Yoga for stress relief (8 min)
Incorporating these yoga moves into your nighttime routine can help relieve stress and improve your mental health.
Transcript
I'm yoga instructor Dana Taft. Research has shown that yoga improves not only your physical, but also your mental health.
If you incorporate yoga at night, it may also help with your nighttime routine. I'm going to walk you through a few yoga
moves that will help relieve stress and give you a great night's rest.
Coming down on the ground, we'll start off in Child's Pose. Bring your knees wide and sit back towards your heels.
Extend your hands long so that your forehead and your heart can melt down.
Right here relax all the muscles in your body and take a few deep breaths in through your nose
and out through your mouth. Notice if there's any tension in your body.
Let your exhale release it. One more breath in Child's Pose.
And after this exhale, press down into your hands for Downward Facing Dog. Curl your toes under and lift your hips high.
Relax your forehead so you look back between your ankles. Let your heels move one at a time up and down.
Take a few breaths here, pressing down through the palms of your hands.
Next we'll move to an Elbow Downward Facing Dog. Look forward as you release down to your forearms.
Leave your hips high as you press your heart toward your thighs. Again, look back between your ankles
and let any stress that you've been holding in your neck and shoulders release as you breathe.
One more breath here.
Extend one leg up high in the air. Roll your ankle around. Fan out your toes.
Take a big breath. Lift through that heel. Now, bend your knee and point in your knee up high in the air.
Keep pressing down through your forearms. Take one more breath here. Release your leg all the way down,
your back in your forearm, Downward Facing Dog. Next side of your body, inhale that leg up.
Roll your ankle out. Fan your toes out. Press through your heel as you lift that leg high.
Now, bend your knee. Open your hip. And lift that knee up. And one more breath here.
Close off your hip and release that leg down. Look forward and come to an Elbow Plank.
And then lay your hips down flatten your toes. Press through your hands and forearms for Sphinx Pose.
Lift your forehead and heart. And relax them down to your mat. Release your elbows out.
Two more times, Sphinx Pose. Lift your heart and forehead and relax back down.
One more time-- lift up. Good. Come back down.
Press through your hands and knees. Roll over to your back.
Relax your spine down. And we're going to send your legs straight up high for Shoulder Stand.
Lift your legs up in the air for an inversion. Inversions are great before you go to bed.
You're trying to lift your heart above your head. But these can be challenging. So please take your time and do what you're comfortable with.
You can pause here with the legs straight up. Or lift your hips and bring your hands underneath them.
Your legs can be leaning over your head. Or if you want to extend even higher,
lift your ankles above your knees and your knees above your hips.
Here just let that blood flow reverse and breathe.
One more breath. Let one leg relax over your head.
Move that ankle out. Fan your toes out. Then inhale, lift that like back up and switch sides.
Roll your ankle out. Inhale that leg up.
Hug your knees into your chest. Round your back. Release your hands. And roll your spine all the way down to the ground.
Good. Hug your knees into your chest. And squeeze your nose toward your knees. Give your body a nice tight squeeze.
Relax back down. Now for Happy Baby, take your knees wide as your shoulders.
Reach for the outsides of your feet and lift your feet up. Let your tailbone relax.
Let your jaw release. And let your breath take you to that place of release,
preparing for your rest. Nice job. One more breath here.
Squeeze your knees back together for a spinal twist. Drop your knees over to one side of your body.
Open your arms to a T and turn your chin to look away from your knees.
Take a few breaths here. And notice how you can release the tension in your low back by letting your exhale soften your muscles.
Preparing to move to the other side, inhale your chin back to the center. Let that breath go.
Then pull your knees back to center and switch directions. Drop your knees over to the opposite side.
Turn your chin and look away from your knees. You're going to do the same thing, a nice release
with your breath.
If you're holding on to anything, your hands, your jaw, just let your breath help you let it go.
On your inhale, lift your chin. Roll your body all the way to one side to come back to the same posture that we began, Child's Pose.
Knees wide, toes together. Sit back as you prepare for rest.
Draw your hands back underneath your shoulders. Lift your heart. Practice some or all of these moves before bed
stress management
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