variation or handstand for up to 5 minutes, starting and ending in child's pose.

• Headstand variation: facing a wall, make a headstand base with your hands, support head in hands (head against wall), and slowly walk your feet towards your head.  Ideally back should be flat against the wall.
• Handstand against the wall – 3-5 times, hold each one up to 12 breaths.
• Handstand variation (L or half handstand): Facing the wall, walk your feet up the wall until you are forming an L shape with your body.

6. Viparita Karani - Legs up against the wall for 5 minutes using 1-2 folded blankets, or block, or bolster, to lift the hips and buttocks.

Note:  For a 20 minute practise you may choose to hold each asana for three minutes, or choose to do a shorter flow such as uttanasa, balasana (child’s pose), supta virasana (reclined hero), and salamba sarvangasana (shoulderstand).

****************

With thanks to my daughter Sarah Bird for demonstrating 

these yoga poses, and to David Forster for his photography.

More on Salamba Sarvangasana

Despite practicing this posture for thirty years, I still find it can be challenging if I haven't been doing it regularly, while I can easily hold a headstand with joy.  Having recently added it back into my daily practice, I thought it would be helpful to provide a few tips.  

Salamba sarvangasana can be practiced for 30 seconds or for as long as 30 minutes, though I usually strive for about five minutes.

Why do the shoulderstand?  It has so many benefits: 

• calms the nerves
• reduces anxiety, insomnia and irritability
• decreases depression
• improves your metabolism (so it can help you lose weight)
• good for digestion and blood circulation.

It is best to practice the shouldstand on 2-3 folded blankets, lying with the edge of your shoulders lined up with the edge of the blankets.   The blankets will prevent pressure on the vertebrae of the neck. It is important to centre yourself on the blankets and not turn your head while in the pose.

 This asana is also called the candle, and can be started with the legs bent slightly in a half or quarter plow position, and gradually straightened with time.  If you have difficulty getting into the posture, a variation against the wall is a beautiful way to get comfortable with this challenging pose.  

Place the short end of your mat against the wall, and lie on your back with your shoulders on your blanket stack.  Then lift yourself up, placing your feet flat on the wall and supporting your back with your hands.  

Hold this posture, and then move into the full shoulderstand away from the wall.  When you need to come out of the asana, move into plow by bending the legs over your head, until the toes touch the floor (or you can place a block if you don’t reach the floor).  Return to sarvangasana, and then ease yourself out of the pose and rest on your back for a few breaths before you sit up.  Start with 1-3 minutes, and gradually increase the length of your asana.

Ideally, after sarvangasana you would do a headstand for an equal length of time!