Phase 2 · The Sleep Problem That Stays

Part of the 4 Week Yoga Program for Cannabis Withdrawal

25 Minute Evening Yoga Sequence for Sleep Without Cannabis

Weeks two and three, when the other symptoms have settled and sleep has not.

Most of the withdrawal symptoms fade within a week or two. Sleep is the one that does not, and for a lot of people it is still difficult a month later. That is the specific problem these two weeks are for. This is a longer evening practice built the way the sleep research builds them: gentle movement early, supported forward bends in the middle, and a long stretch at the end with nothing to do at all.

25 min · Level 1

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When it helps

For weeks two and three, in the evening, ideally about an hour before you want to be asleep. Twenty-five minutes. A blanket, two cushions, a strap and a wall. This helps with the symptoms of stopping, particularly sleep and restlessness. It is not addiction treatment and it does not replace medical or specialist support. Coming off alcohol or benzodiazepines at the same time can be medically dangerous and needs a doctor.

Sleep

Built around the same order the sleep trials used: anything with effort early, nothing at all in the last ten minutes.

Physical effect

Hips, hamstrings and the back, in supported positions throughout.

Expectation

Sleep after stopping tends to come back gradually rather than at once. A few better nights in a bad fortnight is what progress looks like here.

Move first

Everything with any stimulation in it belongs at the start of an evening session, not the end.

Marjaryasana

1 min

Cat Pose

Hands and knees, rounding the back on the out breath.

The gentlest start there is, and a check on what the day left behind.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

1 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath. Eight rounds.

Movement tied to the breath.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Bharadvajasana 1

1 min each side

Bharadvaja's Twist

A seated twist, unhurried, turning from the ribs.

The most stimulating thing in the session, and the reason it comes third rather than tenth.

Learn more about Bharadvajasana 1

Fold, with the head down

Long supported forward bends. Two minutes each is much longer than it sounds.

Janu Shirsana

2 min each side

Head-to-Knee Forward Bend

One leg out, one foot in, forehead resting on a cushion or a stack of books.

A supported fold held for two minutes is a completely different pose from an unsupported one held for thirty seconds.

Learn more about Janu Shirsana

Supported, then nothing

Twelve minutes with everything held up by props or the floor.

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

2 min

Bridge Pose

Supported Bridge: hips resting on a block or a firm cushion, so you are lying on it rather than holding it up.

Supported rather than lifted. The chest opens and the legs do nothing.

Learn more about Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Jathara Parivartanasana

1 min each side

Reclining Belly Twist

On your back, knees drawn in, then falling to one side with a cushion underneath.

A twist where the floor does all of it.

Learn more about Jathara Parivartanasana

Supta Hasta Padangusthasana

1 min each side

Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose

Strap around one foot, knee bent as much as you like.

The last thing that asks for anything.

Learn more about Supta Hasta Padangusthasana

Viparita Karani

4 min

Legs Up the Wall

Legs up the wall.

Four minutes, and the longest single stretch of doing nothing in the program so far.

Learn more about Viparita Karani

Apanasana

1 min

Knees to Chest Pose

Knees in, arms loose.

Small and closed, on the way to the floor.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

4 min

Corpse Pose

Flat, covered, warm. Then get into bed.

Four minutes. Falling asleep here is not a failure of the session.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 2 · Weeks 3 to 3

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to The Sleep Problem That Stays, the second phase of the 4 Week Yoga Program for Cannabis Withdrawal. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Most evenings through weeks two and three. Keep the ten minute one for the nights that go wrong anyway, and expect the improvement to be uneven rather than steady.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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