Bedtime Sleep Routine

Hi guys, welcome to your sleep routine. I encourage you to do this from your bed. Once you know the routine, you can turn the screen away from you, limit that light input and just listen to the instructions. For now, we're going to begin with the covers down at the base of your bed. Undone and please move any pillows to the side. Okay? Then right on your bed, come to lie down. Begin by lacing your hands around your right thigh and allow your left leg to come down as long as it wants. Begin to circle counterclockwise with the right foot. And as you circle, maybe flare those toes. I'm sometimes using this sounded breath, Breath of Victory. You can use any slow deep breath you like for this practice. Let's try circling the other way. On the next inhale, lengthen your right leg a little or a lot. And exhale, bend. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, bend. Inhale, lengthen the leg and begin to walk your hands up the leg. No force, just letting the weight of your hands begin to bring that leg a little closer towards your nose. Feeling that stretch perhaps in the back of the right leg. Begin to bend your right knee a little more and use your hands to open the knee to the side. Like a tree, the right foot will come in towards the left thigh. Great place to put a pillow is right here under the right knee. We're going to rest here and observe the breath at the belly. Sighing anytime like me, you'd like to let go of some more tension. We'll place the right hand on the thigh and begin to drag it to the middle again. Hug in that right thigh. Enjoy that pressure in the low right belly. At this point, find a pillow and bring it over to your left side. Scoot your seat to the right, drop the knee over to your pillow. When you get comfy, open your right arm. Take a nice spinal twist. All the limbs are heavy and flopping down to the support below.

You can stay in any of these shapes. If you are ready to move, come to your back like me and let the legs be long again. Observe any difference in feeling between the right leg and the left leg. Bring your hands down to the left thigh and drag that left thigh in, hugging it in. Begin to circle the foot counterclockwise. Express through the toes, layering through the foot, moving those tiny little joints throughout the foot. We'll reverse it the other way, turning the foot now clockwise. Next inhale, begin to lengthen your left leg. On the exhale, bend it. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, bend. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, bend. Inhale, lengthen left leg. Walk your hands up the leg, just allowing the weight of the hands to draw that leg closer to the nose. No need to have the legs straight. They might be moving towards straight. We're just chilling out. We're just letting go. Breathing in. Breathing out. Now allowing that left knee to bend, giving it a sweet hug in. Like a tree pose, we'll allow the left knee to open to the side. Now your pillow's right there if you want it. Left foot comes towards the inside of the right thigh. It may touch, it may not. Everything's allowed to be easy in letting go. Guiding your hands to the left thigh again and picking up that left knee. Scoot yourself over to the left and the knee falls across the body. You can sling that pillow over to the side and then open that left arm. Everything must go. All the limbs releasing effort like inanimate objects you place down. Letting go.

You might say, please, feel welcome. I'll be rolling to my right side and coming up to a forward fold if you want. I'll find my pillow and place it underneath the knees. Second pillow goes over the thighs. Enjoy a little pressure on the stomach that's meant to be there. As you lift up a moment, as if to hook the ribs over your pillow and then rest. Stacking your elbows on your shins or on your pillow. Placing the hands in prayer. And using the prayer as a kickstand for your head. The head gets heavy. The curve of the back of the neck becomes refined. You have the option of some delicious self massage. From the prayer, bring your thumbs out and gently walk your thumbs down to where the bridge of the nose becomes the brow. Gliding the pressure of the thumbs across that brow curve. Smoothing away tension. As if smoothing a wrinkle from fabric. Letting go. Rolling your fingers a little. Gently press your fingertips along your low forehead. Moving them in to the temples. Begin to circle those fingers in the temples. Breathing. Allowing the exhales to get longer. Walking your fingertips down to the jawline. Releasing the chin. Smoothing out the muscles at the hinge of the jaw.

Releasing the hands. Allowing your head to follow the spine as you slowly come upright. Moving the pillow to the side. And rolling back on your back. I've hooked my pillow and I'm coming into happy baby. Lengthening the legs and bringing the pillow into the crook of the knees. Legs as wide as they want to be. Probably a little wider than your torso. When you bend, the legs hold the pillow and the pillow holds the legs. We're just here. Begin the legs to return home. Allowing the low back to ground and plug back into the support below. Observing the breath. Breathing.

This might be where you stay. When and if you're ready to move, sneak your pillow over to the side again. Bring your arms and your legs up into the air. This is a bug on a bad day. The elbows are bent. The knees are gently bent. No striving. Instead, feeling the weight of our long bones coming back into the body. The legs coming into the hips. The arms returning to the shoulder girdle. Tension dripping from the hands. Then bending the knees even more. Wrapping your hands around your shins. Give yourself a little hug. Setting yourself up for sleep. A pillow under your head. We'll bring our second pillow to the right side. And at home, please pull your covers over you and get comfy. Here in the studio, I'll just be using a blanket so you could see the positioning of the pillow. Snuggling in the pillow underneath your head and your neck as well. Taking your second pillow and placing it in between your knees. Really hugging it in. If you have a long pillow as I do here, you can bring it to the chest. Allow the knees to come in enough that your low back is in a gentle release. Almost a curve. Now the lower foot cups the upper foot. And the lower hand cups the upper hand. Eyelids heavy. Letting go.

Stronger. Thank you. Thank you. Listening to the body. The body will want to stay here or will prefer to be on the back.

Stay and tune me out or begin to shift to your back. I'm placing the pillow under my knees again. You might lose it entirely. Then get cozy adjusting the covers where you want them. Five points of release, our last little cleanse, taking tension from the body. On the inhale, flex your feet, tone your legs, even lift the heels and draw in the glutes.

Inhale, imagine gathering up your tension and sigh it out. Let the legs drop where they may. Inhale, make fists of hands, tone the arms, tone the shoulders. Breathe in. Inhale, inhale, sigh it out, letting the arms drop where they may. Inhaling and pressing the low back down into the bed. Get rid of all the air between you and the mattress. Inhale, inhale and release.

Tuck the chin, lengthen the neck. Inhale, inhale and release. Make a face, taste the lemon, press the tongue to the roof of the mouth and sigh it out. Release the face. Maybe one hand to the belly, if that feels good. Guide your awareness to the belly.

Watch the tide of the breath. Inhale happens on its own. Become a spectator, a witness, and continue to follow every exhale to its very end. Breathing in and following every exhale to its deepest end. Breathing in and following every exhale to its deepest end. Breathing in and following every exhale to its deepest end.

Breathing in and following every exhale to its deepest end. Breathing in and following every exhale to its deepest end. Sleep well, yogis. Namaste.