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Fight insomnia with simple yoga poses, meditations, and breathwork that will help you sleep better, longer—from a master yoga trainer and the author of Yoga Sequencing and Teaching Yoga.
Although modern science has unraveled some of the mysteries of our sleeping, dreaming, and waking states and age-old yoga practices are helping us enjoy better sleep, clearer minds, and healthier bodies, over 65 percent of U.S. adults are still sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation causes and aggravates ailments like stress, heart conditions, high blood pressure, obesity, and depression.
Master yoga teacher, trainer, and best-selling author Mark Stephens provides easy-to-do, effective yoga activities—including postural sequences, breathing exercises, and meditation practices—for better sleep, no matter your age. He integrates the ancient wisdom of yoga with the insights of modern neuroscience and psychology to offer practical age- and condition-specific tools and sequences for improving sleep naturally and without drugs.
From the Publisher
The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Simple Cross-Legged Sitting Pose
Come back to sitting comfortably tall. In doing so, try to bring your weight more to the front of your sitting bones, then actively press down through your sitting bones (the bones you feel that you are sitting on). If necessary, sit on a prop to get into, and sustain, this position. If you feel pressure in your inner knees, place folded blankets or blocks under them. Sitting upright, slightly lift your shoulders, draw them slightly back, then let your shoulder blades release down your back. Position your head in a way that feels as if it’s effortlessly floating on top of your head.
The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Simple Cross-Legged Forward Fold
Sit comfortably tall. Try to press down through your sit bones and rotate your pelvis to where you feel your weight more to the front of your sitting bones. Place the large bolster in front of you. Come back to ujjayi pranayama. With each inhale, extend up through your spine. Maintaining on exhale, slowly release the breath and give more weight to your sit bones with the completion of each exhale. Stay with the connection of breath-to-extension and breath-to-grounding. Try to rotate your pelvis forward without rounding your low back, bringing your arms and torso forward over the large bolster. Stay in this posture for three to five minutes.
The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Peaceful Resting Pose
Sit up tall with legs stretched in front of you. Bend your knees to slide your feet halfway to hips, with feet and knees separated about the width of your mat. Keep your knees bent to about 90 degrees. Release both knees to the right while turning torso to the right. Place torso and head on bolsters. If there’s pressure in your low back, sit on higher bolsters. Drape your arms on the floor. Staying with ujjayi pranayama with visama vrtti pranayama, allow your body to relax. Sensitive to your neck, low back, and knees, very slowly rise, extend and shake out your legs, and quietly transition to the other side of this posture. Stay in this posture for three to five minutes on each side.
The Basic Yoga Sleep Sequence: Child’s Pose
Come onto your hands and knees with a large bolster placed between your knees. Slowly release hips back toward heels. If this causes tension in your shins, ankles, or feet, place a folded blanket under your shins with your feet dangling off the edge. If you feel tension in your knees or low back, bring your knees wider apart. Sensitive to your low back, bring your torso forward to relax your belly, chest, and head onto the bolster. Drape your arms on the floor along the sides of your legs or bring your arms to the floor overhead. Among the most relaxing postures, Child’s Pose is a place of rest and inner calm. Stay in this posture for three to five minutes.
Pose 1
Pose 2
Pose 3
Pose 4
Tips for Better Sleep
Supplement your yoga practice with tips for better sleep.
Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won’t fully make up for a lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning.
Exercise is great, but not too late in the day.
Try to exercise at least thirty minutes on most days but not later than two to three hours before your bedtime.
Tips for Better Sleep
Coffee, colas, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine…
and its effects can take as long as eight hours to wear off fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing smokers to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the morning because of nicotine withdrawal.
No more nightcaps.
Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. Having a “nightcap” or alcoholic beverage before sleep may help you relax, but heavy use robs you of deep sleep and REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. Heavy alcohol ingestion also may contribute to breathing impairment at night. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off.
A light snack is okay…
but a large meal can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate.
Tips for Better Sleep
(If possible)
Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to see whether any meds you’re taking might be contributing to your insomnia and ask whether they can be taken at other times during the day or early in the evening.
Don’t take naps after 3 p.m.
Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Don’t overschedule your day so that no time is left for unwinding.
A relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music, should be part of your bedtime ritual. Take a hot bath, unplug, and cozy up with a good book (with a non-blue light!)
Better Sleep with Yoga
Although our lives are conditioned by our genetics and accumulated life experience (samskaras), we can cultivate balance through the actions (kriyas) we take in our daily lives, starting with sleep hygiene practices.
There are three primary types of yoga practice in part II of YOGA FOR BETTER SLEEP.
Postural Sequences
Postural practices involve bringing the body into various positions that release tension and allow the body to optimally function. Postures can be selected to target specific areas of tension, reducing embodied stress in ways that translate to greater emotional balance and peace of mind.
Pranayama
Pranayama consists of several specific, conscious breathing techniques that have different effects on internal energy, awareness, and mood. They are relatively calming or stimulating.
Meditation
Several meditation techniques—breath-focused, yoga nidra (the yoga form of progressive relaxation), counting, and chakra-based—expand mindfulness in ways that root out deeply held tension and empower us to embody healthier mental and behavioral patterns.
Better Sleep with Yoga
Poses
Breathing
Meditation
Publisher : North Atlantic Books; Illustrated edition (Aug. 13 2019)
Language : English
Paperback : 376 pages
ISBN-10 : 1623173639
ISBN-13 : 978-1623173630
Item weight : 517 g
Dimensions : 14 x 2.26 x 21.49 cm
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Sandra –
In Yoga for Better Sleep: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science, Mark Stephens gives some great information and some excellent advice! He starts his book by telling about what a good night’s sleep is and why it is important. He also talks about the stages that we go through as we sleep. Then, he goes on to describe the various sleep disorders that people may complain about. Finally, he suggests some hows and whys of how to accomplish effective and satisfying sleep. He presents yoga postures and breathing techniques that are, indeed, effective. He even modifies the asanas for those who cannot perform due to old age, restrictions, or poor balance. He concludes by discussing how sleep patterns change throughout our lives.This is an informative and very interesting book. If the reader followed his advice, there would be an improvement in the quality of sleep.I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
AlexJouJou –
I took a quiet yoga class a couple of years ago that was awesome (I fell asleep in the class twice!) but I had gotten away from the poses. This book had me getting out my set of bolsters and my blankets and having another go. I usually take some CBD/THC tincture to help me sleep and to also stop migraine’s (works great) but I like to do other natural things with my body that lend to being peaceful while asleep vs. just zonked out. Enter this yoga book. The explanations are done very well with enough information and theory you can select what works for you. I love that the author represents all sorts of people through real life photo’s in the book – that made it a 5 star read. Highly recommended!
It’s Just Me –
I didn’t think that this book addressed the integration of yoga and sleep. It gives an overview of sleep science and it gives an overview of traditional yogic concepts, but there is little that ties the two together. This book offers guidance on yoga postures and meditations, but so many other books offer that too.Rather than Yoga For Better Sleep, I would highly recommend that anyone interested in yoga and its many benefits read Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body, by Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson. Altered Traits covers sleep in some detail, as well as other physical and psychological, as well as spiritual, benefits of meditation and yoga. I found it to be much more informative than this book. Altered Traits is co-written by Daniel Goleman, Ph.D, a founder of the concept of emotional intelligence, who spent time in India as a Harvard grad student. Dr. Goleman has been a visiting professor at Harvard and received awards from the American Psychological Association for his journalism.But that’s JustMe.
Reviewer Dr. Beth –
This book held particular interest for me, as I am both a clinical psychologist and a yoga instructor. Author Mark Stephens is a well-known yoga instructor who has written several prior books geared towards yoga teachers. In contrast, YOGA FOR BETTER SLEEP is a much shorter read (233pp without the appendices and other references) and appears to be more geared to the average person struggling with sleep, including yoga novices.Still, this small book is substantial and well-researched. In the first part, Stephen lays out an overview of sleep science and sleep disorders, connecting this information to classical yogic philosophy. He continues with a discussion of other approaches to sleep, including medications. (With respect to prescription medication, although Stephens concedes that it can sometimes be necessary, he also emphasizes over and over in the book that medication is NOT the best strategy, noting an array of downsides.) Stephens seems to have a sense of humor, as in his introduction, he suggests that the reader may feel free to skip Part 1 if not interested in this background information–or to use this information to put you to sleep!Part 2 is entitled “Yoga Sequences for Better Sleep.” The name is a bit of a misnomer, as much of the information presented in this section is more yoga strategies than yoga sequences, including breathwork and meditation. Stephens starts by introducing a “Basic Yogic Sleep Sequence” that can be performed in 30-60 minutes. This sequence is designed for general stress and tension, and Stephens suggests incorporating it within two hours prior to bed. The sequence includes basic yogic breathing methods, a total of six yoga postures (all performed on the floor), and mindfulness-based meditation.In the remaining chapters, Stephens offers yogic sequences to address other specific types of sleep issues. The “Hyperarousal” sequence adds onto the basic one, with a total of 28 postures plus yoga nidra, also designed to be performed just prior to bedtime. Stephens provides excellent instructions for both the postures, which are accompanied by small black-and-white photo illustrations, as well as the yoga nidra progressive relaxation sequence, but I think this sequence would be more awkward to follow from a book (especially given that the yoga nidra script is 8 pages long!). The “Yoga Sequence for Depression or Lethargy” is designed for earlier in the day–morning or early afternoon–to promote daytime energy while promoting nighttime sleep. This sequence includes more active yoga poses, mostly standing, as well as more stimulating breathing techniques. I was surprised by the inclusion of handstand in this sequence–unfortunately, those who are new to yoga and who are depressed are very likely to find this intimidating. [Note: as a clinical psychologist, I also found Stephens’ review of depressive disorders to be a bit off.]The last few chapters cover sleep throughout the life cycle. Chapter 7, “Better Sleep for Young and Old,” does not include a yoga sequence. Rather, this chapter offers general strategies for approaching healthy sleep (e.g., creating bedtime rituals for kids, avoiding electronics in the bedroom for everyone), with a few more yoga-specific techniques thrown in, such as teaching children to calm themselves through breathing. Information for older adults is included as well: yoga strategies are provided for sleep apnea, a condition more common to older adults, and there is a chair yoga sequence for the elderly or others who may find the preceding practices to be less accessible. Stephens concludes his work with several appendices addressing a detailed classification of sleep disorders, sleep self-assessment, general tips for better sleep (also covered earlier in the book), tips for jet leg/shift work, and additional resources.Overall, I think this book has the potential to be a valuable tool for those struggling with sleep issues. The research regarding sleep is excellent and up-to-date, and the strategies offered, including the yoga techniques, are practical and useful tools. Stephens does often refer readers back to his prior books, and yet the link that he included to his web site for more sleep resources (p.251) turned up a “page not found” for me. I would mainly recommend this book to those open to yoga (and particularly with some prior yoga experience) who would like to learn how the rich and rewarding world of yoga can be applied to improved sleep.
M. Stewart –
I’ve taken a lot of yoga classes, and have reaped a lot of benefits; this book is great for beginners to begin a yoga habit for better sleep. Clear directions and illustations.