Bedtime Yoga: 8 Simple Moves to Improve Quality of Your Sleep

Yoga is the artwork of awareness on the canvas of body, mind, and soul. ― Amit Ray

Raise your hands who think that as a society we’ve completely devalued sleep. There is this incessant expectation of being always “on” 24/7 with the ever-present smartphone literally glued to our palms! Not only do we get less shut-eye; we also receive ridiculous amounts of stimuli when awake than ever before in the history of humankind. And as a result, it often seems impossible to switch off and relax and to get the quality sleep we desperately need to stay productive, healthy, and well, happy.

Most people have busy schedules packed with endless to-do lists! I have long days too, and I try to fit a morning workout as often as I can. But often times I also enjoy yoga before bed to help with relaxation, calming the mind, focusing the soul on getting ready for restful sleep.

Bedtime Yoga could be entirely different compared to your typical yoga class, as there are a soft bed and a less organized yoga routine, but it’s still amazingly satisfying and relaxing.

Bedtime Yoga: 8 Simple Moves to Improve Quality of Your Sleep

Havingtimers, please find below simple yoga moves for a peaceful sleep at night *

1. Pashcimottanasana – Seated forward bend – Great for stretching out hamstrings, calves, and back muscles, focus on slow deep breathing as you lower your chest closer to your legs not just bending your forehead to your knees.

2. Matsyasana – Fish pose – Hands under bum and gently bend back, arching your chest outwards and looking behind you with your gaze – great for opening the chest area and relieving back tension.

3. Kapotasana – Pigeon pose – Bend one leg under yourself with the other stretched out behind as straight as you can in line with your hip, sit up straight and breathe deep, reach up with your hands for a gentle backbend, then slowly reach forward and down over your front knee – a great hip opener, abs stretch and back releaser.

4. Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward dog – Hands under shoulders, fingers spread wide, spine and head inline, legs straight, stomach sucked in and breath deep into the pose with the hips to the ceiling and forming an inverted “V” shape – great for stretching out the shoulders, spine, and legs and also get blood flowing and helps with digestion.

5. Padmasana – Half lotus twist – With your legs crossed in a comfortable position, sit up straight and gently twist to the side, looking over your shoulder and breath – this is a great side stretch as well as toning the spine and improves digestion.

6. Krounchasan – Heron pose – Sitting comfortably with one leg out, reach the other leg up to your forehead, holding the calf or the toes, you can sit up tall or lay down slightly, whichever is more comfortable for you – this is a great move for a hamstring stretch and relieving tension, breath slowly and rest into the pose as you deepen the stretch.

7. Parsva Balasana – Thread the needle – Sit back gently on your knees and stretch your arms out in front of you, thread on arm under the other and look in the direction of the underneath arm, let your body rest down on your arm to deepen the stretch – A great stretch for the shoulders, neck, and biceps and focus the mind.

8. Viparita Karani – Legs on wall pose – Lie comfortably with you bum close against the wall and feet up in the air, stretch your arms out above you and relax, it is good for relieving tension in the legs and fully relaxing, I enjoy doing this last.

When it comes to lowering stress levels, calming the mind, and relieving tension in the body, the soothing practice of yoga can be an effective natural sleep remedy. Certain resting and inversion yoga poses can be amazingly helpful for combatting restlessness and insomnia, especially when practiced in the evening or in bed before hitting the hay.