Research shows that doing yoga before bed can improve the quality of your sleep. Spend a few minutes relaxing tonight with this series of stretches.

Legs Up the Wall

This gentle inversion is a great place to start an unwind for bed sequence since it is slightly more active than the others but feels incredible. Coach Jacqueline, In-Shape’s resident yogi, says, “It’s a gentle inversion that relieves your lower body and calms your central nervous system. It’ll stretch out those hamstrings which are tight from standing or sitting all day and just feels *so* good.”

Here’s how:

• Lie on your side with your knees bent in toward your chest. Slide your tailbone as close to the wall as possible.
• Rotate on to your back as you swing your legs up the wall.
• Make sure your feet are at hip width apart.
• Rest your hands, palms facing up, by your sides and close your eyes.
• Focus on your breath as you rest and restore here for 3 minutes.

Happy Baby

A great complement to Legs Up the Wall, Happy Baby will release the lower back and open the hips while continuing to chill out that central nervous system to prepare you for a blissful sleep.

Here’s how:

• From Legs Up the Wall, you’ll bring your knees back into your chest and grab the outside edge of your feet with your hands.
• Bring your knees out wide toward your armpits and make sure your elbows fall inside your thighs.
• Adjust the intensity of the sensation by pushing into your hands with your feet or using the strength in your arms to pull your knees closer to your shoulders.
• Smile as you rest in this posture for 2 minutes.

Reclined Twist

Coach Jacqueline loves to round out her evening release with a spine twisting posture like a reclined twist. She says, “Twists not only wring out any aches and pains from sitting all day, but they provide a gentle massage on your internal digestive organs which is perfect for after dinner.”

Here’s how:

• From Happy Baby, bring your heels down to the floor so your knees are bent and pointing toward the ceiling.
• Take your arms out, palms facing down, and rest them at shoulder height.
• Take both knees, connected, to the left side so you’re stacking your right hip on top of your left but maintaining both shoulders flat on the floor.
• Rest here for 2 minutes and switch sides and hold for 2 minutes on the right.

Finish off your practice by crawling straight into bed for your Savasana (aka take a few deep breaths and start counting those sheep!).