Yin Yoga For Bedtime

This quiet and gentle evening Yin Yoga practice can be done in bed, right before falling asleep, or on a mat at any time during the evening. Postures are held for three minutes. We practice child's pose, reclining twist, and reclining butterfly, finishing with a yoga nidra style body scan in Savasana, with the option to fall asleep at the end.
Intro music by NaturesEye
Savasana music by RelaxingTime
Photo by Tim Samuel.

Transcript

Welcome to your yin yoga practice.

Before we begin,

Just take a moment to make sure that you have everything you need for your practice today.

If you like,

You can do this practice in bed right before you fall asleep.

And if you're doing this,

You can use your pillows,

Blankets,

Or any bedding you have as props.

Or if you're doing this on a mat,

Make sure you have a blanket to cover yourself with during the relaxation at the end.

And have some yoga blocks,

Cushions,

Pillows,

Or a folded blanket with you to support yourself if you need to.

As this is a bedtime practice,

I'm not going to talk you out of the relaxation at the end.

So you can use the relaxation as an aid to help you to fall asleep if you're already in bed.

But several minutes of music will play at the end of the relaxation,

So if you're planning to return to your evening after the practice,

The end of the music will signify the end of the practice.

Yin yoga is a passive practice where postures are held for several minutes to stretch into the connective tissues.

These tissues are delicate and can be injured if they're stretched too forcefully or intensely.

It's good to be able to feel that something is happening,

But you should never be forcing a stretch or pushing yourself into a position.

And you never want to be feeling any physical pain as you practice.

Pain is a signal from your body that the position you're in is not safe or beneficial for you.

So if you do feel any pain at any time,

Come out of the pose.

You can come into a resting position until the next posture,

Or you can move back into another posture from the class that you didn't experience any pain in.

If you have any injuries or health conditions,

Make sure to consult with your doctor before starting a new practice.

Yin yoga can have many benefits for health and recovery,

But it's important that your body is suitably recovered that the stretches will benefit the tissues and won't potentially make the injury worse.

So do please check with your doctor first for your safety.

As this is an audio session,

I will talk you in and out of the postures verbally.

But if at any time you're unsure of a posture and don't know if you're in the right position,

You can always pause the recording and do a quick internet search to bring up a picture.

I've included the names for all of the postures so that you can easily do this if you need to.

We're going to begin the practice with a wide child's pose.

So come onto your hands and knees.

Bring the big toes together and open your knees out wide.

Sit down onto your heels.

Stretch the arms and hands out in front of you and bring your forehead down to rest on your mat or onto your mattress if you're in bed.

If you want to support your body here,

You can place a pillow or a block onto your heels if you find it challenging to sit all the way back onto your heels.

And you can support your head by stacking your arms and resting your forehead onto your forearms or by supporting your forehead with a block or a pillow.

Make sure that you're resting comfortably and feel your body relaxing into the pose.

We're going to be staying in each of the postures for three minutes today.

Send your awareness over your body and notice if your muscles are clinging anywhere,

Perhaps around the thighs and send the mental message to those muscles to relax.

Bring your awareness to the sensations you feel inside the body.

Observe what your body's feeling here.

Watch the feelings that arise inside your body as your body begins its release from the day.

And if there are any areas that feel tight or uncomfortable,

Send the breath into those areas.

As you inhale,

Send the breath into that area of tension.

And as you exhale,

Feel the breath carrying that tension away.

Welcome the deep release that every exhalation brings to your body.

Now slowly walk the hands in to bring yourself back up and make your way to lying on your back for a reclining twist.

Come to lying with your feet flat to the mat or the mattress.

Let hip distance apart and with the knees facing up towards the ceiling.

Bring your arms out in line with your shoulders with the palms facing upwards,

Making a T shape.

And now gently drop the legs towards the left side.

Just allow them to fall naturally towards the left.

And if they're hanging in the air and you don't feel comfortable in the twist,

Place a pillow under the left leg to support the legs.

You can keep the head facing straight up or turn to look over the right shoulder and relax.

Continue to breathe into any areas of tension.

As the exhalation carries away physical tension,

Mental and emotional stresses are also released.

Calming your mind for the night ahead.

Slowly come out of the posture.

Bring the knees back up to the centre.

And keeping the feet apart,

Drop the knees together.

Take some breaths here to observe any effects from the posture.

And we will go to the other side.

So now drop the legs towards the right side,

Placing a pillow under the right thigh if that's the most comfortable for you.

Keep the arms out in line with the shoulders with the palms facing upwards.

Turn the head to look over the left shoulder if it's comfortable.

We'll keep the head looking straight up and relax into the twist.

Breathe into any tension and permit your body to release.

Slowly come back up.

Bring the legs back to the centre and the head back to the centre.

Keeping the feet apart,

Drop the knees together and take some breaths to observe how your body feels and observe how your mind feels.

And from here let's move into reclining butterfly.

Bring the soles of the feet together and allow the knees to open out towards the sides.

You can support your thighs with pillows here and either rest your hands onto the thighs or bring the arms up over the head.

But if the arms are over your head,

Be sure to keep the arms relaxed with a slight bend at the elbow.

Close your eyes and relax into the posture.

Make sure that the thighs are relaxed,

The hips are relaxed and observe the sensations that arise as you rest here.

Slowly coming out of the posture,

Bring the hands to the outside of the thighs,

Push the legs back up and prepare for Shavasana.

If you're ready to fall asleep now,

Make sure that you're comfortable in your bed and well supported by your pillows and your bedding.

And if you're lying on a mat,

Take a blanket to cover yourself with and make sure that you have enough layers on to feel warm and comfortable.

If it feels good for you to lie in Shavasana,

Bring your legs apart so that the feet are a little wider than hip distance apart and bring your arms to your sides with the palms of the hands facing upwards.

If Shavasana isn't comfortable for you to relax in,

Find another position that you do feel comfortable in.

You can come back into reclining butterfly or bring the feet apart and the knees together.

Find what works for you,

Taking any support that you need for yourself.

And now close your eyes and before you enter into your relaxation,

Take a moment to make an intention for the night ahead of you.

Perhaps for deep and peaceful sleep or for a quiet peaceful evening.

Acknowledge your intention and now feel your body beginning to relax.

I'm not going to talk you out of Shavasana today.

So if you're ready to fall asleep,

Permit yourself to drift away and welcome sleep as it comes.

And if you're going to return to your evening,

The music will play for a few minutes at the end.

And when it stops,

You can quietly reawaken and come back to your evening.

To encourage deep relaxation of the body and the mind.

I'm going to talk through different parts of the body.

Just let the awareness rest at each part as its name and allow the awareness to travel around the body with my voice.

We'll begin at the right hand.

Bring the awareness to rest at the right hand thumb and the right index finger,

The right middle finger,

The ring finger and the little finger,

The palm of the right hand,

The back of the hand,

The right wrist,

The right forearm,

The right elbow,

The upper arm,

The right shoulder,

The right armpit,

The right side of the chest,

The right side of the abdomen,

The right waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The right knee,

The lower leg,

The right ankle,

The right heel,

The sole of the right foot,

The top of the right foot,

Each of the right toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

And the left hand thumb,

The left index finger,

The left middle finger,

The left ring finger,

The left little finger,

The palm of the left hand,

The back of the left hand,

The left wrist,

The left forearm,

The left elbow,

The upper arm,

The left shoulder,

The left armpit,

The left side of the chest,

The left side of the abdomen,

The left waist,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The left knee,

The lower leg,

The left ankle,

The left heel,

The sole of the left foot,

The top of the left foot,

Each of the left toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Bring the awareness to the right toes,

The left toes,

The right heel,

The left heel,

The back of the right knee,

The back of the left knee,

The right buttock,

The left buttock,

The spine,

The right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

The back of the head,

The top of the head,

The forehead,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

The eyebrow centre,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The nose,

The tip of the nose,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The chin,

The jaw,

The right collarbone,

The left collarbone,

The space between the collarbones,

The right side of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

The centre of the chest,

The navel,

The lower abdomen,

The right hip,

The left hip,

The right knee,

The left knee,

The right ankle,

The left ankle,

The right toes,

The left toes,

The whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

Both of the legs together,

The whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

Both of the arms together,

The whole of the right side of the body,

The whole of the left side of the body,

The whole of the body together,

The whole of the body together,

The whole of the body together.

You

Reviews

Hello beautiful 🌸🎀🌸🎀🌸Thank you so much for the wonderful yin yoga ☮️it gives me so much peace and sweetness 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste