Yoga for sleep: Poses to help you unwind
What's the story
If you're looking to enhance your bedtime wind-down, yoga can help. By including basic poses in your nightly routine, you may make it easier to calm down and get a good night's sleep. From gentle stretching to deep breathing, these beginner-friendly yoga poses can calm your mind and relax your body. Here are some simple yoga poses to add to your bedtime routine.
Restful stretch
Child's pose for calming the mind
Child's pose is an extremely gentle stretch that calms the mind and relieves tension from the body. Start by kneeling on the floor, sitting back on your heels, extending your arms forward, and lowering your torso between your thighs. This pose promotes deep breathing, which can lower stress levels and promote relaxation before bed.
Inverted rest
Legs up the wall for relaxation
Legs up the wall is an inverted pose that encourages relaxation by improving circulation and reducing swelling in the legs. To do this pose, lie on your back with your legs extended up against a wall. This position allows gravity to help with blood flow back to the heart, helping you feel more relaxed as you prepare egger to sleep.
Gentle flow
Cat-cow stretch for flexibility
The cat-cow stretch is a dynamic movement that boosts flexibility in the spine while encouraging relaxation through rhythmic breathing. Start on all fours with hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Alternate between arching your back (cow) as you inhale and rounding it (cat) as you exhale. This gentle flow helps release the tension accumulated throughout the day.
Supported Ease
Reclining bound angle pose for comfort
The reclining bound angle pose provides comfort by gently opening up hips while supporting overall relaxation of body muscles before bedtime restfulness sets in fully. Lie flat with soles touching each other; let knees fall outward naturally without forcing them downwards too much if they resist initially due to tightness present there already perhaps from earlier activities done throughout the day itself.