Yoga before bed for sound sleep

Yoga has become part of life. If you have the problem of insomnia you can follow some important steps of yoga before bed. These simple exercises doing regular before bedtime give you better sleep at night. But avoid intense exercise before going to bed.

Three-part breath is very useful exercise for clearing the mind of the day’s clutter. Do this regularly before going to sleep. Before going to bed, you can do a few gentle stretches to relieve tension and help you relax. Goddess pose, which opens the groins, is another option. You can do both these poses while lying in bed.

Corpse pose (Savasana) is also best pose as you do in last of yoga class. Before lying in bed, focus on each part of your body and soften it before moving on. You should begin with the toes, move up the legs and arms, through the torso to the neck, face and head. Take deep breathing for some minutes

Due to the day time work long time in desk work, while driving car feet in car cause you stiffness and tension. To go to bed that way can make for a very frustrating, restless night of sleep.  Remember that we only want to do deep stretches when the body is warm. This could be after a 20-30 minute yoga practice, after a workout or brisk walk.  When the muscles are warm, they are better able to lengthen and stretch, without injury.

Gentle Warm-Up:

• Sunflowers: Allow your legs to be wider than hip width apart, with the  feet slightly turned out.  Inhale and lift the arms overhead, and as you exhale bend the knees and hinge at the hips, bending the upper body towards the floor.  Repeat 6-8 times.  Come back to Mountain Pose, standing tall and noticing the warmth in the body.

Stretches:

• Cat/Cow: Come down to all 4′s – with open hands on the floor under your shoulders and knees under the hips, following the movement with your gaze (Cow). As you exhale, reverse the motion, draw the belly up toward the spine and the chin toward the chest, rounding the back (Cat).  Continue slowly, moving with your breath 6-8 times.
• Butterfly: Draw the soles of your feet together and sit nice and tall, grounded in your sit bones.  Allow the shoulders to relax, tune into your breath and softly close your eyes.  Continue for 6-8 breaths. Let your breath return to its natural rhythm and softly open your eyes.
• Pelvic Tilt: Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor, knees bent and arms by your side. Continue for 6-8 breaths.
• Recline Pigeon: Lift your right foot from the floor and cross the ankle over the left knee, making sure that the right foot is flexed.  Hold for 6-8 breaths and then switch sides.
• Recline Twist: Allow your arms to rest on the floor in a T, shoulder height. Relax and tune into your breath.  After 8 breaths, switch sides.