Yoga For A Better Night's Sleep

As more people begin to reenter the workplace after a long time away because of the pandemic, many individuals may feel increased stress and anxiety. It's not because people are not ready to get back to work; it simply has to do with being used to working at home. We, as humans, tend to get into habits, and any changes to them will throw people into some chaos. It may not be significant chaos, but any disruption to our regular schedules will increase stress in our lives. Remember when the pandemic set in and all of our busy schedules came to a standstill. Covid 19 disrupted life, and we had to readjust to new plans and learn how to work on the internet in a whole new way. As a result, many individuals reported increased stress, anxiety, and disrupted sleep routines with a change in people's schedules. Now, as the pandemic is coming to a close, individuals have to readapt to old patterns, and that causes stress.

This added stress will creep into our relationships at work and home, making us moody and irritable. And once we've invited pressure into our lives, it will keep us up at night tossing and turning as the mind races adding to our anxiety. I think we all can agree that it affects every aspect of our lives when we don't sleep well. Negative sleeping patterns will make us grumpy in the morning, late to an appointment, or forget to turn in an important project at work.

A supported shoulder stand or legs up the wall is a great pose to help your mind calm down for a better night’s sleep.

How can people find a way to hit the reset button, so they no longer lose sleep. By introducing a regular yoga practice before they go to sleep.

Studies have shown that occasional yoga practice will improve the quality of sleep for people, but that sleep quality significantly increases if you're a regular practitioner of yoga.

Another reason to practice yoga is that yoga helps increase the body's melatonin production, which will help with sleep disruptions during the night.

Keep in mind that using the right kind of yoga practice to assist with sleep quality is essential. For example, doing restorative yoga before you sleep would be beneficial to keep you asleep. You can even add a yoga breathing exercise like alternate nostril breathing to decrease sleep disturbances at the end of your practice.

Yoga poses such as forward folds, reclined bound angle, or legs up the wall are essential to help transition to a great night's sleep.

Do those poses on your own, or practice along to the video below so you can be lead without thinking.

Here's to a better night's sleep and to transitioning to better post-pandemic life!

Yoga For Office Workers

Have you heard the statement that “sitting is the new smoking”? The message seems extreme, but the meaning behind it may have some validity. Some people say it’s a false statement because you’re just sitting in a chair and not breathing harmful chemicals into the body. Many doctors, scientists, and whole organizations preach that sitting for an extended period is as dangerous as smoking. If we’re talking about how harmful sitting is for people, what group of individuals pose a considerable health risk to sitting often? Creative people like writers or architects are such groups, and legal professionals fit into this group. Though, one groups that rank the highest as desk-bound professionals are computer and phone operators. Most of these individuals are trying to improve their financial lives by eating lunch at their desks to get more work done. Other people will stay after hours versus going to the gym so they can finish a project. Ignoring their well-being may seem okay at first, then the harmful effects of the stationary job begin to creep in. Moodiness, irritability, back and shoulder pain are harmful effects experienced from too much sitting. That’s why office workers looking for relief should look to adding yoga to help reverse the adverse effects of their jobs.

Being a yoga sports coach, I’m a firm believer in the positive power of physical movement. Yoga will improve posture, relieve back pain, and increase stability and mobility in the joints. Yoga has many physical benefits, but it has many mental and emotional welfare too. Studies have shown that steady yoga practice will help decrease stress, anxiety, improve feelings of well-being, and help to reduce sleep disturbances. 

Here are the eight yoga poses utilizing a chair and wall to do for office workers.

1. Mountain variation.

2. Lateral dip.

3. Chair variation.

4. Warrior One variation.

5. Oblique Warrior variation

6. Twisting Warrior variation.

7. Standing Quad variation.

8. Seated Pectoral stretch.

Feel free to hold any of the poses longer than offered in the video and repeat the sequence often. Though you may struggle physically and mentally at first, you’ll see steady improvement by keeping a dedicated practice. You’ll create new, healthy habits by moving your body, taking a mental break not to overload your mind, and decreasing stress. 

Remember, the more you move your body, the happier it will be at work and in other areas of your life.

Yoga for Back Pain

It’s a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and you’ve decided to clean out the shed. You open the shed door and take a look around on where to start. Ahh, I’ll start with the mulch bags I got last autumn and move them out to the flower beds. They are in a corner, and you have to put your body in an awkward position to face them. You also notice they are wet from condensation and seem to be a little heavy. No problem though, I’m young and strong enough to lift them without any issue. At first, you move a couple of bags, and then as you bend over and lift another mulch bag, Bam! You feel a sharp shooting sensation race all across your back. You drop the mulch, wince in the face and grab your lower bag from the pain. The next scene is finding yourself lying on the couch, a heating pad at the lower back, and taking two ibuprofen to ease the pain. So much for cleaning the shed today.

We all can experience back pain from time to time, but how is it caused, and how we can prevent it from happening again. The scene above explains what is more commonly known as a muscle strain/ligament strain.  Back stress is caused by repeated heavy lifting or a sudden awkward movement that can strain the back muscles and spinal ligaments. A muscle strain is one of four causes of back pain, and below are three other known causes.

• Bulging or ruptured disks. Disks act as cushions between the bones (vertebrae) in your spine. The soft material inside a disk can bulge or rupture and press on a nerve.

• Arthritis. Osteoarthritis can become a concern for the lower back. Once in the spine, arthritis can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord. The term of this condition is known as spinal stenosis.

• Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is when painful fractures can emerge in the vertebrae making your bones brittle.

All four conditions can be excruciating and can put our lives on hold. The good news is that we can avoid back pain or prevent its recurrence by improving our physical condition. We can enhance our well-being by not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and do low-impact exercises such as swimming or walking.  

Another great way to build strength and flexibility in the back is by doing yoga. Studies have shown that yoga will help to strengthen and add flexibility to your back muscles. Other benefits also include helping reduce muscular tension and add overall bone strength too.  

Here are ten yoga poses to do to incorporate into your life to decrease the chance of back pain. 

1. Modified Core Crunch

2. Bridge

3. Cobra

4. Modified Downward Facing Boat

5. Cow

6. Cat

7. Threading the Needle

8. Lateral Child’s Pose

9. Seated Forward Fold

10. Seated Spinal Twist

The Mental Benefits of Yoga and Meditation

 Have you been feeling stress or anxiety lately? Have these feelings led to bouts of depression? Are the nights filled with tossing and turning because your mind just can't shut down? Does this restless sleep drain your energy and seem to decrease your focus and concentration during the day? 

If you answered yes to these questions, understand that you're not alone. Studies have shown that 2020 was one of the most stressful years on record, and it has affected over 80% of people living in the United States. That's quite astonishing to read, though, not entirely surprising as we all were dealing with a pandemic. But thankfully, there are a couple of options available to everyone to decrease your life stress to adding more bliss. These alternatives are merely adding a yoga and meditation practice into your life.

We already know that yoga's physical practice can improve their flexibility, mobility, and overall body strength. What's incredible is that the popularity of yoga over the last 20 years has brought on many scientific studies showing its numerous psychological benefits. Here are a few.

PSYCHOLOGICAL (mental health, emotional) BENEFITS: 

• Reduced sleep and sleep disturbance

• Reduced anxiety and negative affect

• Reduced depression

• Increased feelings of well-being

• Improved coping

Another alternative to increasing your overall mental wellness is doing Meditation. If you were unaware of what Meditation is, it is a mental exercise that will increase cognitive awareness. Some examples of Meditation are concentrating on the breath, focusing on one or many objects, and repeating a phrase/mantra or prayer.

Here are a few of those benefits.

COGNITIVE BENEFITS: 

• Improved concentration

• Sharper focus

• Increased mental clarity

• Increased ability to be present

Here is a Meditation exercise to help improve your focus and calm the mind.

 Thumb to Index Finger Meditation. Come into a comfortable seated position or lie on your back and relax the face, neck, and shoulders muscles. With gentle pressure, bring your index fingers and thumbs together. Allow for your breath to deepen and begin making circles with the thumbs and index fingers. As the meditation exercise continues, you'll lighten the touch even more and proceed to slow down the rotation-making process. Slow down to the point that the thumbs are barely moving. Continue to focus on every movement by the thumbs and continue to lengthen your breath as well. Stay here for 5-10 minutes, then release the thumb and finger, and be aware of how you feel. The concept of this Meditation is to become aware of sensations and being in the moment. Meditation will help slow your mind down to ease anxiety, stress, and tension at the moment and in your life.

Another helpful way to navigate these scary times is to find a therapist to discuss these issues. 

Therapy is something that I can personally attest to as extremely helpful for my mental health before and during the pandemic.

Remember, we all subject to anxiety and depression every day. It's not easy to face them, but hopefully, now you understand that you do have options to help you out. By choosing to make yoga, meditation, and therapy a daily ritual in your life, you'll add healthy alternatives to help you find balance and harmony in your life...