A good night sleep?
Although yoga is known for many things, including the physical aspects of strength and flexibility, certain yoga asanas (postures) restore and rejuvenate. Inversions, for example, gives your cardiovascular system a much needed break. This can deepen your breathing and help induce sleep.
Taking a few minutes out to practice a few basic inverted, supported asanas, before going to bed, may be the difference between a deep sleep and a restless one.
Science Says:
"Inverted Yoga asanas have been used for centuries for mood stabilization and to support mental health. Inversion postures can be helpful in relieving headaches, improving sleep, reducing anxiety & depression and helping to regulate hormones by increasing blood flow to the pineal and pituitary glands."
How does Yoga encourage relaxation
The stillness and mindful breathing that accompanies yoga poses can help shift your focus away from the daily stressors of a busy life, allowing your mind to quieten enough to help you drift off to sleep
Syncing breath and yoga for sleep
Whenever you’re working with mindful movement or yoga postures, try synching your movements with the breath to help promote relaxation. Combining movement with focused breathing exercises or short meditation sessions can increase relaxation.
Happy Hormones
It is interesting to know that Sarvangasana is occasionally referred to as the “Mother of all asanas” along with the “Queen of all asana”. Shoulder stand posture helps in nurturing and protecting the entire body, just like a mother would for her child.
The happy hormones like dopamine or serotonin are also secreted while performing Sarvangasana.
Likes it name 'Sarvanga' in sanskrit means “whole body”.
Practicing Sarvangasana helps de-stress by increasing the blood supply to the entire body.
Science Says:
"Aside from the physiological changes that the brain goes through with lack of sleep; sleep deprivation can also impact on behavior, mood, cognitive performance, as well as motor function of the body. Studies have shown that motor vehicle accidents, due to fatigue and lack of sleep, are becoming more and more common.
The consequences of not getting enough sleep are rather dangerous.
It not only affects our mental and physical health as well as the cognitive performance but studies have proven that lack of sleep has negative effect on long-term memory, working memory, attention, higher order executive function, and various decision making processes. It affects long-term memory due to the inability to consolidate learned tasks throughout the previous day as a result of the negative impact of early phase slow-wave (deep sleep), when normal memory consolidates learned tasks through neuronal synapses via encoding and memory storage.
Simply put, with a lack of sleep neurons do not have a chance to create long-term memory and manifests itself as various clinical symptoms of behavioral, personality, cognitive, and physical complaints."
Suggested daily practice:
Uttanasana: Head supported on a chair or blocks, buttocks resting against the wall
Halasana & Sarvangasana: Improves blood flow in body.
Virasana forwards supported: Use bolsters under the chest and between the buttocks and legs.
Viparita Karani: Take a support under the buttocks.
Savasana and/or Supta Baddha Konasana: Support the spine, head slightly higher than the torso.