On June 11th Carolyn Cowan has a workshop, on Zoom, on a Saturday morning, called ‘Finding Great Sleep.’ Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful idea?
We considered cheating and asking Carolyn, ahead of time, exactly where it is that we can we find it. We have checked, and it does not appear to be hiding, slightly out of reach, under the bed with the monsters who stole our sleep in childhood!
We will wait, knowing that what Carolyn shares will be of huge value. But we’re keen to learn.
Sleep. It alludes so many of us, and the concept of finding new ways to work with sleep is a cool thing.
As we wait, impatiently exhausted, for Carolyn’s workshop, we thought, today, we would take a look at yoga and sleep. . . at some of the research that is out there, to allow those who read these posts to reflect on how yoga may play a role in a journey toward great sleep.
Age plays a role…
Whilst we joked at the start about monsters under the bed, It is known that sleep disturbances are more likely the older you get. This is not what many of us want to hear, but it is estimated that nearly 67% of elderly people have at least one sleep-related complaint.
The Sleep Foundation report that, on average, around 12% of women experience sleep complaints overall, but as they reach late 40s/early 50s, that number increases to 40%. Sleep issues become more common, and existing issues worsen, during perimenopause to post menopause, when women report the most sleep problems.
It appears that yoga really can have a role in helping in this. A study into the impact of long term Yoga practice on sleep quality and quality of life in the elderly found older adults practicing Yoga regularly had “better overall sleep quality, less episodes of disturbed sleep, took less time to fall asleep, less day time dysfunction, less use of sleep medications and also felt more rested and energetic in the morning”.
Another found that yoga improves the quality of sleep in menopausal women and that that the physical and emotional relaxation responses that came from practising resulted in an increase in serotonin, which leads to a more relaxed body and, from there, an improved quality of sleep
Another area where yoga has proven to be beneficial to those with female reproductive systems is with pregnant people, where study has shown that those who practice yoga have better quality sleep, as well as reduced prenatal anxiety and depression, in addition to reduced prenatal anxiety and depression.
We ‘must’ sleep better…
As yoga practitioners we may feel we ‘should’ or ‘must’ sleep well. We hear so often how important sleep is to our wellbeing and, if we are someone who makes a commitment to ourselves to be conscious of our own wellbeing (what a lovely thing to commit to) we may even shame ourselves about our lack in such realms.
Notice that, if you do, it is highly unlikely to help.
When you cannot get to sleep, or wake up in the middle of the night with anxious or difficult thoughts… when you have poor quality sleep… what you’re experiencing is extremely normal. And, whilst there is much to do to help, with yoga as, potentially, one aspect of that, remember you are far from alone.
Why does yoga help with sleep?
A caveat here… it may not! Reasons for sleep disturbances can often be multifactorial, which is why we are so keen to learn from Carolyn in a few weeks’ time… where her role as both a yoga teacher and trauma therapist combine potently to help with approaches that will extend beyond how yoga and breathwork can help.
Whilst all of the studies linked above point toward to a potential role that yoga can play in improving sleep it is no magic wand.
In the simplest terms, most thought around why yoga helps with sleep comes to an inextricable tie between sleep deprivation and stress… and a vicious cycle therein, where lack of sleep creates more stress and on and on it goes
All physical exercise is said to be good for sleep because part of the ‘battle’ (and we could consider if using such language is helpful for us) comes to ensuring the body is tired enough for sleep. However, one of the reasons that yoga is thought to be particularly beneficial is because it works as much, if not more, to soothe the mind.
Join Carolyn’s workshop…
Teachers who know how to work with the stress system, as all Kundalini Global teachers, trained by Carolyn, are, can help you to become familiar with postures and breath-based practises that will specifically work on showing the system it can stand down. This has a huge impact on the rhythms of body and mind.
Will it bring restful sleep? Quite possibly. Not all yoga will be created equal in this regard and Carolyn’s workshop will be a place to learn about specific practises that can become a part of your better-sleep-toolbox.
For each of us, what works may be different, and one of the reasons we cannot wait for June 11th is to learn more about the psychological, as much as physiological, aspects in Finding Great Sleep.
If you want to learn more about Carolyn’s workshop you can find more information here:
