Rest Well? & FREE class tomorrow night 3/24 6pm!!

This is week 2 of the Be Well Series.  In case you missed it, you can read last week’s blog here: http://www.journeytothemountain.com/blog  and listen to class here.
 
This week’s focus is on rest. Do you rest well? Do you sleep well?  Did you know that sleep is very important to many bodily functions including increasing your immunity?  Here is an article from the Sleep Foundation.org, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-sleep-affects-your-immunity. 
What if, instead of binging on Facebook, Netflix, etc …. what if instead you took a personal retreat for yourself and your family.  Resting doesn’t just mean sleeping.  It can be doing art, playing games, eating slower and enjoying your meals.  Try listening to a story…..maybe you really enjoyed being read to as a child.  The Library online is still open, https://kcls.org/online-resources/.   What if you just sat and watched the wind in the trees, or birds in your bird feeder. What if you gave yourself permission to do less…think less….and just be. Be present with your breath, be present with your loved ones, be present with nature.
Here are some helpful hints to sleeping better:

1. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time, preferable by 10pm and up before 6am. Ayurveda is the sister science to yoga. Ayurveda means “Science of Life”.  It explains that there is a rhythm to our body and the best time for sleeping is 10pm-6am.  After 10pm, you are likely to get a second wind which will keep you up late into the night, and getting up after 6pm, is likely to make you feel lethargic. 
2. Avoid screens 1-2 hours before bedtime.  The blue light of screens suppresses your body’s natural rhythm. Want to read more? Here’s a link from The Sleep Foundation.org https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/why-electronics-may-stimulate-you-bed
3. Avoid alcohol, sugar and caffeine. Caffeine and sugar stimulate your nervous system, making it difficult to relax.  Alcohol, has a different affect of blocking your REM during sleep. Here’s an article from WebMD that explains this if you are interested. https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20130118/alcohol-sleep#1
4. Avoid eating a heavy meal before bed.  Ayurveda explains that when you eat a heavy meal before bed your bodies energy goes towards digestion instead of its nightly routine of repair, restore and heal.
5. Get adequate exercise: Moving your body, helps to move energy out, so when it comes time to rest you can.

6.Having difficulty relaxing?  Here are some other tips:

1. Listen to a Yoga Nidra before bed. I have a few recorded here.  You can find more on Insight Timer App, https://insighttimer.com/meditation-app
2. Take a hot shower or an Epsom salt bath.
3. Give your body a self-massage with some sesame, coconut or olive oil. In Ayurveda this is called abhyanga.  Here is a tutorial video from Banyon Botanicals. I find this to be very helpful I actually do it twice per day.  When I do it though, I just take a little bit of oil, rub it vigorously between my hands and massage it into my body. Legs, arms, then torso ending with my face.  It literally takes less than 5 minutes and if you use a just a little bit of oil, you don’t have to worry about it getting on your clothes.  I also scent my oil with essential oils that are soothing to me, such as rosemary and lavender. 

7.Having difficulty staying asleep?  Here are some tips:

1. Avoid alcohol.
2. Reduced Breathing: When you wake up, do your reduced breathing exercises that we do in class.  Place one hand on your belly and one on your upper chest.  Breathe in and out of your nose. On your inhale, allow your low belly and side ribs to expand and on your exhale, draw your belly gently towards your spine.  See if you can soften your breath with each inhale and exhale.  Count your inhales, try to do at least 20 breaths, so how many you can do. When I wake up in the middle of the night, and can’t get back to sleep, I try to do this until … well, until I fall asleep!
3. Try chanting: Chanting or saying a prayer over and over again, can also help calm an overactive mind. It can be a Sanskrit chant like Om Shanit Om, which means Om Peace Om, or one of your own like, Inhaling I breath in calm, exhaling out fear..etc.
4. Herbal Tea and Journal Writing:  Get up and make a cup of calming herbal tea like chamomile, lemon balm or lavender.  While you wait to make your tea and drink it, take a moment to write down what is so busy in your mind.

Hoping you all are doing well. I miss you immensely!! 
I’d love to see you tomorrow night!  Another FREE Be Well Yoga and Nidra class. Here is the link:  https://zoom.us/j/284954703
 
May you be at Peace and Healthy!
Andrea Carvalho

---