Overcoming Insomnia, Try 5 Yoga Movements For Beginners

Illustration of yoga on a mattress (Unsplash / Mathilde Langevin)

JAKARTA - The activity that the body needs most when tired is sleep. However, sleeping well is often hard to come by. This is a problem, lack of sleep will reduce body performance and vitality. To fix this, you can try yoga movements.

Yoga is one of the six teachings of eastern philosophy, especially Hinduism. Yoga developed since thousands of years ago. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj which means the union of the soul, consciousness, and physical body.

Yoga techniques involve stretching the muscles, breathing, balance, and flexibility of the body to achieve mental, conscious and physical harmony. The practice of yoga consists of six kinds, including hatha yoga, astanga yoga, power yoga, bikram yoga, iyengar yoga, and kundalini.

When you have trouble sleeping or in the most severe case of insomnia, you can try the yoga exercises for beginners below.

Viparita Karani

This first yoga movement is known as legs up the wall. In Indonesian, this means raising your feet against the wall. The first way, sit on the floor with your body facing the wall. Then raise your feet against the wall and slowly lower your back and head to the floor.

Position your straight legs parallel to the wall, flatten your back against the floor or mattress. Then place both hands on each side of the body. Bring your palms up and keep your breath relaxed. This movement is carried out for 1 to 5 minutes.

Ananda Balasana

Also called a happy baby pose, this movement can be useful for relaxing the body and mind. The effect, you will get better sleep.

How to do the movement, first, lie down on the mat. Second, bend your knees toward your chest and reach for your feet with your hands. Open your knees to the width of your body and do this movement for 1 minute.

Balasana

Illustration of yoga movement (Unsplash / Katee Lue)

Next, move the child's pose or balasana. First, take a kneeling position on the mat. Sit on your feet with two big toes touching each other.

Then lower your upper body, straighten your arms up. As much as possible forehead touching the mat. While doing this position, breathe deeply and stay relaxed. Do this position for 1 minute.

Supta Baddha Konasana

This movement is often referred to as the reclining bound angle pose and is performed on a mattress. Can be started by taking a comfortable lying position. Then bring the soles of the feet together to form frog legs.

Place your left hand on your stomach while feeling the rise and fall of the diaphragm as you inhale and exhale. While the right hand is placed on the chest and do it for 15 breaths or about 1 minute.

Paschiomottanasana

Illustration of yoga woman (Unsplash / Ben)

Finally, the movement to get a good night's sleep is also called the seated forward bend pose. The trick, sitting with legs extended and trying to kiss the knees with the help of hands holding the soles of the feet. Keep your back straight.

To make the pose easier, first look straight ahead. When your back is straight, relax your head as if it's falling to the ground. This movement can be done for 2 minutes until you feel the whole body relaxed.

The rhythm of the breath is important for any yoga movement, so you need to adjust it and take the most relaxed position.