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Hatha yoga, or physical postures, and
pranayama, or breath techniques, can be useful tools in your
efforts to re-establish a restful night’s sleep. Hatha yoga
is so promising, in fact, that the NIH-National Institutes for
Health’s NCAAM division (which is devoted to investigating
alternative approaches to health care) is in the midst of an
ongoing study looking at yoga’s effect on insomnia. The
results of this study are still pending.
There are many Hatha yoga traditions
taught in the US, each with a unique approach to the problem
of insomnia. The following brief series of postures are
designed as a gateway to your personal exploration of using
yoga to influence your health. I strongly encourage you to
find an experienced teacher in your area and to delve more
deeply into the powerful potential of this practice.
In addition, one simple breath technique
that’s helpful in quieting the mind and body as prep for sleep
involves lengthening your exhalation, or out breath, in
relation to your inhalation. Slowing down the exhalation is
known to quiet your sympathetic nervous system, that part of
your wiring that’s involved in the “flight of fight
response”. This side of you needs to be turned off in order
to transition into sleep. Practicing a simple breath
technique while lying in these postures can be a powerful
combination. NEXT
For additional information on yoga for
insomnia, I recommend “Relax and Renew”, by Judith Lasater,
Ph.D., P.T., from Rodmell Press.
For more information
regarding Hatha yoga with Baxter, please check out his website
at
www.bellyoga.info. Details at
Bellyoga.com!
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