Can’t Fall Asleep? Try Yoga!

Ever find yourself awake at 4am reading Perez Hilton and unable to fall asleep? Between classes, extracurriculars, homework and those 5 trips to Starbucks, relaxing at the end of a long day can be next to impossible. Worse yet, if you study where you sleep (we’ve all tried to read a book in bed, and I personally have a duvet cover stained with pen ink!), your body may not be able to determine when it’s time to focus and when it’s time to pass out.

Yoga can be a great way to increase your energy and wake you up, but there are also a few simple poses you can try before bed that will (hopefully!) relax you and calm your mind.

1. Happy Baby Pose

Lie on your back and bring your knees up to your chest. Grab the insides of your feet and let your knees fall to the side, using your arms to gently tug on your feet and pull your knees towards the floor. This will help you relax your lower back and hips, which both hold a lot of stress!

2. Inversions

Inversions help restore circulation in your body and calm you down.

For the yoga beginner, try legs up the wall, one of the simplest inversions. Sit on your floor, facing the wall, and then lie down. Scoot your bum up towards the wall, then straighten your legs so the backs of them are resting against the wall, turning you into an L shape. Place your hands on your stomach, close your eyes and breathe!

For the more advanced yogi, try plow. Start in legs up the wall, then contract your abdominal muscles and lift your legs over your head, so your toes touch the floor behind you. Rest your arms on the floor under your bum, or interlace your fingers. Make sure that when coming out of the pose, you roll down slowly back the way you came, keeping your abs tight and your legs pressed together.

3. Child’s pose

This pose is meant to replicate the way a child sleeps. It will gently stretch your hips and thighs, and help to relax your brain. Kneel on the floor with your big toes touching, then sit back on your heels and open your knees to give yourself a bit of space. Now lie down between your thighs so that your forehead touches the floor. Rest your arms out in front of you, or place them back beside your feet. You might find it more comfortable to rest your cheek on the floor instead of your forehead.

4. Corpse Pose

Now that you are feeling more relaxed, get into bed and lie flat on your back with your hands by your hips, palms facing up and fingers spread wide. Close your eyes (or, even better, use a lavender-scented eye pillow), and focus on the sound of your breathing. Hopefully you should be asleep in no time!