5 Yoga Moves To Help You Get To Sleep
If you’re having trouble getting to sleep at night, the simplest way to de-stress could be pulling out the yoga mat. (Photo: Yolanda Cano/Demand Studios)
After a long, stressful day at the office, it can be challenging to relax in the evening. Some people turn to an alcoholic drink or two to unwind, but that can actually make it harder to get restful sleep. A vigorous workout can help ease stress, but if done too close to bedtime you may actually have some trouble falling asleep. Although some styles of yoga (such as vinyasa yoga with sun salutations) can be considered vigorous and should be avoided before bedtime, practicing a few gentle, relaxation-inducing postures, along with deep breathing, can help ready you for a good night’s sleep. Keep a yoga mat rolled up by your bedside, and spend about 20 minutes before bed performing these poses.
1. Plow Pose
Certified yoga instructor, Temani Aldine, recommends a variation on plow pose that focuses on deep abdominal breathing. To get into this somewhat more advanced posture, lie on your back and bring your legs up and over your torso so that you can grab your feet or calves. You don’t have to go all the way into the full plow posture, but Aldine says it’s important to keep your shoulders firmly on the floor while lifting your tailbone. “The focus of your weight should be in the center of your back, just below the shoulders, which is also an important pressure point,” says Aldine. “If you open that pressure point, it creates deeper breathing and relaxation.”
Related: 12 Powerful Yoga Poses for Every Athlete
(Photo: Yolanda Cano/Demand Studios)
2. Hero Pose
Although its name sounds energizing, spending several minutes in hero pose before bed can help you relax. The pose is simple: Sit Japanese-style, with your knees bent and your legs folded underneath you. The tops of your feet should be flat on the floor and your spine should be straight with your shoulders and head aligned over your hips. If this is too much pressure on your knees, place a block or pillow between your feet and rest your buttocks on it. “Hero pose is great for calming down,” says certified yoga instructor, Temani Aldine. It helps make you physically and emotionally stable. Aldine also says that sitting in the position stimulates pressure points on the tops of your feet that promote total-body relaxation.
(Photo: Yolanda Cano/Demand Studios)
3. Cat-Cow Pose
This pose emphasizes relaxing and extending the spine, says certified yoga instructor, Temani Aldine. To do the pose, get onto your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. “Breathing is essential in this, ” says Aldine. As you inhale, gently drop your belly toward the floor as you lift your head and tailbone up toward the ceiling. Reverse the movement, exhaling deeply as you round your spine, tucking your chin in toward your chest. “In today’s lifestyle, people hold a lot of tension in their backs,” Aldine notes. “Any posture that can help you move your back and stretch your back is going to help you get deeper rest.”
(Photo: Yolanda Cano/Demand Studios)
4. Child’s Pose
“We need to teach this to everyone,” Dr. Laurence Lisa Lebreton says about child’s pose, which she recommends sitting in for several minutes before bedtime. To get into the pose, sit Japanese-style and then bring your knees apart very wide, keeping your big toes touching. Lower your torso down and rest your forehead on the floor. “Because we press our head down, it really soothes the nervous system,” says Lebreton. Keep your core engaged and extend your arms out in front of you or along your sides. Lebreton also emphasizes that your buttocks should be touching your heels in this pose if possible. If that’s not possible, take a pillow or bolster and place it behind the backs of your knees to elevate your sit bones.
Related: 5 Foam Rolling Exercises to Soothe Sore Muscles
5. Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose
In inverted poses, such as the legs-up-the-wall pose, the blood rushes back toward your heart and head, which Dr. Laurence Lisa Lebreton, describes as “clearing up your head” and says is very effective at relieving stress. To get into the pose, sit on the floor perpendicular to a wall. Swing your legs up so that your buttocks are square with the wall and as close to it as possible while resting your entire back on the floor. Extend your legs up the wall. You can put a pillow or bolster underneath your hips to make this pose a little easier and more supported. Extend your arms alongside your body with your palms facing up. Lebreton recommends staying here for as long as you can but says that five minutes is ideal.
The original article “10 Yoga Moves Remove Stress and Relax You at Bedtime" appeared on LIVESTRONG.COM.
By Jamie Logan
Read more from LIVESTRONG.COM:
12 Foods That Help You Fall (and Stay) Asleep
