Struggling to sleep? Here's six ways to ensure a more restorative night’s sleep using time tested yoga techniques by Lisa Hassan Scott
Have you ever struggled to get to sleep? As parents we’re used to being up in the night for a baby, an ill toddler, or perhaps for a worrying pre-teen. But sometimes it’s not our children keeping us awake. We’ve all experienced it. You’re exhausted after a long day of parenting, housework, working and school runs or home educating. It’s a relief to slip under the covers and you’re ready for sleep. But… sleep doesn’t appear to be ready for you.
As a yoga teacher, students often say to me, “I am struggling to get to sleep at night. Is there anything I can do?” Sometimes they might complain that even though their children were sound asleep, they can’t seem to drop off to sleep or they wake at 4am and are unable to get back to sleep, finally giving up when the rest of the household stirs.
Bringing yoga to daily life
I am passionate about bringing yoga into daily life. At my weekly class and in my workshops I often suggest ways students can allow yoga to filter into their day to day activities. If you’re struggling to get to sleep, there are several ways you can use this ancient practice to help you drop off a little easier.
In my personal experience, and from speaking to my students and colleagues, it seems to me that the root cause of the inability to fall asleep is a busy mind. We all know the feeling of lying down to sleep after a long day, and instead of dropping off to sleep, it’s as though a flood gate has opened in the mind. Thoughts arise, arise, arise.
Many people report that it’s the unwelcome thoughts that keep them awake. It might be a worry about tomorrow. Or it’s an anxiety about the past. Perhaps it’s something they forgot to do today, or something they didn’t get quite right. Maybe it’s a rehearsal of a dissatisfying interaction or the exploration of a fear as yet unrealised.
The ancients referred to the mind as a chariot of wild horses. Sometimes it seems as though the mind is racing to and fro like those strong, untamed animals, bucking and rearing when any sort of control is exerted over them, frothing at the lips and tossing their rider from his place in the chariot.
You are the rider, not the mind. With practice it is possible to be in charge of the mind. The result is a still, calm consciousness and this is the aim of yoga practice. The more control we gain over our thoughts, the more we discover power over our bodies, particularly the nervous system. We can calm the mind, triggering the parasympathetic nervous system which allows us to “rest and digest”, rather than respond with “fight or flight”.
