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Yoga Samachar, the newsletter of the Iyengar Yoga community in the U.S. and beyond, is published twice a year by the Communications Committee of the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States (IYNAUS). The word samachar means "news" in Sanskrit.
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VOL. 18 NO. 1 Spring/Summer 2014
8 Yoga Samachar Spring/Summer 2014
WHICH COMES FIRST: RESTFUL SLEEP OR A NOURISHING YOGA PRACTICE?By Michelle D. Williams
Ihave this goal to get up early to do my yoga practice. I
envision about 20 minutes of pranayama, followed by a
half hour break for tea and kitty pets, then another 30–60
minutes of asana practice. It seems simple on paper,
especially since I work at home for myself and have no kids
to get out the door.
But I continually fail at this goal. And it’s often because I’d
rather sleep a little longer. Sleep has been a lifelong issue for
me—falling asleep in particular. Even as a kid, I’d lie awake at
night, first listening to the low murmurings of Johnny Carson
coming from the living room, and then, after my mom went to
bed, listening to the furnace shutting on and off, or the crickets
singing outside, or the trains coming and going in the distance.
But sleep is just as important to our overall well-being as eating
healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise. According to the
Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, sleep
plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory,
learning, and other vital functions. Sleep gives the body an
opportunity to repair and rejuvenate itself. New research shows
that many of the major restorative functions in the body like
muscle growth, tissue repair, growth hormone release, and
protein synthesis occur mostly, or in some cases only, during
sleep. Other rejuvenating aspects of sleep are specific to the
brain and cognitive function. A recent study revealed a link
between sleep and brain plasticity, which is the brain’s ability to
change and restructure itself. The benefits list goes on.
So why, then, do so many of us neglect our sleep? Many people
get by on just five or six hours of sleep a night. We live such
busy, amped-up lives that it’s difficult to get to bed early. We
work long hours and then pack our evenings full of
extracurricular activities, meetings, projects, and chores. Or we
sit on the couch watching episode after episode of our favorite
cable TV (or BBC—Downton!) shows late into the night.
Once we do crawl under the covers, our minds are still active,
going over interactions from the day and planning for
tomorrow or next week—or next month even. So we end up
with insomnia or just a very truncated sleep cycle.
Sleep Interferes With LifeMy own difficulties in going to sleep have stemmed from
different issues at different times in my life. I’ve always had a
very active, analytical brain and a nervous system that does not
quiet down easily. Also, I’m a person who definitely doesn’t like
to miss out on things. If friends are going out or having a dinner
party, I want to be there. If there’s an interesting performance
to be seen or a few in one week, I’ll try to fit them all in. I take
dance classes and poetry classes and join book groups and
work on crafty projects in the basement.
Other things can interfere with my ability to fall asleep, like
having a huge dinner or drinking too much alcohol, working
past my bedtime, or messing around with Facebook and email.
Also, I slept in the same bed as my mother until I was seven
years old, which was wonderful in many ways. But I remember
that adjusting to sleeping in my own bed was a challenge, so on
some very deep level, I think going to bed and falling asleep
strikes fear of being alone.
Over the years, as I became more proactive in taking care of my
own well-being, I made positive changes to my diet, began to
exercise more, and developed a yoga practice, but I still found it
difficult to focus on my sleep habits. After all, sleep is a passive
activity. Even though I knew I struggled with insomnia, I still
thought I should be able to get into bed, close my eyes, and
sleep would just happen. Of course, when I was younger, I could
get by on less sleep.
But these days, a poor night’s sleep takes its toll. For me, that
means not getting out of bed quite as early as I’d like to, so I’m
groggy. My yoga practice gets cut short, or I’m late to start work.
It can also mean that I’m fatigued throughout the day, or I don’t
think as clearly and creatively as I’d like to, or I don’t have the
energy to work on the more challenging asanas in my practice.
Does Poor Sleep Disturb My Practice?I decided to consider my difficulties in getting good sleep—or
my resistance to working on my sleep habits—in the context of
the obstacles outlined in Sutra I:30. Patanjali’s obstacles get in
the way of attaining a calm mind, which has a huge impact on
sleep. Mr. Iyengar groups the obstacles into four categories:
PHYSICAL• Vyadhi (illness). When I’m sick, I often don’t sleep well.
Even if my physical being is just a little out of balance, I can
If you don’t jump on the sleep train when it comes to your station, it will take off and leave
you behind.
Spring/Summer 2014 Yoga Samachar 9
be uncomfortable in bed and sleep poorly. Of course, getting
good sleep is one ingredient for overall well-being and can
contribute to lack of disease.
• Styana (sluggishness). Sometimes, I simply have no
motivation to move my body—especially when I’m tired from
not getting enough sleep! It’s a catch 22 because exercising the
body during the day leads to more restful sleep at night, which
in turn makes it easier to practice overall.
MENTAL• Samsaya (indecision or doubt). There may have been a part
of me at one time that doubted whether eight hours of sleep
was really that important, but now I’m certain that I need at
least that much to feel refreshed. Depending on the day, I
may still weigh my options in terms of getting more sleep or
going out with a good friend. And I can be indecisive about
what steps to take on any given night when getting ready
for bed. In a similar vein, when I’m struggling to fall asleep
or when I’m fatigued during the day, I can doubt my own
efforts toward establishing good sleep habits and then
spend a lot of time worrying about this.
• Pramada (carelessness or negligence). When I choose to do
the things that keep me from getting a good night’s sleep—
like staying out late or watching movies past my
bedtime—it’s a careless attitude. I’m flat out neglecting my
overall health and ultimately affecting many other aspects
of my life, which can actually create a domino effect of
imbalance.
• Alasya (idleness). I can have a sort of mental laziness when
it’s time to practice relaxing, sleep-inducing yoga poses in
the late evening. Part of it is that I get overwhelmed by all
the steps I need to take in preparation for keeping myself in
balance. I end up wasting time in some idle way while I
If you have a sleep problem or are sleepy during the day,
first find out whether you have sleep apnea. If you snore
loudly, there’s a good chance that you do (and some
people have apnea without loud snoring). Ask someone
to listen while you sleep or use a smartphone app that
can record snoring. You can’t tell by yourself if you snore;
a lot of champion snorers have no idea that they are
doing it. If you do snore significantly, get checked for
apnea at a sleep clinic (they may provide you with a take-
home, medical-grade monitor). If you have apnea, get it
treated! One effective treatment to consider is an oral
appliance, which is essentially a prop that you wear in
your mouth while you sleep. At present, there are no
yoga sequences known to treat sleep apnea.
If you have insomnia (especially if you fall asleep at first
but wake up and have trouble falling back to sleep), here
are two options. For each option, it may help to sleep with
an elastic bandage wrapped loosely around your head,
covering your eyes.
Option 1: Short Time in BedIf you choose this option, start by shortening your total
time in bed each night to approximately six hours—and do
this night after night on a strict, fixed schedule. Don’t take
any naps or practice any restorative poses during the day
or evening (except three minutes or less of Savasana
after an ordinary asana practice each day). Continue
your usual seated pranayama practice if you have one.
During the six-hour scheduled bedtime period, if you
don’t fall asleep within 15 minutes of getting into bed,
or if you wake up and lie awake for 15 minutes, then get
THE LONG AND SHORT OF A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP By Roger Cole
Continued on next page
Illustration: Curtis Settino
10 Yoga Samachar Spring/Summer 2014
consider what I need to do before bed. If I could spend that
time doing even just one or two sleep-benefitting activities,
I’d be in much better shape.
• Avirati (overindulgence). Giving in to sense gratification
and stimuli like TV or Facebook—or even being greedy for
more experiences or social activities—can certainly keep me
from getting good sleep.
INTELLECTUAL• Bhrantidarsana (confusion or delusion). This is a good
one—I can convince myself that I’m taking care of myself,
when in fact, my yoga practice or bedtime routines are not
quite on the mark. It can be a subtle thing to discern, but
when fatigue, depression, and ongoing restlessness
continue, it’s a good bet that I’m not getting very good sleep.
Maybe I’ve rushed my practice or skipped part of the
bedtime routine or consumed something a little too
stimulating. Or maybe I’m just going through the motions.
Another way this obstacle can manifest is through lack of
confidence, or a false perception of my abilities. I convince
myself that I can’t do a certain asana or that I’m simply
wired in such a way that good, deep sleep is out of reach.
Obviously, this sort of attitude is self-defeatist and will
never get me where I want to go—and it can interfere with
decent sleep!
SPIRITUAL• Alabdhabhumikatva (lack of perseverance, missing the
point). More and more, my life is centered around my
practice—not just asana, though I do some asana every
day—but also around my philosophies and understandings
of what “my path” should be. When I fluctuate from this,
losing track of that path, which invariably will happen, or I
rush through my asana or pranayama practice, then I feel off
balance emotionally as well as physically. And then sleep
becomes more difficult.
• Anavasthitatvani (backsliding or regression). No matter
how much I long for balance and despite my efforts in
fostering well-being, my mind remains restless and chatty, and
at bedtime, that is especially unhelpful. When I’ve been
thrown off balance because of my lack of perseverance, then I
can become restless and want to just do something to make
myself feel good in the moment—eat something indulgent or
stay up too late and then dive into bed without even trying to
calm my mind and nervous system. This regression, sort of
giving up on the routine in the moment, affects not only my
desire for good sleep, but my entire yoga practice.
And so it goes that poor sleep means I don’t practice as well.
When I don’t commit as much time and effort to my yoga
practice, my mind and body are more restless. And when my
mind and body are restless, I don’t sleep as well.
out of bed and practice seated meditation or pranayama
(emphasizing exhalation) in the dark, wrapped in warm
blankets, until you feel sleepy, then get back into bed to
attempt sleep again.
After a few nights of sticking strictly to this schedule, you
should be sleepy enough to sleep through most of the
night with few interruptions and get at least five hours of
sleep. When this happens, keep avoiding daytime and
evening naps, and set your time in bed to six hours and 15
minutes. Repeat the same procedure as above, with a
target of sleeping for at least 85 percent of that time.
When you achieve this goal for two or three nights in a
row, increase your scheduled time in bed by an additional
15 minutes.
Over a few weeks, gradually increase your time in bed 15
minutes at a time, but only do it if you have succeeded in
sleeping for 85 percent of your previously scheduled time
for at least two or three nights in a row. When you reach a
point where you can no longer increase your sleep to the
85 percent mark, reduce your scheduled time in bed to the
previous, successful level. Keep that as your new sleep
schedule indefinitely, seven days a week. And after
reaching this stable sleep time, you can start practicing
restorative poses again.
WARNING: During the weeks it takes to optimize sleep
time, expect to be sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation
increases the risk of making errors and having lapses
of attention. This can be dangerous while driving or
operating machinery, and can cause a number of
other problems.
Option 2: Long Time in Bed If you choose this option, turn the lights in your home
down low or off at sunset and go to bed each night at least
ten hours before you have to get up in the morning. Before
going to bed, do whatever nondrug method it takes to help
you get to sleep—meditation, pranayama, restorative
asanas, a warm bath, etc.—or simply get into bed, turn off
the lights, and try to go to sleep. Don’t worry about how
long it takes you to fall asleep or whether you wake up in
the night—you have plenty of time to rest or sleep before
you get up in the morning.
You’re likely to wake up in the night, and if you do, then do
whatever peaceful activity you like, as long as you do it in
very dim light or in the dark (no bright computer screens,
phones, TVs, etc.). A very good thing to do is to simply
remain lying down and let your mind wander in the dark,
not being concerned about whether you are awake or
asleep. Other things you might do are hold a conversation,
Roger Cole continued
Spring/Summer 2014 Yoga Samachar 11
So How to Break the Cycle?Ironically one remedy, outlined in Sutra I:38, for overcoming
these nine obstacles is contemplation of dreamless or dream-
filled sleep, or the unconscious and subconscious mental
planes, respectively. This contemplation helps transform the
different states of consciousness—sleeping, waking,
meditating—into one, flowing and calm state. So perhaps I’m
on the right track by focusing more on my sleep habits overall.
Over time, my health and well-being—including getting restful
sleep—has become the most important aspect of my life, and
my yoga practice is at the heart of this. At 48, I’m officially in
perimenopause, and my body demands sleep. Overcoming
insomnia now has my full attention, and I have been trying a
few different approaches. Experts say it’s important to establish
a consistent sleep schedule, so I’m making an effort to do that.
I’m making fewer evening plans, especially on week nights. I’m
trying to wrap up the work day before dinner and shut down all
technology. At the first signs of sleepiness, I begin to down shift.
I dim lights and avoid talking about “serious” things. I focus on
quiet activities like reading or knitting.
And to help relax my nervous system, I take hot baths, drink
herbal teas, and take magnesium. The cats are no longer
allowed in the bedroom at night because their comings and
goings can be disturbing. (My 19-year-old cat developed the
charming habit of standing on my pillow several times in the
middle of the night and meowing loudly in my ear.)
I’m also trying to use my yoga practice to help foster more
balanced sleep. At minimum, I do a few forward bends before
bed. Years ago, I took a six-month introductory teacher training
with Julie Lawrence and one of our assignments was to practice
headstand and shoulder stand every night before bed. Just to
observe. That experiment had profound results. Not only did I
fall asleep more quickly than I had been, but I slept more
deeply and woke up feeling refreshed. It’s a great practice.
In fact, in the back of Light on Yoga, Guruji’s sequence for
insomnia is basically that, plus a couple forward bends and
some pranayama:
• Sirsasana and cycle
• Sarvangasana and cycle
• Paschimottanasana
• Uttanasana
• Bhastrika, Nadi Sodhana and
Suryabhedana pranayama without retention
• Sanmukhi mudra
• Savasana
You would think after such terrific results, I would commit to
this practice for the rest of my life—but it’s not that simple.
(See the list of disturbances and obstacles above. I’m working
on it.)
Lately, I’m trying to keep the majority of my evenings open for
quiet, personal time. In addition, the biggest change I’ve made
has probably been to just respond to my first feelings of
sleepiness. If you don’t jump on the sleep train when it comes
to your station, it will take off and leave you behind. And this is
science. Our bodies are programmed to shut down at a certain
time every night. The hypothalamus is responsible for shutting
down the brain’s arousal signals and causing the transition to
sleep. We have the ability to override the hypothalamus,
though, and some of us can easily ignore those signs of
sleepiness. When we do this, the hypothalamus starts up again,
inspiring the brain’s arousal signals, which is how we can get a
second wind. I used to do this all the time and just stay up later
and later, and then ultimately struggle to get to sleep—and
sleep well.
But now, I find that if I respond to my body’s desire to sleep, I
can fall asleep more quickly, sleep more soundly, and wake up
feeling rested. And this means that I end up having time to do
both pranayama and asana in the morning, with a kitty-petting
break in between! And, I end up feeling more focused and
creative throughout the day, which is not too bad, either.
Michelle D. Williams lives in Portland, Oregon, and is the editor of Yoga Samachar. She has been practicing Iyengar Yoga since 1994.
read in very dim light (preferably red light), or do any of
the before-bed activities mentioned above. You can get up
but avoid getting cold, standing for prolonged periods, or
exercising. It’s okay to catch up on non stressful work or
leisure activities in the middle of the night as long as they
meet the criteria above. If you are awake long enough, it is
almost inevitable that you will eventually get sleepy and
fall back to sleep.
After several days on this schedule, if you feel that you are
not getting enough sleep, then set your bedtime earlier or
your wake up time later. Over time, settle on a generous
sleep schedule that feels right to you.
Roger Cole, Ph.D., is an Intermediate Junior III Iyengar Yoga teacher and neuroscientist. Since the 1970s, he has trained students, teachers, and medical professionals worldwide in the anatomy, physiology, and precise practice of yoga, relaxation, and sleep.
Roger Cole continued
I find that if I respond to my body’s desire to sleep, I can fall asleep more quickly, sleep more soundly, and wake up feeling rested.