The secret is out ...
... Yoga is incredible.
Unlike other forms of exercise, a regular yoga practice can calm the mind, release tension in the body, strengthen the central nervous system, and beat stress.
The best part?
Yoga may just be that extra boost you've been looking for in your battle against insomnia.
By practicing a primary restorative yoga sequence in the evening, you can promote a good night's sleep by releasing the stress of your day, establishing a nightly routine for restful sleep, and shifting to a deeper mode of breathing.
For each of these relaxing yoga poses, take a gentle approach. Focus on making a deep breath as you enter the posture. Without forcing your body into the pose, take 5-10 deep, smooth breaths and try to keep your mind present with each breath.
Before you know it, it will be time to move on to the next yoga pose, and you'll be yawning and ready for the best night of restful sleep since you were in diapers.
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1. Child’s Pose (Balasana)
- Start by folding forward with knees bent and big toes touching at the back of your mat.
- Stretch your arms forward and rest your forehead on the floor, or on the backs of your hands if your spine doesn't allow your forehead to touch the floor.
- In this calming position, close your eyes and imagine that your rib cage is expanding up and to either side every time you take a breath in.
2. Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)
- Pressing yourself up to a seated position, extend one leg at a time out long, and sit up with a tall spine. With fingers connecting to the floor on either side of your hips, slightly rotate your chest so that your torso is squared over your extended leg.
- When you're ready, fold from the hips until you feel a gentle stretch in your hamstrings. You don't need to touch your feet or prove anything here. Just resting in this folded pose can lower your blood pressure and prepare you for rest while gently easing tight hamstrings.
3. Supine Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)
- Lying on your back, bring the soles of your feet to touch and open your knees out like a storybook. Let your arms rest by your sides or take your hands to your belly, whichever allows you to calm the mind and connect with your deep breath.
- You want to release tension gradually in the inner legs, so if the stretch is too intense, you can support your knees with a pillow or folded blanket underneath each one.
4. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
- With feet flat on the floor and knees pointing up to the sky, take your arms along down your sides and reach your fingers toward the backs of your heels. Walk your feet in toward your glutes until your fingers can just brush the backs of your heels.
- Then, keeping your knees hip-width apart and your head in a neutral position, slowly lift your hips off the floor a few inches.
- You can flow with your breath, lifting the lower spine off the floor as you inhale and placing it back down as you exhale, or merely hold for 5-10 breaths.
5. Supine Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)
- Lying on your back, draw both knees up to your chest, and then release them to one side, opening your arms out wide in a T-shape.
- If it doesn't irritate your neck, you can drop your head over to the opposite side, creating a gentle wringing effect on your entire spine and internal organs.
- If your thighs hover uncomfortably above the floor, you can always support them with a folded blanket. Don't forget to transition smoothly and slowly out of this pose, and practice twisting on both sides.
6. Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)
- Lying on your back, grab ahold of your feet, ankles, or the backs of your thighs, bend your knees and open the legs to stretch the inner hips and lower back.
- Calm your mind, release tension in your back as you rock from side to side, and relax the muscles in your face.
7. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
- It is traditional to conclude a yoga practice with a deep relaxation perfect for falling asleep. To complete your bedtime yoga sequence in this way, get in bed or lie flat on the floor, close your eyes, and allow your whole body just to relax and let go.
