YOGA| SLEEP | SELF-CARE |

7 Simple Yoga-In Bed Stretches To Unwind After A Stressful Day

Even if you’re too tired to sleep.

You glance at the clock.

And sigh.

Another long day of work, with no lunch break and endless Zoom meetings.

As you switch off the PC and creep to the kitchen, your head feels heavy and eyes tired from squinting at the screen all day.

You can’t sleep.

Your brain is still in work-mode, actively replaying the day’s meetings and plotting tomorrow’s agenda.

Rather than mindlessly scrolling through your phone, why not try the following Yoga-in-Bed Poses?

If you’ve never done yoga before, these 7 simple and practical stretches will help to ease the knots from your body and swiftly calm your mind — even if you feel too tired to move!

Let’s unwind.

7 Simple Yoga-in-Bed Stretches To Drift Off To Sleep

First, make sure you are lying in a comfortable position as this makes the yoga-in-bed stretches safe and easier to do.

• Lay on your back.
• Straighten your legs out along your bed, have them about hip distance apart.
• Rest your arms by the side of your body.
• Place your head and neck on a pillow and tuck your chin in towards your throat.

Note, if you have lower back pain, place a pillow behind the back of your knees, or rest your feet on your bed with your knees pointing up towards the ceiling.

Yoga -in-Bed Stretch #1: Unplug And Power Down Your Body

1. Bring your awareness to your legs.
2. Turn your attention to your feet and gently wiggle your toes.
3. Next, point your toes towards your shins and then stretch them away from you. Repeat this movement ten times.
4. Wrap up this pose by rotating your ankles and feet 5 times in a clockwise direction and 5 times anti-clockwise.

Yoga-in-Bed Stretch #2 — -Easy-Pesy Lemon Squeezey

1. Bring your awareness to your hands.
2. Stretch and wiggle your fingers, like you are playing a piano!
3. Then pretend you are holding a lemon and tightly squeeze the imaginary fruit. Hold the squeeze for a count of ten and release.
4. Wrap up this pose by lightly interlinking your fingers and place your hands on your belly, elbows resting on the bed. And take three full breaths in and out through your nose.

Yoga-in-Bed Stretch #3 — Getting Over The Humps Of The Day

1. Bring your awareness to your buttocks.

2. Breathe in through your nose and as you breathe in, clench your buttocks together.

3. Exhale through your nose and release the hold. Repeat this pattern ten times.

4. Wrap up this pose by noticing how your buttocks feel now resting on your bed, compared to when you started the practice.

Yoga-in-Bed Stretch #4 — Swishing Away Your Cares

1. Bring your awareness to your knees. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on your bed with the knees pointing towards the ceiling.
2. Bring your attention to your breath, inhale and exhale through your nose as both knees sway to the right, and then sway towards the left side.
3. Repeat this gentle swish-swish action with your knees, ten times each side.
4. Wrap up this pose by straightening your legs back out along your bed.

Yoga-in-Bed Stretch #5—Letting Go Of The Baggage

1. Bring your awareness to your knees.

2. Hug your knees to your chest. Wrap your arms behind the back of the knees. Take three full breaths in and out through your nose in this position.

3. Stay in this position, draw small circles with your knees. Repeat five times clockwise and then anticlockwise.

4. Wrap up this pose by releasing the knees away from your chest and straightening your legs out along the bed.

Yoga-in-Bed Stretch #6–Easing Into Slumber

1. Bring your awareness to your shoulders. Have your arms resting beside your body.
2. Smile, and as you breathe in through your nose, shrug your shoulders up to your ears.
3. Exhale, and lower your shoulders back down. Repeat this movement pattern ten more times. Make sure you tuck your chin in towards your throat as you do this pose.
4. Wrap up this pose by slowly resting your palms on your belly.

Yoga -in-Bed Stretch #7 Wrapping Up The Goodness

1. Bring your awareness to your face.

2. Squeeze your eyes shut, screw your face up, open your eyes and mouth wide, stick out your tongue and strongly breathe out.

3. Next, breathe in slowly for a count of five, breathe out for a count of five through your nose. Do this five times.

4. Wrap up this pose by returning to your everyday breath as you drift off to sleep.

You Can Do This…

Even though this might be the first time you are doing yoga stretches, imagine if you’ve had a stressful day, how happy you’ll feel if these simple poses helped you nod off.

Imagine how relieved you’ll feel when no matter what you’re going through, in the wink of an eye you can calm your mind and doze off. How cool is that!

No more late night scrolling, gulping energy drinks, or counting sheep! Just a few easy yoga stretches to help you relax and unwind.

So, when you finally get to bed tonight, give these 7 yoga-in-bed stretches a go.

Imagine how great you’ll feel after a good night’s sleep, and you wake up, rested and alert, full of positive energy to start your day.

That sounds fantastic, doesn’t it!

Sleep well!

And if you want more practical solutions to help you feel better during the day and want more, check out my favourite stories:

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Thank you.