Bid Adieu to Insomnia by practicing yoga and meditation
The dictionary says, Insomnia is habitual sleeplessness and a condition where one experiences difficulty falling asleep in the night thus feeling drowsy during the daytime. Yes, it sounds awful and it is more horrendous to the one going through it. Insomnia thus leads to low energy or zero energy, prolonged fatigue, difficulty concentrating and focusing at work, regular mood swings, and decreased performance or no performance at all – in work or at school. It is common in teenagers and adults – this is when stress builds up – so the children don’t really know about it.
Types of Insomnia: The causes of Insomnia depends on the type of sleeplessness problem that you are experiencing. There are 2 types,
Acute Insomnia – This is a short-term sleeplessness habit caused due to stress or prolonged thinking about something that you are looking forward to in future. It can be from exams to proposing to someone, or public speaking, anything. Once the day passes by, you will feel relaxed and relieved from the feeling. This is definitely acute and hence the name.
Chronic Insomnia – This type of sleeplessness credits to the name and usually lasts up to three months thus occurring three times a week – a red alert cue. This is due to prolonged stress, depression and anxiety, change in sleeping orders, health discomforts like arthritis, back pain, sharp pains in the body etc. This has to be treated for whatever cause you are unable to sleep.
Organic Cure for Insomnia
Are you a victim of Insomnia for whatever reason and any type? Then, it is high time you should treat yourself and while away from it. But how? Doctors? Psychological visits? – Maybe, yes – to a certain extent. But how can you cure it permanently and remove yourself from being termed as a chronic victim?
Don’t overthink, there is a chronic solution – organic, though – Yoga and Meditation. The mashup of yoga and meditation will work wonders in curing Insomnia and you will realize how healthy you would have become in lesser time when practiced daily. Doesn’t that sound good and rejuvenating?
6 yoga asanas blended with meditation to cure Insomnia
When you practice yoga, you are in contact with your breathing and every single part of the body. You build tension in certain areas of your body depending on the asana that you practice. Yoga – even called stretching exercise – has a deeply calming effect thus giving your body the right amount of sleep. Wait, this is all along with mindfulness meditation taking place concurrently. After all, focusing on the tension in the body and experiencing the changes is mindfulness meditation.
(i) Uttanasana
The Uttanasana – also known as Padahasthasana – is a standing forward bend. It gives your spine muscles a good stretch to activate your nervous system and increase the blood supply to the body. The spine becomes insanely flexible with practice. Increased blood circulation combined with stretched would help combat Insomnia.
(ii) Marjariasana
This is the most practiced asana for the spine, commonly called the Cat Pose with nuances of Cow’s Pose. The elongated spine pose regulates digestion and soothes the abdominal organs, improves blood circulation and calms the mind. This is a prospect to get a good night’s sleep and eventually liberating completely from Insomnia.
(iii) Baddha Konasana
The Butterfly Pose or the Cobbler Pose asana gives the groin muscles, knees, and inner thighs a good stretch. A few stretches itself is proven to induce relaxation. Had a long day, try this asana to beat long hour fatigue because of walking or any physical movement. This asana is definitely a Sleep Booster.
(iv) Viparita Karani
Albeit the Legs-up-in-the-air pose may seem daunting, you will enjoy once you get it right. For yoga practitioners, you may have already recalled your staff’s voice telling – stretch longer and touch the sky with your legs. As you are resting on your head, the blood circulation will be fierce to your head thus flushing out all toxins and making you super fresh and rejuvenated. This removes any kind of acute headaches and calms the mind. A quiet mind calls for better sleep.
(v) Balasana
If you ever want to know how you would have fit into your mother’s womb, try this asana and this is the best asana to beat Insomnia. It’s called the Child’s Pose. When you lie forward touching the ground with your forehead, your back is elongated to its core thus relaxing your nervous system. For those with love handles on their abdomen, you will get benefited in reducing that as well.
(vi) Shavasana
My favorite type of yoga where you are asked to lie like a corpse releasing all the tensions and clutters from your mind and body. And during any yoga practice, this is the last asana your staff would ask you to do. You will be instructed to concentrate on every part of the body and respond to the changes after a beautiful workout. This nirvanic state will eventually take you to Yoga Nidra and will awaken your senses thus making you fresh and energetic for the day.
Amidst the reading, hope you didn’t forget that you are expected to hold for a while in all the poses concentrating on your breath which is Mindfulness Meditation. Try these asanas and you will soon see yourself rolled cozy inside the sheets and wake up to a fresh morning, bidding adieu not only to Insomnia but also to your dark circles.