3 Dahn Yoga Exercises for a More Restful Sleep Tonight

Energetically Prepare Your Body and Mind for High-Quality Sleep

Phoenix, AZ 1/24/2008 10:10 PM GMT (FINDITT)

Every night, we turn out the lights hoping to get a good night’s sleep. But all too often, hours follow of tossing and turning, or waking up repeatedly during the night. Maybe this occurs for a single night, when we are stressed out. However, frequent nights like this may indicate a “sleeping disorder.” According to the National Science Foundation, 75% of Americans experience some form of sleep deprivation.

Ilchi Lee, president of the University of Brain Education (South Korea), observes that, “Sleep is like a barometer of what’s happening in your body and mind. The difficulty of falling and staying asleep arises from an imbalance of blood circulation and ‘Ki’ [Korean for ‘life-force energy’] in different parts of your body, and in the brain.”

Lee explains more deeply, “The natural flow of your blood and Ki-energy moves from your head down to your body’s lower extremities. When you’re under stress, the balance is interrupted, which reverses the circulation. In this imbalanced condition, warm, stuffy energy rises from your lower extremities and becomes congested in your head. This makes it difficult for your body to fully enter a state of restful sleep.” Symptoms of this imbalance include redness in the face, shoulder pain, and a feeling of blockage in the chest.

For people who prefer a natural (rather than medicine-induced) way to get past any sleep resistance, Lee has several basic suggestions. First, avoid daytime naps. Minimize food and drink during the two hours before bedtime. And if unable to fall asleep after 20 minutes, leave the bedroom to do a light activity, such as reading or sorting laundry – avoid checking email or surfing the Internet.

Vigorous physical activity during the day helps prepare the body and mind for sleeping. In particular, Dahn Yoga, an ancient Asian-rooted body-mind fitness system founded by Lee, provides an effective series of stretching, breathing, brain-balancing and meditation exercises that get the body and mind energetically ready for high-quality sleep.

Lee offers three simple Dahn Yoga exercises that can help to balance the flow of blood circulation and energy, and thus bring on better sleep:

1. Opening the Chest. This dissipates energy blockages in the chest area and relaxes the lungs as you breathe your way to sleep. Sit in a half-lotus posture or stand comfortably. With your finger tips on your chest, gently tap from your collarbone down your sternum. Lift your chin slightly and relax your shoulders. Open your mouth and make an “Ahhhhhhh” sound, as you continue to tap up and down your chest. Do this for 3-5 minutes, or until you feel adequately relaxed.

2. Toe Tapping. This pulls the heat out of your head to your lower body, thus relaxing your mind so your sleep-needing body takes over. Lie down and straighten your legs with your heels close together. Gently place your hands on your abdomen. Move your feet like windshield wipers so that your pinky toes almost touch the floor when you open your feet, and your big toes tap lightly against each other when you close them. Keep your heels comfortably together during this exercise, and rotate your legs from the hips. The faster and harder you tap your toes and focus on the sensations in your lower body, the more the exercise induces relaxation. Do this for a count of 100, or more if needed.

3. Ankle Rotation. Similar to toe tapping, this exercise transfers your focus and energy from your head to your feet and legs. Sit on the floor with your legs about 45 degrees apart. Bend forward from your trunk and grasp your toes with your hands; it’s okay if you can only reach your ankles. Rotate your ankles in a slow, circular manner, first inward 10 times and then outward 10 times. Repeat these inward and outward rotational cycles 5 times or more, until you feel rested.

Lee comments, “Doing Dahn Yoga classes regularly can help you sleep well every night. And these three Dahn Yoga exercises take only a few minutes each, but can yield hours of restful and renewing sleep.” For some sleeping disorders, such as those caused by sleep apnea or depression, medical attention is advised.

For more information about Dahn Yoga, visit http://www.dahnyoga.com or phone 1-877-HSP-YOGA.

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www.dahnyoga.com

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