Yoga may help improve sleep quality for some people, and its traditional practices are well suited to creating a transition from activity into rest. The most useful evening yoga is usually not about achieving difficult postures. It is about gradually reducing stimulation. A quiet sequence can release some of the physical restlessness carried from the…
Before bed, choose practices that reduce effort rather than increase it. Gentle floor-based movement, supported forward folds, comfortable twists, restorative postures, quiet pranayama and Yoga Nidra are generally more appropriate than a vigorous heat-building sequence. The exact postures matter less than the direction of the practice. Move more slowly. Reduce muscular effort. Let the breath…
Meditation can be a helpful way to end the day because it interrupts the habit of carrying every unfinished conversation, plan and worry into bed. The practice is not to force the mind to switch off. It is to stop feeding every thought with more thought. Sit or lie comfortably and bring attention to the…