Have you been having sleepless nights for sometime now? You may have lots of reasons for this including the recent Pandemic. It is a fact that millions of people around the world are suffering from secondary health problems, such as sleeplessness, that can be tied to the anxiety and fear surrounding the spread of the novel coronavirus.
If you are suffering from this issue, take the following simple steps to make things easier for yourself.
First reduce the intake of anything that feeds the fear and stress including things that you may 'like'. After all, why would you want to add more fuel to the fire?
So, take some time off from COVID-19 related news or, perhaps, switch off the news channels completely because the media is the source of a lot of not-so-good news nowadays and affects us adversely whether we know it or not. If it's important for you to watch news, only read the headlines that matter to your work or life. Leave the rest alone. Also keep off that part of social media which only sucks your energy without giving any value in return... like negative banter and criticisms just about anything, and especially politics.
[reference: Deal with depression]
Second, increase the intake of anything that increases the feeling of happiness and joy...like good music, nice books, or happy movies. The good fuel.
Third, the food you intake should add life to you, not take away from it. Basically, add fresh 'live' foods like fruits and green veggies and keep frozen foods and preservatives laden foods away.
Also try and avoid regular intake of 'prana' negative foods such as garlic and onions, beverages with high caffeine content, eapecially coffee. Also tea to some extent but the caffeine content in tea is 5 times lower. Although they add to the taste, they are strong nerve stimulants. While they may have good medicinal value, would you actually take medicines unless you are unwell. Basically, anything external that stimulates you also deadens your own ability to manufacture the same chemicals inside yourself.
Remember this mantra - To the extent you give control to something or someone, you also give away your freedom to that entity to that degree.
Lastly, work your body to increase immunity and resistance to external influences. After all, what you use, remains efficient and what you don't use, falls into disrepair.
Here is where yoga can be really helpful as it goes beyond the physical into your energies and mental dimensions. Yoga helps to de-stress your body and to calm the mind, which, in turn, will lead to restfulness and deeper sleep.
Get a healthy dose of yoga into your schedule to counter the restlessness that’s a result of these unprecedented times.
Yoga for a good night’s sleep
The next time you can’t sleep, try out the following yoga poses to induce relaxation in the body:
Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose
This gives your body a good stretch due to which all the tensed up muscles are immediately eased up. It also promotes blood circulation and relaxes the thighs that might be sore from being in bed or in a sitting position all the time while working from home.
How do you perform this yoga asana when sleep evades you? Follow these simple steps before it’s time to tuck yourself in.
Place a yoga mat parallel to a wall. Lie down on your back and raise your legs to place them on the wall to form an L shape. Your support should end at your lower back. Focus on your breathing for 15-20 seconds and then return to your original position.
Reclined Goddess Pose
This is a restorative pose that helps to open up the knotted hip muscles while de-stressing the groin muscles. It is extremely beneficial in relieving tension from the lower body, apart from helping to bring your heart rate and blood pressure down.
To perform this asana, you will have to lie on your back on the yoga mat with your legs wide apart. Then, slowly start bending your knees so that you can bring the soles of your feet closer together while they are on the floor. Make them touch. Focus on your breathing while doing this pose and feel the stretch of the hamstring muscles. After this, return to your original position by relaxing your knees.
These are just two of the many yoga asanas that you can perform when you are feeling sleepless because of all the thoughts running in your head. Want to make yoga a regular part of your life?
Then sign up for yoga classes online to learn an ancient practice that radically enhances your mental, spiritual, and physical well-being.