Sleep Yoga: 30-minute Yoga to Help you Unwind & Fall Asleep

Sierra Vandervort // September 28, 2021

Sleeping used to be so easy.

Or rather, being able to get to sleep used to be easy. Thanks to modern technologies pervading every corner of our house, we’re finding it harder than ever to “shut off” and go to sleep. If you’re looking for a better way to unwind after a long day, then maybe a calming sleep yoga practice would be for you.

Check out my free, 30-minute practice of yin yoga to help you fall asleep down below.

What is Sleep Yoga

While “sleep yoga” isn’t an official title, there are many variations of yoga postures that can soothe the nervous system, calm the mind and help you fall asleep better. If you already have a regular yoga practice, then practicing a few forward-folds on your own before bed is a great way to prepare for sleep.

The practice I’m sharing with you today is a Yin Yoga sequence. Unlike traditional Vinyasa-style practices, yin yoga is much softer and slower. The main element of the Yin practice is longer holds of postures. Here, we can target the deeper connective tissues in the body, and challenge the mind to come to stillness for a bit.

How Sleep Yoga Can Help

Nowadays, we’re up replying to emails and scrolling through social media at any hour. Even if we are in bed, we’re letting just one more episode of our crime

drama automatically play.

The ability to relax and unwind seems as elusive as ever. It’s crucial to take time to reset and give our brains and nervous system a break. Yoga is an ancient healing practice used for thousands of years by Eastern Mystics to help connect to the inner body and release the stress of everyday life.

But you don’t need to dedicate yourself to a Hindu temple to benefit from a yoga practice. In fact, you can make your yoga practice just one piece of a larger self-care and sleep care practice if you like.

Other Options for Sleep Care

I’d like to challenge you to start prioritizing your bedtime routine. We hear so much about morning routines, but if we want to wake up feeling refreshed & motivated, we have to start with our sleep.

Your sleep care practice can start out as small as you like. Here are some sleep care practices you may like to try

– Listen to a calming playlist playing in the background while you read.

– Use an essential oils sleep blend in your diffuser.

– Try a before sleep workout or this sleep yoga class

– Write some night affirmations for sleep

The most important thing is that you prioritize something that calms you and restores the body. That’s the key to a restful night’s sleep, and then an energized morning.

Sleep Yoga – 30 minute yin yoga

30 min yin yoga

props needed: none

For my practice, I’m using my favorite sustainable yoga rug from Öko Living. These mats are ethically hand-loomed out of organic cotton and dyed with medicinal herbs. Plus, they come from a small women-owned business! If you’d like to grab your own yoga rug, use my code 10thelocalmystic to save $10 on your order.