I'm a bilingual yoga teacher who helps people who sit a lot gain mobility, move without pain and reduce their stress.
Why you wake up in the middle of the night
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Why do I wake up in the middle of the night then struggle to go back to sleep?
Should I stay in bed or should I get up and wait for sleepiness to come back?
This is one of the most asked questions on my Q&A podcast, so I thought it might be time to answer it here too. Most of the time, it's stress.(Is anything not caused by stress nowadays? 🥲) Something is bothering you, maybe not enough to keep you awake at night, but enough for your nervous system to be on alert. And enough for you to start thinking about it the second you wake up, whereas if you were a bit more zen, you would fall back to sleep without even noticing you woke up. But it could also be...
What should I do when it happens?If you wake up and can't fall back to sleep, don't look at the clock. You would start counting the hours until you have to get up and stress about falling back to sleep... which will prevent you from falling back to sleep. If you feel very awake (my tell-tale sign is if I can open my eyes fully) and have tried to get back to sleep for over 15 minutes, get up and go to another room. No bright lights, no screens. Do something relaxing like reading, listening to music, gentle stretching... and as soon as you start feeling tired again, go back to bed. Sleepiness comes in waves, so we want to prime the nervous system for sleep while we wait for that sweet wave. If that happens to you regularly...See which boxes you tick from the list of causes above. I'm sure you can get some quick wins like avoiding caffeine late in the day or ordering earplugs and a sleeping mask. And if you'd like to reduce your average stress level and build a night routine that will make you sleep like a baby, that's what I do :) Send me a short message explaining your situation as a reply to this email or on WhatsApp, and I'll tell you how I can help you. Om, peace 🧡 Clem |
Clémence Dieryck
I'm a bilingual yoga teacher who helps people who sit a lot gain mobility, move without pain and reduce their stress.
Let’s talk about mental health. It’s a topic that’s close to my heart, both for personal reasons, and because it comes up often with my clients. One of them asked me last week: “What can you do when your self-esteem is at zero? How can yoga help you take that first step toward having a little bit of ego?” I think that’s such a powerful question. I truly believe that one of the main ways depression keeps itself going is through inaction. Depression makes you not want to do anything, so you...
Does it really matter if we're breathing through the nose or mouth? A short one today because one of my wonderful clients asked me this question last week, and I think you could all benefit from the answer. The answer is: yes, it matters. A LOT. And not only when doing yoga. If we've already practiced yoga together, you have probably heard me encourage you to breathe through your nose. Why? Because your nose is a wonderful machine. See, when the air comes in through your nostril, your nose...
You know what they say: "Variety is the spice of life." We all get it when it comes to food, it’s been drilled into us. When it comes to mental balance, it’s already a little trickier. Our brains love learning new things and exploring different perspectives… yet somehow we keep getting pulled into echo chambers that just feed us more of the same. But it’s just as true for our bodies, and that’s really what I want to talk to you about today. When it comes to movement, most of us are on an...