Getting a good night’s sleep can transform your day. It improves your cognitive function, lifts your spirits and upgrades your performance in the gym.
However, knowing all this doesn’t help you fall asleep faster. That’s where yoga can help.
The gentle practice combines breathwork and movement, encouraging you to focus on the present moment and forget the anxieties of the day.
I spoke to YogaSix master trainer Nicole Wood, who has been teaching yoga for eight years, and asked for a gentle pre-bed routine. Here’s what she recommended.
Yoga for sleep routine
Wood recommends doing the following poses as a flow, which means you move seamlessly from one pose to another without rest.
- Pigeon pose
- Reclined butterfly
- Supine twist
- Legs up the wall
- Banana pose
Pigeon pose
- Start in downward-facing dog, with your hands and feet on the floor and hips elevated towards the ceiling. (If it’s more comfortable, you can start on your hands and knees instead, with your torso parallel to the floor.)
- Inhale and extend your right leg behind you.
- Exhale and bend your right leg, bringing your right knee under your body and down to the floor, just behind your right wrist.
- Adjust your shin so that it’s parallel to the shorter side of your yoga mat. You can tweak the angle of your knee to find a comfortable position. Keep your back leg extended behind you.
- Bring your elbows down to the mat. If it’s comfortable, you can fold your torso forward over your right shin.
- Hold for a few breaths, then repeat on the other side.
Reclined butterfly
- Lie on your back.
- Inhale, bend your knees and bring your feet toward your groin and the soles of your feet together.
- Exhale and allow your knees to fall to the sides and relax.
- Place one hand on your heart, and one hand on your belly, and take a few breaths here.
Supine twist
- Lie on your back.
- Inhale, hug your right knee into your chest, keeping your left leg extended on the floor.
- Exhale and guide your right knee across your body with your left hand, so that your knee falls to the left side.
- Hold for a few breaths, then repeat on the other side.
Legs up the wall
- Lie on your back, with your butt positioned close to a wall.
- Inhale, bend your knees towards your chest.
- Exhale, extend your legs up the wall, keeping a soft bend in your knees.
- If you prefer, you can do this pose without the wall, allowing your legs to float freely.
Banana pose
- Lie on your back
- Inhale as you extend your arms and legs for a full-body stretch.
- Exhale as you walk your legs and arms to the right, to create a curve with your body. Keep your butt and hips connected to the floor.
- Repeat on the other side.
My experience trying this yoga for sleep routine
I’m a parent of two small children, so sleep can be elusive sometimes! My youngest has had a run of tricky nights lately, and I’ve found it increasingly difficult to relax into sleep.
Instead of my usual go-to method of reading, I tried this yoga flow before bed for a few nights.
I found that it forced me to slow down and gave my nervous system a chance to calm and recalibrate before bed, which made it much easier to fall asleep.
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