Good sleep after a certain age is not a given for many of us. It requires work and good tools. They’re not all in your medicine cabinet and believe me, I’m no stranger to the occasional pill, especially ahead of a long journey.
However, since I’ve developed a more profound yogic breathing practice, pranayama, I know from my own experience, that the sleep that I have after a day of conscious breath-work, is profound, healthy and, sometimes, filled with weird dreams but there’s no real escape from them.
After one of those nights, waking up is not a struggle even when mornings are as dark as they are now. I’d be happy to share these experiences with you. One of the weekly classes on zoom will be consecrated to breathing, meaning that we’ll have 10 minutes of stretching, 15 minutes of physical asanas, and 20 minutes of pranayama, followed by a quiet meditation before the deep relaxation in savasana, all in one hour.
To those of you who see yoga as a workout, this may seem like a softie, but believe me, it’s not. Breathwork leaves you with better lung capacity and it feels like a profound workout with quite tired muscles, despite the lack of obvious movements.
I needn’t remind you that better lung capacity is a real asset these days. The real action takes place on the inside, so it’s the absolute opposite of lifting weights at the training centre giving you the perfect six-pack.
For the pranayama practice to be fully efficient, you’ll need a few tightly woven blankets, or big bath- towels, that can be rolled and folded into suitable shapes. If you have a bolster, that’s a great alternative to one of the blankets. A strap is also good.
You don’t have to have the tiptop yoga equipment, but use whatever substitute you find in the attic. In many French bedrooms, you may find a traversin’, a sausage-shaped pillow, which could double as a bolster, for example.
The Swedish verb for inhale and exhale is andas in, andas ut, and derives from ande, spirit. So there you go; let the spirit out on the exhale, and bring it back in again with the inhale.
Welcome,
Emily