Yoga for Better Rest: 10 Gentle Poses to Enhance Your Sleep Quality
By: Cara Hutto
Good sleep is foundational for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and ensuring optimal functioning of the body and mind. Not only is it essential for cognitive processes like attention, learning, memory, and problem-solving, but good sleep quality is also associated with a longer lifespan. Rest helps manage stress and bolster the immune system, making the body more effective at fighting off infections and illnesses.
To achieve your best sleep, it’s imperative to build a restorative, nurturing nighttime routine. That means skipping the doom scrolling before bed and engaging in more mindful activities like reading, journaling, meditating, or yoga. According to research, practicing yoga before bed can actually reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. Plus, gentle yoga stretching releases muscle tension, encourages relaxation, and calms the nervous system, making it easier to stay asleep throughout the night.
Incorporating these ten yoga poses into your nightly routine can help signal to your body that it’s time to wind down and rest. Throughout each of these poses, focus on your breath and move slowly and mindfully.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Begin in a kneeling position, with your knees hip-width apart. From there, spread your knees apart wider than your hips, allowing your big toes to touch behind you. Slowly lower your torso down toward the mat, extending your arms out in front of you and resting your palms and forehead on the mat. You can place blocks under your hands, a folded blanket underneath your knees, or between your calves and hamstrings for support. A bolster can also be placed under your belly and chest to bring the floor up for additional support. Try to relax your entire body into the pose, allowing your chest to sink toward the floor and your hips to soften.
Cat-Cow Pose (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)
Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop, or quadruped, position with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. As you inhale, arch your back and lift your chest toward the ceiling, allowing your belly to soften down toward the floor for cow pose. Shift your gaze toward the ceiling, drawing your shoulder blades down your back. For cat pose, exhale as you tuck your tailbone, rounding your spine upward, tucking your chin toward your chest and drawing your belly button toward your spine. Flow smoothly between cat and cow, coordinating each movement with your breath. This sequence gently stretches the spine, relieves stress, and improves circulation.
Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)
Start in Mountain Pose (Tadasana), inhale and raise your arms overhead, then exhale and hinge at your hips to fold forward, bringing your torso towards your thighs. Let your hands rest on the floor, shins, or on a block. Keep your spine long and your neck relaxed, with a slight bend in the knees. Hold the pose for several breaths, deepening the stretch with each exhale, then slowly return to standing by engaging your core and lifting your torso on an inhale. This pose enhances flexibility, calms the mind, improves digestion, and increases blood circulation.
Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
Sit with one side of your body against a wall, then lie back and swing your legs up onto the wall while your torso rests on the floor. Adjust your position so that your pelvis is close to the wall and your legs are comfortably extended upward. Rest your arms by your sides, palms facing up, and close your eyes. Focus on your breath, allowing your body to relax. Hold the pose for 5-15 minutes, then slowly bend your knees and roll to one side before sitting up. This pose relieves tired legs, reduces stress, enhances circulation, and helps alleviate lower back pain.
Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)
Lie on your back, bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to drop out to the sides. Keep your feet close to your pelvis and breathe deeply as you allow the hips to open gradually. Focus on your breath, allowing your body to relax deeply. You can use props such as blocks, blankets, or pillows underneath your knees for support. Hold the pose for 5-15 minutes to release tension in the hips and groin and promote circulation and relaxation.
Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
Sit on the floor with your legs extended straight in front of you and your feet flexed. Inhale to lengthen your spine, then exhale and hinge at your hips to fold forward, (feel free to bend your knees to prevent overstretching the hamstrings), reaching for your feet, ankles, or shins. Keep your spine long and avoid rounding your back. Allow your head and neck to relax, and hold the pose for several breaths, deepening the stretch for your spine and hamstrings with each exhale.
Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)
Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Draw your knees toward your chest, bringing your knees wider than your torso. Grasp the outer edges of your feet with your hands and flex your feet so the soles of your feet face upward. Gently pull down on your feet with your hands, using the strength of your arms to guide your knees toward your armpits and thighs towards your ribcage. Broaden your collarbones and lengthen your tailbone on the mat as you press and massage your sacrum down to release tension in the lower back.
Supine Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)
Lie on your back with your legs extended. Draw your right knee toward your chest, then guide it across your body to the left, allowing your torso to twist and your knee to touch the floor or a block for support. Extend your right arm out to the side, palm facing up, and turn your head to the right, if comfortable. Keep your left hand resting gently on your right knee, and keep the spine long and extended. Hold the pose for several breaths, feeling the gentle twist in your spine. To release, bring your right knee back to the center and extend your leg, then repeat on the other side to relieve tension in your back and hips and improve spinal flexibility.
Supported Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana)
Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Place a yoga block underneath your sacrum (the triangular fused bony area between your lumbar spine and tailbone). The block should be positioned in a setting that feels good in your body. Make any necessary adjustments so your sacrum and lower back feels gently lifted, and extend your arms alongside your body. Allow your hips to soften and release any tension in your pelvis and lower back.
Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Corpse pose promotes deep relaxation and restores balance to the body and mind. Lie down on your back on a comfortable, flat surface. Extend your legs straight out in front of you, allowing your feet to fall open naturally, with your toes pointing slightly outward. Place your arms alongside your body with your palms facing upward. Consciously relax each part of your body, letting your breath become calm and even. With each exhale, imagine releasing any remaining tension or stress. Feel your body becoming heavier and more relaxed with each breath.
ABOUT ONEYOGAHOUSE
oneyogahouse
90 Furman St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
We are a yoga, pilates, and sound meditation studio located in DUMBO (an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), next door to the 1Hotels in Brooklyn Bridge Park. As a community that prioritizes awakening our bodies, expanding our energy, and bringing movement to life, OYH offers a space designed to uplift and empower practitioners to ground themselves, undergo transformation, ignite their energy, and evolve in their yoga journey.
Driven by a passion for community, connection, and the transformative effects of yoga and meditation, yoga teacher and entrepreneur Anna Haddad founded OYH in 2020, and in the challenging landscape of the global COVID-19 pandemic, opened the Brooklyn location in September of 2021. Over the past several years, she’s built a team of some of New York’s most exceptional instructors. With safety, sustainability, and intentionality prioritized above all else, you can anticipate a yoga experience that’s not only accessible, but also mentally stimulating and geared towards personal growth.
We offer an array of classes suitable for every practice level.
We offer a diverse range of classes suited to practitioners of all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced yogis. Our yoga teachers come from all lineages and studies, from Katonah and Iyengar, to Vinyasa and Ashtanga. Whether you’re drawn to a hot, vigorous flow, a gentle, restorative practice, or a meditative sound therapy session, there’s something for everyone. Each class is thoughtfully designed to cater to different needs and preferences, ensuring that you find the practice that resonates with you.
Our most popular specialty classes include:
THE CENTERED ONE - MAT PILATES
Our pilates classes will challenge you in exercises that chisel your abs, tone your glutes, and sculpt long, lean muscles. You will use your own body weight, yoga blocks, magic circles, and resistance bands.
THE THERAPEUTIC ONE
This class combines a gentle slow flow and restorative yin postures and closes with a deep meditation session to explore the quietude of your mind.
THE FIERY ONE - HOT YOGA
This is a heated Vinyasa flow experience that is intentional, fun, and guided by the rhythm of the breath. Expect lots of movement with a focus on functional exercises. It’s an open-level class that’s powered by radiant infrared panels and an air purification system to minimize airborne dust, pollen, and germs.
THE STUDIOUS ONE - MASTER CLASS
Taught by senior teachers, master classes are an opportunity for intermediate yogis and teachers to deepen their practice through an extended study of the asanas. You’ll incorporate more advanced postures, yoga philosophy, and anatomical education.
THE FOUNDATIONAL ONE
This class breaks down the fundamentals of key yoga postures for both people who have never taken a yoga class and practitioners who have some knowledge of the practice but would like to renew and strengthen their foundation.
THE EMBODIED ONE - SOMATICS
Explore somatic movement exercises to help re-educate the way your brain moves, holds, and senses your muscles. You’ll commence class with an extended savasana and gradually enter into yoga asanas.
THE INTERNAL ONE
In this internal strength class using the Kinstretch® Method, focus on the determinants of your movement (i.e. ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue) rather than the external organization of movement (i.e. specific yoga poses). Through self-assessment, you’ll learn about your current range of motion and exercise more control.
THE ALIGNED ONE
Similar to The Fiery ONE, expect an open-level, but room temperature, Vinyasa class woven with elements of Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, or Katonah Yoga. These yoga classes are intelligently sequenced at a slower, sweeter pace to ease you into the practice, allowing time for your body to adapt to movement. You are sure to break a sweat by building heat from within.
In every class, the teacher will ease you into practice, allowing time for your body to adapt to the flow and temperature of the room. No class is exactly the same, but overall, you can expect emphasis on mindful movement, mobility, alignment, breathwork, and drishti—a focused gaze—cultivating a sense of presence and awareness on the mat. Our focus on breath allows you to deepen your practice, quiet the mind, and experience a profound sense of relaxation and inner peace. You’ll be encouraged to listen to your body, honor its limitations, and explore your edge with compassion.
SOUND MEDITATION
Sound has been used for its therapeutic qualities for centuries. Sound Meditation experiences at OYH will guide you through an experience of pranayama, vocalization, and visualization to prepare for deep listening. You will be encouraged to find a comfortable position, and with eyes closed, take in the sounds emitted from instruments such as gongs, singing bowls, varying chimes and bells, drums, etc. These instruments, intentionally sequenced, create a safe space for participants to enter a meditative state to down-regulate the nervous system and create a sense of ease and clarity.
Our holistic approach to community and wellness.
At OYH, you’re part of a supportive and inclusive community from day one. Whether you attend classes regularly or drop in occasionally, you’ll find camaraderie and encouragement from fellow practitioners and instructors alike. The studio fosters connections beyond the mat, offering workshops, events, retreats, and social gatherings to support local businesses (like brunch and oyster shucking) where you can connect with like-minded individuals and deepen your practice both on and off the mat.
Our holistic approach to wellness extends beyond movement. In addition to regular yoga and pilates classes, the studio offers workshops focused on nutrition, mindfulness, self-care, and personal development. Whether you’re interested in exploring the benefits of Ceremonial Grade Cacao, learning about the Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) routine, or delving into pelvic floor therapy, there are ample opportunities to learn something new and nourish your body, mind, and soul.
Retreats offer immersive experiences that transcend the boundaries of the studio. ONEYOGAHOUSE retreats serve as rejuvenating getaways designed to allow participants to deepen their practice and forge new connections. Through carefully curated programs, attendees engage in daily yoga, breathwork, functional mobility, journaling, and meditation sessions, alongside modalities such as lymph work, kriyas, and vagal toning. Retreat members also enjoy chef-prepared group meals, outdoor adventures and exploration, cocktail hours, spa services, shopping and cultural trips, and more. Set in beautiful locations like Los Cabos, Mexico, Morocco, North Africa, and Montauk, New York, the retreat landscapes provide serene backdrops for self-reflection and relaxation.
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