Yin Yoga For Sleep

This gentle yin yoga practice will support you with winding down at the end of your day. It's designed for all levels and will guide you into a state of deep relaxation, perfect for right before bedtime. You can add this practice to your nightly routine for better quality sleep and to wake up feeling refreshed and fully rested. This can be practiced directly in bed or on your yoga mat. Sweet dreams!

Transcript

Welcome to this gentle yin yoga session for restful sleep.

You can start by laying down directly in your bed or on a yoga mat.

Grab a pillow or cushion and keep it close by as you may want it throughout the practice.

So you'll start out by laying down on your back and let's begin in a reclined butterfly position.

So once you're laying down on your back,

Bend your knees,

Bring the soles of your feet together on your mat or your bed,

And let your knees fall open to the sides.

A gentle hip opener,

If it feels like it might be too much in the hips,

You can always slide a pillow underneath your knees.

And as you settle into this position,

Begin by placing one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly.

As you drop into stillness in this reclined butterfly position,

Start to take some slow,

Deep breaths.

Deep breathing is known to support the nervous system and bring a sense of calm into your body and mind,

Preparing you for a restful and easeful practice.

If your mind starts to wander,

Just simply bring your awareness right back to your slow,

Deep breaths,

Feeling your hands resting on the chest and the belly as they expand with the front of your body on each breath in.

And notice the hands softening downward as you exhale and empty out the air.

Stay with that gentle awareness as we take about 10 more slow,

Deep breaths in this position.

Now begin to reach for your outer knees with your hands.

Take your time to draw your knees back toward one another.

Give yourself a hug,

Draw your thighs into your belly,

Wrap your arms around your legs,

And maybe a gentle rock side to side,

Left to right.

Come into shavasana from here to feel the rebound effects from that first shape,

Extending your legs out long on your mat or your bed,

Bring your arms down by your sides.

Just be here for a moment to observe and feel.

Next,

Let's move into a reclined twist.

So bend your knees again,

Bring your feet flat on the mat or bed,

Shift your hips up and over to the right,

And allow your knees to fall all the way over to the left.

From here,

You might place a pillow between your knees if you want a little extra support,

And allow a heaviness across the back of your shoulders,

Sinking them both down as we wring out the spine and the internal organs here.

If you'd like to deepen the twist,

You can turn your eyes to face the opposite direction of your knees,

Maybe closing the eyes from there,

And once again connect to some slow,

Deep breathing.

Each exhale gently invites you to surrender,

To let go of your day,

To release any distracting thoughts or feelings,

And just to simply presently be here,

Noticing the sensation in your body and the simplicity of your breath.

Soften into this shape for about five more breaths here.

Now really moving mindfully and slower than you want to,

Begin to unravel from your twist,

Bring your hips back to center,

Come back into a shavasana,

Extend your legs out,

Feel the weight rebalance across the back of the body from left to right,

And just breathe.

Let's move into the other side.

Bend your knees,

Bring your feet on the mat or bed,

Shift your hips to the left,

And allow your knees to fall gently all the way over to the right.

You can turn to look towards your hips,

Soften your face,

And dissolve into the shape over time and breath.

All twists are known as an opportunity to release and let go of what no longer serves you.

Notice in your body,

If you're carrying any tension in this shape,

That you might be able to let go of,

Even if it's 10%.

Let your exhales guide you into a deeper relaxation.

About five more rounds of breath,

Just as you are.

Slowly bring yourself back to shavasana,

Hips to the center,

Legs long and wide apart,

Arms landing down by your sides,

And just breathe.

Now take your time and reach one arm right over your head,

So that it's all the way on the mat or the bed above you.

Roll onto that side of your body and rest your head on your bicep for a few breaths.

From here,

We'll move into child's pose,

So bring yourself up to hands and knees,

All fours.

Bring your knees nice and wide,

So wider than your hips.

Your big toes will come toward one another,

And allow your hips to just soften back towards your heels as you lower your upper body forward and find support if you need that.

You might grab that pillow and slide it underneath your upper body,

Bringing one cheek down.

Or you could stack your hands and bring your forehead straight down to rest on them.

We're stretching the spine and settling into a hip opener.

And this forward fold sensation is another great way to help calm the nervous system.

Remembering that this is a passive practice.

Use as little effort as possible to remain in stillness,

In the shape.

Let your breath guide you through the experience.

If you have one cheek down,

Go ahead and switch sides.

Just a few more breaths here,

Softening your face,

Your belly,

And any gripping in your hands.

Start to press into your palms,

Walk them closer in and press back up to hands and knees.

If it feels intuitive from here to take a couple of cat-cows to reset the spine,

You're welcome to do that.

For cow pose from hands and knees,

You start by dropping your belly down,

Tipping up through your tailbone and up through your chin.

And for cat pose,

You'll move into the opposite shape,

A gentle pressure through your palms as you round your spine.

Bring your chin towards your chest and press up through the back of your heart.

Take one or two more rounds on your own time.

Next,

We'll move into straddle pose.

Bring yourself into a seat with your legs wide out in front of you.

So your legs are coming into a wide V shape.

If the backs of your legs are tight,

You can slide pillows underneath the back of your knees.

If your low back is sensitive,

You might stay sitting more upright here or leaning back into your hands.

Otherwise,

We'll take a gentle forward fold in this position,

Again,

Supporting a calm sensation in your nervous system.

So you can start to walk your hands forward,

Allowing your upper body to melt any amount forward towards your bed or your mat.

You should feel a sensation in the back of your legs,

And perhaps in your lower back as well,

But be sure that it's not sharp,

Throbbing,

Or painful.

A little bit of discomfort is good.

Just remind yourself to breathe through it.

Each exhale guides you into a deeper relaxation and a sense of letting go.

If you've folded forward,

Use your hands to support you as you roll your spine back up to neutral.

Catch the back of your knees with your hands.

Let them support you as you bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet back on the floor or the bed.

Now lean back into your hands,

Let them prop you up as you allow your knees to fall side to side,

A couple of times on each side,

Left and right,

Resetting your spine.

Go slow and easy here.

Take your time and make your way onto your back again.

Maybe you choose to have a pillow under the back of your head or underneath the back of your knees.

And once you're settled into a shavasana shape,

Let's take a moment once more to bring your thighs into your belly and wrap your arms around your legs,

Kind of rolling into a bit of a ball here.

Keep your head heavy on the pillow or the bed.

And take a gentle rock,

Side to side,

Massaging your lower back.

You can stay in this shape or make your way into happy baby,

Separating your legs,

Reach your arms through your legs and catch your outer feet,

Gently hugging your thighs down towards your outer ribs as we compress the hips once more and take a little bit more of a rounding in your spine.

Another rock side to side might feel good here.

And now bring yourself into final shavasana.

Take any gentle little shift or movement on your way there if you need anything else.

You might even grab a blanket and place it over top of you.

Take your time to set yourself up here,

Laying on your back,

Separating your legs and bringing your arms down by your sides.

Let's finish off the practice with a little body scan.

Just allow your awareness to follow along to each part of the body as you continue to relax,

Guided by your gentle,

Natural breath.

Feel the weight in the back of your heels,

Sinking heavier beneath you.

Feel the heaviness in the back of your hips,

The back of your shoulders and the back of your head.

Now feel a softening wash across the front of your body,

The tops of the feet,

Shins,

Front of your hips,

Belly,

Across the chest and heart space,

The throat,

Chin,

Jaw,

And cheekbones,

Eyebrows,

Forehead,

The entire front of your body,

Relaxed and at ease.

Once again,

Just allowing your awareness to follow the sensation of your breath,

Your inhales and your exhales,

Gently drifting away as you let go of your thoughts and allow yourself to fully be in relaxation and a state of letting go.

This yin yoga practice is now complete.

Enjoy your rest.

Namaste.

Reviews

Absolutely perfect, thank you so much Ali. Really calming, grounding and mindful. Excellent guidance. Will be coming back to this again and again - and not just at bedtime 🤍