5 Relaxing Yoga Exercises for a Good Night Sleep

Sleep is the golden chain that binds health and our bodies together – Thomas Dekker

Sleep is the best meditation – Dalai Lama

Do you often lie awake in bed at night, unable to calm down your mind and stop it from thinking and worrying? It might help to know that you are not alone in suffering from a sleeping disorder. It is believed that nearly a quarter of the adult population deals with sleeping problems and about 6-10% suffer from insomnia. Sleeping disorders can manifest themselves in different forms such as difficulty to fall or stay asleep, lack of restorative sleep, inadequate quality of sleep, and so on. Daytime symptoms such as fatigue, lack of concentration and mood swings are a very common result of sleeping disorders. The National Institutes of Health have stated that 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders and intermittent sleep problems.

Not being able to sleep properly can be very frustrating but it can also affect your mental and physical health. Untreated sleep disorders have been related to hypertension, heart diseases, depression, diabetes and other chronic diseases. The Institute of Medicine has estimated that Americans spend yearly hundreds of billions of dollars on medical costs due to sleep disorders. This includes doctor visits, hospital services, sleeping medication, etc.

How yoga can help you unwind

A very common cause of sleeping disorders is stress. Stress prevents the body and the mind from relaxing and keeps thousands of people awake at night. And this is where yoga can make the difference. A gentle, restorative yoga practice can help to calm down the mind and to release physical tension. This type of yoga practice activates the parasympathetic nervous system or the bodies “rest-and-digest” system, which helps to counteract physical and mental stress.

Below you can find five yoga poses to help relieve tension in the body and the mind. Ideally they are practiced one hour to 30 minutes before going to sleep, or you can even do them in bed. They are easy poses to be held three to five minutes for maximum effect.

1. Savasana – Corpse Pose

Savasana or Corpse Pose is a very beneficial pose to calm down the mind and to relieve stress. It is commonly the starting and ending pose of any yoga practice.

• Lie down on your back
• Feet are mat width apart, toes dropping out
• Arms are relaxed by your side, palms facing up
• Shoulders are away from the ears, relaxing on the mat
• Back of the neck is long, chin slightly tucked in

People with lower back pain might like to place a cushion under their knees to relieve tension in the lower back. If you feel tension in the neck you can also place a blanket or a low cushion under the head to keep the back of the neck long. As you lie in this pose, bring your focus to your breath, observing each inhalation and exhalation. Feel the expansion of your belly as you inhale and observe your belly relax as you exhale.

2. Anuloma Viloma – Alternate Nostril Breathing

Anulom Vilom or Alternate Nostril Breathing is an excellent breathing exercise to balance the right and left side of the brain and to calm down your thoughts.

• Sit in a comfortable position
• Place your left hand in Chin Mudra (tip of the thumb and index finger touching)
• Place  your right hand in Vishnu Mudra (bending the index and middle finger)
• Place your right thumb on your right nostril and breathe in through your left nostril for four counts
• Close both nostrils using your right thumb and your right ring finger and little finger and hold your breath for eight counts
• Release your thumb and breathe out through your right nostril for eight counts
• Breathe in again through your right nostril for four counts
• Close both nostrils using your right thumb and your right ring finger and little finger and hold your breath for eight counts
• Breathe out through your left nostril for eight counts

This is one round. Continue this breathing exercise for five minutes. Once you feel comfortable with this ratio, you can hold your breath for 16 counts. While practicing Anulom Vilom, keep your focus on your breath, following each movement of your breath. This breathing exercise activates the parasympathetic nervous system, slows down the breath and the heart beat. Because you breathe in and out separately through each nostril for the same count, both hemispheres receive an equal amount of oxygen. The hemispheres are balanced and the mind is calmed down.

3. Shashankasana – Child’s Pose

The following pose in this sequence for a good night sleep is Child’s Pose or Shashankasana (also called Balasana).

• Sit on your knees in Diamond Pose, back straight
• Keep your hips on your knees and bend forward until your forehead touches the floor
• Arms are relaxed by your side, palms of the hands facing up

When you are in this pose the hips should be resting on your heels and the head should be resting on the floor. If this is difficult you can make two fists and place your forehead on your fists or place your forehead on a cushion. If required you can also open the knees apart or place a cushion in between your hips and heels. Make sure you feel comfortable. With each exhalation let go of any tension in your body.

4. Supta Baddhakonasana – Lying Butterfly Pose

Baddhakon asana is a very good yoga pose to increase hip flexibility. It is said that emotions such as tension, stress, anger, etc. are stored in the pelvis. By working on hip flexibility, the tensions in the hip joint and as a consequence also emotional tensions are relieved.

• Place the souls of your feet together and let your knees drop out
• Gently lean back and lie down on your back, keeping the souls of your feet together
• Arms are relaxed by your side, palms facing up

If you can’t lie down completely on your back, you can use a bolster and lie on the bolster. Make sure your head and back are properly supported. If you feel tension in your knees you can place a cushion under your thighs to reduce the tension in the knees. Once you are comfortably in the pose, bring your focus to your pelvis. Use each exhalation to release the tension in your hip joints, and try to relax completely.

5. Legs-up-the-wall pose

The legs-up-the-wall pose is a very gentle inversion which improves blood circulation in your lower limbs. It is a very relaxing pose after a long day of standing on your feet.

• Lie down on your back, hips touching the wall
• Place your legs straight against the wall so your legs and upper body form a 90 degree angle
• You can keep your legs together or open your legs wide for an extra stretch of the inner thighs
• You can place your hands on your belly or relax your arms by your side, palms facing up

Tips and tricks for optimal sleep

Sleeping disorders can also be caused by improper sleeping habits or routines before sleeping. The activities you do prior to going to bed as well as the environment have a very big effect on your sleeping pattern. Therefore it is advisable to develop a regular, relaxing bedtime routine. This informs your body that it is almost bed time and gives it the chance to prepare. Here are some do’s and don’ts which might help you for a good night sleep:

• Avoid watching TV or using the computer right before going to bed
• Avoid coffee, chocolate or any other stimulating substance in the evening
• Keep negative emotions such as worry and stress outside the bedroom
• Avoid taking naps during the day
• Avoid heavy workouts close to your bedtime
• Take out 7-9 hours of sleeping time
• Make your bedroom a cool, dark and quiet space
• Use your bedroom for sleeping and relaxing only
• Keep a notebook nearby to write down ideas and reminders for the next day

Developing a bedtime routine is very important to help you deal with insomnia for many reasons. It helps to calm the mind before bed, and it helps to condition your body and your mind in realizing that it is almost time to go to sleep. The yoga sequence in this article is a very gentle sequence suited for people of all ages and of all practice levels. You can play some relaxing background music and if you like you can also use some essential oils such as lavender to stimulate a relaxing and calming atmosphere. While practicing these yoga poses, avoid getting distracted with thoughts by bringing your focus to your breath, using each exhalation to release any tension.

Enjoy the relaxing yoga poses and… Sweet dreams!

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Yogi Ram, a renowned Yoga and philosophy teacher from India. He is the founding director of the Arhanta Yoga Ashrams in India and The Netherlands. Born and raised in a spiritual family in India, he has studied yoga and yoga philosophy since the age of eight. He has trained more than 1,000 yoga teachers and taught thousands of yoga students from all over the world. Yogi Ram is known for his creative and disciplined teaching style and unique asana correction and modification techniques. He believes in individual attention and personal supervision. According to him “The role of a teacher is to help his students to meet their goal.” His teachings come from his personal experience and his way of explaining complex Vedic philosophies in a modern and simplified way have made him one of the leading yoga and philosophy teachers of today. He currently teaches professional yoga teacher training courses for 9 months a year, the rest of the time he spends with his family in his countryside home in the Netherlands. Follow him on Facebook and Instagram.