Hi,
This is Rachel and I wanted to share with you some ideas for yoga asana,
Yoga poses to help and aid having a really good night's sleep.
So we know that by preparing your body for sleep,
You can start to give your mind and your physical body cues to prepare for relaxation,
For deep restoration and for setting yourself into that mode of being able to rejuvenate your body into the nighttime and get everything you need from a good night's sleep.
I really believe that by adding in yoga asanas to this part of your daytime routine,
It allows you to firstly find time to do some physical postures to connect to your body,
Connect to your breath.
And it also enables you to do something relaxing and beneficial to your health just before bedtime.
All of us have bedtime habits and bedtime routines.
And so by tweaking it slightly and finding that little bit of a tiny extra moment to add in a few yoga poses,
It can be so beneficial.
We know that by doing yoga poses,
We will get a deeper sleep.
We know that the quality of sleep will be better.
We're less likely to wake,
Less likely to suffer from insomnia.
So grab your mat or maybe just do these in your pajamas on your bed,
Turn down the lights,
Prepare the room,
Find that moment for yourself and just take a few moments to go through the following six poses.
The first pose is child's pose.
Kneeling on your mat with your knees apart and your toes touching.
You can gently bend forward from your hips to allow your forehead to touch the mat and your belly to rest on your thighs.
If this is comfortable for you,
You can rest your arms alongside the side of your body or you can allow your arms to come forward and reach out ahead of your head to increase the stretch in your lower back to create space between your vertebrae.
And this pose is so rejuvenating.
Just taking several deep breaths in this pose,
Really allowing everything in your back to settle and taking that time to center yourself into the moment.
The second pose,
Yoga asana,
Which I really love doing at all times of day,
But particularly at nighttime is a butterfly pose.
Start with yourself sitting cross-legged and then bring both of your heels together so that you allow your knees to come out to the side.
You can put some cushions under each knee for extra comfort if you find that your knees don't quite come down to the ground or to the mattress and place gently your hands around your ankles or your feet.
Elongate your spine,
Taking some deep breaths and then you can,
If comfortable and available to you,
You can bend forward and allow your spine to curve,
The natural curvature in your spine.
And then very last,
You can allow your head to come forward.
With all these poses,
It's so important that you just go into the position that feels comfortable for you.
Remember,
You're preparing your body to rest.
So minimal effort,
Maximum comfort.
The third pose I'd love to share with you is the legs up the wall pose.
So for this,
You really do need a wall,
But you may be able to do this against your bedhead depending on what it's like.
And what you want to do is to shuffle your mat towards the wall.
And the easiest way to come into this pose is actually,
I find,
To lie sideways so that your bottom is touching the wall and then bring up your knees so that your knees are hugged into your chest.
You can then in this position slowly turn yourself to face the wall.
And when your bottom is facing the wall and you are lying on your back so that your back is perpendicular to the wall,
You can then extend your legs.
In this position,
You want to think about your body being in a right angle with the back of your body and your back and head resting on the floor and the back of your legs and your hamstrings resting on the wall.
You may find if you have tight hamstrings,
Which many of us do from sitting for long periods of time during the day,
That your legs are not flat on the wall and that's not a problem.
Allow a gentle bend in the knee.
Keep your feet rested on the wall.
And in this position,
We can find that we're getting a very gentle inversion.
So it really allows the body to start to relax and you're getting some of that return,
Return of the blood coming back down into your upper body.
Again take some time in this position.
Try not to rush.
Find that really comfortable,
Really slow breath and take your time just to be where you are.
When you come out of this pose,
The easiest way is to repeat what you did when you came in.
So bring your knees back down to your chest and then turn onto one side.
And from this position,
You can then bring yourself back upright.
Once you're lying flat on your mat or on your bed,
You can then think about doing a supine twist.
So lying flat on your back,
Bend your right knee,
Bring it into your chest and then with your left hand,
Take your right knee across,
Across your body so that it's moving towards the left hand side hip.
You may find that your knee comes down towards the mattress or the mat,
But if it doesn't,
That's not a problem.
And again,
Maximize the cushions that you've got around you,
Maybe a pillow and you can place that underneath your left knee so that it gives you some comfort.
Once you're in the position,
Take your right arm out to the side so that you get a slightly deeper stretch and you should feel this on the rotation of your lower spine.
So around the right hip and the lower back and again,
Breathe,
Make sure that you are expanding your lungs,
Even in the supine position.
And hopefully by this point,
You are starting to relax even more and your body is starting to get all those signs and cues that you're really getting ready for sleeping.
When you're ready to come out of the pose,
Gently lift your right leg up using both hands and then allow it to stretch out so that you're lying flat on your back with your legs out in front of you and bring your arms back down to your side.
It's always good just to take a few moments in this position to just feel the effect of the pose before you switch and then take your left knee up.
So bringing your left knee up into your chest,
Using your right hand this time to take the left knee across the body towards the right hip and again,
Using any cushions or supports or pillows or a sleeping gown,
Anything that you need just to make it a little bit more comfortable.
And if you want to,
You can reach your hand,
Your left arm this time out to the side and gently turn your head as well.
But with all these,
Remember that you're preparing for rest.
This is not meant to be an active practice.
This is meant to be a restorative,
Restful practice.
And with each posture that you're doing,
You should be feeling more and more sleepy.
Again,
Help your left leg back to the center with both hands and stretch your legs out so that you're on your back with your legs straight and your arms by your side.
From this position,
You can try the next pose,
Which is a happy baby pose.
So lying on your back,
Keeping your head low and resting it on the mat comfortably,
Lift your feet up and you want to take hold of the outer edges of the foot.
Or if that's not available to you,
You can hold the back of your calf,
Left hand on your left calf,
Right hand in your right calf,
And just allow that gravity to relax your knees towards your shoulders.
You will feel that this is opening the hips,
So it may feel uncomfortable,
But just again,
Just go where is accessible for you today.
Keep that breath going and even when your knees are down towards your shoulders,
Allow your chest to expand.
Hold here for several breaths and then release.
And by the time you've worked through these postures,
You'll realize that you're now lying flat on your back,
Whether this is on your mat or in your bed.
If you are on your mat,
You might want to climb into your bed just to now get into the resting pose,
Shavasana.
And Shavasana is the pose that we often do at the end of a yoga class.
And all the asanas that we're doing before this time are really preparing us for this one posture.
And take time for this final pose.
Lie flat on your back,
Allow your legs and your arms to fall out to the side.
You can have a pillow under your knees to take off some of the pressure from your lower back.
Keep the pillow under your head.
Close your eyes and connect to your breath.
This can be a perfect time to now listen to some guided meditation,
Do some focus on your breath to reduce down the rate of your breathing,
To reduce your concentration and your focus.
And I hope that by going through some of these postures,
You've allowed your body a few minutes to unwind from the day and to start preparing for a night's sleep.
By repeating these postures day in and day out,
You'll find that you get into them into a more comfortable position.
It becomes more routine and just part of your daily schedule.
Preparing yourself for a really good night's sleep.
Let me know how you get on with these exercises and these postures.
Take care of yourself.
Be gentle to yourself.
Keep breathing into them and feeling your body.
And I wish you all a good night's sleep.
