Being grateful for discovering the wonderful world of yummy bed yoga:
I’ve written a few times about how yoga has been a huge part of my life for many years now (see here, here, and here).
When I’m practicing regularly, I feel its amazing benefits on my mind, body and spirit. I feel calmer and more present, I feel stronger and more flexible, my posture is better, my sleep improves, and it makes my heart smile so big.
I’ve also found that regular practice helps ward off my lower back pain. And not hearing a peep from my lower back is a great incentive to keep rolling out the mat alone!
However, one of the most frustrating aspects of this debilitating and rollercoaster of a ride called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – and of that there are many – is that it’s not always possible to practice daily or weekly, or sometimes even monthly.
As this health condition forces me to be pretty much sedentary most of the time, after a while I can feel my lower back pain starting to edge its way back.
So I try to get back on the mat, if it’s possible. But sometimes, actually most of the time, the mere thought of getting up, moving things around so I can fit my yoga mat in my bedroom, and putting on one of my yoga DVDs on makes me feel exhausted before I’ve even started!
And so I push the idea away, and hope my lower back pain goes away soon. But it never does and I usually have to wait until I feel up to a light yoga session.
Thankfully I’ve come to realise that yoga doesn’t have to be a big, long, challenging session. It can also be short and sweet and super gentle.
Especially now I’ve discovered I came across bed yoga.
WooHooooooo!! What a utterly brilliant revelation!
I found it by accident while browsing through youtube for gently yoga sessions, and discovered bed yoga was an actual thing. It’s literally gentle stretching you can do while lying on, or even in, your bed.
How marvellous!
And so I decided to give it a go. No pressure. If it was too much, I’d thank myself for trying and put bed yoga away for another day.
Thankfully, I’m finding the short’n’sweet sessions sublimely gentle and better still, I can usually manage them.
Despite feeling exhausted and wiped out, it feels so good to gently stretch my body before bedtime, easing my back pain and easing me into sleep.
So I’ve decided to try another #YogaEveryDamnDay in May.
I loved the first one I did about 18 months ago and want to get myself back into a regular practice.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO SELF: I give myself permission to skip a day or two or three if I don’t feel well enough.
Not only this gentle practice help keep my sore back at bay, I know that it will keep my spirits high, my mind at peace, and my body nourished as I continue on this healing journey from CFS.
☆♡☆
For anyone interested in trying some gentle bed yoga sessions, here are a few I’ve found and enjoyed so far:
1. Bed Yoga by Aroga Yoga (specially created for people living with chronic illnesses and pain)
2. 10 Minute Gentle Yoga in Bed by Candace (she has quite a few lovely videos)
3. 10 minute Bed Yoga for Beginners by Sjana Earp (I want her bed cover set!)
4. Bed Time Yoga to Help You Sleep by Dashama (she always makes me smile and also have a great session for lower back pain)
5. Bedtime Yoga for Deep Sleep by Siya Yoga (this is really soothing)
If you find know of or find any different bed yoga sessions, I’d love to hear from you – please leave a comment below…