Yoga, Meditation and Sleep
ders. There are multiple sleep and breathing disorders, parasomnias (sleep walking, talking and the like) movement disorders, and last but surely not least, insomnia. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. So what can yoga and meditation do for Insomnia? Since yoga is often thought of as an exercise regime, this can be
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puzzling. Yoga that is practiced in most classes is Asana, or postures, and consists of only one portion of total yoga practice. The word yoga means “union.” The ancient text of Yoga Sutras states in its first sutra, “yoga chitta vritta nirhoda.” Translated from Sanskrit this means, “yoga stills the fluctuations of the mind”. Con- sider that Yoga is a practice consisting of:
Yama: Universal morality Niyama: Personal observances Asanas: Body postures Pranayama: Breathing exercises, and control of prana (breath) Pratyahara: Control of the senses Dharana: Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness Dhyana: Devotion, meditation on the Divine Samadhi: Union with the Divine.
This looks more like a way of life than an exercise class once a
week. Yoga views the body in a whole different way, our mind and spirit included. Yoga teaches there are subtle bodies, or koshas or sheaths, around and including our physical bodies. The koshas or subtle bod- ies in yogic tradition are: the breath body, physical body, intellectual body, emotional body, and spiritual body. Consider what it would be like to have just a physical body in the absence of your breath or thought bodies. What it would be like to be missing your spirit or emotions? We are complete beings possessed of all these qualities. In our comings and goings we may not have noticed the sum total of all our parts. We may rely too heavily on our thoughts or intellect to navigate our world. Emotions or our physical bodies may dominate our awareness on any given day. We become out of balance. So how can we discover and connect or rediscover and remind
ourselves we are complete sentient beings in possession of a physi- cal, breath, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual body? We connect to all that we are by becoming aware in the mo- ment using the practice of yoga. Meditation as part of yoga practice brings us into the moment and creates awareness of the totality of who we are. Meditation alone can help us detach from the intense emotions of a situation and bring us back into balance. People who suffer from insomnia are frequently awake ruminat- ing, and losing sleep over thinking about losing sleep. Meditation calms the mind and creates space for situations to be viewed in a new, more objective way.
hat do you do when you just can’t sleep? What does yoga have to do with sleep? Not all sleep disorders are created equal. There are more than 70 diagnosed sleep disor-
So who has insomnia and why? How does yoga & modern science blend?
Insomnia often is triggered by a stressful or- traumatic event. After the initial event the behavior becomes habitual. Frequent awak- enings followed by ruminations, “I just can’t shut my mind off,” to clock watching, daytime sleepiness, and difficulty processing emo- tions. The cycle feeds itself. Why do some suffer more than others? Insomnia is not a purely
behavioral condition, but behavior in response to the condition is the most successful way to treat it. Those with insomnia have a more active alerting system, or a stronger drive to be awake. Since sleep is controlled by our nervous system, it would stand to reason that calming our nervous system would lend balance to an active wakefulness system. Therefore, calming the nervous system strengthens our sleep system.
Breaking Free This is where yoga and meditation can help. Remember the first
yoga sutra: yoga calms the fluctuations of the mind. Yoga and medi- tation both have been shown to decrease our overall stress. How does this happen?
When life presents stress, such as a traffic jam, a confrontation, or other stressors, our adrenals respond by secreting stress hormones. These stress hormones are part of the fight or flight sympathetic ner- vous system. This chemical stew, originally designed to allow us to outrun the tiger chasing us, is a beautiful but obsolete reaction. Since we are no longer dashing away in response to stress,
these chemicals do not get used in their originally intended fashion and after a few more confrontations during your day, chronic stress manifests. Because these chemicals stay in the body, other symptoms manifest. Such as: elevated blood pressure, elevated heart rate, and altered metabolism leading to insulin resistance and heart disease, to name a few. It’s not all bad news. In nature’s wisdom there are checks and balances. Enter the parasympathetic nervous system! This system lowers heart rate and blood pressure. This is the system that is acti- vated when you meditate, or practice yoga. Practicing yoga and meditating, whether it is for 5 or 50 min- utes, supports and strengthens your ability to relax and have a stron- ger drive to relax, to go to sleep and stay asleep. If you suffer from insomnia, creating a bedtime ritual and good sleep habits that include a slow and breath-centered Asana practice will help alleviate the ruminations and worries. Practicing yoga and meditation on a daily basis for even a few minutes can have a profound effect on managing insomnia.
Elizabeth Wyatt, a Registered Sleep Technologist and Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioner (CPRYT)works), works with clients suffering from insomniafrom insomnia and other conditions in her office in Glastonbury, CT and at Middlesex Hospital Sleep Dis- orders Center in Middletown ,MiddletownCT, CT. Elizabeth has been in the sleep profession in excess of 12 years. She became a CPRYT Practitioner to better recognize and treat clients in a more holistic way. See ad on page 24.
40 Natural Nutmeg May 2012
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