Exercise 1. Meditation. Let's start with the most important relaxation - relaxation of consciousness. Sit in a position that is comfortable for you, lean back a little on the pillows, put your hands on your knees, close your eyes and just breathe slowly for a few minutes.
Exercise 2. Seated crunches. After a short meditation, remain in a sitting position and perform twists in both directions. Gently and slowly, turn first to right side, placing your left hand on your right knee. Hold the twist for a few breaths. Then slowly turn around left side (right hand on the left knee). Typically, twisting is performed in a “Turkish” position, that is, the legs are crossed and tucked under oneself. 
Exercise 3. Slight forward bend. Remaining in the same cross-legged sitting position, gently lean forward, stretching your arms forward and placing them on the bed. This way you will relieve tension in your back and neck. 
Exercise 4. Longitudinal fold with a straight back. Straighten your legs in front of you, toes pointing towards you, knees slightly bent, back straight. Grab your toes with your hands and pull yourself forward a little, bending your elbows to keep your back straight. Make sure there is no tension in your legs. If stretching allows, you can straighten your legs completely. 
Exercise 5. Longitudinal fold with a rounded back. From the first fold, carefully move into the second, simply rounding your back. This exercise stretches the muscles along the spine well and gently. 
Exercise 6. Knees to chest. Now let's move on to the exercises while lying down. Lying on your back, first pull one knee towards you, pressing it to your chest. Hold this position for a few breaths and switch legs. You can also sway a little from side to side while performing this exercise. It stretches the leg muscles well and relieves tension from the hips. 
Exercise 7: Hamstring stretch. Remaining in a lying position, straighten your right leg, grab your toes, ankle, shin or knee with your hands (as far as the stretch allows) and slowly breathing, begin to pull your leg closer and closer to your head with each exhalation. Then do the same with your left leg. No sudden movements! Everything needs to be done carefully and smoothly. Stop at the moment when your muscles tense, without letting your leg move forward. 
Exercise 8. Half happy child. Bend one leg at the knee, grab your foot and pull it under your armpit, keeping your heels pointed toward the ceiling. Do the same with the second leg. 
Exercise 9. Twisting legs with knees bent. Bend your knee right leg and, keeping the knee at a right angle, perform a twist, pressing the bent knee to the left side of the body. In this case, the shoulder blades should remain pressed to the bed, left hand presses the right knee to the bed, and the right arm is thrown to the side and holds the body in place. Then do the same with your left leg. 
Exercise 10. Star shaped twist. Extend your leg diagonally. Also extend the opposite arm diagonally and look at your hand. Do the same with the second side. 
Exercise 11. Both knees to chest. Simply pull both knees to your chest and press them towards you with your hands, rocking from side to side. 
Exercise 12. Shavasana. And now the final part is the relaxation pose “Shavasana”. Stay on your back with your arms at your sides, palms up, and your whole body completely relaxed. Usually in this position people switch off. 
Good night and sweet dreams;)
18.05.2015
These exercises may help you the best remedy against insomnia. Yoga will help calm your body and mind, putting you in the best position for a sweet and restful sleep.
Yoga before bed - do it and relax
All the poses are quite simple and even if you have never practiced yoga, you can easily cope with them.
But still, be attentive to yourself and your feelings, if you find it uncomfortable or difficult to perform some poses, simplify them or move on to others, because the most important thing is to relax and prepare your body and mind for sleep. For effective relaxation, it is not necessary to perform the entire complex; you can choose 2-3 poses that you like best.
Child's Pose
Start getting ready for bed with this Balasana pose:
- Kneel on the mat, your knees and thighs are the same distance apart from each other and your thumbs legs touched buttocks. Take a deep breath and, as you exhale, rest your torso on your thighs. Try to lengthen your neck and spine, leaning on your ribs, mentally drawing a line from your tailbone to the central point on your head (fontanel).
- Your hands are next to your feet, palms up.
- Maintain this position for 10 breaths.
Constant forward lean
While standing, lean forward, you will feel how all the tension goes to top part heads:
- Standing straight, inhale and raise your arms straight above you.
- As you exhale, bend forward, aligning yourself with your legs. If it’s hard for you to immediately straighten your legs at first, bend them at the knees, then slowly straighten your knees, press your chin to your chest, relax your shoulders, and aim your crown towards the floor so that your spine stretches into a long line. Shift your weight forward onto your toes, straightening your legs as much as possible. Place your hands on the ground, with your fingers touching the floor (for beginners this can be difficult, so take your time and do the exercises based on your feelings, over time it will be much easier for you to perform all the poses).
- Hold the pose for 10 breaths.
Bend forward with legs wide apart
This is a relaxing pose that will help relieve stress on your shoulders and relieve stress before bed:
- From the pose Pconstant leaning forward, slowly rise up so that you are standing flat on the floor.
- Stand straight, spread your legs wide, and turn your toes slightly inward.
- Place your hands behind your back and clasp your palms.
- Extend your arms forward, squeezing your shoulder blades and opening your chest.
- As you inhale, try to lengthen your spine.
- As you exhale, bend forward slightly from your hips.
- Then you need to move your shoulders away from your ears, bringing your shoulder blades closer to your spine and try to lower your clasped hands as low as possible to the floor
In more simple version In this pose, your legs need to be placed closer to each other, do not touch the floor when bending over, bend over as much as possible, your legs can be bent at the knees
Butterfly pose
This pose will help relieve tension from the lower back and hips:
- Sitting on the floor, bend your knees and spread them apart. Bring your feet together with your hands, pressing your knees to the floor with your elbows. If you want to stretch your muscles more, bend lower and stretch your arms forward, your hands should touch the floor.
- Stay in the pose for 10 breaths.
Head to Knee Pose
This pose calms the body and mind before sleep:
- Begin this pose from a seated position with your legs extended forward.
- Bend your right knee, and place the sole of your foot under inner surface hips, heel should touch the body as close as you can make it.
- Inhale while sitting upright, and as you exhale, reach toward the sole of your left leg. You can place your hands on the floor on either side of your leg, place them on your shins, or wrap your arms around your left leg.
- Stay in this pose for 10 breaths, then repeat this pose on your left side.
Bridge Pose
Bridge Pose is ideal for preparing the body for sleep:
- Starting position: lying on your back, hands at your sides, palms down. Bend your knees, placing your heels as close to your buttocks as possible.
- Press your palms and feet firmly to the floor, lift your hips up. Keep your palms flat on the mat.
- Stay here for 10 deep breaths, raising your hips as high as you can.
Legs up the wall
This pose will instill a sense of calm throughout your body, and it will also help relieve pain in the lower back or tight hamstrings:
- After you come out of Bridge Pose, sit facing the wall, very close.
- Lie on your back with your feet on the wall, knees bent, and straighten your legs up the wall with your heels touching the wall. Keep your arms at your sides, palms up; if you want to stretch your shoulders, place your hands behind your head.
- Close your eyes and allow your body to completely relax; you should feel like a weight is pulling you down.
- Hold for 30 seconds, then roll your body to one side, knees bent, and place your head on the inside of your arm, remaining in the fetal position for about 1 minute.
Twisting
If you have a desire to do yoga, but you are afraid that not a single asana will work out, so you put off the practice until later, you should try doing yoga exercises before bed. Start small - AnySports suggests trying a set of three simple asanas that you can do in the evening.
If you want to calm down and stretch your body a little and refresh your thoughts, then- this is what will definitely suit you. Try doing a set of these three asanas every evening,evening yoga practiceIt will only take you 15-20 minutes. It is ideal to do exercises before bed to reset and calm the nervous system. For a pleasant effect, turn on calm music and light a candle.
"Rider"
In the movie Drunken Master, young Jackie Chan was punished by his teacher: he had to sit in the equestrian position for five hours. And cups of boiling water were placed on his head, shoulders and knees so that there would be no temptation to straighten up and lower his arms. Beginning “riders” won’t have to torture themselves like that!
Sit down and stretch your arms forward, mentally trying to reach a far away object. Your knees don't have to bend to 90 degrees, but make sure they don't collapse. Also, do not put your body weight on your toes. Keep your spine straight as an arrow. Stretch behind the top of your head.
The asana should be calm and deep, without moving. Ideally, you need to stand for 5 minutes. Set a timer, but don't focus on it. If the burning sensation in your legs becomes unbearable, straighten up and rest for 10-15 seconds, and then return to the “rider” position. You can also give your hands a rest.
If you find it very difficult, you can use it - press your back tightly against it, bend your legs and go down the wall. Try bending your knees to 90 degrees. But be careful if you have problems with knee joints– It is not recommended for you to sit in this position for a long time!
On this topic:
"Chaturanga"
After the “rider”, you need a minute’s rest, then take the position while lying down, bending your elbows, placing emphasis on the balls of your feet. The joints in your arms and shoulders should support you. The shoulders should not protrude in front of the body, and the palms should be clearly under the shoulders. Breathe evenly and deeply.
Ideally you need to stand for 5 minutes, but this is difficult even for an advanced person.yoga - practiceyou need it constantly, then over time you will get closer to this ideal.
To make it easier, you need to start the exercise from your knees. Press your arms bent at the elbows tightly to your body, this will make the asana easier. If it is difficult to hold on for five minutes, you are allowed to go out for a while, do push-ups from your knees several times, and even lie down.
This exercise strengthens the abs, back, arms and legs, and at the same time improves the internal organs and respiratory system.
Even more asanas to strengthen the body and calm the mind in the yoga course from Anna Lunegova. More about the course .
"Corner"
Lie down on the floor, lift your legs and torso off the floor so that your body takes the shape of an angle. Keep your arms above the ground at your sides and your back straight. Balance on your tailbone and feel, feel the tension in your abs.
1-2 minutes is enough here, but at first you can hold on as long as possible. If you train constantly, then in the first week you will stand in it for 20 seconds, in the second - 40 seconds, and after a month you will hold the corner for a minute.
By the way, shaking your whole body in a corner is normal. Try not to be embarrassed, ignore it and hold the corner until the burning sensation becomes difficult to bear.
Your future
After three to four weeks of honestly performing the complex in the evenings, you will notice that your stomach tightens, your back straightens, you become slimmer and stronger, and your soul is calmer.
You will learn to hold each asana for a long time and without tension. You will begin to devote as much as 15-20 minutes a day to pleasant thoughts and meditation. Then you can replace morning exercises with the complex.
These three small exercises will be the first step to a serious yoga practice. Time will play in your favor - by moving in small steps, you will soon notice how you have become stronger and more resilient and will be able to move on to more complex asanas. So yoga before bed is a great option for beginners!
Hello, readers of this article! Many people have heard about the benefits of evening yoga, how it greatly normalizes sleep, but what exactly the effects of yoga before bed and through what exercises are not known to everyone, otherwise the whole world would already be practicing yoga. Until this happens, it makes sense to tell you about it from the pages of my blog. Happy informing!
Why is evening practice no less important than morning practice?
In fact, there are as many reasons as there are people, but there are those that are relevant to almost everyone. A special relaxing complex will help:
- relax the muscles of the whole body and face, slow down the heartbeat and breathing;
- free yourself from the flow obsessive thoughts, forget about the worries of the material world and focus on the spiritual world;
- normalize sleep, ensure easy falling asleep and waking up, and also make sleep healthy and deep, so that the body really rests during sleep.
Hatha yoga asanas before going to bed
Let me clarify that you can perform these exercises both on a yoga mat and in bed; like in a special yoga studio on group lesson, and completely alone at home. This is one of the manifestations of the complete universality of yoga as such. Well, now the actual analysis of the positions.
Meditative pose.
To begin with, take any available for your physical training - Virasana, Vajrasana, Sukhasana, etc. If during the day you have overstrained your back and cannot keep it straight without pain, you can lean your back straight on a wall or a hard pillow.
Sit for a while with eyes closed, observing what is happening inside you, what your mind's eye shows. Breathe deeply and slowly, you can use relaxing ones.
Again, only if your health allows you to stay for a long time and deepen the meditative pose that you have chosen, then do the following:
- Leaving your lower body motionless, turn your body as far as possible to the right and left, holding each position for at least 5 seconds.
- Then lower your torso forward, place your forehead on the mat (bed), stretch your arms forward in front of you and lie there for a couple of minutes, relaxing and stretching your spine. Essentially it will be known to us
Baddha Konasana sitting and lying down.
Sitting on your buttocks, bring your feet together and bring them closer to your groin. Try to lower your bent legs, reminiscent of butterfly wings, to the floor using the muscles of the inner thighs. After taking several deep breaths, slowly lower your torso to the mat. This way you will find yourself in Supta Baddha Konasana.
Lie in it for 2-3 minutes. If goes strong arching in the lower back or unpleasant tension in the inside hips, place a folded blanket under your lower back or entire back. Find a position where you feel completely relaxed.
Sit on your buttocks with your legs horizontal and torso vertical. Keeping your spine straight, slowly tilt your torso and arms forward, trying to fold yourself in half, that is, lie on your own legs, and connect your palms to your feet.
It is clear that for beginners, stretching will not allow you to do this right away, but the main thing is to keep your back straight and try to fall a little lower with each new exhalation. Feel the gradual relaxation of your spine. Stay in the asana for no more than 2-3 minutes.
Lying flat, bend your knees and place your feet on the mat. Firmly grasp your ankles with your hands and, as you inhale, lift your buttocks and torso off the floor, leaving your upper back, shoulders and arms as support. Please note that the neck does not act as a support here.
An alternative would be to place your palms on your lower back, thus creating stronger support. After staying in the asana for 30-60 seconds, carefully lower yourself to the floor. Rest a little and repeat 2-3 times.
Apanasana.
It is recommended to do it to compensate for deflection in asanas similar to the previous one, and indeed at the end of any complex for good relaxation of the spine and the whole body. While lying down, bend your knees, press your knees to your chest and clasp your legs with your arms.
This pose in itself is very pleasant, but you can enhance the effect by rolling alternately on one side or the other, without helping yourself with your hands. That is, using only force spinal muscles. Stay in the asana at a time convenient for you.
Here we come to the most pleasant asanas of our complex. So, still lying on your back, raise your legs bent at the knees so that your hips lie along your torso, and everything below the knee is in a vertical position in relation to the body.
Grab your feet with your hands, relax so that your legs can freely move apart to a comfortable distance from each other. Stay in the asana for a comfortable amount of time. You can also do a half pose by alternately raising your legs towards your torso.
Shavasana.
You will be convinced of the deceptive simplicity of this asana by reading my account of it. Always use it if you want to sleep well.
Let me mention that in addition to asanas and pranayama, experienced yogis practice for more deep learning sleep state and control over it.
Perhaps you are one of those who will also be interested in finding out which asanas are especially effective for losing weight.
Another article will be published very soon, so I recommend subscribing and not losing sight of the blog! Stay up to date with blog news and report them on social networks.
Our time is full of stress and moves at an accelerated pace. We are constantly in a hurry to get somewhere, get nervous over trifles, eat incorrectly and sleep fitfully on the go. This rhythm of life sooner or later affects health and leads to one of the most common scourges of our century - insomnia or difficulty falling asleep. Arises vicious circle- you don’t get enough sleep, you don’t work fully all day, in the evening you fall off your feet from fatigue, but sleep is either superficial or doesn’t come at all. If you do not break this vicious circle and teach the body to rest and relax, it will “revenge” the overload with nervous system disorders, zero performance, and even serious illnesses.
Causes of sleep disturbances
Most often there are two main reasons:
- Stress - acute or chronic. Modern man is constantly under pressure. Acute stress - illness, accidents, death of loved ones - can unsettle even the strongest and most resilient people.
- Overeating at night. Causes the “switching on” of those body functions that are not compatible with deep and restful sleep.
In the first case nervous system is in constant excitement, not allowing the person to fall asleep. Having eaten at night, we force our brain to engage in the process of digesting food, commanding the digestive organs to cope with the received nutrients. Naturally, this also makes it difficult to go to bed. It may help in this situation evening yoga. To perform the exercises correctly and achieve excellent result, it is important not to have dinner before bed, at least 2 hours before the start of classes, and even better 3-4.
Requirements for practicing yoga in the evening
In principle, they are similar to all other yoga classes:
- Before going to bed, the room should be thoroughly ventilated. Clean, cool air itself promotes sleep, having a beneficial effect on the nervous system, saturating the brain and lungs with oxygen.
- The room should be clean, without unnecessary objects, with soft, dim light.
- It is advisable to practice in silence or with quiet, slow melodic music to help you fall asleep.
- Classes are conducted in loose clothing that does not interfere with movement, preferably made from soft natural materials.
- Prepare your bed and the necessary accessories in advance so that immediately after evening yoga and a shower you can go to rest without being distracted by various actions, which can “interrupt” sleep.
Choosing an exercise to do in the evening
If you exercise before bed, then your main goal is to achieve maximum muscle relaxation and stimulate digestion. To do this, you first need to have a proper dinner. Choose light meals that are quick to digest and won't overwhelm you. gastrointestinal tract. Avoid meat dishes, fried, smoked and spicy. Naturally, coffee and strong tea are also undesirable; herbal or chamomile tea, it will act as an additional relaxant.
Before going to bed, you should also not overload your body - exercises should not be too intense, proven and appropriate to your age, health, fitness and constitution. Do not experiment at this time - learn new asanas at another time of the day.
Group of yoga asanas in the evenings
Different schools of yoga recommend using different asanas before bed. You need to choose exercises for yourself not only based on the instructions, but also taking into account your individual characteristics, including existing diseases.
The best for stimulating digestion and making it easier and faster to go to sleep are:
Stretches and straightens the spine thoracic region, improves blood circulation and fills the lungs with oxygen. This asana is especially useful for people who are in a bent position for a long time, sit for a long time at a table or computer, and also have problems with posture.
. Causes blood flow to the brain, stimulating all processes, supplying it with oxygen. Great pose for everyone internal organs, gently massages them, makes them work actively, digesting food, delivering nutrients into the brain along with the blood.
- bhujangasana, Helps improve and speed up digestion. Stretching the upper body relieves stiffness of the spine in the thoracic and lumbar region, relieves pain and spasms.
Bow pose - dhanurasana. Helps the action of digestive enzymes and stretches the back muscles, relieving accumulated tension.
Butterfly pose - baddha konasana. Aimed at stimulating the functioning of the pelvic organs. At the end of the exercise, you need to relax your entire body as much as possible.
Corpse pose - savasana. The ideal completion of any set of asanas, especially those performed before bed. Relaxes all muscles and promotes a smooth transition into a sleepy state.
You don't have to follow this list exactly. From it you can choose suitable asanas, add others and in other combinations. Many people benefit from so-called “inverted” asanas, in which blood rushes to the head. It would seem that standing on your head before going to bed is at least strange. In fact, such poses help you fall asleep. The best ones are: headstand, “birch” and a simplified version with legs on the wall. Headstand should be practiced by those who already have long experience in yoga and can tolerate inverted poses well. “Birch” is practiced in a simplified form, that is, without strictly vertical raising of the legs with a chest lock. It is enough to raise your pelvis high with straight legs pointing slightly forward. The simplest and most accessible version of the inverted asana, which is especially suitable for overweight and elderly people, is the lying position with your feet on the wall. To do this, you need to lie on the floor or on the bed so that your tailbone rests against the wall, and your legs are placed vertically on the wall at right angles to the body. In this position, tension in the legs is relieved, blood drains from them, the body relaxes and prepares for sleep.
Whatever group of asanas you choose, evening yoga, when performed correctly and regularly, helps improve general well-being and gradually improves sleep. The lungs begin to ventilate better, supplying the body with more oxygen, the muscles become stronger, and the nervous system is more resistant to stress factors. Gradually, the body of a person practicing this type of yoga gets used to falling asleep quickly immediately after completing the complex.
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