Yoga Your Way to a Better Sleep

Tap to Read ➤ The average adult requires 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Without good quality sleep, it has an impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. Abbie Faulkner

Sleep

The average adult requires 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Without good quality sleep, it has an impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. It affects our productivity, concentration and focus, weakens our immune system and can play a role in heart health too. All of these things shouldn’t be taken lightly.

We know there are many things that can enhance and improve our sleep, like sleep apps for example – they monitor our sleep, track how long we spend in light and deep sleep which is insightful. There’s exercise of course, a popular solution to tire yourself out throughout the day, reading, camomile tea and plenty more.

These solutions to a better sleep are all different for each person, what works for you might not work for someone else. With this being said, a universal exercise that has become exceedingly popular in the last year or so, is yoga. It is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on flexibility, strength and breathing.

Yoga is one of the most calming and relaxing exercises. It calms the mind, body and soul and has many health benefits attached to its name. There are actually many benefits that are strongly supported by science, and you can never argue with or question science.

Benefits:

Relieves and reduces anxiety Reduces stress Improves heart health Improves flexibility and strength Promotes sleep quality

Top 4 Yoga Poses

There is a wide variety of yoga poses, all of which depend on your yoga experience and your overall exercise state. If you don’t really exercise, and you’ve never participated in yoga before then it’s best to stick to beginner yoga poses to ensure you don’t strain any muscles. Yoga is an art that can be perfected over time.

1. The Mountain Pose

To start off very easy, the mountain pose is a simple standing pose. It’s designed to give you a sense of how to keep you balance, and ground yourself. Although many people think it’s just standing, it tends to be a lot more than that when done right.

2. The Plank

The plank is a popular move for building the core and it’s not only used in yoga. It teaches us how to balance on our hands / arms, while we use the rest of our body to support us. It is a good opportunity to build core strength, and use breathing techniques which are effective in challenging poses.

3. The Tree

Another standing balance which is great for beginners. You start with your feet together and place your right food on your inner left upper thigh. Be sure to pressure your hands in prayer and focus on being able to balance. Hold the pose for 10 seconds then switch sides!

4. The Warrior

A great empowering pose! They build strength and stamina. It’s essentially a gentle backbend and you can achieve this pose by – taking a large step back with your left foot, as though you are lunging. Turn your left heel down and angle your foot 75 degrees.