You exercise for your body, what about exercising for your mind?
We’ve heard how beneficial getting up early to exercise is for you, but in winter it’s so much harder to get out of a warm cozy bed.
Yoga in the morning tips the scales towards being great for your body. You get your blood pumping, you loosen up the stiffness from laying around all night. So I see Yoga in the evening being super beneficial exercise more for your mind.
We are all very active throughout the day; kids, work, life… We go go go then we wonder why it’s a challenge to fall off to sleep. Doing some exercise is better than no exercise at all for your mental state, so here are 5 great reasons why doing Yoga before bed is very worthwhile.
1. The perfect time to let go of the day.
If you are stressed out about something or if your mind is racing, this leave you open to a sleepless night. Your yoga practice helps to clear your head and balance your thoughts. With our tendency to think about things over and over yoga helps to remove the stresses from any unwanted or unpleasant parts from your day. Practicing in the evening will help to clear the anger or stressed feelings making way for a more peaceful nights sleep.
2. Yoga helps to relax and calm your Nervous system. Deep mindful breathing and slowed down movements help to engage your parasympathetic nervous system, your “rest and digest” function. Instead of trying to switch off whilst your mind still in the sympathetic nervous system or better known as “fight or flight” function. Yoga helps to relax your mind, calm your mood and take away the stresses of the day.
3. Yoga is a less strenuous form of exercise than cardio. Yoga postures help to release muscle aches or pain in your joints. These injuries can disrupt your sleep and make you groggy the next day. Yoga helps by improving your circulation and flow of energy throughout your body, making you feel happier and more content. Getting all oxygenated and releasing muscle tension before bed is the best way to ensure that those aches and pains do not interfere with your sleep.
4. An hour of yoga is an hour you are spending away from electronic devices such as televisions and mobile phones. The blue light from these devices overstimulates your mind seriously disrupting your ability to sleep. The light leaves you feeling more awake when you are trying to go to bed. Opt to do yoga instead to help your mind to switch off and drift to sleep faster.
5. You get to savour all the wonderful benefits. Instead of using up those calming good feelings to fuel your day. Practicing at night means you get to absorb deeply all the replenishing effects of Yoga giving you a deep restful sleep.
Clayfield Yoga Studio has a relaxing atmosphere in which to practice. Low lighting, heating, blankets and essential oils. This environment itself is enough to send anyone to sleep, coupled with yoga’s slowed down postures, it will seriously relax and give you a better nights sleep.
