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The Weekly Bite – Monday 13 January 2025—Issue 2599

Hi All

I went to Lezley’s Yoga class last Saturday and loved it. I had only done a couple of Yoga classes previously (in all my 77 years) and I wondered whether it would be my “cup of tea”! I felt right at home!  Lezley has the knack of delivering her class to the level that suits all participants and everyone obviously felt very comfortable doing their own thing at the level they could achieve.   Interestingly, I also felt able to do the wind down relaxation at the end of class without struggling to keep my overactive brain from firing up and taking over. That is what usually happens if I “meditate.”  Do read what member Judy Clelland has to say about Lezley’s Yoga, and sleep.

Great read!  Cheers, Victoria

Getting to Sleep at night ….. Why is it so hard? 

Most of us know what it is to experience the frustration of sleeplessness. You feel tired but when you get to bed, read for a little while (to slow the brain), switch out the light and then try to sleep, you can’t switch off the brain.  

Suddenly, you are awake, and the brain starts going over and over events of the day; snippets of unresolved problems flash through your consciousness, and, after half an hour or so, you are wide awake, and sleep is beyond you. 

Most of us have experienced this and it is just so frustrating! 

I have experienced it as well, back in the past when I was working, and then, after I retired, caring for a sick husband and ageing mother. Fortunately, I heard about Green Apple and became a member. Yoga was one of the first classes that I attended. Joyce was our teacher then. She was great, with the Yoga practice helping me to realise the calming influence that Yoga exercise and controlled breathing had on my ability to detach myself from the problems and grief that I was experiencing. 

When Joyce left a few years ago, we had two other Yoga teachers who only stayed a short time, and then Lezley came. During our practice of Yoga, Lezley reminds us to slow down by gently bringing the mind back to focus on our breathing. As well, we practice what is known as “alternate nostril breathing” which is a technique used to bring together our focus and balance.  We since then, have all shown enormous improvement with our balance, our flexibility and strength, all of which are so important as we age.

And the best thing is our Yoga practice is such fun! 

The astonishing thing that I am finding is how well I can now ‘switch off’ my over-active brain at night. If I find myself over-thinking things, with thoughts going around and around in my head, I consciously do the structured breathing that we do in Yoga and, within minutes I am asleep.  This is the clever thing about Yoga practice: that gradually you learn to focus the mind, on both physical Yoga exercises and within. In this way, worries and distractions become less obsessive and we can feel a sort of detachment and logic, even when we are passionate about a cause or are feeling down about something (and let’s face it: there is plenty to feel down about at the moment). 

If you recognise your own sleep behaviours in this article, come to Yoga at Green Apple. It is held every Saturday morning at 8.30am. You will wonder what took you so long! 

By Judy Clelland, member since 2017 

 

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