6 Best Yoga Poses for Insomnia

Yoga poses can effectively help people who are suffering from insomnia, which often leads to daytime fatigue as a consequence.

In a stressful environment, it can get challenging to get a good night's sleep with high stress and tension in the body. This will seriously affect your productivity for the next day at work and could prove disastrous in the long-term.

There are several gentle yoga poses that can be done at home which will bring minor and subtle alterations to your body. These yoga poses will help in unwinding and rejuvenating at the end of the day.

Furthermore, these gentle and relaxing yoga poses will help you decompress and loosen your body before sleeping, which will enable you to get a good night's sleep. That is why we have curated a list of the six best and most effective yoga poses that you can do for insomnia.

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Yoga Poses for Insomnia

1. Big Toe Pose or Padangusthasana

Big toe poses are one of the most effective yoga poses that can help with insomnia and enable you to have a good night’s sleep by releasing stress and tension from your body.

Here is how you can do it:

• Start off by standing feet apart at the hip distance.
• Gently hinge and bend your body towards the ground from your hips and clutch your toes with your hands.
• Actively bring your head towards the feet as much as possible while pressing your feet onto the ground.
• Relax your head and neck in this position.
• Hold for a few breaths before gently releasing. Repeat.

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2. Reclining Butterfly Pose or Supta Baddha Konasana

This variation of the butterfly pose will help in relaxing your body and soothing your mind, which can help with good quality sleep.

Here is how you can do it:

• Lie on the ground with a neutral spine before positioning your knees into a diamond shape.
• Place one hand on the stomach with the other one on your heart.
• Breathe deeply and try to gain better awareness of your body.

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3. Plow Pose or Halasana

The plow pose will help you with insomnia by effectively stretching the muscles of your back and posterior chain along with releasing tightness.

Here is how you can do it:

• Lie down on the ground with a neutral spine and hands on the side of your body.
• Slowly and gently raise your legs to bring them over your head on the surface behind you.
• You can also position your arms on the back for greater support.
• Release the plow pose after a few breaths. Repeat.

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4. Fire Log Pose or Agnistambhasana

The fire log pose will help you fight insomnia and get a good night’s sleep by opening up your hips and releasing tension from your muscles.

Here is how you can do it:

• Start off in a sitting position with your legs extended in the front.
• Next, bend your left knee in a manner that creates a ninety-degree angle.
• Similarly, bend your right knee and position it above your left leg.
• In this position, your left knee is just above the right shin.
• Slide both your hands in the front until you feel a deep stretch in your hips.
• Release after a few minutes. Repeat.

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5. Cat Pose or Marjariasana

Cat stretches tend to be one of the exceptional yoga poses that you can do for insomnia as it will calm your mind by boosting blood circulation and stimulating the digestive organs of the body.

Here is how you can do it:

• Assume the tabletop position.
• Round your spine upwards with your navel drawn inside, chin tucked in and your head dropping towards the floor.

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6. Locust Pose or Salabhasana

The locust pose is one of the simplest yoga poses that will help in cases of insomnia by relaxing your body with a gentle stretch. This exercise will effectively work on your chest, shoulders, and back.

Here is how you can do it:

• Settle in a lying position on your stomach on the ground with your feet apart at the hip distance.
• Place both your arms behind your back, clasping each other.
• Press your feet on the floor while lifting your arms and chest off the ground in a locust position.
• Hold the locust pose for about a minute or two while gazing in the front. Release.

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Bottom Line

Regularly practicing the aforementioned yoga poses will effectively help you rejuvenate and unwind at the end of the day. They will bring a sense of calm and reduce stress from the body along with relieving tightness in the muscles. This routine will facilitate a good night's sleep along with building a better sleeping pattern in the long-term.

Additionally, these yoga poses will also entail several other benefits such as a better digestive system, improved posture, good mental well-being, releasing tightness from the muscles, and ensure better health overall.

Considering the benefits of the aforementioned yoga poses, you should definitely include them in your routine.