Do you have trouble falling asleep? Let me give you a scenario. You wake up at 3 am either for a midnight snack, a midnight potty break, or restlessness. You can't seem to fall back asleep. Your mind starts wondering on things on your infamous "To-Do-List" that always seems to grow. You start listing countless things in your head that you need to remember the following day that you can never seem to find the time to do. Come to think of it, maybe we should start writing these things down so it stays in your brain the next day when you somehow "forget" again. If this is you, then you are like so many others. And I am sure you already know that. So we got to thinking maybe a little midnight stretching will help you get those busy brains back into "sleep mode".
(Health beackon.com)
These postures can work for anyone, including yogis and non-yogis alike.
The best part: all you need is a pillow and you can do this sequence
right in comfort and ease of your own bed!
Before you begin, take 10 rounds of deep inhalations and exhalations.
1. Seated Wide Angle Pose (Upavistha Konasana)
Sitting with your legs spread wide apart, place a pillow horizontally in
front of your torso. Inhale, sit up as tall as possible. Exhale, begin
to fold forward from the hips, walking your hands out in front of you
until your upper body comes to rest on the pillow. If sitting up tall or
folding forward causes you to round the spine at all, take a soft bend
to both knees. Rest, breathing deeply on the pillow for 10 rounds of
breath. Inhale to rise back up to seated.
2. Locust Pose (Salabhasana)
Come to your stomach with a pillow supporting your hips and belly.
Gazing down and keeping the back of the neck long, interlace your
fingers behind the small of your back. Inhale, extend the arms behind
you, lifting the hands towards the ceiling and pressing the tops of your
toes into the mattress. Exhale, try to hold that height. Inhale again,
lifting the chest and head, with gaze forward and back of neck neutral.
Exhale, hold this position. Continue to lengthen the body and open the
heart for 10 rounds of breath. On an exhale, lower back down to the bed,
releasing your hands by your side.
3. Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani)
Set your pillow up against the wall or headboard at the top of your
bed and lay on top of the pillow with your sit bones at the headboard or
wall. Extend your legs up towards the ceiling, keeping the heels
stacked over the hips, and rest your head and shoulders against the
mattress. The arms can extend by your side, palms facing up to receive
the restorative energy that flows into your body with the breath.
This restorative inversion is great if you spend a lot of time on
your feet. Your circulation will improve, creating a soothing, healing
effect on almost every system in your body. Stay here breathing deeply
for 2-3 minutes. To come out, bend your knees and roll onto one side.
4. Reclined Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)
With your seat on the bed and your back lying on the pillow
lengthwise, bring the soles of your feet together as the knees naturally
drop out towards the side. Restfully, recline with each exhale in
towards the pillow and the earth. Stay here for at least two minutes,
sinking deeply into this very supported inner hip opener.
5. Supine Spinal Twist (Jathara Parivartanasana)
From Reclined Bound Angle Pose, stay on your back supported by the
pillow and gently guide your knees together using your hands. Bring your
knees over to the left with arms out by your side, palms facing up.
Imagine your breath like a wave rippling through your spine, releasing
tension with each exhale. Stay here for a minute and then switch to the
other side.
6. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
