Yoga Moves For A Good Night's Sleep
By Dana Sullivan

One third of American adults are losing sleep over the economy, according to a poll released Monday by the National Sleep Foundation. "It’s easy to understand why so many people are concerned over the economy and jobs," says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation, in a press release. "But sleep is essential for productivity and alertness and is a vital sign for one’s overall health."

If you’re tempted to use medication to help you sleep, there is a healthier, drug-free alternative that gets a thumbs up from many sleep experts: Yoga. “The rationale for using yoga to treat insomnia is based on good evidence that people who have trouble sleeping are chronically ‘aroused’,” says Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Ph.D., a neuroscientist who studies the effects of yoga on insomnia at the Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine. “Insomnia sufferers tend to have higher levels of cortisol [the “stress” hormone] and adrenaline than average,” he explains. A typical insomniac also has a faster heart rate and higher body temperature than average. “People who can’t sleep are also very emotionally responsive,” says Khalsa. Since regularly practicing yoga lowers arousal levels, it makes sense it would be an effective tool for insomnia, he says. Here is one asana, or pose, called the reverse platform, plus one breathing exercise, called the shabad kriya, that Khalsa recommends doing daily.

• Reverse platform – before sleep. Lie down on your back. Leave your arms by your sides and bring your heels toward your buttocks. Raise your hips and waist by putting all your weight on your shoulders. Do not grab your ankles. Hold yourself in this position for five minutes, inhaling fully and slowly. Relax back down. Repeat once or twice.

• Shabad Kriya – before sleep, and upon awakening in the middle of the night. Sit with a straight spine, your head erect and chin lightly tucked in. Place your hands in your lap, palms up, right hand resting on top of left, so the tips of your thumbs touch and point forward. Look downward past tip of your nose. Inhale in 4 equal segments through the nose; simultaneously but silently, say Sah Tah Nah Mah with one syllable for each stroke of the breath. Then hold the breath by lifting and suspending the motion of the chest. As you hold the breath mentally repeat the phrase four times -- Sah Tah Nah Mah Sah Tah Nah Mah Sah Tah Nah Mah Sah Tah Nah Mah – for 16 equal beats. Exhale in two equal and powerful strokes out the nose; as you exhale, silently say Wah-Hay on the first segment out, and Goo-Roo on the second stroke out. Continue breathing and chanting for 5 to 31 minutes, as long as it takes you to feel relaxed. At the end, inhale deeply and hold for 10 seconds. Exhale, and let your breath relax to your normal patterns for a few minutes.