Do These 5 Yoga Poses Every Night Before You Go to Bed

Yoga is a powerful healing technique that dates back to at least 5000 years. The technique was used by people centuries ago to provide benefits for their health and to provide a way to heal the body. The technique is based on three essential structures that include meditation, exercise and breathing. The American Yoga Association reports that the technique has been developed in order to apply pressure on the body’s glandular systems, which helps to increase the efficiency of the body and promote the overall health of the entire body. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that the use of Yoga has actually increased in the past few years. In 2002, only 5.1% of the American population practiced the technique, which grew to 6.1% in 2007. Now, it is used by more than 21 million Americans, which accounts for approximately 9.5% of the U.S. adult population. They also report that the use of Yoga is now more popular than other alternative health practices, including chiropractic, massage therapy and meditation.

It is important to realize that yoga isn’t simply a technique, but rather a healing technique that can provide the human body with an array of health benefits. There are also various benefits of yoga for weight loss. One of the most obvious benefits of yoga is an improvement in flexibility and posture. Apart from these benefits, yoga also helps to strengthen muscles, can help to prevent damage to cartilage, protects the spine, improves overall bone health and it helps to enhance blood circulation throughout the body. The technique also helps to drain the lymphs and boosts the immunity system, and provides numerous psychological benefits as well. We’ve collected five of the best yoga poses you can do before going to bed in order to improve your body’s wellbeing.

1. Child’s Pose
Start your evening yoga regimen with the child’s pose, also known as the balasanna yoga pose. This pose will help stretch the ankles, hips and thighs. It is also an excellent pose to relieve fatigue and to calm the brain after a stressful day. Neck and back pain can also be relieved with the child’s pose.

Start by kneeling on the floor with your big toes touching each other. You should be sitting on your heels and separate your knees to be at equal to the width of your hips. Now that you are in the starting position, you should exhale. Place your torso in a lie-down position between the thighs and narrow the points of your hips inwards to your navel. The next step is to pull your tailbone away from your pelvis, while also lifting your skull’s base away from your neck’s back. Finally, place your hands on the floor beside your torso. Ensure your palms face up, then simply release your shoulder’s fronts downwards to the floor. You should stay in this position for at least 30 seconds and then slowly return to the starting position.

2. Standing Forward Bend
This pose is also known as the uttanasana yoga pose and is great for calming the mind and relieving stress. It can also help to calm mild levels of depression and can improve digestions. The pose is also excellent to reduce both anxiety and fatigue, to relieve headache and to treat insomnia.

In order to do this pose, you need to start in a Tadasana position with your hands on your hips. Start by exhaling, then bend forward – ensure you bend from your hip joints instead of from the waist. While you bend, you should draw the front part of your torso out of your groins and be sure to open up the space that lies between the top sternum and the pubis. Now press your heels to the floor and life yoru sitting bones upward, while turning the top of your thighs a little bit inward. Finally, inhale while lengthening the front part of your torso slightly, then exhale while releasing into a forward bend position.

3. Butterfly Pose
This pose is also known as the badhakonasana and provides a stretch for the groins, knees and thights. It is also an excellent pose for intestine health and can help relief fatigue. The pose is also good for women who have discomfort caused by menstruation and menopause.

Start by sitting on the floor with both knees bend. You should bring both feet together. Now, open your feet with your hands (similar to how you would open a book), while also using your elbows to press your knees downwards to the floor. The position should be kept for around 10 breaths and then released.

4. Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose
The pose is also called the viparita karani pose and helps relieve blood pressure problems, headaches and lower back pain. It is also an excellent pose to calm your mind and to relieve anxiety, as well as stress. This pose is also a preferred pose among individuals who suffer from insomnia.

Start by sitting next to a wall with your knees bent and your hip close to the wall. Swing your legs upwards on the wall while you lean on your forearms or hands. Keep your arms extended at both sides of your body. Your eyes should be closed and your face relaxed. Stay in this position for approximately five minutes. You can start to build up the amount of time you spend in the position until you can reach more than 10 minutes at a time. Once your time is up, move out of the position at a slow, relaxed pace.

5. Lying Spinal Twist
Many people also refer to this position as the lying-down body twist, but it is known by practitioners as natrajasana. This position helps to stretch the quadriceps and the spine. It is also an excellent way to provide a deep relaxation to both the mind and the entire body.

While laying down on the floor, you need to bend your knees inwards to your chest. Your arms should now be extended into a cactus position, your elbows should be bent and your palms should be facing up. With a slow movement, lower both of your knees to your left and your head should be turned to the right side. Hold the position for five breaths and repeat in the vice versa position.

Conclusion
While many people fail to realize the health benefits of yoga, others are enjoying the deep relaxation the technique can bring to both their bodies and their mind. These techniques have been developed by masters of the art thousands of years ago and still remains powerful, effective and largely beneficial. Once you learn the power of these techniques, you’ll soon discover that there are many yoga moves to fight aging, depression, stress, pain and many other conditions.

References

http://www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html

https://nccih.nih.gov/research/statistics/NHIS/2012/mind-body/yoga