Under-exercised, Over-stimulated, and Sleep-deprived
It’s 9pm, and I’m sitting in the middle seat on the Brisbane to Sydney flight. During the flight my seat mates and I have kept to ourselves, absorbed in our own worlds. We’re circling the Sydney airport waiting for our turn to land. Suddenly, the captain comes over the cabin PA:
“This is the captain speaking. Sorry folks, we’re not able to land at Sydney at this time due to bad weather. We’ll be flying on to Canberra, where we’ll refuel, then we’ll turn around and fly back to Sydney. During the onward flight, please keep your seatbelts on at all times — it’s likely to be a bumpy ride. We’re expecting severe turbulence.”
The startled cabin erupts into conversation. My seatmates and I look at each other. We buckle up. With another hour or two added to our flight, we get into a deeper conversation.
One of my seatmates has just finished shooting the new Mad Max movie in Africa and North Queensland and is flying out to the UK, and the other is flying back from a promotional event in Brisbane. One of the music artists she manages guested at a barbecue put on by a local radio station.
I share with them what I’m up to:
“We bring aliveness and joy to the experience of being in the Brisbane CBD through 45-minute Yoga experiences at Atma Yoga in Brisbane.”
“Wow! That sounds cool. What does that involve?”
“Five thousand years ago most people were fighting or farming. Only a small percentage were sitting down for long periods — Yogis, engaged in meditation. They developed a series of exercises to counter-act the effects of sitting for long periods that they could perform on their seat — actually a mat — called an asana. These exercises came to be called asanas. Fast-forward five thousand years, and most people are sitting down most of the time. Modern humans are under-exercised, over-stimulated, and sleep-deprived.”
Industrialization has lead us to a sedentary lifestyle. Electric lighting, and then electronic devices and the information age have resulted in a population that is over-stimulated and sleep-deprived.
“We’ve taken two thousand years of wisdom tradition and lovingly crafted Yoga experiences that address these three things powerfully in just 45 minutes a day, and are as easy to add to your daily routine as a cup of coffee.”
“Sleep deprived! But you must not be sleep deprived, because you’re a Yogi!” says my seatmate, enthusiastically.
“To be honest, as a Modern human, I’m also sleep deprived.” I reply.
The diversion of our flight doesn’t help. We bounce down on the runway in Sydney almost two hours later, and I arrive at my hotel well after 1am.
I am left reflecting on the integrity of sleep, and how to powerfully address this in our Yoga experiences to make a difference in what people are dealing with. I once joked with Param that we could have a viable business by just opening the door at lunch times, laying out the mats, and letting people sleep for 45 minutes. With Nola, the owner of Knead Massage next door to Atma, we’ve discussed creating a relaxation space for people to chill out during the day.
In our meeting a week later, we sketch out the class designs to more powerfully address sleep deprivation.
One cannot be a Yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little; sleeps too much or sleeps too little.
– Bhagavad-gita
Originally published at www.atmayoga.com.au.
