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Hello and welcome to #SpoilYourselfSunday, where we celebrate simple and frugal ways to enjoy a little me-time. Get in the spirit – write your own tips on our Facebook wall, or tweet @CatchyFreebies with the hashtag #SpoilYourselfSunday. If we choose your tip for a feature, we’ll send you a sample from our stash! 

Today for #SpoilYourselfSunday, we want to talk about sleep. What better way to spoil yourself than to make sure you get a great night’s sleep on Sunday to prep for the long week ahead? So today we’re talking yoga: specifically, how to do yoga for a better night’s sleep!

Let’s start off with some building blocks of a great before-bed yoga routine: simple poses with gentle stretching and an emphasis on breathing. Some of the best yoga poses for relaxing before bed include:

• Seated forward bend (Sukhasana variation): Sit down with your legs crossed and stretch your arms as far forward as possible, touching your forehead and fingertips to the floor while you breathe deeply.
• Seated twist (Sukhasana variation): Sitting with your legs crossed, turn to your right and place your right palm on the floor behind your back. Breathe into the stretch for a minute and then switch sides.
• Head to knee pose (Janu Sirsasana): Sit with your legs straight out in front of you, feet flexed. Bend your right knee and place your right foot flat against the inside of your left thigh, then stretch both arms forward toward the toes of your left foot, touching your forehead to your knee or leg.
• Reclining butterfly pose (Supta Baddha Konasana): Lay down with your feet straight out in front of you, then bend your knees until your legs form a diamond shape and the bottoms of your feet touch. Lay back and breathe deeply to loosen your hips and relax.
• Reclining spinal twist (Supta Matsyendrasana): Begin lying down on your back with your feet straight out. Bend your right leg and bring it across your chest to the left side (you can also do this pose with both legs to one side at the same time). Extend your right arm straight out to your side and look in that direction while you practice breathing. Then switch sides (left leg to right side, left arm stretched out and look to the left).
• Feet up the wall (Viparita Karani): Sit close to a wall, facing it. Lie back and stretch your legs up the wall, scooting your bum as close to the wall as possible. Stretch your arms out to your sides and relax.
• Standing forward bend (Padahastasana or Uttanasana): Stand straight and tall, looking ahead, then slowly bend forward until you touch the floor, pressing your face to your legs as much as possible. You can either place your palms flat on the floor or under your feet, or grab your big toes and breathe into the stretch.
• Child’s pose (Balasana): Sit on your heels and stretch forward with your arms as far as you can, pressing your forehead to the floor.
• Corpse pose (Savasana): Corpse pose is an important part of any yoga routine, usually done at the end. Simply lie down on the floor with your arms by your sides and focus on your breaths.
• Single nostril breathing (Surya Bhedana Pranayama): This pose is great for when you really can’t sleep. Sit or lie in your most comfortable pose. Hold your left nostril closed with your ring finger as you inhale deeply through your right, holding the breath for a few seconds. Then close your right nostril with your thumb and exhale through your left. Continue for a few minutes until you feel relaxed and ready for bed!

Of course you don’t have to do all of these – you can choose your favorites and come up with your own routine, or switch it up and try something new every night. Keep in mind that a short, 15-minute-or-less yoga routine is recommended before bed – you should only have to do a few poses to fill that time, since each pose should take a few minutes (or at least one minute). If you’re a visual learner, check out these suggested yoga sequences to help your body get ready for sleep.

What’s your favorite way to sleep better? Leave us a comment on social media using the hashtag #SpoilYourselfSunday!

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