8 Aug 2025 : After a long day, a healthy bedtime routine helps ease into sleep better, even falling asleep faster. But if you don’t have any wind-down ritual in place, then your mind may keep buzzing, often finding it harder to sleep and ending up tossing and turning the entire night. This is where a calming bedtime ritual comes in handy, helping to align your body and mind and signal that it’s time to unplug.
Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar, yoga expert and founder of Akshar Yoga Kendra, told HT Lifestyle that yoga helps calm down the body and mind, bringing a sense of peaceful balance before bedtime. Moreover, it is also easier to fall asleep when you include yoga in your night routine, as the body starts associating gentle stretches with sleep.
He said, “Yoga trains us for strength and discipline our body, but it is also a way of calming the mind. Ten to fifteen beats of gentle movements with deep breaths will help release pressure accumulated during the day. In the longer view, this soft practice sets a precedent for your body, training it to relax and get ready to enjoy a peaceful sleep. Over time, the body will connect the signs of stretching with preparing and going to bed, so falling asleep becomes a breeze.”
The yoga expert listed out 5 poses that you can do before sleep:
1. Balasana (Child’s Pose)
- On your mat, touch your toes together, kneel, and sit back on your heels while stretching your arm forward, with your forehead resting on the mat.
- Breathe slowly and deeply.
- Stay for 1- 2 beats and let yourself relax.
2. Reclining Butterfly Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)
- Bring the soles of the feet together and let the knees fall out toward the bottom.
- Let your hands rest on your belly or beside you. This disguise opens up the hips and lends itself to decelerate and steady breathing.
- Stay a while, soaking up time to wash down all the worries from the day.
3. Cat-cow pose (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)
- Come onto all fours. Inhale, lifting the chest and the tailbone (Cow position).
- Exhale, round the back and tuck the chin (Cat position).
- Repeat slowly for 1 to 2 beats. This sequence unknots built-up tension.
4. Legs- Up- the- Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
- A pose well-suited for deep relaxation of tired legs and feet. Lie on your back with your legs resting up against a wall.
- Let your arms relax by your sides, eyes closed.
- Take slow breaths as you stay in this position for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
- This final pose seals your practice: lie flat on your back with arms relaxed by your sides, palms facing up.
- Close your eyes and relax.
Summary: Learn five gentle yoga poses that relax the body, ease stress, and prepare your mind for restful sleep when late-night overthinking keeps you awake.