Most people think that getting rid of the thing causing their stress will get rid of the stress too, but sadly, it won’t.
After spending thousands of dollars in training and almost seven years working with ambitious women to get better sleep, I learned that the only way to eliminate your stress is to end the stress cycle.
Completing the stress cycle means sending a signal to your mind, body, and soul that it is safe again. But you can’t just tell yourself, “Everything is okay now.” You need to speak your body’s language.
But what does this mean? It means you must learn to listen to your body and notice internal or external factors that trigger your body’s stress response. The stress response is when your body wants to run, fight, or freeze in order to survive a perceived threat or danger, aka being in the sympathetic state.
Then, learning the tools or situations that help you get out of that sympathetic state into a rest and digest (safe mode) is vital.
Not being able to fall asleep or waking multiple times at night can be related to not finishing the stress cycle before bed. The good news is that the yoga therapy tools I bring you in this article are my clients’ favorite tools to reduce anxiety, finish the stress cycle, and sleep like queens. They are helpful as physical signals to communicate with your body and help your body complete the stress cycle daily.
I encourage you to try them, practice them, and pay attention to how your body feels before, during, and after the activity.
Let’s get started with my favorite one.
1. Yoga Nidra – Get the equivalent of one hour of rest in 10 minutes.
Yoga Nidra got me sleeping again after years of battling insomnia and feeling anxious all the time. The best part is that it’s so simple! Just lie down (or sit) and listen to get the equivalent of one hour of rest in 10 minutes.
Anyone can do Yoga Nidra, and you cannot practice Yoga Nidra incorrectly. Some of the benefits of this ancient yogic tool are:
- It’s a simple way to reduce stress.
- It’s an easy practice to incorporate into your daily life.
- Yoga Nidra offers the opportunity to learn about yourself on a deep level.
You can use Yoga Nidra before an important meeting, to unplug after work, or before bed to help you fall asleep faster and feel rested in the morning. Try my delicious yoga nidra here!
2. Yogic Breathing
Dirgha, Yogic breathing, or three-part breathing can help you use the full capacity of your lungs. It is more than the lungs that breathe; every body cell needs to be supplied with oxygen.
Some of the benefits of yogic breathing include:
- Calming the mind and enhancing introversion.
- Cycle exchange of air in the lungs.
- Releasing tension in the chest and abdomen.
- Provides a gentle massage to the abdominal organs and improves digestion.
How to practice:
- Place your hands on your abdomen and expand the belly as you inhale as though you were inflating a balloon. Exhale and release. Repeat three times.
- Place your hands on your ribs and take three breaths, just as before, feeling an expansion on the inhale and a release on the exhale.
- Place your hands on your chest and breathe into this area, gently lifting the chest on the inhale and releasing on the exhale.
- Next, put the previous three steps together into one inhalation: inhale and expand your belly; then inhale further and expand the ribcage; and finally, inhale all the way up into the region of the chest.
- Taking one long exhale, release all the air from the inhalation and visualize the exhale in the back of your lungs.
- Repeat steps four and five for 10 cycles of breath or as long as feels comfortable.
By consciously breathing into each of the separate areas of the lungs, we take in more air than we do habitually, invigorating the body.
Ready to try it?
3. Hakini Mudra for Integration
According to Joseph Le Page and Lillian Abbott in their book Mudras for Healing and Transformation, “this mudra balances all the chakras, systems of the body, elements, and doshas.” I find myself coming back to Hakini Mudra all the time. It’s very calming and easy to remember.
Some of the possible benefits are:
- Supporting overall health and healing
- Feeling grounded and balanced
- Increasing awareness of your body, sensations, and emotions
- Calming yourself at the moment’s notice
- Facilitating the full capacity of your lungs (great to practice with yogic breathing).
You might want to try this mudra…
- when you feel overwhelmed or feel a rush of adrenaline
- while you’re stuck in traffic
- while sitting in the loo, yes, you can use this time to ground yourself and allow things to literally flow!
- when you’re feeling anxious, guilty, angry, or disappointed when you’re feeling tired and sleepy but can’t fall asleep
Instructions:
- Hold the hands facing each other in front of the solar plexus (below the ribs like the picture below).
- Make a circular shape with your hands by gently touching the tips of the left fingers with the tips of the right fingers.
- Hold the hands in front of your solar plexus or in your lap.
- If you’re sitting, relax the shoulders and face, and let your spine be naturally aligned. If you’re lying down in bed, adjust your shoulders and arms so it feels comfortable and you can easily drift into sleep.
You might repeat a positive affirmation like, “I’m happy and whole,” “Life is loving and kind to me,” “I am blessed,” “I’m supported,” and “I fall asleep effortlessly.”
Take 3 minutes to practice this mudra to calm yourself, be more present, and receive the healing benefits of your hands.
4. This is How I Feel Tool
This simple tool to acknowledge how you feel can bring you more calm, ease, and peace.
I came up with this tool while walking in my hometown after being away for 10 years. I was processing my reverse culture shock and remembering how, when my older cousins would come home, I used to think they were so cool but so old.
Then I told myself, “This is how it feels to be the ‘old lady’ coming back to her hometown.”
That simple step of acknowledging how I was feeling in the moment helped me feel more at ease.
I shared this tool with a client who was struggling with severe negative thoughts. My client started practicing this tool any time a negative thought or feeling came up, and rather than being overwhelmed by the moment or trying to push it away, the client acknowledged it, took a step back from it, and better understood where it was coming from.
How to use this tool:
- Whenever you’re feeling anxious, or any other feeling that might come up, say to yourself, “This is how it feels to ______.”
- When you say this, you’re giving yourself instant relief by acknowledging your thoughts and feelings instead of trying to control them or the situation. You’re activating your right brain thinking which is responsible for cognitive functions such as attention, processing of visual shapes and patterns, emotions, verbal and ambiguity.
This is a very powerful exercise for my clients. Some use it to boost their self-esteem; others use it to be okay with not falling asleep easily at night.
Whenever you need help acknowledging your feelings instead of trying to control them or the situation, you can implement this tool.
Whenever you’re feeling anxious, unfocussed or overwhelmed, you can repeat this phrase:
This is how I feel when… ____________________.
Examples:
This is how I feel when I’m tired.
This is how I feel when I’m overwhelmed.
This is how I feel when I’m distracted.
This is how I feel when I’m angry at my partner and can’t fall asleep at night.
This is how I feel when my Walt Disney brain is creating instead of sleeping at night.
This tool acknowledges your feelings, thoughts, and emotions, and it reduces the pressure you might put on yourself to try to control a situation.
It is very practical and teaches your brain to acknowledge whatever is going on without trying to control it or sweep it under the rug with the rest of your emotions.
Give it a try.
5. Gratitude Journaling
Research shows that cultivating gratitude can help you feel happier and more at ease with yourself.
For me, having a gratitude journal has helped me make peace with my past choices, live my life with joy, and fall asleep easier at night. This is a key activity to help transform my client’s tossing and turning frustration into a relaxing sleep.
What are you grateful for today? It doesn’t always have to be positive; you can even be grateful for a painful experience that provided life lessons.
Take time to write the first five things that come to mind when you ask yourself: What am I grateful for?
That’s it!
These tools were taken from my book Sleep Simplified: Simple Tools to Reduce Anxiety, Finish the Stress Cycle, and Sleep Like a Queen, if you found the tools helpful, you will love the book. Consider getting a copy today and please share this article with a friend who will benefit from better quality sleep.
May you enjoy completing the stress cycle and get your royal sleep daily.
Avocado hugs,
Monica