Can Rubbing Your Feet Make You Sleep Better?

By Susan Pulley

I admit that the first time I heard this trick of how to fall asleep in Ayurveda school, my internal critic raised her eyebrows. Nevertheless, I soon had good occasion to try the technique of rubbing my feet with warm sesame oil.

“I don’t think it’s working,” was my last thought before waking up in the morning, well rested. I was sold on its effectiveness.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, it’s usually one of two scenarios. The first type of trouble is that you can’t fall asleep when you first lie down. Many of us can relate: even though we’re exhausted, we just can’t seem to fall asleep because our restless thoughts keep turning.

The second kind: that you can fall asleep no problem, but you tend to wake up in the middle of the night, right around 2 or 3 am.

According to Ayurveda, if you’re suffering from the waking-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-version, it is a sign of sustained levels of too much activity in the nervous system, a sign of high Vata.

And difficulty falling asleep has an aspect of Pitta in addition to Vata. At about 10 or 11 at night, you may find that you become very alert and you have the urge to start to organize or to clean out the cupboards. It is the concentration that is high. You may have been exhausted at 9 but by 10, you’re wide awake and slashing items off your To Do list.

Even if you don’t know anything about Vata and Pitta, you can still learn some simple techniques for sleeping better. After all, we can all use more energy. So, what’s keeping you up at night?

Susan Pulley is an Ayurvedic Consultant and Therapist. To learn more, join the workshop Slaap Lekker with Yoga & Ayurveda 29 oct, or visit www.atma-ayurveda.com