3 Yin Yoga poses for better sleep

Before you say: “Only three poses can’t change a thing,” give it a try. Afterall, it’ll only take 15 minutes of your time. This sleep inducing yoga will call upon a nice dose of yin energy to your body and mind, easing you into a restful sleep.

Did you know that difficulty falling asleep or having an interrupted, shallow sleeping, is one of the signs of yin yang imbalance?

Even 5 minutes of conscious and systematic breathework activates parasympathetic nervous system—preparing the body to slow down and relax. Combine this with targeted, restful yin stretches and you get a profound evening routine to soothe your body, mind and spirit, ground you in the present moment and clear the day out of your mind.

Don’t feel like rolling out the mat? You can easily do this on the bed. Ready to learn the simplest, yet deep, relaxation techniques?

#1 YIN POSE: Reclined and Supported Sukhasana

This beautiful, restorative asana is offering a gentle release of the lower back, while softly opening the chest and accessing the hip joints.

We tend to spend many hours of our days hunched over a computer, walking a lot, carrying weight on our shoulders (or sometimes just one), driving… This is why loosening the spine, chest, shoulders and the hips is a way to counterbalance the day.

How to do it:

Lie flat on your back. If you don’t have a bolster, simply use a big pillow or fold a heavy blanket under your spine, just below the lower back, to elevate the hip area. Once the body is on the bolster, open your knees apart and let them gravitate towards the ground. If necessary you can support your knees and head with extra pillows.

Stay in this position for 5 minutes, breathing in for 6 seconds, hold for 5 and exhale for 12. The inhale-hold phase gently down-regulates the sympathetic nervous system, which drives the “fight-or-flight” response. By interrupting rapid or shallow breathing patterns, the body signals that there is no threat and it can soften and release. Together with this reclined pose, you will rapidly shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system.

Another benefit of adding the breath counts is to engage the prefrontal cortex, calling your awareness to the present moment, by counting and by observing the breathe. This will help calm the mental fluctuations and promote satvic state of mind.

You can do this everytime you need a calming and grounding yoga pose.

#2 YIN POSE: RECLINED SUPINE TWIST, Supta Parivartanasana

There are several benefits in doing the reclined twist, or twisted roots right before going to sleep. It is in fact, our favorite relaxing yoga stretch.

One, twists are a great way to loosen the spine, releasing tension in the muscles and improving its flexibility. It helps relieve spinal missalignments that happen during the prolonged sitting or bad posture. It also supports the release of tension in the lower back and hips, by gently stretching the glutes.

Secondly, the pose is compressing and then releasing tissues, which improves blood circulation and helps fresh blood and oxygen reaching vital areas.

Thirdly, the relaxed twist of the spine targets all the main meridians passing through the torso.

Finally, the pose stimulates main meridians passing through the torso. Liver, gallbladder, stomach, spleen, kidney (amongst others) meridians are being activated, which has enourmous benefits on mental, emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing.

All in all, this relaxed twist asana, performed meditatively and held longer as a part of yin asana, is a potent pre-sleep practice.

How to do it:

Lie on your back on a yoga mat or in bed, in Shavasana (corpse pose), with your legs extended and arms relaxed by your sides.
Pay attnetion to keep your spine straight and your body feels balanced. Bend your knees and bring your feet flat on the mat, hip-width apart.
Cross your right leg over your left leg, as if sitting cross-legged. (Optional: Hook the right foot behind the left calf for a deeper twist.)

Shift your hips slightly to the right to prepare for the twist. Allow your knees to drop gently to the left while keeping your shoulders grounded. Rest your legs on the mat or use a pillow/blanket under your knees for support if they don’t reach the floor. Extend your arms out to the sides in a T-shape or cactus position, with palms facing up, to open the chest. Look to the right side (opposite of your knees).

Stay in the pose for 3 minutes, while repeating the same breathing method as during the reclined Sukhasana.

To exit, bring the knees back to the center and change the crossing of the legs, to twist to the right side. Again stay in the pose for 3 minutes while counting your inhales, hold and exhale for longer.

#3 YIN POSE: SUPPORTED LEGS UP THE WALL, VIPARITA KARANI

The yin pose legs-up-the-wall is deeply restorative, sleep enhancing yoga pose with detoxifying benefits. It is also highly nourishing for the nervous system, when held longer. To stay true to our promise that this sequence will not take you longer than 15 minutes, we suggest staying in the pose for 4 minutes.

Elevating the legs reverses the effects of gravity, improving venous return—blood flow back to the heart, and reducing swelling in the feet, ankles, and legs. Which is great after the whole day of sitting or walking. It also supports lymphatic drainage, helping to detoxify the body and reduce inflammation.

How to do it:

Simply place yourself close to the wall, extend the legs straight up and bring your butt close to the wall. Just close enough, to feel comfortable.

To get the most out of the pose, support your lower back with a pillow, to elevate the butt. This will decompress the lumbar spine and reduce pressure on the sacrum. If you suffer from lower back pain or stiffness, do this every day and you will notice improvement.

This pose is particularly powerful with stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest mode), reducing stress, anxiety and calling in the present, embodied, open state of being.

Because you will stay still for a prolonged time and combine it with deep breathing, you will naturally lower cortisol levels.

Ready to elevate your sleep without paying thousands of dollars for a new mattress? Try this nighttime yin yoga routine for a week… and never look back.