This post was written by Branches teacher Kimberley Luu. Kimberley offers Yoga Nidra courses, workshops and Yoga Nidra facilitator training (details coming soon!) through The Branches.
It had been 2 weeks of running off 0-2 hours of sleep per night when I visited the doctor’s office.
Within 10 minutes, I was sent home with a list of sleep hygiene tips and a prescription for sleep meds.
I followed the doctor’s orders to a T. Yet, sleep was still elusive.
Over the next 4 months, subsequent visits to different doctors continued to leave me frustrated and confused. I’d go home with more sleep hygiene lists and prescription variations.
I followed almost every recommendation with minimal improvement. My whole body grew exhausted and numb.
At this time, I was in the middle of my grad studies in public health and this experience made me reflect on the incompleteness of sleep care in our current medical system.
It’s not that the conventional approaches aren’t important—sleep-wise behavior is essential and medication can be lifesaving in some cases. It’s just that for some folks, they aren’t enough.
For me, the missing element was yoga nidra.
It was such an effective resource that came into my life. Little by little, in conjunction with my current plan, it helped me feel rested and whole again.
Not only was I getting more hours of sleep—my mental health improved, I relied less on medication, and to my surprise, I gained insight into why I wasn’t sleeping.
In other words, the self-awareness that yoga nidra provided helped me discern the broader life changes I needed to make to find peace and sleep well again.
As a yoga nidra facilitator now, it’s been incredibly meaningful to help fill this gap in sleep care. It never gets old, hearing long-term insomnia sufferers report that they just had their first restful sleep in months.
In my upcoming workshop, Yoga Nidra for Better Sleep, you’ll learn how to precisely apply yoga nidra and other supportive therapeutic yoga tools to optimize your sleep.
We’ll get in touch with our body’s natural circadian rhythm and sleep cycles in order to harness yoga nidra most effectively.
Lastly, you’ll receive 1-year access to Restoring Rhythmic Sleep: five on-demand yoga practice videos for supporting your rest and vitality throughout the day and night.
Sleep not your forte? It’s not mine either. But yoga nidra is here to help.
Register here for Kimberley’s workshop, Yoga Nidra for Better Sleep, coming up on Sunday Sept 28.
The Branches 