Guest post: How to get to sleep with a wall inversion

GalleryApril 28, 2015karenllaing Leave a comment

This post is written by the amazing Lucy Bannister who has been teaching Dru yoga in the workplace on behalf of Fit School for over a year.

I’ve just started getting my Pilates participants to try this wall inversion. It’s a fantastic passive stretch for your hamstrings and hips. Do try it.

I wanted to get Lucy’s take on the inversion as a yoga instructor. There’s more to the pose than just stretching as many of you have discovered. Give it a try.

How are you sleeping?

If the answer is not so great, or could be better, then read on.

When the clocks change it can totally mess with our sleeping patterns, or perhaps it is the arrival of a small person in your life, long work hours or an intense social life that is leading to you not getting the rest you need.

All too often, though, it is not these external factors but rather our own minds and habits that are causing the barrier to sleep.

Sleep is beautiful, restorative and quite frequently in modern life, an indulgence. And those who are getting too little sleep will know only too well how hard life becomes without it.

Sometimes moving is the only way to get our minds and bodies to rest properly, but there are a few other things you can try too:

– Don’t drink caffeine after 4pm (it stays in your system and can leave you wired for many hours after).

– Switch off your screens. The flicker from digital screens activates our stress responses. So whatever your screen of choice – TV, mobile, computer – switch them off at least 30 minutes before you go to bed and don’t start Tweeting or updating your Facebook status when you wake in the night!

– Breathe. Simple but oh so incredibly important. Once you start you will realise how precious being aware of your breath is.

– Yoga. A gentle yoga practice before bed, and if you wake in the night, is ideal for calming and clearing the mind, aiding the all important relaxation response. Had many hours of lying in bed with your body tense and the mind racing? Get up and relax, then return to bed ready to sleep.

A perfect pre-bed yoga pose is Simple Inversion (it also works if you wake in the night). It allows the flow of blood to return to the heart, which is great for easing out a stressed body and calming a busy mind.

Simple Inversion | Sarvangasana 1

Preparation

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor

Interlock your hands behind your head

Breathe in and as you breathe out draw your elbows together, lifting your head from the floor

This stretches out your neck and spine ready for the inversion

Posture

Fold a blanket so that is the length of your torso (hips to shoulders)

Place the blanket against a clear bit of wall (or door or wardrobe)

Sit on the blanket, up against the wall and position your hips as close as you can to the wall

Lie down along the blanket and manoeuvre yourself around so that your legs are upright on the wall and your buttocks are resting against the base of the wall

Open your arms at right angles to your torso, and no higher than your shoulders

Breathe and relax in this position

If your legs won’t go straight up against the wall, place your feet flat on the wall and bend your knees slightly. If your hamstrings are tight it might take a while before you can put your legs flat.

Start with five minutes in this position and build up to longer sessions. Don’t go into an inversion for too long the first time as the venous return (the flow of blood back towards the heart) can be quite powerful.

Give it a try next time you need to relax and get a good night’s sleep.

Lucy Bannister teaches Dru Yoga in and around SE London. Class information is available on her website: http://www.lucyoga.co.uk/

Lucy has two yoga retreats coming up this year. Dru yoga is brilliant for beginners so if you fancy some mindful time out check the details here: http://www.lucyoga.co.uk/yoga-retreats/

We aren’t vain we’re just trying to stay sane. How exercise helps the mind.

GalleryApril 21, 2015April 21, 2015karenllaing Leave a comment

I like to lift weights. Heavy weights. It makes me feel great.

For me, going to the gym, lifting weights and finishing off with perhaps a ten minute swim or sauna and a shower (in complete peace) is like switching a re-set button in my brain.

I feel calm.

I like to run too. Running gives my heart and lungs a great workout, airs my legs and allows my thoughts to roam. Sometimes I run without music so I can just think but on sunny mornings like today, I’ll tune into some great running beats and just immerse myself in my little running world.

I like to practice Pilates. I might take ten minutes before a class to have complete, flowing, peaceful practice time. There’s a tranquility and peace I find in silent, solo practice that I don’t get from other types of exercise.

But – when it’s just me and the bar and the lift – that’s when I can totally zone out.

No distractions. No kids. No thoughts.

The biggest reason I exercise is to clear my head. Through exercise I can process thoughts or get creative. Sometimes I might need to run hard to get rid of pent up stress or anger. Sometimes I need to just chill. The way exercise makes me look is always secondary to how it makes me feel. And having spoken with so many women in the fitness industry and women who are exercisers (rather than non-exercisers) it always comes back to mental wellbeing.

I can’t speak for men on this one but I do know that for the majority of women, the exercise hook is feels not looks.

We aren’t vain we’re just trying to stay sane!

Every exercise form gives us an opportunity to zone out or re-set, to process thoughts or to meditate.

Here are a few ideas on how you could use exercise to zone out or work out.

Yoga can be both challenging exercising and challenging meditation. The postures in yoga were originally based on the meditation. This is why it’ s often recommended during addiction therapy or rehabilitation.
Pilates is more of a conscious workout. Joseph Pilates originally called his method, controlology. The control of muscles through the mind. We are very mindful of technique during Pilates exercises.
Swimming can feel like re-birth. Yes you can go hard and workout your circulatory system (swimming is a great challenge for the lungs) or you can enjoy the simple pleasure of weightlessness and water. It’s rhythmic and repetitive and no phones are allowed.
Running can feel hard or could let you go for a great chat with a friend. When running alone you can internalise by focusing on how your body feels or you can let your thoughts wander.
High energy classes like martial arts or boxing can literally allow you to fight off your stresses.

Of course there are always ways of exercising optimally but the most important thing with exercise is to find something you love and find balance.

Enjoy x

When can I start running again after having a baby?

GalleryApril 15, 2015April 15, 2015karenllaing Leave a comment

It is a question I get asked a lot by my post natal clients. When can I start running again?

It’s a toughie. On one hand, I completely understand the need and want to get out running again. If you love being active, pregnancy can feel like a life sentence of inactivity and then some miserable person (like me) suggests you wait a little bit.

If you use running to boost your mood, then surely when your new mummy hormones are running riot, a run is a great idea. Right? Hmmnn… (puzzled emoticon).

I’ll be honest with you. The day after my 6 week check after having Isaac I put on my trainers and ran like a crazy person. It felt sooooo good. But subsequent training for a 10k left me pretty sore. I ignored my painful pelvis and had weird stuff going on in my hips until I stopped running completely when I got pregnant with Naomi. I wish I had listened to my body.

I’m going to give you the facts and leave you to make your own choice based on your body.

There are four things to consider about running and the post natal body.

1. Your pelvic floor

C-section or vaginal delivery, your pelvic floor will have been under pressure throughout your pregnancy due to the changes in your posture and the way your full uterus will have put pressure on your pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscles and a pelvis that would have already been weakened by the hormone relaxin.

Excess weight, the size of your baby, the age at which you delivered your first baby, intervention like forceps/ventouse or for some, a sensitivity to pregnancy hormones can all put extra strain on your pelvic floor.

Running on an already weakened pelvic floor is a really bad move. It’s just likely to put extra strain on the area and could increase pelvic floor dysfunction like incontinence or prolapse.

Not convinced?

One of the reasons I became so fascinated with the post natal pelvic floor was my surprise at the number of fit women in their late 30s and early 40s who came to me, having starting running/getting active after their babies were born and realised they had a minor prolapse. It’s really common.

2. Your posture

Your posture inevitably changes during pregnancy. There’s all that baby weight pulling your spine forwards and tipping your pelvis. Running on a wonky skeleton will only exacerbate any issues and probably lead to the physiotherapist’s table. Your body is different post baby to pre baby, it won’t feel the same.

3. Relaxin

It’s estimated that relaxin, the hormone that makes your joints/muscles/blood vessels lax remains in your body for up to four months after you give birth or stop breast feeding. High impact exercise is not nice on joints which are already under strain and could lead to inflammation.

4. Your energy/tiredness

Running takes a lot of energy, both calorific and get up and go energy. If you are breast feeding, it’s important to re-stock any lost calories fast after you exercise. If you don’t you’ll feel shattered and probably reach for the chocolate box. If you aren’t getting much sleep and start running regularly, it could add to the exhaustion.

I don’t want to be the miserly running police but I do want to ensure you get the best advice out there. Running is awesome. Exercise is awesome. But do give yourself time to recover before you get back to it.

Check out the New Mummy Diet for more help on getting back into shape after having a baby.

For information on classes check out Karen’s About page.