Bedtime Yin: A Deeply Relaxing Practice For Better Sleep

Join Ali for this deeply relaxing yin yoga practice designed to ease you gently into sleep, whether you're settling in on your yoga mat or already tucked into bed. Long, supported holds melt away the tension your body has accumulated throughout the day, quiet the chatter of a busy mind, and create the kind of deep, full-body relaxation that makes sleep feel effortless and inevitable. Grab a pillow or cushion if you have one nearby. Suitable for all levels. Just breathe, soften, and let Ali guide you into rest. Please note: because this practice is designed to help you fall asleep, please do not listen while driving or operating heavy machinery.

Transcript

Hey friends, I'm Allie and today we're moving through a deeply relaxing yin yoga practice. This is a beginner yoga for better sleep. It'll be great for all levels if you just want to relax and unwind at the end of your day. I am in the jungle of Tulum right now and I can't think of a more relaxing place to offer this practice with you. So go ahead and grab a pillow or a cushion or a yoga block to support you in this practice. Find somewhere comfortable to practice. You could even do this one right in bed before you go to sleep at night or anywhere that's comfortable and I'll meet you there. Alright, We'll start out in a wide knee child's pose position. Bring your knees wide to the edges of your mat. Big toes together, Let your hips melt down toward your heels. And you can gently crawl your hands forward. Grab that pillow or cushion of yours and maybe bringing it lengthwise underneath you and just allowing one cheek to land down on your pillow with your hands underneath. So as we come into our first forward fold, We're bringing some opening into the hips. And grounding into the body. As you land here, Once you get a still position, You can just start to focus in on your breath. You don't need to force the breath. Just notice the natural rhythm today. If you're at the end of a pretty chaotic, Hectic day, Then you might notice that your breath is a little shorter or sharper. That's okay. If your mind is really busy, Really full, Then it might be hard to focus in on the breath. And just go easy on yourself and find those moments where you can bring yourself right back to the breath. Which will help you stay present and in your body throughout the practice. If you do have one cheek down, Go ahead and switch sides when you're ready. So we got a little twist, A little stretch into the neck. And you'll just be hanging out on the other side for about 10 cycles of breath. And then bring your chin back to center and slide your pillow or cushion off to the side for a moment. We'll come back into the child's pose and take a sweet little side stretch. So you'll bring your forehead straight down and start to crawl your hands up and over to the right edge of your mat. Try to support your forehead all the way down on your mat if you can or slide that pillow back underneath it. So we're stretching through the left side of the body. If the lung is tight, This should help bring a little bit extra space. For a deeper breath through the rest of the session. Bring that over to the other side, Hands crawl up and over to your left. Softening the forehead down, Let your shoulders relax. If you can. And feel the stretch from the right underarm all the way down to the right hip. Bring it right back through center. So gently press into your palms. Let's rise back up to hands and knees. Draw your knees in a little bit closer. Take a little stretch out here. One leg back at a time to start to feel that rebound or that physical echo in the hips. After all of that compression. And we'll turn around to lay right down onto your back. As you do that, Your cushion can slide off to the side. We'll come back to that in a sec. And then laying on your back, You can first keep the soles of the feet on the mat, Knees bent. Moving into a spinal twist here. So T your arms out wide, Shift your hips over to the right, Let your knees fall to the left. When I'm doing a relaxing spinal twist, I like to place a pillow between my legs so you could try that out or slide your prop underneath your top leg and extend your bottom leg out along your mat. Your left hand drapes over your outer right leg. Sink your shoulder blades down. And you can shift your eyes over to the right or close them or soften them, Whatever works for you here that feels relaxing and gentle. Once again, Just simply coming back to your breath. Little bit more time in this shape, See if the back of the shoulders can drop even heavier down. Right here, Let's take one more deep breath in through your nose. Open your mouth, Let it go. And we'll shift the legs right back through center. Couple of breaths here in the middle. You can just keep the pillow between the legs. Let's bring it over to the other side. Ips to your left. Knees fall to your right. Readjust however you need to remember this practice is not a one-size-fits-all. So it's totally up to you however you want to make these shapes work in your body. In the moment. Really part of the practice is you explore what works in your body today or tonight. Without comparing or judging. Just arriving. You can gently shift your eyes. To look away from your knees. Each time the mind gets busy, If you're feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Or that you just have a lot on your mind. That's okay. Just notice it. Gently bring that awareness right back to your breath. You're right here, Take one more deep breath in. Open your mouth, Let it go. Right back through center again. And we'll bring the soles of the feet together coming into butterfly pose. Your knees fall open to the sides. So if you like you could even place that pillow as kind of a weight on the hips. Or even on the belly, That might help you feel a little more grounded, A little more supported here. If it's a smaller pillow or cushion, You might place it underneath your head as well. So a few options here. Placing your hand close to your body, Both hands close to the body. To help you feel a little more grounded and in your body. Feel the heaviness in the back of the head. In your shoulder blade. A sinking down of the back of your hips. Some weight in the ankles and the outer knees. If this one is a lot for your outer hips as well, You could slide props underneath your outer knees to support you. Let's just start to feel the breath here. See if you can lengthen it here. So start just with a breath in. A gentle, Natural breath out. Now try breathing in for a count of five. 4. Three, To one, All, Breathe out for six. Five. For One bolt. Again, Breathe in for five. Fold, Breathe out for six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Four, One. Hold one more time, Breathe in for five. To 1. Hold. Let it go for a sec. 5 four, 3. Two, One, Just landing back in your natural breath. Okay, Slide your cushion off to the side, Reach towards your outer knees, So gently guiding them back together like you're closing a book. Land here in center a couple of breaths. Reach an arm over your head, We'll roll through that side of the body one more time, Coming up to a seat. So we're going to come into one more forward fold here, Bringing your legs out in front of you. Nice and wide. So in yin, This is often called straddle pose. It's a wide-legged seated fold. If you have tight hamstrings, You can bend your knees as much as you need to here or slide a pillow underneath them. And if your hips are tight, You can sit at the front edge of a pillow or cushion. I'm going to do that. For a little bit of support. So finding the shape that works for you, You can stay upright or start to fold forward. And these forward folds are really nice to support the nervous system. To relax the body and mind. And you don't need to go very far, Just go far enough so that you feel the stretch. But it's a place that you can soften into. You're not creating tension. You're using as little effort as possible. Now staying in the center is an option, Or you can start to reach over toward your right leg. And hinge over your right leg so your belly starts to drop. Over the right thigh, Soften the toes. If that feels okay, Let your head just drop and get heavy here. If you're there, Press yourself back up. Switch it over to the other side, Fold over your left leg. Let your shoulders drop away from your ears. Notice if you're carrying any tension in the body that can dissolve a bit further into the shape. Draw your hands towards you, Lift back up to center one more time. Straight down through center. Maybe just a little bit further down. Soften across the face. And ciao. The belly. The inner thighs. And the toes. Once more, Press into your hands, Rise back up. Let's catch the back of the knees with your hands. Just supporting the knees to bend, Soles of the feet on the mat. We'll take a little rebound from that forward fold. Lean back into your hands. Let your knees fall side to side a couple times. And we'll set for your final shape, Shavasana. So laying down on your back. To finish off the practice, I like to take that pillow and slide it right underneath my knees. It gives a little extra support for your lower back. You could also place it under your head. Lay down, Get cozy. If you have a blanket nearby, Maybe you throw that over top of you. Let your heels drop. Toward the outer edges of the mat. Take a moment to wrap your shoulder blades underneath you. Let the back of the hands fall away from you. A little lift up through the back of the head, A little tuck chin to chest. And then soften your head back down. Take a moment here as you settle into the shape to observe. How you're feeling. What's coming up. Physically. Emotionally, Mentally. One more time, Just the simple awareness of breath. As always, I invite you to stay in this shape as long as you need it here. Especially if you're just drifting off into sleep from here. If you want to end the practice with me in a seat, You can start to take a little movement in the body, Roll the wrists, Maybe a big stretch overhead. You can hug your knees in, Give them a little squeeze or rock and roll side to side. And a little rock up to a seat when you're ready. I want to thank you for having the courage to show up and find peace within. Please come back to this practice whenever you need a little more relaxation and a better sleep. I'll see you next time. Namaste.