Winding Down After a Hard Day

   Oftentimes, after a stressful day, you may have trouble quieting the body and the mind enough to fall asleep quickly. For others, it is easy to fall asleep, but you wake up in the middle of the night, raring to go. If you find this happening to you often, you may be feeling sleep deprived. This week we will focus on poses and mudras which can calm both the body and the mind including gentle inversions and supported forward bends.

   If you lay in bed for more than 15 minutes trying to sleep, try getting up and reading or doing some restorative yoga in a different room. The more you associate your bed with not being able to sleep, the harder it will be to get out of the pattern of insomnia.

   Tne pose to try is Viparita Karani or Legs up the Wall Pose. Lie on your back with your calves either on a chair or the heels resting on a wall. Give yourself 5-10 minutes of restful awareness in this pose, then try lying back down in bed.