Q: On yesterday’s post Mini Restorative Practice, you wrote about Reclined Cobbler’s pose that we should set a timer so we don’t fall asleep. Why isn’t it okay to fall asleep in a restorative pose?

A: There are actually two reasons not to fall asleep in a restorative yoga pose. The first reason is that with the exception of Relaxation pose (Savasana), in all restorative poses there are parts of your body that are being stretched. For example, in Reclined Cobbler’s pose you are stretching your groins and inner thighs, and your back is supported into a backbend shape. Falling asleep in the pose means you risk staying in the pose too long and over-stretching muscles. That’s why teachers will warn you to set a timer—to ensure that you don’t over-stretch and injure yourself.

A second reason to stay awake in restorative poses is because there are several benefits you gain from conscious relaxation than you don’t gain from sleep alone (though, of course, getting enough sleep is also vital for your health). Briefly the differences between sleep and conscious relaxation are the following:

1. Dreams can actually cause stress through nightmares and anxiety dreams. However, conscious relaxation reduces your stress levels by gradually decreasing the production of gradually decreases, so your stress symptoms, both physical and emotional sensations, are reduced.

2. During conscious relaxation, your consumption of oxygen decreases 10 to 20 percent in your first 3 minutes. (When you fall asleep, your oxygen consumption decreases only 8 percent after 4 or 5 hours.) When you’re in the Rest and Digest state, you are relaxing and restoring yourself so you don’t need as much oxygen as you do when you’re stressed and are preparing to “fight” or “run.”

3. During conscious relaxation, your levels of blood lactate (a substance associated with anxiety attacks) levels fall rapidly within the first 10 minutes. As you relax, your thoughts stop racing and your mind quiets while your body is resting and digesting.

4. Slow brain waves (alpha waves) become more intense and frequent during conscious relaxation. (These slow brain waves do not typically occur during sleep.)  Dr. Roger Cole, a sleep researcher and long-time yoga teacher, says that during rest or meditation our brain waves may slow to the alpha rhythm (8-12 cycles per second), during which we remain quietly aware of ourselves and our surroundings, without a lot of self-directed mental processing. Sometimes they may slow even further to the theta rhythm (4-7 cycles per second), during which we may get a “floating” feeling, dreamlike mental imagery, and withdrawal from the outside world. There is still much that is unknown about these unique states, but what is known is that regular practice of conscious relaxation helps foster ongoing feelings of serenity, contentment, and even happiness.

See Conscious Relaxation vs. Sleep for more information about the benefits of conscious relaxation over sleep.

—Nina

 

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