3 Ways to Use Yoga for Better Sleep

Words by Elle Daniel

Do you ever find that you wake up in the morning and immediately fantasise about getting back into bed that evening, only to find that when bedtime rolls around, you struggle to get to sleep?

Despite the nights becoming darker and therefore bed seeming all the more inviting, there’s something about this time of year that seems to pull you in every direction. There are the social events, with your colleagues, your friends and your family, there are the coughs and colds made harsher by the colder weather and more potent by the parties, then there’s the overall emphasis on indulgent consumption, which I’m all for from time to time, but when we indulge in rich food, we tend to opt for the food lower in nutritional value. All of these things together put stress on the central nervous system, which in turn, has a negative effect on one of the things we need the most; sleep.

Self-care gets a bad rap these days as it is often tied up with ideas of privilege, both in terms of time and money. However, it doesn’t take as much as you think. I am a full-time yoga teacher, and not particularly rich in either of the aforementioned areas! Can you find 10 minutes before going to sleep? No? Can you sacrifice 10 minutes of pre-bed screen time for an alternative? Good. Try this:

#1 The best yoga pose to encourage rest and replenishment

• Take a blanket or duvet (or even on a carpet is fine) and lay it next to the wall in your bedroom and place a pillow (or yoga bolster if you have one) up against the wall.

• Then edge your hips onto it.

• From here, track both of your legs up the wall, finding a comfortable distance between your pelvis and the wall so that you feel supported. You don’t have to feel any intensity in the hamstrings, so feel free to bend your knees and rest your feet on the wall, or better yet, bring the soles of the feet together and let your knees wing out so that the legs are in a diamond shape.

• Can you stay here for 10 minutes? Can you concentrate on your breath, seeing if you can slow down the length of each breath?

This is a simple and accessible way to calm the nervous system and put your nervous system into rest and digest mode which, as the name suggests, promotes both a more restful state and better digestion. These go hand in hand, as often in the festive months we tend to eat heavier, later meals, which leaves our body having to work a bit harder in the evening when really it wants to be settling down.

The blood flow from the legs is directed back to the core in this pose, which will not only aid digestion but brings the circulation readily back to the heart too, further promoting calm and ease. I guarantee you will notice a difference when you do this, even if you only have 5 minutes, but don’t be surprised if you end up wanting to stay for 30!

#2 Breathing your way to a good night’s sleep

I briefly touched upon breath in the first tip, and this second way to improve sleep is a breath technique in and of itself. You may even find you want to add this to a restorative yoga pose, such as the one detailed above.

This breathing technique can be done anywhere, and doesn’t require you to close one nostril or make funny sounds as you exhale, so very easy to fit into your day. Put simply, it is a breath in 4 parts: 1st the inhale, 2nd a pause, 3rd the exhale and 4th a pause, then repeat.

Start with an even ratio: 4 counts to inhale, 2 counts to pause and then the same on the exhale and the second pause. This will make you more aware of your breath as you slow it down, and the slower pace of breath and those small pauses create a sense of inner stillness, even if the world outside is anything but.

I have tried this on the tube in rush hour and can attest that it works! If you want to increase the calming effects, lengthen the exhale by one or two counts; a longer exhale will further promote the parasympathetic nervous system response. I like to practice inhaling for six, holding for four, exhaling for eight and holding for two or four to close the cycle, but you can play around with your own breath count.

This technique is good to relieve stress and anxiety, but more importantly a great thing to practice as you are lying in bed. The breathing alone will help to calm you into a sleepy state, plus the focus on the breath count will take the emphasis off any busyness and over-thinking that goes on in the mind.

#3 Learn the art of ‘yogic sleep’

Still struggling with shuteye? My final tip for you is to get yourself to a Yoga Nidra class. There are many of these offered now in various yoga studios around London and also outside the capital.

In these sessions, you are guided through what is effectively a psychic sleep. A teacher verbally guides you into what can be described as the ‘going to sleep’ phase, where you become lucid and it can be surprisingly trippy for some. Unlike meditation, whereby you are focusing the mind on one thing, in Nidra, you are lightly withdrawing the external senses, a state that is traditionally referred to as ‘Pratyahara’. I highly recommend this experience in a class setting, as the group energy of sharing the experience with others only adds to the potent effects, but if you are unable to make it to a studio, here is a link to FREE Nidra recordings, which you can listen to at home. All you need is a comfy place to lie down, and you’re good to go.

I hope that one of the tips above helps you in your quest for better sleep. In today’s society, and especially amongst young professionals living in a big city, telling people how little sleep you’re surviving off can be as much of a brag as it is a complaint. Success and achievement do not have to mean you are constantly exhausted, and in fact, your work and social life will enjoy a boost the more rested you are. You have all the tools, and now you can put them to work.

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Elle has been teaching yoga for 2 years and practicing almost 14. She is passionate about yoga philosophy and encouraging students to go deeper than just asana. Yoga has helped Elle to live life fully and with intention, and she hopes to share that with others. Elle is also a passionate writer, so is delighted to be able to combine her two passions and share them on Balance Garden. Find out more about her over on her website www.yogielle.com, Instagram @elle_daniel_yoga, or Twitter @elle_yoga

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