Online Seminar: Yoga for Sleep and Sleep Disorders: Science, Research and Application

Description

Join leading yoga researcher, sleep researcher, and Harvard University Medical School Lecturer, Dr. Sat Bir Khalsa as he shares insights about sleep disorders and how the therapeutic application of yoga for sleep can improve sleep quality, length, and therefore, overall well-being. There is an increasing recognition and knowledge about the value of sleep in both physiology, psychology and human performance. Unfortunately, as the pace of life becomes busier and busier, people are restricting sleep to their own detriment, just as heightened stress is also increasing the burden and prevalence of sleep disturbances like chronic insomnia.

Recent statistics suggest up to 1/3 of the adult population suffers from a sleep disorder. The overall impact of insomnia as well as other sleep disorders on a person’s life are profound and range from mental health issues to cardiovascular ones to autoimmune conditions and many more. Helping individuals to improve sleep quality, therefore provides far-reaching value for clients and students. Medical treatments for insomnia are limited and there is a growing movement towards behavioural approaches. The multifaceted system of yoga offers the benefits of a behavioural treatment, while directly targeting the nervous system and reducing stress, that is so deeply entwined with sleep problems.

Through a detailed understanding of sleep and sleep disorders, yoga professionals and health professionals learning basic yoga techniques, are well-placed to provide bespoke yoga practices that can significantly help with sleep improvement. This 4-hour workshop (spread across two consecutive evenings) with Sat Bir is a unique opportunity to learn from a world expert. Dr. Khalsa will describe the characteristics and importance of sleep to mental and physical health and performance, the underlying causes of insomnia, provide an overview of the well-known behavioral treatments for insomnia, and provide specific yoga practices which may be beneficial for this disorder and for improving sleep quality in general.