Phase 2 · Take It Into Bed

Part of the 4 Week Evening Yoga Program for Better Sleep

35 Minute Evening Yoga Sequence for Winding Down

The longer one, once or twice a week. Everything a wound up evening needs, in the order that gets you to the floor.

The trial this program is built on used seventy-five minute sessions twice a week, and this is the shorter version of what those contained: gentle seated and standing work, forward bends, a twist, and then a long restorative ending. Use it on an evening where you have the time, and keep the twenty minute version for the rest of the week. The order is the important part, and it runs downhill the whole way.

35 min · Level 1

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When it helps

Once or twice a week, on an evening with room in it. Particularly good after a demanding day. Thirty-five minutes. A blanket, two cushions, a strap and a wall. This is for winding down and for how well you feel you sleep. It is not a treatment for a diagnosed sleep disorder, and it is not the answer to sleep apnoea, which is a mechanical problem and belongs with a doctor.

Wind down

Twenty minutes of gentle work followed by fifteen with nothing to do. The proportion is deliberate.

Physical effect

Hips, hamstrings, the back and the front of the body, in supported versions throughout.

Depth

Long holds rather than many poses. Nothing here rewards effort.

Move, while it is still early

Everything with any stimulation in it belongs in the first ten minutes of an evening practice.

Marjaryasana

1 min

Cat Pose

Hands and knees, rounding on the out breath.

The gentlest possible start, and a read on what the day left behind.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

1 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath. Eight rounds.

Movement tied to the breath.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Bharadvajasana 1

1 min each side

Bharadvaja's Twist

A seated twist, gentle, turning from the ribs.

The most stimulating thing in the session, and the reason it comes third rather than tenth.

Learn more about Bharadvajasana 1

Parsva Sukhasana

1 min each side

Seated Side Bend

Cross legged, one arm reaching over. Breathe into the long side.

Opens the ribs, which most people have been compressing all day.

Learn more about Parsva Sukhasana

Fold, with support

Long forward bends with the head resting on something. Two minutes each, which is much longer than it sounds.

Janu Shirsana

2 min each side

Head-to-Knee Forward Bend

One leg out, one foot in. Forehead on a cushion or a stack of books.

A supported forward bend held for two minutes is a completely different pose from an unsupported one held for thirty seconds.

Learn more about Janu Shirsana

Upavistha Konasana

2 min

Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend

Legs wide, folding forward onto a cushion. Sit on a folded blanket if the lower back rounds.

The same idea with the legs apart, which reaches the inner thighs without asking for effort.

Learn more about Upavistha Konasana

Supported, and then nothing

Fifteen minutes with everything held up by props or the floor. This is the part the whole session is for.

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

3 min

Bridge Pose

Supported Bridge: hips lifted with a block or a firm cushion underneath, so you are resting rather than holding.

Supported rather than lifted. The chest opens and the legs do nothing, which is not the same pose at all.

Learn more about Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Jathara Parivartanasana

1 min each side

Reclining Belly Twist

On your back, knees drawn in, then let them fall to one side with a cushion underneath.

A twist with the floor doing all the work, at the point in the evening where that is what you want.

Learn more about Jathara Parivartanasana

Supta Virasana

2 min

Reclining Hero Pose

Supported over a bolster or a stack of cushions, sitting on a block, knees apart. Come out if the knees complain.

The front of the body lengthening while you lie on something. Easy to skip and worth trying once.

Learn more about Supta Virasana

Supta Hasta Padangusthasana

1 min each side

Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose

Strap around one foot, knee bent as much as you like.

The last thing that asks for anything.

Learn more about Supta Hasta Padangusthasana

Viparita Karani

5 min

Legs Up the Wall

Legs up the wall. Longer than anywhere else in this program.

Five minutes with the legs up is the most consistently useful thing in a wind down practice.

Learn more about Viparita Karani

Apanasana

1 min

Knees to Chest Pose

Knees in, arms loose.

A small shape on the way to the floor.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

5 min

Corpse Pose

Flat, covered, warm. Nothing to count.

Five minutes, and if you fall asleep here that is not a failure of the session.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 2 · Weeks 3 to 4

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Take It Into Bed, the second phase of the 4 Week Evening Yoga Program for Better Sleep. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Once or twice a week during the four weeks, and afterwards whenever an evening allows it. If you find yourself doing this one instead of the daily short one, swap it back: the daily rhythm is what the research is about.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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Go deeper into the poses

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