Diving Deep: Yoga Practices to Explore the Mystery of Sleep

Next to food, sleep is one of the most important features that sustains our health and well-being. According to Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of natural healing, there are three pillars of life: Proper diet, proper sleep, and balanced use of energy.

Yet, of the three, sleep can be the most elusive. Most people experience problems sleeping at one point or another, and ironically often when we need it the most! 

Stress, challenging life events, or periods with hard work and mental exhaustion often undermine the balance of the sleep cycle, making it difficult to get the deep rest we so desperately need!

To compound the issue, with age the sleep cycle becomes more delicate, and is more easily disrupted.  An estimated 40% to 70% of older adults have chronic sleep issues, up to half of which remain undiagnosed, according to the Sleep Foundation.

In this 3-part online course, yoga therapist and author Pam Eggleston, founder of Yoga2Sleep shares her own journey into resolving years of insomnia and PTSD using simple yoga tools to heal and settle a hyperactive nervous system.

In this course, Pam will discuss research showing how yoga is linked to better sleep quality, reduced overwhelm and a  better quality of life, and which specific yoga approaches offer the most benefit. 

The key to maximizing yoga’s benefits for sleep, Pam notes, is to understand how yoga can help settle the mind and calm the nervous system.

Yoga positively affects the quality of sleep in numerous ways. In particular, yoga offers numerous techniques to help induce a parasympathetic response. Also known as the Rest & Digest response, this helps shift us out of a hyperactive mode of functioning into a deeper state of calm and balance. This in turn sets us up achieve deeper and more restful sleep.

However, you have to be mindful of the style of yoga you’re practicing, and when you’re practicing it, Pam notes.

In this course, Pam will share the yoga approaches that work best to balance the sleep cycle. Learn about the root causes of sleep problems, the effects of insomnia on our health and well-being, and how to use yoga, mindfulness practices and other lifestyle measures to balance the sleep cycle.

Pam Eggleston is an IAYT-Certified yoga therapist and part of the yoga therapy clinic faculty at the Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH).

What You Will Learn:

• How to apply the yogic wisdom of the Panchamaya Kosha model, the yamas, and niyamas to sleep and overwhelm concerns

• Why the vagus nerve is critical to sleep, and how it relates to the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

• Yoga approaches that help settle mind and body, as well as specific practices you can apply to to enhance sleep

• Self-care tips and how to perform self-care the “right” way

• How the practice of self-inquiry relates to the more profound nature of sleep and rest

• And much more!

This Course Also Includes:

• Yoga Practice Video: Enjoy a yoga practice video that accompanies this course designed by Pamela Eggleston.

• Recordings of All Webinar Sessions: It’s generally acknowledged that many people only retain 10-20 percent of what they learn in a workshop. You will get access to the recordings of all webinar sessions - both MP3 (downloadable) and MP4 (streaming online), enabling you to go back and listen to the workshop as many times as you like.

• Transcripts of All Sessions: Ever wanted to refer to a certain part of a course? Even the best note-takers miss a point every so often. With the transcripts of the webinar sessions, you can go back and refer to particularly important passages or clarify sections you were in doubt about.

This course qualifies for 3 non-contact hour CEs with Yoga Alliance.