Until about a month ago, I was working two jobs from home. Now, I work 40 hours per week outside of the home. I went from getting about nine hours of sleep per night to about six and a half; transitioning from waking up at 10:30 A.M. to 6:45 A.M. can be somewhat tough. Truthfully, I’ve never really been a “morning person,” especially now that we’ve sprung forward. Thanks, daylight savings time.
I envy the women who are lucky enough to experience a pain-free menstrual cycle each month and essentially go about their daily lives with little to no interruption as their monthly moon waxes and wanes.
My experience has been quite the opposite for as long as I can remember.
If you’re not getting sleep that is arguably the best of your life, on a nightly basis, you’re just not snoozin’ like you could, and should, be. Falling asleep, and staying asleep, can be much more difficult than it sounds. We all know that, no matter how much we want to get plenty of beauty rest, actually achieving it is often up in the air; let’s face it—sleep, like that one relative we all seem to have, is a temperamental subject. However, due to its notoriously unpredictable reputation, it’s easy to overlook the little things that may be causing us to not sleep in the first place.
Have you ever noticed that around 1:30, 2 or 2:30 p.m. you find yourself longing for coffee, chocolate, or something stimulating?
Sometimes people think they should “wake themselves up” with these stimulants, or go for a run because they are feeling low energy and want to perk up. However, quite the opposite is true—when you feel this way, it is the best time to give your mind and body the rest that it needs. You will be amazed at how much of a positive impact it will have on the rest of your day and evening.
Sleep is one of the basic necessities of the body. Happiness, nourishment, strength, knowledge, life – all of these depend upon sleep. If sleep is disrupted long enough, it can lead to a lack of balance in the body, manifesting itself in several areas of one’s life, such as unhappiness, dietary misalignment, mental fog, and manifestation or aggravation of various physical ailments. Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of sleep for total balance, but has different recommendations based on the dominant dosha.
Recently, I’ve sustained an injury to my back and neck. Luckily, nothing serious, but it has hindered my daily yoga practice, and frustratingly so. Just as any avid yogi or yogini would tell you, the time I spend on the mat each day is immensely important to my sanity. It’s my exercise and my moment of