Several professionals have a very demanding
routine in terms of night shifts. Due to the altered 'body
clocks' they end up suffering from several health disorders.
Such kinds of jobs are on the rise with a
continuous emphasis on increasing productivity and lowering
costs. Most common examples are call center workers, specially
those that are serving clients half-way across the globe.
The two most common disorders related to this
are Sleeplessness and Constipation Sleeplessness or Insomnia
This is one of the most common complaints and not surprisingly
so. Sleeping during the day is difficult and the general noise
and distraction level is high. It is well
known that continuous use of sleeping pills may be detrimental
to health. Also, the body develops a progressive resistance to
them. Therefore, they should be avoided.
A yoga technique that can be of very great
use is the technique of 'Yoga Nidra' or psychic sleep. When
practiced correctly, this method produces such deep relaxation
that one hour of yoga nidra is equivalent to 4 hours of deep
sleep.
This technique
can be learned from a yoga teacher or even from a book or
tape. To read more on yoga nidra,
click
here.
Constipation
Although this is a universal problem, it is more common among
shift workers.
After midnight, the automatic regulation of
metabolic processes has an effect of slowing down the heart rate
and the blood circulation. In a person on night-shift, as he
sits upright, the blood accumulates around the pelvis, lower
abdomen and legs. This causes the blood vessels around the colon
to dilate, thereby constricting the passage and resulting in
constipation. Prolonged effect of this condition can result in
piles. The yoga solution for this problem is a
position called 'Sarvangasana'. This is an inverted position in
which the legs are slowly raised up while lying down. In the
final position, only the head and neck rests on the floor while
the entire torso and legs lie vertical to the ground in the
inverted position. This position helps the
accumulated blood in the lower abdomen and legs to move towards
the lungs. This helps in the oxygenation of impure blood and the
normalization of the colon. Five minutes of
Sarvangasana should be sufficient to counteract the problem of
blood stagnation in the lower part o the body.
This is an example of how yoga, as a therapeutic system, can
help in relieving several health disorders. |