Using yoga, meditation and a range of complimentary physical therapies, our guest today, integrative sleep therapist and trainer Deidre O'Connor tells the story of her very personal journey to solving her sleep problems.
Skip to sections:
2:51 Introduction
4:05 The decision to travel and study yoga in India
4:45 Bihar School of Yoga, travelling to Thailand, Buddhist monasteries
6:46 How yoga, meditation is conceived in India, contrasted with Western notions
8:22 Yoga and meditation, it's not just about the physical practice
9:51 Finding value in stillness, savasana
11:29 Life changes and the onset of sleep problems
12:05 Yoga and meditation couldn't fix the problems
13:00 Unconscious thought processes, going deeper to explore the root causes
14:32 Going beyond the 'top layers' of stress and anxiety
16:05 Trauma: dealing with deep-rooted issues
17:01 Diving into the specific practises
18:08 Deep pressure weight, weighted blankets, the enteric nervous system, serotonin
19:55 Bedtime yoga, calming poses you can do in bed
21:48 Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
23:08 Embodied mindfulness, taming the monkey mind
24:55 Deep breathing, guided breathing exercises, Dr Andrew Weil
26:14 Yoga nidra
27:00 Craniosacral therapy, osteopathy
28:38 Final thoughts, coming from a place of extraordinary anxiety
This episode’s guest:
Deirdre O'Connor has been exploring, training, teaching yoga for over 20 years. She began at the Bihar School of Yoga in India exploring many different Yoga styles – Hatha, Bhakti, Jhana and Karma Yoga.
She trained further in meditation and Buddhist philosophy, living in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, Thai forest retreat centres and Yogic ashrams in Rishikesh.
In 2013 she created and developed her Deep Sleep Workshops and Trainings, initially in response to her own experience of restless, sleepless nights, and wanting to find a way through them without resorting to sleep medication .
Resources:
Deep Sleep Clinic Website: http://www.deepsleepclinic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Deep-Sleep-Clinic-348304698694772/
What is Yoga Nidra?: https://sleepjunkies.com/yoga-nidra-for-sleep/
Craniosacral therapy: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318490.php
