Wake up the Brain with Yoga

As some of you may know, I’m an avid Bikram yoga practitioner. It’s my primary form of exercise and I love that it’s a constant journey with no destination. There’s always room for improvement (for me anyway : ) Bikram stresses that the series of twenty-six postures is organized in a specific order because each posture prepares the body for the next pose, which prepares the body for the next pose, etc.

There is one posture that Bikram agrees can be performed outside of the series and even at ambient temperatures–Ardha-Kurmasana, or Half Tortoise Pose. I wanted to share it with you because there are some real benefits to this pose, particularly if you’ve had a bad night’s sleep or if you find yourself dozing off during the day.

The posture begins by sitting Japanese style, with the legs bent, knees on the floor, and the buttocks on the heels. While sitting up straight, raise your arms over your head, lock your elbows, keeping your arms touching your ears, and bring the palms of your hands together with the thumbs crossed.

While taking a deep breath, raise your arms up high, then exhale as you slowly bend forward, keeping your arms straight and reaching forward and your bottom on your heels. Bring your body down until the sides of your hands and your forehead touch the floor (see the picture above). Continue to look forward and stretch forward with each inhalation and rest further on your heels with each exhalation so that each breath cycle acts like human traction. Continue this for 30 seconds. If you can lie down on the floor for 30 seconds and then repeat the pose, even better.

The benefits of this posture are many and include relaxation, relief for indigestion, firming of the abdomen and thighs, and increased flexibility of the hips scapula, deltoids, triceps, and latissimus dorsi muscles.

The posture also stretches the lower part of the lungs, which increase blood circulation to the brain. Bikram claims that this, together with the compression in the neck/shoulders results in better delivery of blood to the brain, which is the equivalent of getting eight hours of sleep. So if you're feeling that afternoon slump, if you can find a quiet spot, try this posture. You may even eliminate that craving for coffee…

Sweet Dreams...

Do you have trouble falling to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep? Aside from the obvious reasons like having too much stimulant such as caffeine late in the day, the neighbor is having a rocking party next door, or you’re in the middle of a major crisis, there are ways to make sleep more sound and effective.

The benefits for this are far beyond not having bags under the eyes in the morning or wanting to yawn through half of the day. Studies show that a chronic lack of sleep can lead to weight gain, as well as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It also puts us at a greater risk for some cancers. In addition, learning and memory are significantly inhibited when we fail to get a good night’s sleep. Here are some tips to help ensure that you sleep like a baby:

- try not to eat at least 2 – 3 hours before bedtime

- design a bedtime routine -

> put away the computer and any other electronics an hour before bedtime and keep them out of the bedroom

> make your home quiet

> take a warm bath

> meditate to calm the mind and body

> keep a gratitude list – add 5 things that you are grateful for to it before you go to bed (do this when you wake up too – you’ll be amazed at how powerful this practice can be)

> make the room perfectly dark

- make sure your mattress is right for you – I love my thick, memory foam mattress. I sleep like a baby on it with very little moving at all during the night.

- have good air ventilation in the room. Even in the winter, I like to crack the window slightly to get fresh air and moisture into the room

Do you have any bedtime rituals that work for you? Please share them with us!

Sweet dreams everyone…

Picture: Sleeping fairy by Richard Biffle