There is nothing better than a soothing yoga routine right before snuggling in bed. A lot of doctors don’t advise doing yoga at night, arguing that it curbs the production of melatonin. Yes, if you are doing a power yoga routine. No, if you wind down to bed with some yoga favorites. My favorite way to do that is by blending forward bends, reclining twists, hip and shoulder openers. What a delicious menu!

Forward bends not only stretch the tendons, and open up the joints. They also elicit the relaxation response, calming the mind and brining the heart rate down. And not only… Something that teachers miss on is their cleansing effect on the large intestine. They stimulate the ascending colon, and activate the metabolism through the night. Imagine burning fat while you sleep… A dream come true, right?

Next on the menu – the reclining twists…These “guys” are really deep as they access the body’s fibrous binding to provide a deep release of tension and toxins. When practiced lying down, they flush the waste while synching you with the circadian rhythms of day and night. I love to garnish those reclining twist with an easy bind. I am sending positive vibes to my right and left brain lobes to settle into a tight embrace. I am also activating the central cortex to release the sleep-inducing hormones – tryptophan melatonin. What a nourishing cocktail!

At this point I am in sleep mode. But I still need to stretch out those hips and shoulders. I tap into my rich list of creative binds and sooth the shoulders, while rinsing any tension and stiffness in the hips. So I’ve had my relaxing, forward bends, my spongy twists. I’ve cleared my gut, juiced up my vertebrae, and massaged my inner organs and glands.  Now I’m ready to go deeper into the pelvic girdle. I make sure to stretch the sides of the waist, to lengthen and decompress the spine, and to brush off any rusty energy from the joints.

There’s one more thing left. I need to come to Earth’s resonance. I direct the breath towards the center of the earth. As I exhale I sink into the Earth, I melt with her body, clothing myself in her fabric. That same fabric that weaves through all matter… I like to keep the final relaxation brief and simple. It is more a form of attunement with the lunar flow. I look at the moon – her silver beams illuminating my face. I am ready to dream and get insight, as I slip into the night.

Bedtime Yoga Routine: Snuggle In (open level)

This soothing bed-time yoga routine integrates calming forward bends, nourishing twists and deep hip and shoulder openers – to relax you and put you to sleep.