15 Minute Evening Wind Down - Gentle Yoga Stretch

15-minute evening wind-down yoga to mindfully move and breathe to destress, relax, and set yourself up for a good night's sleep. You can practice on your yoga mat or in bed. Session ends with the music fading into silence.

Transcript

Welcome to this 15 minute wind down.

Get yourself to your yoga mat,

Or if you're doing this session right before bed,

Feel free to get right into bed.

So as you lay down on your back,

Grab your shins and take five breaths.

As you breathe,

Let go of your day.

Allow this breath to release any tension.

Release it from the body.

Release it from the mind.

Take another big breath in.

And with gratitude,

Sigh out.

And now hold your right shin,

Keeping the right knee bent,

And extend the left leg long.

Let that left heel rest on the ground.

Let the left leg just relax and maybe jiggle out the left leg.

Just like gently shake out any energy.

This is your time to let go.

Let go and receive this space,

This space that is just for you for self-care,

To nurture your body,

To nurture your mind with this slow breath.

And then slowly release and switch legs.

Straighten that right leg.

Let that right leg be long.

Hug in that left shin.

Maybe shake out that right leg this time.

And then telling the right leg,

The right heel,

That it can let go of any efforting.

Let that right leg be heavy.

Hold on to that left shin again just enough.

Breathe.

And as you breathe,

Notice if there's anywhere in the body that could use your attention or your compassion.

And send your breath there until that body part,

You have permission to let it go right now.

Let go of that tightness.

Let go of that efforting.

One more breath here.

Sigh and empty out.

Hug both knees into your chest.

And gently rock side to side,

Gently.

Breathe in.

Sigh and empty out.

And this time with both knees into your chest,

Hold the right shin again,

Extend the left leg long.

And then with your right ankle,

Rotate your right ankle one direction.

So release any tightness in the ankle.

You might hear some clicking,

Some popping.

Rotate the other direction.

And bring some attention to the feet.

You might want to flex and point the ankles.

Just allow the foot to relax.

And you might even want to grab the arch of the foot or hold onto the foot.

And with your right thumb,

Just gently massage the inner arch of the right foot.

Or maybe anywhere in the foot that might feel a little bit tight that could use a little bit of TLC or your tender loving care.

And then release that massage.

How did that feel?

I know,

I love that.

It's just like,

So simple to do,

A little self massage.

And now take a twist.

Right arm out with your left knee.

Gently invite that right knee to cross over to the left side of the body.

And hold here for five breaths.

So as you're holding this and letting the body unwind,

Notice if there are any knots.

And there might be physical knots in the body.

Just acknowledge and notice.

And acknowledge with love and compassion.

It's like I see you,

I feel you,

I know you're there.

And it's okay.

And I know you're there.

And I know you're there.

And I know you're there.

And it's okay.

And I send you a breath.

It's okay to loosen the knots.

Let it go.

And then slowly bring that right knee back into the chest.

Bring both knees back into the chest.

Slowly forehead to your knees.

Head off the ground.

Big breath in.

And then big sigh out.

Set the head down.

Back of the shoulders down on the ground.

Hold on to the left shin.

And then straighten the right leg.

And if you want to jiggle out that right leg,

Just let that right leg give the message to the right leg.

You can get heavy,

Relaxed,

Let it go.

And then bring attention to the left foot.

So whatever would feel good,

Whether it's rotating the ankle,

Whether it's flexing and pointing the ankle,

Waking up the toes.

And then on this side,

The same thing.

Holding on to the leg and giving that left foot,

Maybe the left arch of the foot,

Massaging with your thumb.

Paying attention to any sore spots.

Give yourself some love and attention.

And just gently massage.

And you can even just hold it and breathe.

Send your breath there.

And then once you feel complete with this self-massage for the left foot,

Slowly,

With the right hand,

Invite the left knee to cross over the right side of the body.

Then the left arm is out.

And maybe rotate the head to look over to the left hand.

Five breaths,

Slow five breaths.

Nurturing the body.

Calming the mind.

.

Back to center,

Hug both knees into the chest.

And then sigh empty out the breath.

And then slowly set the feet down and keep the knees bent.

So right now,

Knees are bent,

Feet are about as wide as your hips.

And position yourself so your arms are out to a T.

So arms are out wide,

The backs of the arms are on the mat,

The palms are facing up towards the ceiling,

And the knees are bent.

Knees are bent,

Knees are facing up towards the ceiling,

Feet are flat on the ground.

And gently windshield wiper the knees side to side,

Which is just let the knees just slowly rotate right and left.

And just notice what you feel in the outside of the legs and the hips.

So when we observe the sensations in the body through the yoga practice,

It gives you the opportunity to notice,

To tell the body,

Hey,

I feel you,

I see you,

I notice you,

I'm going to send my breath to this spot.

And you have permission to loosen,

To loosen the grip,

To loosen the tightness.

And now with your right arm out,

To the side,

Right palm is facing up towards the ceiling,

To your left hand,

Massage in the front of the right chest and massage towards the right side.

So it's like you're dragging your hand,

Pushing your hand near the center of your heart towards the right shoulder.

And you can even massage the bicep and the forearm and the wrist.

Notice if that would feel good.

You can open your hand up towards the right hand,

And then relax that right arm.

And then the left arm out to the side.

Let it relax.

Let the left arm be heavy,

Left palm is up towards the ceiling.

And then with the same,

Same thing with the right hand.

Same process of self-massage.

So from the center of the heart,

Start circling.

It might be a circle massage towards the left shoulder,

The center of the heart.

And then you can open and close the right hand.

It might be a circle massage towards the left shoulder this time.

It might be going straight out towards the left shoulder.

You'll know what would feel good right now.

What self-massage,

What tightness do I feel in the front of my left chest,

Shoulder,

Left bicep,

Maybe the left forearm,

Maybe the wrist,

Maybe the left hand.

And then when you feel complete,

A sense of evenness of the right and left arms,

Bring both arms out to a T.

And then reach your arms away from each other,

Like stretching out your fingers wide away from each other.

Breathe and press your heart and chest up towards the ceiling,

Still laying on your back.

Then exhale,

Relax the arms and feel the elbows bend slightly.

Melt in the backs of the hands,

The backs of the forearms,

The backs of the arms,

The backs of the shoulders,

Into your mat,

Into your bed.

And slowly rotate the head side to side.

Notice if there's any tension in the right or left side of the neck.

That neck,

I see you,

I feel you,

I notice you.

And now in the forehead,

Fingertips right at the center of your forehead and drag the fingertips gently out to the side.

So the right fingertips will drag to the right,

The left fingertips out to the left.

And do that a few more times,

Just like you're raking the fingertips,

Not the nails,

But the fingertips across the forehead.

And let the fingertips massage the temples,

The right and left fingers,

And now slowly shift into Shavasana.

And you might even be shifting right to sleep.

Enjoy this Shavasana.

Enjoy a deep sleep,

Enjoy this deep rest.

Thank you for being here.

I hope you enjoyed this video.

If you did,

Please like and subscribe.

Enjoy this deep rest.

Thank you for being here.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Reviews

My takeaway: Yes, incorporating this into evening routine, rubbing feet and shoulder is game changer. I appreciate the ambience and no fuss delivery . :) KEY: 5*Insightful 4*Interesting 3*Okay 2*Not For Me 1*Irritating

Thanks Amelia, this was perfect. 💜💜💜
I used the floor but really wished I had used the bed. No need to move afterwards 🥰

Nice and easy. Perfect before sleep. Thank you 🙏

My achey body thanks you! Glad I found this. Saving for regular rotation.

Wow that was so wonderful and relaxing, thank you 💓🙏✨

Great short and relaxing yoga practice to transition into your evening or sleep.

Feel much better after a stressful busy day. Thank you 🙏🏻