If you aren’t getting enough quality sleep, anxiety is sure to creep in. Bedtime Yoga can be an amazing tool for better sleep and less anxiety.
I was sleep deprived for about 12 years of my adult life. And my mental health took a major toll because of it. I wasn’t associating my lack of sleep with the increased levels of anxiety I was experiencing. Luckily, a therapist recognized the connection and gave me new insight into sleep and anxiety.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND ANXIETY
Seeing for myself how my lack of sleep was affecting my mental health and relationships was freeing. It gave me some semblance of control when I felt that I had none. It forced me to create changes in myself and my world so I could live a better life.
After being diagnosed with sleep deprivation, I went on a mission to find as many natural ways as I could to get better sleep. I decided that even if I couldn’t control how much sleep I got, I could work on cultivating the best quality possible when I was sleeping. Yoga helped to improve my sleep life by leaps and bounds.
Yoga has no side effects, costs nothing, and most definitely helps improve sleep. Whether it’s done at any point in the day or gently at bedtime, yoga has been shown to provide numerous health and sleep benefits by the Sleep Foundation.
YOGA NIDRA
I made a lot of changes that helped, but discovering Yoga Nidra (yoga sleep) was an answer to my prayers. I bought a CD by Rod Stryker called Relax Into Greatness With the Treasure of Yoga Nidra and everything changed! Getting in bed and listening to his calm voice telling me to relax every part of me, down to my eyelashes and teeth, sent me into a kind of sleep I hadn’t felt since I was a child.
Practicing Yoga Nidra every night gave me new clarity and calm during the day. Even if I woke up in the night and didn’t get a full 8 hours, the sleep I did get was deep and rejuvenating.
BEDTIME ROUTINE
Bedtime Yoga and Yoga Nidra became a life-changing piece to my bedtime routine. Nowadays I sleep much better, but yoga still has a big impact on my sleep. If I don’t practice regularly, I feel the difference. Also, when I wake up in the night and have trouble falling back asleep, I simply imagine myself going through a yoga practice and I fall back. I know that sounds a little woo-woo, but I swear it works.
Try my Bedtime Yoga with Yoga Nidra class before bed tonight and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep.