Natural Treatment of Insomnia Through Yogic Techniques

Have you experienced a few sleepless nights? Do you feel exhausted through the day?

Insomnia or <em>the inability to initiate and maintain sleep</em> is a common condition leading to daytime tiredness and maybe even tardiness, as a result. This could only mean that human beings are at odds with their lifestyle, whether personal or professional. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that stress in the most common trigger for this symptom of a deeper unrest.

There are many ways to heal insomnia and some of these methods also address the deeper issues underlying this symptom. Of course, certain habits have to be changed and new ones implemented, in order to augment the effects of these therapies. Firstly, keep the coffee at bay. Out of sight out of mind. Next, eat an early dinner and eat light. The adage, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner and dinner like a pauper is worth bearing in mind.

A hot bath with the aroma of sweet smelling oils such as rose, marjoram, neroli or lavender will help relax and induce sleep. The most popular herb or oil is chamomile – a herbal infusion taken before bedtime can really help unwind or a drop of chamomile oil in the bath can do wonders as well.

These are purely common sense ideas to help stave off the sleeplessness. They do however work, besides being the simplest solutions that often evade us for no reason.

If one is dealing with chronic insomnia, though, then the strategies applied have to be more serious and far reaching in their effects.

A good starting point is yoga asana. Each posture can be held so as to make for a good long stretch and with every inch of uncurling, so to speak, of the muscles, there will be a sense of letting go and easing up. Combining asana with breath makes for relaxation in motion and motion in stillness – especially when your breath and body movements consciously coincide.

This in turn will lead to a feeling of spaciousness in the body, coupled with a peaceful silence in the mind. For this to be truly experienced, the practice of asana has to be done with complete presence of mind and awareness. From experience I can say that such a practice is deeply relaxing and freeing too, at the emotional level. The importance of shavasana or the corpse pose after asana can never be over emphasized. It is the culmination of stretching and introspection and it leaves one feeling absolutely at peace with oneself.

The longest part of this practice is or should be shavasana. Shavasana can be a simple five-minute practice or a much longer one, according to the need of the moment. But for now, we are concerned with the longer version of this practice. It is best done to instruction, but in the absence of that, the following is a good guideline:

Start with a body trip where you come into awareness of all the major body parts. At the end of this, be aware of your breath for a few moments, first at the nostrils and then at the chest and the abdomen. Then come back to the body, notice the effects of your asana practice on the body. Ask every muscle that has been flexed and stretched to unwind and loosen up.

Finally, enjoy the stillness of the body lying in shavasan. Know and feel that a still body brings stillness to the mind. Internalizing this practice should go a long way in inducing sleep. Shavasana can be done just before going to sleep at night, even after tucking yourself into bed.

If you decide to throw in a bit of pranayama, then try yogic breathing. It is a proven tranquilizer. Yoga nidra is yet another dream catcher.

All these techniques have the power to chase away the stress and invite a feeling of relaxation and moreover, even bestow sleep upon the restless mind.

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