{"id":242859,"date":"2025-07-06T14:13:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T14:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/242859\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T14:13:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T14:13:19","slug":"this-five-minute-yoga-flow-helps-me-fall-asleep-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/242859\/","title":{"rendered":"This five-minute yoga flow helps me fall asleep fast"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Getting a good night\u2019s sleep can transform your day. It improves your cognitive function, lifts your spirits and upgrades your performance in the gym.<\/p>\n<p>However, knowing all this doesn\u2019t help you fall asleep faster. That\u2019s where yoga can help.<\/p>\n<p>The gentle practice combines breathwork and movement, encouraging you to focus on the present moment and forget the anxieties of the day.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>I spoke to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.yogasix.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.yogasix.com\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"noopener\">YogaSix<\/a> master trainer Nicole Wood, who has been teaching yoga for eight years, and asked for a gentle pre-bed routine. Here\u2019s what she recommended.<\/p>\n<p>Yoga for sleep routine<\/p>\n<p>Wood recommends doing the following poses as a flow, which means you move seamlessly from one pose to another without rest.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fitandwell.com\/how-to\/pigeon-stretch\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.fitandwell.com\/how-to\/pigeon-stretch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pigeon pose<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Reclined butterfly<\/li>\n<li>Supine twist<\/li>\n<li>Legs up the wall<\/li>\n<li>Banana pose<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pigeon pose<\/p>\n<p>Pigeon Pose &#8211; Yoga With Adriene &#8211; YouTube<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751811196_869_maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Pigeon Pose - Yoga With Adriene - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"watch-on-youtube-0_zPqA65Nok\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/0_zPqA65Nok\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/0_zPqA65Nok\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Start in downward-facing dog, with your hands and feet on the floor and hips elevated towards the ceiling. (If it\u2019s more comfortable, you can start on your hands and knees instead, with your torso parallel to the floor.)<\/li>\n<li>Inhale and extend your right leg behind you.<\/li>\n<li>Exhale and bend your right leg, bringing your right knee under your body and down to the floor, just behind your right wrist.<\/li>\n<li>Adjust your shin so that it\u2019s parallel to the shorter side of your yoga mat. You can tweak the angle of your knee to find a comfortable position. Keep your back leg extended behind you.<\/li>\n<li>Bring your elbows down to the mat. If it\u2019s comfortable, you can fold your torso forward over your right shin.<\/li>\n<li>Hold for a few breaths, then repeat on the other side.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Reclined butterfly<\/p>\n<p>Reclining Butterfly Pose \/ Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana) &#8211; YouTube<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751811197_865_maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Reclining Butterfly Pose \/ Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana) - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"watch-on-youtube-TAxU9htns7I\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/TAxU9htns7I\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/TAxU9htns7I\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lie on your back.<\/li>\n<li>Inhale, bend your knees and bring your feet toward your groin and the soles of your feet together.<\/li>\n<li>Exhale and allow your knees to fall to the sides and relax.<\/li>\n<li>Place one hand on your heart, and one hand on your belly, and take a few breaths here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Supine twist<\/p>\n<p>How to do Supta Matsyendrasana &#8211; Supine Spinal Twist &#8211; Beginners Yoga &#8211; YouTube<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751811197_682_maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"How to do Supta Matsyendrasana - Supine Spinal Twist - Beginners Yoga - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"watch-on-youtube-ezyMaQEaVaI\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ezyMaQEaVaI\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ezyMaQEaVaI\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lie on your back.<\/li>\n<li>Inhale, hug your right knee into your chest, keeping your left leg extended on the floor.<\/li>\n<li>Exhale and guide your right knee across your body with your left hand, so that your knee falls to the left side.<\/li>\n<li>Hold for a few breaths, then repeat on the other side.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Legs up the wall<\/p>\n<p>Legs Up The Wall &#8211; Foundations of Yoga &#8211; YouTube<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751811198_731_maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Legs Up The Wall - Foundations of Yoga - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"watch-on-youtube-_OQEIiZLY-0\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/_OQEIiZLY-0\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/_OQEIiZLY-0\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lie on your back, with your butt positioned close to a wall.<\/li>\n<li>Inhale, bend your knees towards your chest.<\/li>\n<li>Exhale, extend your legs up the wall, keeping a soft bend in your knees.<\/li>\n<li>If you prefer, you can do this pose without the wall, allowing your legs to float freely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Banana pose<\/p>\n<p>Banana Pose stretches and balances superficial and deep back muscles &#8211; YouTube<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751811199_208_maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Banana Pose stretches and balances superficial and deep back muscles - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"watch-on-youtube-upsq8rmM5Zk\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/upsq8rmM5Zk\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/upsq8rmM5Zk\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lie on your back<\/li>\n<li>Inhale as you extend your arms and legs for a full-body stretch.<\/li>\n<li>Exhale as you walk your legs and arms to the right, to create a curve with your body. Keep your butt and hips connected to the floor.<\/li>\n<li>Repeat on the other side.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>My experience trying this yoga for sleep routine<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a parent of two small children, so sleep can be elusive sometimes! My youngest has had a run of tricky nights lately, and I\u2019ve found it increasingly difficult to relax into sleep.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of my usual go-to method of reading, I tried this yoga flow before bed for a few nights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>I found that it forced me to slow down and gave my nervous system a chance to calm and recalibrate before bed, which made it much easier to fall asleep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getting a good night\u2019s sleep can transform your day. It improves your cognitive function, lifts your spirits and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1630,105,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-242859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114806706376693671","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}