Yoga for Sleep: The Art and Science of Sleeping Well

Description

Learn simple yoga techniques--poses, meditations, and breathwork--to sleep better and longer, from master yoga teacher trainer and author, Mark Stephens. As modern science unravels some of the mysteries of our sleeping, dreaming, and waking states, age-old yoga practices are helping us to enjoy better sleep, clearer minds, and healthier bodies. Over 65 percent of U.S. adults are sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation causes and worsens many ailments, including stress, heart conditions, high blood pressure, obesity, and depression. This book provides easy-to-do and effective yoga activities--including postural sequences, breathing exercises, and meditation tools--for better quality and quantity sleep across the life cycle from childhood to older age. Long-time yoga instructor, teacher trainer, and best-selling author Mark Stephens integrates the ancient wisdom of yoga with the practical insights, age- and condition-specific sequences, and discussions of neuroscience and psychology to offer practical tools for improving sleep--naturally and drug-free.

MARK STEPHENS is a reformed insomniac who once believed that sleeping 5-6 hours per night was a blessing of the gods. Now a healthy 8-hour per night sleeper, Stephens is the author of Teaching Yoga, Yoga Sequencing, Yoga Adjustments, and Yoga Therapy. A yoga practitioner for over 25 years, he lives, practices yoga and writes in Santa Cruz, California.

"Yoga for Better Sleep dives deep into the nuances of insomnia, the science behind it, the yoga theory we can use to better understand it, and the practices that can cure it. The breadth of this book offers the insomniac not only practical solutions but validation and hope!" -Jessica Levine, former editor at Yoga Journal "This book will make you yawn . . . and that's a good thing! . . . The poses and breathing techniques are comprehensive and helpful, and Stephens' style makes you feel like you're chatting to a friend. After reading this book, you should be able to snooze in no time." -Seattle Book Review "Yoga for Better Sleep offers a beacon of hope to our exhausted modern world." -Elena Brower, best-selling author of Practice You: A Journal "A wonderful guide for anyone. Its breadth is comprehensive and its depth is considerable." -Bernie Clark, author of The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga and Your Body, Your Yoga "Well-informed, bold, and resourceful" -Loren Fishman, MD, author of Yoga for Arthritis and Yoga for Osteoporosis "With an in-depth presentation of the nature of sleep, Stephens orients the avid reader to what lies behind getting, or not getting, a good night's sleep, offering yoga practices-including yoga nidra-that are an exquisite means of self-enquiry and awakening. I hope this book find its way into the hands of many." -Richard Miller, author of Yoga Nidra and cofounder of International Association of Yoga Therapists "Finally, a yogic approach to insomnia that integrates yoga and science! Mark Stephens distills the essential insights of neuroscience, psychology, and the yoga tradition to better understand the nature of sleep and how to improve sleep using yoga rather than pharmaceutical drugs and narrow behaviorist techniques. With chapters on yoga for specific conditions-including stress, anxiety, and depression-and for different ages, this book offers an invaluable resource for anyone interested in better sleep and a healthier life. -Diana Alstad, coauthor, with Joel Kramer, of The Passionate Mind Revisited