Do You Wake Up and Have Trouble Going Back to Sleep? This Pose Could Be The Fix

Reclining Buddha Is Trying to Help You Rest

by Jennifer Rose & Better Existence | September 29, 2014

Beautiful. Yes. Exotic. If you are a 24-year-old American girl, yes. The first time I traveled to Thailand and visited Wat Po, that is what I saw: a beautiful, exotic, enormous statue. That was half a lifetime ago. 

Today I see compassionate instruction. Perhaps we are not meant just to ogle this pose; we are meant to assume it, to see what the effects are. Perhaps its enormous size, more than 141 feet long, nearly half a football field, is an exclamation point on its meaning. This is a powerful pose. 

This pose healed my lifelong insomnia and terrible night anxiety. There must be someone else out there that it can help. I hope you will give it a try. 

How to Do the Pose

Notice these most important points about the position of the Reclining Buddha:

• He is lying on his right side.
• His platform is elevated under his right armpit.
• He is supporting his head.

Here is a photograph of the position I learned in yoga class with Nishit Patel, Vishnu Asana. This is the position I rest in when I wake up in the middle of the night and want to go back to sleep. 

• My left knee is bent, creating stability in the pose.
• My left elbow is bent, also for stability. 
• I am using a pillow to apply gentle pressure under my right armpit.

This pose changed my life. It gave me control over restlessness and nighttime anxiousness. If you are interested in understanding why it works, I can tell you, but try it first, and tell me what you experience. 

Use this pose to drift off to sleep, perhaps reading something calming to end the day, or use it to attain a calm state of mind if you wake up in the middle of the night. If you wake up anxious at 4am you are just like me. Lying in this pose might make as much of a difference in your life as it has in mine. 

If your right arm starts falling asleep, it is fine to move it.

If you do not find peace lying on your right side after twelve minutes or so, try lying on your left side in the same pose. I know 1 person who is more soothed on the left side than on the right side. 

I hope this helps you find relief. 

2-Minute Practice Cards: 2-Minute Bedtime Practices -- Wake Up Happy