Yoga and Sleep
Aug 01, 2023
Go to a yoga class they said, you'll have a good night's sleep!' Hmmm well it depends... If you have activated the parasympathetic nervous system during and after the class. And if it stays activated afterwards. It wired me after my first class, I felt great but I couldn't get to sleep! Not ideal. It also depends on how balanced our automatic nervous system is. Most people are sympathetic nervous system dominant. It also depends on what else you did and ate that particular day. Many people believe that Hatha Yoga only activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is not the case. We don't want it to either. The other common myth is that the SNS which is our fight-flight system is the 'bad buy'. This is not correct either. Both PNS and SNS are important, as we need both. The confusion lies with the fact that most of us are SNS dominant. Some of us have a good balance as well as healthy reactions to how quickly either system activates. But the interesting thing is there are people who are PNS dominant. For example, people with major depression, chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia. I used to be one of those PNS dominant people in my 20s and 30s. This was due to major depression and as a result there were days that I struggled to even get out of bed. This is not a good way to be, trust me.
A therapeutic yoga practice can balance our automatic nervous system. Switching on the parasympathetic nervous system is crucial at night for good sleep.p
A therapeutic yoga practice can balance our automatic nervous system. Switching on the parasympathetic nervous system is crucial at night for good sleep. My online coaching program will teach you which practices work and when to do them.
We are all so unique we need to experiment to see which practices work best. This is all covered in my 12 week online coaching course that I'm launching in mid October 2023. If you're keen to find out more. Please join my free private Facebook group and join my mailing list if you haven't already.
