Hey there,
I'm Rachel and welcome to this Mindful Bedtime Stretch.
It's important for us to wind down at the end of each day.
Taking the time to wind down properly can aid in a better night's sleep and a good night's sleep is what the body and mind need to get us through our busy days.
This Mindful Bedtime Stretch will help you release the stresses or busyness of your day from your body and will allow for sleep to come a little easier.
So pause the audio here and do whatever you need to do to get ready for bed and make this practice the last thing you do before you go to sleep.
Maybe you decide to practice this bedtime stretch on a mat near your bed or in bed itself,
Whichever feels good to you.
Let us start in a seated position.
Maybe you sit on a cushion or a pillow for added comfort.
Close your eyes gently,
Take a deep inhale filling up the belly and take a sigh out through your mouth.
This is where you start to release your day.
Take another deep inhale when you're ready,
This time squeezing the shoulders up to your ears.
As you exhale allow the shoulders to drop.
Take one last deep inhale and again take a big sigh out.
Bring your awareness to your body now.
Starting at the feet give the toes a little wiggle and then allow them to relax.
Let the feet relax too.
Moving to your legs tense up the calf muscles and then let them relax.
Gently move the awareness to the thighs,
Tensing the muscles in the thighs and then letting them relax.
Move the awareness now to your belly.
Are you tensing or gripping here?
If you are try to find some softness,
Letting the belly go.
Now we move to the hands.
Squeeze the hands into fists and then let them relax.
Take a few rolls of your shoulders,
Rolling them up to the ears and down your back.
Now let's bring our awareness to our face.
Try to soften your jaw and allow all of your little facial muscles to soften too.
Take in two big cycles of breath and then return your breath to normal again.
Let's begin our stretching with the neck.
With the spine tall drop your left ear to your left shoulder.
Close your eyes,
Breathing in deeply and as you exhale you're just starting to release the stresses from your neck.
Inhale your head back to center and gently drop right ear to right shoulder.
Take another deep cycle of breath here.
Remember the exhale is releasing the tension of the day.
Inhale back to center.
On your next inhale reach the right arm up overhead and take a little lean over to the left.
Reach that right arm over to that left side allowing that right side of your body to gently open and stretch.
Inhale bringing that right arm back down by your side and lifting the left arm up overhead and leaning over to the right.
Getting that lovely stretch down that left side of your body now.
Inhale back to center.
Reach the right arm over to the left again and then inhale back to center.
We're taking that left arm over to the right.
Take a big cycle of breath here.
When you're ready bring yourself back to center,
Arms down by your sides.
Let's come into an all fours position now.
Make sure your knees are directly underneath your hips and your wrists are directly underneath your shoulders.
Inhale,
Drop the belly and push the chest gently forward,
Gazing up slightly into cow pose.
As you exhale let's round the spine drawing our chin towards the chest.
I'm going to repeat this cat-cow movement nice and slowly.
Inhale gently dropping the belly to cow and exhale when you're ready rounding the spine into your cat.
Inhale into cow pose,
Exhale into your cat.
Do that twice more at your own pace.
Bring yourself back into an all fours position and send the hips back towards the heels now for child's pose.
Try to reach your arms up overhead and feel the back muscles lengthen and decompress.
Take a deep breath here and then sigh it out.
Now keeping the arms extended press your fingertips into the surface you are practicing on and lift the palms off the floor creating a dome shape with the hands.
Feel a lovely underarm stretch.
Take another deep inhale here and sigh it out.
Relax the arms down and take a few more breaths here.
Now use your arms to walk you back into an upright position but you're still on your knees.
Place your left hand down on the surface in front of you underneath your face.
Now gently twist the torso to look over to the right as you reach your right arm up into the sky.
Take a deep breath here as you open up through the right side of your chest.
Have a little wiggle of your fingers.
Take another breath and on the exhale release your arm down to the ground.
Replace the left hand with the right now underneath the face and twist and open to the left extending that left arm into the sky.
Take another deep cycle of breath.
Wiggle the fingers as you gently open through that left side of your chest and shoulder.
On an exhale you can gently release again.
Whenever you're ready come down to lie on your back.
Once you are on your back let's stretch out the whole body.
Reach your arms overhead and stretch your legs pointing your feet and toes.
As you stretch out the whole body breathe in deeply and as you exhale let the whole body relax letting everything go.
Let's spend a few moments here.
Let us stretch out the legs now.
Draw the right knee in towards your chest.
Give it a little squeeze and then extend the leg towards the sky.
Grab the back of your leg or knee and begin pointing and flexing the foot.
Pointing the toes towards the sky and then press the heel towards the sky.
Continue slowly moving through this point and flex motion and breathe as naturally as you can here.
When you're ready gently release your leg to the ground.
Take a cycle of deep breath here.
Then draw the left knee to the chest giving a squeeze and then extend the leg grabbing around the back wherever is most comfortable for you.
Extend the leg and then begin pointing and flexing the foot again.
Breathing as naturally as possible.
Release your leg to the ground and take another cycle of breath here.
Let us take that full body stretch again.
Reach the arms overhead and stretch and point through the legs and toes.
As you actively stretch take a deep inhale and as you exhale the body will relax fully.
Take another moment here.
Now stretch out the whole body again taking a deep breath and then as you exhale releasing the whole body again.
Gently bend both knees now bringing your feet flat to the surface you're practicing on.
Bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees gently fall apart.
We let gravity take over the knees here so no need to force the knees apart.
Reach your arms overhead and grab opposite elbows.
Take a deep inhale through your nose and take a slow exhale out through your mouth.
Start to feel the body relax.
Continue to breathe deeply here and feel the weight of your body pressing into your chosen surface.
Soften your belly here and soften your facial muscles and your jaw.
Gently close your eyes and as you continue to breathe feel the last lingering stresses of your day melt away from your body and mind.
When you feel ready take your hands to the outside of your knees and gently draw them together again.
Now gently roll onto your side body.
Pull a blanket or duvet over yourself and stay here for as long as you need or maybe you will find slumber here.
Enjoy your rest however long it may be.
Namaste
