Restorative yoga for jet lag

After visiting my son in New Zealand, my biological body clock, (circadian rhythm) was majorly disrupted.

My digestive system was been out of sorts, I had muscular aches and was generally feeling sluggish as well as groggy. After about 4 days of insomnia and sleep deprivation, I was starting to feel run down so decided that I was in need of a restorative yoga session.

I began with meditation and lots of breath work, followed by several of the most basic restorative poses. Our practice ended with legs up the wall which is an invaluable pose that offers so many benefits. After 2 hours of  gentle stretching and relaxing on bolsters, my body felt so amazing and revived afterwards.

A realigned ‘circadian rhythm’, promotes optimum health, mental alertness, immunity, awareness, and physical empowerment.
A circadian rhythm is a biological clock that is present in all living things. It follows a 24-hour cycle and is conditioned by sunlight, darkness and temperature, influencing the sleep-wake cycle, hormone release, body temperature, and other important bodily functions. There are certain circadian rhythms in our body that are optimally active during the day and dissipate when the sun sets. Similarly, there are other circadian rhythms in our body that are optimally active during the night and ebb when the sun rises. These biological rhythms represent the optimum performance of different organs at certain times and their relaxation at other times. The circadian rhythms are easily disrupted by time zone difference, irregular sleeping patterns, stress, emotions, and poor diet. The consequences being insomnia, daytime fatigue, sluggishness, difficulty concentrating, and digestive issues.

After my 2 hour restorative yoga session, I went to bed at 9pm and slept through like a baby until 6.30am, when I awoke, I was re-energised and felt so uplifted in myself again – my circadian rhythm was back on track.

Restorative yoga on a Sunday afternoon in PJ’s should be available on the national health! It was absolutely magical and so very healing in every way.

Restorative yoga restores.

B xx