Danijela Tomic

4 Yoga Stretches That Help You Sleep Better I might be a bit biased, but I firmly believe that doing yoga can help you improve every aspect of your life, be it physical, mental or spiritual. The thing is that there are still so many people who prefer not to delve into their inner yogi because they’re “not spiritual enough” or they “aren’t bendy or flexible”. Let me tell you right away that yoga is for everyone and there isn’t any entrance exam, all you need to do is breathe deep and get into different yoga positions that feel right to you. There are many ways to practice it and even plenty of yoga styles to try out until you find what feels good. In this article, our focus will be on yoga positions that will help you sleep better, as they relax your body and your mind. If you’ve got a racing mind or an ache in your body that doesn’t allow you to get a good night’s rest, then these stretches will make all the difference to you. 1. Reclined Goddess Pose Let’s start off by saying that you can do these stretches on your mat in your pajamas or even better, you can do them in your bed, as you get ready to go to sleep. Reclined Goddess pose is also called reclining bound angle pose, and it’s a wonderful and tension relieving stretch for everyone, particularly for women and their hips. As you come to lie flat on your back, bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet together, after which you can slowly let your knees fall open, so that you make a diamond shape with your legs. Make sure to tuck your shoulder blades beneath your heart space, place your hands on your torso, wherever you feel comfortable and breathe. This is a restorative hip opener and it should feel great for your pelvis and your legs, especially if you’ve been running around the whole day. Stay in the pose as long as it feels good, then gently release by straightening the legs on an exhale. 2. Child’s Pose This is a great pose for when you’ve had a really long day and your body, as well as your mind, is still very much in a twist. Child’s pose is definitely one of the best poses when it comes to letting go of the burdens and worries, it’s a pose that nurtures our need to come back into ourselves no matter what happens. If you wake up in the middle of the night because you’ve had a bad dream or your partner is relentlessly snoring by your side, get into the child’s pose and stay there for several breaths, it will calm you down and help you feel safe. To get into this pose, sit on your heels and slowly lean your torso forward until your forehead touches the mat or the bed. Bring your chest to your knees (or come as close as you can without straining) and then extend your arms in front of you, so that you can use them for support. Stay active throughout the body, from your toes to fingers, breathe as deeply as the pose allows you to and you can even massage the third eye point on your forehead, by rocking your head gently left and right. Child’s pose is excellent for the spine, as well as for relaxing your whole body. 3. Happy Baby Since kids obviously know the best ways to relax here’s another pose that will help you sleep like a baby. This is the pose of surrender and playfulness because you’ll want to giggle and you’ll feel completely exposed at the same time. It will do wonders if you’re facing some lower back pain, and it’s also good for any belly fussiness and stomachache. Happy baby, as its name states, is a gentle stretch that somehow makes you happier. All you need to do is lie flat on your back, and then gently kick both knees towards your chest. After that, you can grab either your big toes or outer edges of your feet with your hands and slowly pull your heels towards the sky. When you get comfortable, check to see if your tailbone is flushed with the mat and make sure your knees are pointing toward your armpits. For more fun and a nice massage of the lower back, rock gently side to side, the movement itself will make you smile. The happy baby pose is amazing for the hips and inner thighs, not to mention that you’re also stretching your lower back, which surely needs it if you’ve been sitting in your office the entire day. 4. Rock-a-bye Roll This might not sound very yoga-like, but it is, especially because this movement allows you to virtually rock yourself to sleep. It’s a very simple and very effective pose, especially if you get easily bored with poses that require stillness. To do the roll, you should lie on your back and hug the knees into your chest, just not too tightly, so that you can breathe freely. Be sure to cross your ankles, after which you should hug your shins with both arms and clasp your hands for more stability. As you take a deep breath in, rock your body forward into the sitting position, and as you breathe out, slowly roll back to your, well, back. Keep rolling as long as it feels good, and after you feel like you’ve had enough, simply release everything, come into the corpse pose, where you simply lie flat on your back with your arms beside you and your legs relaxed. After that, continue breathing slowly and let go of all thoughts so that you can seamlessly drift off into sleep.