Strengthen Your Back Muscles

People often overlook working on their posterior (back) muscles when doing strength training, and focus only on looking good from the front.  But there are several good reasons for you to pay attention to your back muscles as well. Here’s why:

Burn more calories:
as you know, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn. Posterior muscles are a big part of your body, and by building them, you will create twice as much calorie-burning mass, than if you only focused on your front. 

Look leaner:
many women tend to think that building shoulder and back muscles is not necessary, as it will make them look too muscular and bulky.  In reality, if you take the time to work out those muscle groups, you will look leaner overall, as muscle takes up less space than fat. Plus, a nicely sculpted back and shoulders look very sexy and still feminine. 

Prevent injuries:
if you only focus on building muscles on the front of your body, and neglect the posterior ones, you are more likely to suffer injuries, such as pulled muscles or joint pain. Strong muscles support joints and if you’ve built them all over the body, your joints will be less likely to get injured. Also, strengthening your back muscles will lead to better posture.

Have better symmetry:
Building both your front and back muscles will give your body a more symmetrical and well-proportionate appearance. For example, building your calf muscles will create the illusion of thinner thighs, as the legs will be more balanced.

 Examples of Posterior Muscles Exercises

Latissimus dorsi (Lats/upper back)  

Lumbar (Lower back)

Triceps (Back of arms)

 

Gluteus (Buttocks)

Femoral (Hamstrings)

  

Calves (Ankles)

YIN YOGA

popular style of yoga in the west is an approach that some may have never even heard of. One that in my experience, takes many a few times to really warm up to and even understand. 

Initially called “Daoist” yoga this style of yoga targets the deep connective tissues of the body (vs. the superficial tissues) and the fascia that covers the body; this Daoist yoga is to help regulate the flow of energy in the body. 

Paul Grilley,who brought this concept to the forefront, accredits three main teachers for this concept, one of which is Paulie Zink, who taught him Daoist Yoga. Many teach Yin Yoga today, one of which is Sarah Powers, a student of Paul’s; although she teaches very different than Paul, while taking a Yin Yoga training from him in Chicago, he noted her credit for aligning the name “Yin Yoga” with this style.

Yin Yoga postures are more passive postures, mainly on the floor and the majority of postures equal only about three dozen or so, much less than the more popular yang like practices. 

Yin Yoga is unique in that you are asked to relax in the posture, soften the muscle and move closer to the bone. While yang-like yoga practices are more superficial, Yin offers a much deeper access to the body. It is not uncommon to see postures held for three to five minutes, even 20 minutes at a time. 

 

The time spent in these postures is much like time spent in meditation, and I often talk students through the postures as if they were trying to meditate. While in a Yin class you might notice similar postures to a yang class except they are called something else, on a basic level this is to help the students mind shift form yang to yin, active to passive.

This concept of Yin yoga has been around for thousands of years and some of the older text, such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika notes only sixteen postures in its text, which is far less than the millions of postures practiced in today’s yoga. In addition, having read much of these text and also cliff notes from various teachers it would appear that these “postures” were more yin like to help promote meditation and long periods of pranayama and sitting. Now I am not claiming to be an ancient text yoga guru, but this is just an observation I have made.

So what exactly is Yin yoga? 

It is a more meditative approach with a physical focus much deeper than Yang like practices. Here the practitioner is trying to access the deeper tissues such as the connective tissue and fascia and many of the postures focus on areas that encompass a joint (hips, sacrum, spine). 

As one ages flexibility in the joints decreases and Yin yoga is a wonderful way to maintain that flexibility, something that for many don’t seem to be too concerned about until they notice it is gone.

This intimate practice of yoga requires students to be ready to get intimate with the self, with feelings, sensations, and emotions, something of which I have noticed can be easy to avoid in a fast paced yoga practice. 

 

Yin yoga is often used in programs that deal with addictions, eating disorders, anxiety and deep pain or trauma.This concept in practice, allowed me a greater mental stability something much of which is a benefit of meditation, basically “learning to sit still.”

Now if you’ve never practiced Yin yoga you might not quite understand how this is so different, but for me Yin has dug deeper than I could have ever gotten otherwise. For my students I often tell them when they are about to try a Yin class that they need to try it three or four times to really make a decision about the practice. Many find immediate benefits like more open hips, a more relaxed body and centered mind. To me, I don’t think one practice is better than the other, but what I would see as beneficial is for the practitioner to see the benefit in each and that there is a need for both. Possibly one benefiting more than the other at times in your life, but a need none-the-less.

Some of the benefits of Yin yoga are:

• Calming and balancing to the mind and body
• Regulates energy in the body
• Increases mobility in the body, especially the joints and hips
• Lowering of stress levels (no one needs that)
• Greater stamina
• Better lubrication and protection of joints
• More flexibility in joints & connective tissue
• Release of fascia throughout the body
• Help with TMJ and migraines
• Deeper Relaxation
• A great coping for anxiety and stress

If you take a peek at a Yin-Yang symbol, it is suggesting that no matter what, we should take a “tiny bit” and put it in the heart of its opposite. 

Knowing both practices, and having struggled with a wide variety of eating disorders, addiction, depression and anxiety, I get that too much of something is simply too much. 

 

Yin yoga as taught me to truly be still, to really come face to face with myself, even more than my past practice has; and because of this I am now able to bring what Yin has taught me into my more Yang like practices and ultimately my life as a whole. 

Yin is such a great compliment to other styles and your own personal life, because it brings long periods of time in an uncomfortable position, which then asks you to learn to “be” to “accept what is” in that given moment. Something we can all benefit from daily. 

 

And for me a healthy Yin practice has poured over into a healthier Yang practice and a healthier life as a whole. And I wish that for everyone.

How to safely open their hips without injuring their knees

Protecting your knees during yoga

Lotus Pose (Padmasana) is a supreme position for meditation, and Lotus variations of other asanas can be profound. However, forcing the legs into Lotus is one of the most dangerous things you can do in yoga. Each year, many yogis seriously injure their knees this way. Often the culprit is not the student but an overenthusiastic teacher physically pushing a student into the pose.

 Figure 1/Safe Knee Placement

 Figure 2/Unsafe Knee Placement

Fortunately, there are techniques that make Padmasana much safer to learn. Even if you don't teach full Lotus, you can use the same techniques to protect students in related postures, such as Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana (Half-Bound Half-Lotus Forward Bend)

Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

and Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Pose)

These poses can do wonders for the hip joints and the muscles around them. Unfortunately, many students feel a painful pinching sensation in the inner knee in all of them. To understand why, and how to prevent it, consider the underlying anatomy.

The problem starts at the hip joint, where Lotus and its relatives require an astounding degree of mobility. When you move from a neutral, seated posture, such as Dandasana (Staff Pose) to Baddha Konasana, the ball-shaped head of the thighbone must rotate outward in the hip socket about 100 degrees. Bending the knee and placing the foot in preparation for Janu Sirsasana requires somewhat less external rotation, but as a student bends forward in the pose, the tilt of the pelvis relative to the femur brings the total rotation to about 115 degrees. 

Padmasana requires the same amount of external rotation (115 degrees) just sitting upright, and the angle of rotation is somewhat different, making it more challenging for many students. When we combine the Padmasana action with a forward bend, as we do in Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana, the total external rotation required at the hip joint jumps to about 145 degrees. To put this in perspective, imagine that if you could turn your thighs out 145 degrees while standing, your kneecaps and feet would end up pointing behind you!

If a student can achieve all of this outward rotation at the hip in Lotus, they can then safely lift the foot up and across onto the opposite thigh without bending the knee sideways (see Figure 1). Some people with naturally mobile hips can do this easily, but for most people, the thighbone stops rotating partway into the pose. This limitation may be due to tight muscles or tight ligaments or, in some cases, to bone-to-bone limitations deep in the hip. 

When the femur stops rotating, the only way to get the foot up higher is to bend the knee sideways. Knees are not designed to do this-they are only designed to flex and extend.

If an overzealous student continues to pull the foot up after his thigh stops externally rotating, or if a student or teacher forces the knee downward, the thighbone and shinbone will act like long levers that apply great force to the knee. Like a pair of long-handled bolt cutters, they will pinch the inner cartilage of the knee between the inner ends of the femur and tibia. 

In anatomical terms, the medial meniscus will be squeezed between the medial femoral condyle and the medial tibial condyle. In layman's terms, the inner ends of the thigh and shin will squeeze the inner cartilage of the knee. With even moderate force, this action can seriously damage the meniscus. Such injuries can be very painful, debilitating, and slow to heal.

Poses like Baddha Konasana and Janu Sirsasana can cause similar pinching. In these postures, we do not usually pull up on the foot, so the problem comes mainly from the lack of outward rotation of the thigh relative to the pelvis. Let's first look at Baddha Konasana.

Remember, to stay upright and stable while placing the feet in Baddha Konasana, the heads of the femurs will turn strongly outward-about 100 degrees-in the hip sockets. Because this requires so much flexibility of the entire hip region, many students instead allow the top rim of the pelvis to tilt backward while placing the feet in Baddha Konasana. They move the thighs and pelvis as a single unit. 

This requires little rotation of the heads of the femurs in the hip sockets, and it demands little flexibility. It also defeats the aim of mobilizing the hip joints and causes the entire spine to slump.

As a teacher, you may find yourself instructing the slumping student to tilt the top rim of the pelvis forward in order to bring them upright. If their hips are loose enough, this instruction won't create a problem; the pelvis will tilt forward, the thighs will remain externally rotated, and the spine will come upright. But if the hips are too tight, the femurs and pelvis will roll forward as a single unit. 

While the thighbones rotate forward, the shins will not, resulting in the aforementioned pinching in the inner knees. This explains why some students do not feel any knee pain in Baddha Konasana until they attempt to tilt the pelvis completely upright.Some students complain of knee pain only when they bend forward in poses that require external rotation. 

That's because a forward bend like Janu Sirsasana demands even more external rotation at the hip joint. Again, in the tight student, the pelvis and femur roll forward as a single unit, pinching the inner knee. Of course, in either Baddha Konasana or Janu Sirsasana, pushing the knee(s) downward makes the problem worse, because tight muscles make the femur rotate forward as it is pressed.

Now back to Lotus Pose. Forcing the knees into Padmasana by lifting up on the ankles can also injure the outside of the knee. When a student lifts the shinbone without adequately rotating the thigh, it not only closes the inner knee, it opens the outer knee, overstretching the lateral collateral ligament. If a student then forcibly turns the feet so the soles point upward (which people often do to get the feet higher up on the thighs), they can worsen the strain. 

This action of turning the soles actually pulls the anklebone away from the knee, creating a chain reaction all the way up to the lateral collateral ligament.

What's the solution? First, use common sense. Never force a student into Lotus or related poses, and discourage students from forcing themselves. Teach students not to push into pain, especially knee pain. Do not adjust the pose by pulling on the foot or ankle, nor by pushing down on the knee. Instead, either teacher or student should apply firm outward rotating action to the thigh, turning the femur around its long axis, using the hands or a strap.

If your student already has knee pain but can do basic standing poses comfortably, teach these poses first, with careful alignment. This can bring her a long way toward recovery. When you reintroduce problem seated poses such as Baddha Konasana and Janu Sirsasana, use the hands or a strap to apply the same outward rotating action described above for Lotus.

For students who are ready to learn Lotus, introduce it gradually, working from poses that require less external rotation at the hip (such as sitting in Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana without bending forward) to those that require more (such as full Padmasana). Wait until last to introduce poses that require the most external rotation (forward-bending variations of full Padmasana). As students are learning these poses, teach them to rotate their thighs outward either with a hands-on adjustment or a self-adjustment. Instruct them to monitor and avoid pinching sensations in the inner knees. 

Encourage your students to go slowly, be patient, and persist. In time, they may be able to sit comfortably and meditate deeply in Padmasana. If not, remind them that true meditation lies not in some specific posture but in the spirit of their practice. Help them find a posture that suits them, then guide them to settle in and experience the stillness that is yoga.
 

Why our joints cracking and popping?

There are two reasons why our joints crack and creak. One is that bones are rubbing together, and the other is that the bones of a joint are fixated. We will examine these one at a time.

Rubbing Bones

Most of the joint sounds we hear are due to bones rubbing. This is "friction popping." When we snap our fingers, we press our thumb and middle finger together hard enough to create friction. Then we try to overpower this friction with other muscles of the hand. This opposition of forces slightly bends the bones of the finger and thumb. When the two fingers finally slip past one another, the bones rebound violently and vibrate briefly, like tuning forks. This creates the snapping sound. 

The snapping of our fingers is not at all painful or harmful, but sometimes we inadvertently create these popping sounds in other joints, such as our elbows. When our elbow briefly "catches" and then pops, it can be quite surprising and even slightly painful if the vibrating bones press a nerve. 

The popping sound has the same cause as finger snapping: the two bones of the elbow are temporarily in friction, and when they release, they vibrate violently and we hear a "pop." 

A similar but more alarming instance of friction popping takes place in the knee. More specifically, it occurs in our patella, or kneecap. The patella sometimes rides up on the side of the groove it glides in and temporarily sticks there. It is being held on the lip of the groove by the pull of the thigh muscles. 

This is much like snapping our thumb and finger, but this moment is very brief because as the knee bends and moves, the patella loses its precarious balance of forces and "pops" violently back down into the groove where it belongs. There is nothing really harmful in this; the patella is not injuring the ligaments or cartilage. 

But it can be alarming for our knee to lock up for an instant and then release. At worst, there is a slight twinge to the tendon around the patella because it was stretched briefly. 

The most common place to hear friction popping is in our neck. Most of us can roll our heads and hear these sounds, although they are not as loud here because the forces of friction are not as great. The bones involved are the facets of the cervical vertebrae-typically several of them, which is why the noise sounds "crunchy," like walking on pebbles.

Is It Bad for You?

If our elbow or knee inadvertently pops, there is nothing to worry about. There is just enough slack in our joints that these twinges are inevitable, and no harm is done. But there is little value in consciously trying to make these sounds happen. Just as it takes a certain effort to snap our fingers, many people can pop their hips over and over by doing sit-ups or leg lifts. 
Other people can do similar things with their knees. This is not desirable. Even our thumb gets sore if we snap it enough. If a student insists on popping a joint repetitively, the joint may become inflamed and painful. This is because the body is trying to minimize the friction by swelling the fluid sacks that line our joints. These sacks are called bursae, and their inflamed condition is called bursitis. Bursitis most frequently occurs in the small joints of the shoulder and elbow. 

Bursitis is less likely to occur in the patella, but eventually the cartilage can become worn and irritated. This condition is called chondromalacia, and it makes the knee painful to bend.

What to Do?

If a student can pop a hip each time they do leg raises, they should try one of the following variations to avoid creating friction in the socket.

1. Do leg raises with knees bent.
2. Experiment by holding the legs slightly apart.
3. Don't allow the legs to come too close to the 
    floor when bringing the feet down.

Friction in the patella can sometimes be avoided by turning the foot out slightly in Warrior poses and triangles. But due to a unique bone structure in every individual, it sometimes may be more helpful to turn the foot in, rather than out. Frequently, the strain on the patella also can be relieved by stepping backwards into Warrior, rather than forward. 

Stepping backward relaxes the strain on the bent front patella, allowing it to slide as it should with minimal friction.
Friction pops sometimes occur in the elbow or shoulder when practicing Chaturanga or Upward Dog. Asking a student to take their hands wider and their elbows out can help. This variation requires more strength to perform, so beginners may need to hold themselves on the knees, rather than feet. 

Joint Fixation
The second cause of joint popping is fixation. The bones of a fixated joint are temporarily stuck together due to suction, not friction. When this vacuum is broken, we hear a popping sound.
An everyday example of fixation is when the bottom of a glass of water sticks to the surface it is resting on. When two hard, smooth surfaces have a film of fluid between them, they can create a vacuum by forcing the fluid out to the edges. As long as the seal of fluid remains unbroken, the vacuum remains. If we are careful, we can lift quite a heavy plate by fixating a glass to it. 

Most of the joints of the body are ideally shaped for fixation to occur. The ends of the bones are lined with hard, smooth cartilage and the joint itself is filled with synovial fluid. This fluid is necessary to lubricate the joints and minimize friction, but if a joint is immobile long enough, then some of the fluid between the bones squeezes out and a temporary vacuum, or fixation, occurs. 

The most common places for fixation to occur are the fingers, toes, and joints of the spine and ribs. When fixation occurs, we typically feel "stuck" or "tight." This is because are joints are not moving. People who crack their knuckles are breaking the fixation that occurs in their fingers. People who "crack" their spines in a spinal twist are doing the same thing. It feels good to them, and there is no harm in it.

Know the Difference

There is an important difference between releasing fixation and friction popping. Once a fixation has been released, the joint will not pop again until it has rested, immobile, for some time. This is because it takes time for fixation to reoccur even when conditions are right. A glass of water, for example, will not instantly fixate to a plate. Releasing joint fixations is actually beneficial, because it allows the free functioning of the joints. 

Friction popping is not like fixation. It can be created at will. We can snap our finger and thumb as often as we like. If you or your students are able to repetitively pop a hip, knee, or neck, then it is undesirable friction popping. The occasional friction pop will do no harm, but be mindful that it does not become habit or a nervous twitch. 

Yoga poses helping you get better posture

As a yoga teacher I find myself more conscientious about the way I’m sitting or standing.  
Sometimes at my day job I find myself slumping over in my chair and then it suddenly dawns on me how I’m sitting. I have been practicing poor posture for so long that I now have to practice good posture. Especially as a yoga teacher, I should lead by example and should not be sitting hunched over. So, even I have to remind myself about good posture once in a while.

Recent studies have shown yoga to improve posture, and it’s not surprising that this is true. 

In addition to increasing body awareness, yoga strengthens the core and lengthens the spine. The spine is the thing that holds up our body all day long, so it’s important to keep it in tip-top condition. Not to mention it has to support that heavy bowling ball of a head we carry around all day long!

Try these simple poses during your day to improve your posture:

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Yes, this is a yoga pose. It doesn’t feel like it at first, but it’s a very active pose.

Stand tall, feel your feet on the ground, open your chest with arms at your sides, slightly tuck your tailbone, engage your thighs, roll your shoulders back and down to lower your shoulder blades, and bring your chin back so your ears are above your shoulders. It’s all in the chin and you want to align your body from feet to head.

Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) This is probably one of my favorite poses because I can literally feel my spine lengthen as I fold over towards my feet. 

Just hang there, grab your elbows with your opposite hands, and breathe. After you release your arms, try looking up by opening the chest and flattening your back on an inhale. Then exhale and fold again. 

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

This is an ideal pose for strengthening the back and opening the chest. Place your hands on the mat in front of you in a sphinx position and then slowly straighten your arms into your full extension of cobra. Bring your shoulders away from your ears, while keeping your pelvis and toes on the mat. 

Hero Pose (Virasana)

This is a seated yoga pose that makes it difficult to slouch. Sit on your heels and sit up straight with the crown of your head towards the sky. If you have knee issues, this will not be your pose. If you can’t sit on your heels, get an ergonomic chair that mimics this pose or use a pillow for cushion.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

This is also known as resting pose in yoga. Sit back on your heels and reach your arms out in front of you or bring them alongside the body towards your feet into a tiny little yoga ball.

Locust Pose (Salabhasana)   

This is another great pose for strengthening the back. Open your chest lifting your arms and legs off the mat while keeping the pelvis on the mat. If necessary, you can lift just your chest and aim your arms towards your feet. A more advanced yoga pose would be to go into bow pose, but proceed with caution until you’re ready.

Remember, just like our bad habits developed over time, our good habits take time to build back up as well.  

Try practicing these poses and see which ones resonate with you. Give yourself reminders in your calendar or on your desk to be present to your posture. In the end you will breathe, move, and feel better.

Learn Control....build Core Strength!

Rolling Like a Ball is a move borrowed from Pilates that helps us transition from reclining to sitting. Beyond this practical application, the move teaches lessons about momentum and control that apply to other dynamic transitions, like the kick up to Handstand, as well as to control of the body in space, whether that’s on the field, the road, or the trail. 
Include this exercise in your practice to develop the ability to right yourself in shifting situations.

Start on your back, knees hugged in. Tuck your chin toward your chest and curl your spine into a C curve. Try a few gentle rocks forward and back. If this is tough on your back from the outside, add padding under your spine. If, instead, it feels like too much pressure on a particular part of the spine, don’t work any further into this exercise. When you do roll back, go only as far as your shoulders to protect your neck.
Use a breath pattern that works for you—this could mean inhale back, exhale up, or the reverse. When you are comfortable rolling forward and back, try these steps.

1. Balance on your sitting bones
Rocking up, find a still point where you are still in a tight ball, but can pause for a breath or two balanced on the spot between your sitting bones and tailbone. You’ll have to negotiate between using enough momentum to lift you up and enough control to slow you down.

2. Rolling like a Happy Baby
Bend your knees and spread them to shoulder distance, then try rolling back and up to balance again. With this new distribution of weight, you’ll need to work again to find the right balance between momentum and control.

3. Rolling straddle
If your back and hamstrings allow, try straightening your legs into a V straddle, then rolling again. Keep your knees a little bent, so you aren’t too deep into a hamstring stretch, and find the balance point here.
In any of these variations, you’ll be strengthening your core, challenging your balance, and developing the ability to adapt to a change in the placement of your body in space by coming back to a still center point.

Yoga for Insomnia

One of the most common complaints that my yoga students and patients share with me is their inability to get a good night’s sleep.  Almost everyone will have an occasional bout of sleeplessness, but for some, insomnia can linger for days or weeks, or even become a chronic situation. 
 
How much sleep a person needs is somewhat subjective. I’m a solid 7-hour a night person. That’s what it takes for me to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. My grandmother, on the other hand, used to say she only needed 5-6 hours a night in her later years to feel her best, and she lived to 93!

The symptoms of insomnia are at minimum troublesome, and at worst, debilitating: daytime fatigue or sleepiness, irritability, depression, anxiety, tension headaches, GI symptoms, ongoing worry about sleep, trouble with mental focus and attention. Beyond inconvenience, insomnia’s effects can be much more serious: it’s  implicated in car accidents, medical and work errors, and linked to chronic diseases like high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and obesity, and even cancer.

The potential causes of insomnia vary, but at the top of the list is stress, followed by anxiety and depression. Other causes may include  prescription and over the counter medications, caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, medical conditions such as chronic pain, breathing difficulties or frequent urination (just to name a few), changes in your environment or work schedule, poor sleep habits, eating too late in day and too much, and “learned” insomnia linked to excessive worry about falling asleep.

And as we age, the chances of developing insomnia go up due to the following age related changes: changes in sleep pattern; a decrease in activity levels, both social and physical; changes in health status; and increase use of medications.

Can yoga help?  Research indicates yes......We already know that the three most common reasons for insomnia—stress, anxiety, depression—are diminished greatly with regular yoga practice. 

In addition, one study found that yoga also helped with increased cognitive arousal, or when the mind wakes up and is very busy right when you try to fall asleep or wake in the middle of the night. Another study found that insomnia among menopausal women was decreased through an evening yoga practice.
 
When my students ask me what yoga pose is good for insomnia, I have them immediately expand their view of sleeplessness.  I do that by suggesting that addressing insomnia with yoga starts first thing in the morning and lasts all day!  

What am I talking about?  I recommend doing a more active yoga practice early in the day if your energy level permits it.  This melds more naturally with the hormones in the body that, if balanced correctly, will support a better night’s sleep.  

And if you are too tired for a vigorous asana practice, even a gentle one to get you moving a bit and loosen up the physical tension that often accompanies a poor night’s sleep, is beneficial.

From there, being mindful of what you are taking in during the day that could have negative affects on sleep is really important.  You might set the intention at the end of your morning practice to pause during the day before consuming things like food and drink, that could keep you up at night, specifically caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, and medications that are stimulating.  

I recommend trying to take at least 10-15 minutes of time out in nature during the day to reconnect to a quieter, more peaceful reality. And in the evening, an earlier dinner-time, followed an hour or so later with a gentle yoga practice is good preparation for sleep time.  Include poses you find quieting to your individual system, as well as breathing practices that are calming, like ones that gradually lengthen the exhalation part of the breath cycle, as one example.

A recorded guided visualization, body scan, or meditation, or yoga nidra can all help to shift your nervous system for arousal to calm in preparation for bed. And if you still find you are having trouble falling asleep or you awaken in the middle of the night, doing breath awareness and body scan practices in bed often will get you back to sleep faster than doing nothing at all. With yoga, done daily, may you have sweet, uninterrupted, dreams!