Quick yoga before bed

Everyone should practice 10 minutes of yoga before bed for better sleep. The practice of yoga before bed releases everything you're holding onto mentally or physically before going into a deep sleep. Including a relaxing yoga practice into your night-time routine can improve the sleep quality and duration of your sleep.

Benefits of yoga before bed time:

• Improves sleep quality and relaxes your mind.
• Regular practice can help to manage insomnia.
• Helps unwind and release tension from the mind and body.

Here are 5 practices in yoga before bed sequence that helps you unwind, calm down and relax after a long day and drifts you into a good night’s sleep.

1. Deep breathing

Deep breathing is the best practice to improve sleep and relax your mind. It helps you focus and be aware of the mind and body movement.

How to do:

1. Sit in any comfortable pose.
2. Both hands on your knees. Palm facing up.
3. Now relax your mind and inhale through both the nostrils, hold your breath for 5-10 seconds and exhale from both the nostrils.
4. Repeat this 15 to 20 times.

2. Child’s pose (Shashankasana)

This pose is great in releasing stiffness in the hips and thighs. It calms the mind and helps you unwind for the day.

How to do:

1. Sit on your yoga mat and keep your spine erect.
2. Now bend your right leg and then left leg and keep them under the buttocks or sit on your heels.
3. Keep both your big toes should be in a way that they touch each other.
4. Deeply inhale and raise your both arms up and exhale, bend forward and place your hands on the bed.
5. Maintain this pose.
6. You can repeat this pose 3 times.

Watch our Video on Yoga for Better Sleep (Relaxing Yoga Flow)

3. Supine twists

The twist in this pose opens the ribs and relaxes the spine. It gives a good stretch to the overall body.

How to do:

1. Lay down on the bed. Bring your arms out (parallel to the shoulder) to the sides with the palms facing down in a T position.
2. Bend your right knee, place the right foot on the left knee and lock your legs.
3. Now slowly exhale and twist the spine and lower back towards the left side and look at the right fingertips.
4. Now maintain this pose for 10 to 15 seconds and do it on the other side following the same procedure.
5. You can repeat this 3 times.

4. Cat-cow pose

This is an excellent pose in the yoga before bed series to practice as it helps ease back pain due to long hours of sitting or standing.

How to do:

1. Come on your four limbs (both knees and both palms on the bed).
2. Make sure the wrists and knees are parallel.
3. Now you are in a table-top pose.
4. Spread your figures so that you can take your body weight on your palm instead of your wrist.
5. Now, inhale and raise your head upwards and make a nice arch in your back, exhale, look down and create a hunch on your back.
6. You can repeat this pose 3 times.

5. Butterfly pose

This yoga pose before bedtime opens all the vital channels in the body and stimulates the smooth flow of fluids to destress and release fatigue due to long working hours.

How to do:

1. Sit in any comfortable pose.
2. Now, keep both legs straight and fold one by one with the toes of your feet touching each other and bending your knee.
3. Try to pull out your heels.
4. Exhale and bend forward.
5. You can keep your head on the bed.
6. Hold your feet with both hands and keep your back straight.
7. Now press your knee towards your bed.
8. Release all stiffness from thighs and hips.
9. You can repeat this pose 3 times.

Practising yoga before bed regularly has proven to be an effective technique for better sleep quality, better sleep patterns and helping to deal with insomnia. Do practice these poses and let us know how you feel.