It is bedtime, and you cannot fall asleep? Try these 5 yoga poses to help you sleep. You have an early morning meeting, you have to prepare for it, and it seems difficult to keep up with your social life and your working schedule? Don’t panic. It happens to the best of us. If you do yoga before going to sleep at night, also it might help you on weight loss. And, it can help you on your eating habits.
Hit the bed! Try these 5 yoga poses to sleep and rest better. Yoga can be your best friend in these situations. Either you choose yin yoga, restorative yoga, or gentle hatha yoga, here you have 5 poses to help you sleep in no time. Bonus: Yoga is good for relaxation, stress relief, and mindfulness. These are easy yoga poses to help you sleep. You can do them either if your apartment is big or small (Yes, we are talking New York small!). Rule: Listen to your body, your body is your temple and it is your real boss.
Before starting these yoga poses to help you sleep, remember the second most important thing in yoga is breathing. First is to listen to your body. If you are a yogi, a natural or just a beginner, close your eyes, start breathing and start these yoga poses to sleep. You will feel better and fall asleep in no time.
Child’s Pose (Balasana) – 1 minute
- How we do it: You just have to sit back on your heels, then stretch your arms out in front of you. Lower your forehead to the floor and relax. Keep breathing. Stay here as long as you need.
- Why we do it: This yoga pose helps you to release any tension in the chest, relaxes the back and the spine, alleviates the stress and anxiety. Child’s pose is one of the best options for stress management. It is one of the best yoga poses to sleep.
Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) – 1 minute
- How we do it: You just have to stand tall with your legs together. Nice and tall. Now, inhale and exhale, one more time. Raise your arms above your head next to your ears. Nice and easy. You just have to inhale and exhale. Now bend forward from your hips, leading with your heart center. Make a straight line with your arms and upper body.
- Why we do it: This yoga pose helps you to relax. It is going to improve your posture. It will stretch your calves, hamstrings, hips and back. You will start feeling better. It alleviates back pain. Also, it reduces stress, anxiety and fatigue.
Shoulder supporting bridge (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) – 1 minute
- How we do it: First you just have to lie on the back. Then bend your knees and bring your heels closer to the buttocks. Your feet, your knees and your ankles should be on a straight line. Inhale and exhale. Slowly lift the buttocks and hips up. Nice and easy, now you just lift your back. Inhale and exhale. Now you just arch your back upward as you raise the lower, middle and upper back off the floor.
Lift the chest as high as possible towards the chin.
- Why we do it: It helps to regulate the flow of blood to the heart, the glands in the neck and the head. It is a chest opener. It is good to enable better respiration. Furthermore, it strengthens the shoulders and lower back muscles, and tones the thighs, calves, hips and the leg muscles.
Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana) – 1 minute each side
- How we do it: This yoga pose is a big opener. Choose one foot, left or right. Let’s start with the left foot. You just have to bring your left foot forward between your hands. Then you lower your right knee to the floor. Now place your elbows on the floor. If it is too easy, you can try to do it with your forearms. Now take a big breath. Repeat on the opposite side. As you can see on the picture below, there can be many variations.
- Why we do it: This is one of the most challenging yoga poses to sleep because there is a lot of going on. This yoga pose is very good for stretching and opening the hips. As well, it is going to increase mobility and flexibility. Furthermore, it is going to stretch and strengthen glutes, hamstrings, and the spine. It will be releasing tension in the back. Also, it helps reduce the negative effects of prolonged sitting or inactivity. It is very good for lower back pain.
Locust Pose (Salabhasana) – 1 minute
- How we do it: Lie on your stomach. Arms should be by your side. Your forehead is on the mat.
Press your pubic bone into the floor. Inhale. Now you must pull your navel in towards the spine as you exhale. Lift your head, your chest and your arms. Your legs are off the floor, firming your shoulder blades onto your back, and so broadening your chest. Come up higher. A little bit higher. Your feet do not have to be touching. Inhale and exhale. Take a big breath. Nice and easy. You feel calm now.
- Why we do it: This yoga pose is good for your back, glutes and leg muscles. It is going to stretch the front of the body. Do not do it if you are pregnant.