Part I: Suspti according to Yoga and Spiritual Lore
Part II: Effect of Yoga on Quality of Sleep in Healthy Persons following a Seven Day Yoga Camp

By

Ashish Kumar Shukla

ABSTRACT

Part I: Suspti according to Yoga and Spiritual Lore

Though the objective and approach of each upaniñat is different, the central idea of the upaniñat remains the same. All upaniñats speaking in unison when they proclaim that the suñupti is nothing  but the (temporary) attainment the state of bliss and pure consciousness It is attained by the involution of human consciousness within the supreme consciousness. Uniqueness of Praçnaopaniñat is in the proclamation of awaking of präëa even in deep sleep. It is evidenced through the pranic activities like breathing and blood circulation that are normally working in the body even in deep sleep. Uniqueness of mäëòukya upniñat relates three states to om and the knowing the fruits of three states. Cändogya upaniñat presented in a poetic way of deep sleep state which includes beautiful smile and metaphor. Uniqueness of Akçyupaniñat is that it has described total seven states of consciousness where suñupti is the fifth one. Uniqueness of Ädhyätampaoniñat tells the experience of our true nature which appeared in the state of suñupti.Uniqueness of Patnjali’s yoga sutras is to consider deep sleep as a cognitive modification.According to modern science, sleep is slowing down of electrical activity of brain divided into REM and NREM sleep. Physiologically sleep is meant to rejuvenate and relieve the physical and mental stress. Ayurveda describes indication and contraindications of sleep (when, who, how much to sleep) and also described remedies for sleep disturbances.This paper is an attempt to review the concept of suñupti according to ancient texts.    

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The vedäntic insight of sleep, dream and waking state can therefore be summerised as follows. The objective world is dream but this does not mean that is non-entity, an expance of nothing, a void. The world even if it is a dream, is there to the wise as to the ignorant, but the wise knows its illusory nature and perceives its true nature (brahman). The world is real to the ignorant is unreal to the wise. To the dreamer  the dream world id real, but to waker, it is unreal. Simlarly to the empirical self (viçva) the phenomenal world is real, but to Ätaman the witness of three states, it is unreal.Dreamless sleep is characterized by the suspansion of the awareness that we think persistes the right throughout the wakeful state. It seems in the stage of deep sleep there is a break in an individual’s awareness. It is very clear when an individual is not aware of something , he expresses, ‘I don’t know, I was sleeping’. However ‘dreamless sleep’ should also be an experience that is experienced by the individual, otherwise the person in his post-sleep condition would not utter sincerely, and ‘I was alseep’. Though there is undeniable difference between deep sleep and waking, there is something common which connects these two, the awareness of waking and sleep. In both the subject who possessses the knowledge is same. Therefore , ‘the experience of sleep seems to be lacking in this self awareness ‘. For instance, in my waking experience ‘I’ am the subject who is aware of different exeperiences. Even in my dream ‘I’ am the one who experiences the objects of the dream. But that perticular experience of ‘sleep’ is not mine my sleep, only after I am awake I understand this truth.The advaita explanation is that the ‘undifferented’, distinctionless nature of sleep experience demonstrates the true non-dual nature of the consciousness that perssists throughout, and remains unaffected by all three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and back to the waking is because of the active mind that recalls memory of the individual. Çankaräcärya declares that the experience of the state of deep-sleep is a glimpse of the sellf’s real nature, where there exists no ‘I’, the subject of experience.In depth views of Indian philosophy lights on concept of Suñupti and mkes it clear as a higher form of state of the consciousness where one reaches but without awareness. as a matter of fact when we compare Suñupti with Samädhi person comes back as ‘wise’ from samadhi but remains same after Suñupti. Still Indian spiritual scriptures gives strong foundation to this concept.

Part II: Effect of Yoga on Quality of Sleep in Healthy Persons following a Seven Day Yoga Camp                                   

Non-pharmacological, stresses relieving yogic techniques are found to be helpful in improving quality of sleep. Hence the present study was designed to see the effect of yoga on the self-rated sleep in normal people. Two hundred eighty one people were admitted for a seven days yoga camp. They were in the range of 15 to 79 years. The subjects were considered as two age groups below 60 years of age and above 60 years of age. The yoga techniques included voluntary regulated breathing (pranayama), loosening exercises (shithlikarna vyayama), and relaxation techniques. They were evaluated by a sleep rating checklist (SRC) on the first and seventh day of yoga camp. The result showed a significant change in the time taken to fall asleep (group average decrease: 8.3 min, p<0.05), an increase of total number of hours slept (group average increased: 48 min, p<0.05) and in the feeling of being rested in the morning (p<0.05) after seven days of yoga (Wilcoxon paired signed-rank test). Yoga practices improved different aspects of sleep in normal volunteers.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Summary:

Conclusions:
The results of the present study suggest that yoga practices improved the sleep in normal healthy volunteers. In view of the present results on SRC to objectively understand the changes in sleep architecture, polysomnographic recordings would be desirable in future studies.

Key words: Yoga, Sleep Rating Questionnaire, and Normal Healthy Volunteers