Lotus Yoga Off The Mat Challenge
Day 8: Yoga and Sleep

What experiences do you have with yoga and sleep?  

Research shows that the slow breathing and Shavasana meditation at the end of the practice can result in falling asleep more quickly, improve the quality of sleep, and improve the efficiency of your sleep.

Hello yogis!

Day 8 of the Lotus Yoga Off The Mat Challenge theme is Yoga and Sleep.

Have you ever been so tired that you feel like you could sleep literally anywhere? But then, when you get in bed, you toss and turn, and fall in and out of sleep all night long? It’s true that we can be too tired to sleep. It sounds crazy, but when we are completely exhausted, we are often also overstimulated and overstressed, so when we get into bed, the body and mind continue running.

How does yoga play a role in this? Well, the seamless body-mind-spirit unit that yoga instills in us allows us to use our yoga practice to gather the pieces of ourselves back into a safe, quiet “home”. In our yoga practice, we use our muscles in a structured and methodic way, channeling all the outside energy of our daily lives into a predicable routine; we clear our minds of the distracting chatter that clutters and confuses so many of our off-the-mat activities. And when body and mind fall into this natural design of our existence, spirit too, calms and settles.

It is only natural then, that when we take our yoga practice beyond a physical activity, and experience it as a complete wholeness, our sleep patterns will also become more complete.

Have you noticed any differences in your sleep since you began practicing yoga? How do you think yoga improves your sleep?

I’d love to hear your stories of yoga and sleep!

You can post on the Lotus FaceBook page until we can get the comment feature glitch here sorted out. Pictures on Instagram are also encouraged! Be sure to include the hash tag: #lotusyogaoffthemat in your comment.

Namaste,