3 yoga moves to help you fall asleep fast
The benefits of a good night sleep cannot be overestimated. Healing, rejuvenating and fantastic for both your mental and physical health, there are plenty of good reasons to snooze. If you have trouble falling asleep or spend hours tossing and turning, you’re probably not reaping all the benefits on offer from a good night shuteye. A quick and easy stress relieving yoga practice before bed can help calm a busy mind and send you off to sleep quickly. Give it a try for yourself.
You’ll need: something small and heavy like a large book and a couple of folded up towels or thick pillows. It’s also advisable to dim the lights before starting.
1. Relaxed diaphragm breathing
Lie on your back comfortably with your heavy object gently placed on your belly. Become aware of your breath and see if you can lengthen it by breathing deeply into your belly where your heavy object is sitting. Focus on really deepening the breath as you relax your chest, neck and upper back. Continue for a couple of minutes until you start to feel calm. This practice helps you learn to breathe from your diaphragm, which in turn helps decrease stress hormones.
2. Reclined butterfly pose
You’ll need either some towels or pillows for this one. Use them to form a column behind your spine from your lower ribs up to your head, ensuring that your head is slightly higher than your chest. Bring the soles of your feet together so that your knees fall open. You can use more pillows as support for your thighs. Relax your pelvis and hips while breathing naturally.
3. Legs up the wall
Lying on your back next to a sturdy wall, walk your hips close to the wall and extend your legs upwards so that they rest gently against the wall. Relax your body and breathe deeply. Hold this pose for five to 10 minutes before gently rolling to one side to exit the pose and heading straight to bed.
Related links:
5 ways pilates can keep you young
Easy yoga moves you can do at home for health and vitality