After a tiring day, we often dream of only one thing: would rather go to bed. But do not take with you on a night’s rest the load of daytime worries and muscle tension, which will not allow our sleep to become truly healing.
Yoga practice helps to get rid of annoying thoughts, relieve nervous excitement, tension, stress. This simple routine, designed by yoga teacher Virginie Cohen, can be done lying in bed, right in your pajamas, with no special training and little effort. You can relax your body, calm your breathing, improve blood circulation with the help of three simple postures practiced right before bedtime. However, you can choose from them and one or two of the most comfortable – the effect of these exercises will not take long.
Half bridge
Lying on your back, stretch out in bed; knees bent, feet shoulder width apart. “Spread out” the lower back so that the kidney area is as close as possible to the mattress. Slowly lift your lower abdomen up; then – the pelvis as a whole; then – gradually back, vertebra by vertebra, to the level of the shoulder blades, until the chest touches the chin. Remaining in this posture, take seven inhalations and exhalations in a natural rhythm, then slowly, vertebra by vertebrae, return your back to its original position. Lie still for a few moments, then repeat everything from the very beginning three times. This posture restores harmony to the whole body. It helps to relax the legs and pelvis and stimulates the upper body organs. With it, you can relieve tension from the back and relieve pain in the spine.
Seated Twisting
Sit in a Turkish position with a straight back. Slowly turn the upper part of the body together with the head to the right, resting the fingers of the right hand on the mattress behind you, near the left buttock; Hold onto your right knee with your left hand. Breathe deeply through your nose, noticing how your belly and lower chest fill up as you inhale and fall down as you exhale. Take a deep breath, stretching your spine up, and as you exhale, twist. Try not to raise your shoulders. Take seven breaths in and out and return to the starting position. Repeat the movement on the other side. This posture “opens” the chest and releases the solar plexus area, where tension often accumulates at the end of the day. Twisting relieves the spine from the stress that it experiences during the day.
Mudra of energy centers
The word “mudra” in Sanskrit means “hand posture”. Lying on the bed, put a small pillow under the back of your head; legs apart to the width of the pelvis. Close your eyes and place your hands on your pubis – right on left, right thumb on left thumb. Inhale deeply, hold the air in your lungs for three seconds, and exhale slowly. Repeat seven times. Then put your hand on your stomach just below the navel, changing hands (left to right, left thumb to right thumb), and again take seven breaths. Continue to breathe in the same rhythm, placing your hands on the solar plexus; then – on the chest at the level of the heart; then – on the throat, each time changing places of the right and left. Stretch your arms along your body, close your eyes and imagine the blue sky. Light clouds float on it, a light breeze blows on you, you inhale pleasant smells … and slowly sink into sleep. This pose relaxes the heart and calms the mind. The five lower chakras are again filled with lightness and energy. It is better not to work with the upper chakras (forehead and crown) in the evening so as not to stimulate brain activity before bedtime.