Sleep tight! Sequence for winding down.

Namaste, dear readers.

I don’t know about you, but a good night’s sleep is absolutely necessary for me to be a functioning member of society. I have noticed is that my sleep suffers tremendously if I am keyed-up or over-stimulated by television or activity right before bed. Since I attend and teach classes in the evening, I need a very consistent bedtime-readiness ritual to transition my mind and body from the land of the awake to dream-world. Here are a few of my secrets:

1. Turn off the t.v. At my house, we generally watch little to no television; however, on those nights when I get sucked in to a particularly hilarious episode of “The Office” or a truly fascinating piece on “Nova” (my two favorite shows), I know that I need to stop watching at least an hour before bedtime or risk an hour or two of tossing and turning in bed.

2. Eat your last meal at least 3 hours before bed. Though I have been practicing this for several years, it was not until I picked up The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics that I really began to understand the physiology behind it. Essentially, your body needs its sleep-time to recharge, and it cannot recharge if it is expending all kinds of resources digesting that yummy lasagna you ate right before bed.

3. Practice a few key asanas (poses) about 20 minutes before climbing into bed. My favorite sleep-inducers are:

uttanasana-standing forward fold (yin-style with a rounded back),

pascimottanasana-seated double-leg forward fold (yin-style with a rounded back),

viparita karani-legs up the wall

and jathara parivartanasana-hip rolls.

You might also consider practicing nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), which calms the mind and the body.

Sweet dreams!