Having unhealthy and untimely eating habits often disturbs your sleep cycle. You may sometimes feel bloated after dinner and have trouble getting sound sleep. That is when practicing yoga becomes beneficial as it is the best way to release everything you are holding in your mind and body before you head towards the bed.
Doing yoga practice for a certain amount of time in your night-time routine can improve the quality and duration of your sleep. It is helpful for people that deal with less sleep, have insomnia, or get limited time to rest at night. It also helps to improve your digestion and maintains the sleep cycle for a longer period. So here are seven yoga poses to perform post dinner for a better sleep and a healthy lifestyle.
- Yoga Poses for a Better Sleep:
- Standing Forward Bend Pose – Uttanasana:The standing forward bend pose or uttanasana is good for your gastrointestinal tract. It pushes the food along the tract and helps relieve bloated feeling and constipation. To practice uttanasana, you need to keep your knees bent, reach over your stomach, and hold the backside of both knees. When you do this yoga pose perfectly, you will begin to feel the tension in your hamstrings. So if you don’t feel any tension, you must consider straightening your legs and hold this pose for about 15-20 seconds.
- Wind Releasing / Removing/ Liberating Pose – Pawanmuktasana:The Pawanmuktasana pose helps you get rid of bloating by allowing you to break the wind. Hence, you must perform this yoga pose all alone. To practice pawanmukstasana, you need to roll onto your back, inhale, and then hold your right knee close to your chest. Start rocking the knee side-to-side as it massages the abdominal area. After taking a few long breaths, you can switch the legs and begin rocking another knee.
- Downward Dog Pose – Adho Mukha Svanasana:The downward dog pose or Adho Mukha Svanasana is one of the popular yoga poses most people practice. You can perform it at any time of the day but consider doing it after dinner for better sleep. This pose helps improve bowel movement and affects your abdominal organs. To perform this simple and easy asana, you need to place your palms a little over the shoulder-width apart and keep your toes tucked in. Further, raise your hips and move your chest back with the thighs. Keep your knees bent and the hips high, and hold this position for around 10-15 seconds.
- Camel Pose – Ustrasana:The camel pose helps in digestion and provides great relief to your back. Ultimately, it helps you sleep better. This pose is difficult to do and also has been rumoured to adversely affect the back. But many studies have proved that Ustrasana has many benefits as it eases stomach problems, strengthens back muscles, and aids digestion, which helps you sleep better at night.
- Child’s Pose – Balasana:The child’s pose or Balasana is another asana that helps clear the bloated stomach and eases digestion. It is one of the most helpful yoga asanas you can do post dinner for better sleep. To practice balasana, you need to start from a kneeling position, tuck your chest into the thighs, and keep your forehead on the ground. Further, keep the arms straight at the body’s side and take a few slow, full breaths. Maintain this pose for around 10-15 seconds.
- Bow Pose – Dhanurasana:The bow pose or Dhanurasana is another asana that you must do after dinner for better sleep. It is good for relieving constipation and eases the bloated stomach. It has also been observed that the bow pose helps tone the back, abdomen, and also makes the body flexible. But this pose is a bit tricky and requires some practice to attain the perfect position. Once you get to the right position, hold it for 15-20 seconds, and then relax for another round.
- Corpse Pose – Savasana:The corpse pose or savasana is the favorite pose of every human being. It is designed to improve the body process as it helps you revitalize by recovering all the energy you lose while performing the asanas mentioned above. Performing savasana is simple as you have to lie on your back, keep the hands on the side with palms facing the sky and close the eyes. You need to keep this position for 15-20 minutes with your eyes closed and concentrate only on your breathing pattern. This asana is often substituted with Padmasana for meditation. Generally, you should end the yoga practice with this pose. At last, you will feel light and tired enough that you will go to bed peacefully without worrying about getting sleep deprived.
- Standing Forward Bend Pose – Uttanasana:The standing forward bend pose or uttanasana is good for your gastrointestinal tract. It pushes the food along the tract and helps relieve bloated feeling and constipation. To practice uttanasana, you need to keep your knees bent, reach over your stomach, and hold the backside of both knees. When you do this yoga pose perfectly, you will begin to feel the tension in your hamstrings. So if you don’t feel any tension, you must consider straightening your legs and hold this pose for about 15-20 seconds.
- Benefits of doing yoga post dinner:
There are several other benefits of doing yoga before your bedtime. Here are some of them:- Helps alleviate insomnia:
If you are an insomniac, then practicing yoga poses after dinner can help you sleep better. It will help you fall asleep quicker, sleep for a longer time, and also help you go back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night. Some of the research studies have also proved that yoga and various other mind-body therapies help in treating insomnia and promotes better sleep.
- Improves the quality of your sleep and life:
Yoga is a natural alternative to medical sleep aids given to older people dealing with sleep problems. Moreover, some researchers found that practicing yoga has long-term effects on older adults. It positively affects the quality of sleep and life, which is beneficial for most people.
- Promotes relaxation:
Yoga relaxes the body and puts it in a calm state. This is known as the opposite of the fight-or-flight response. So if you practice calming yoga poses, you will feel relaxed and enter a lower state of arousal. This would help you to have a controlled blood pressure and lower the amount of stress hormones in your body.
- Helps alleviate insomnia:
Conclusion:
So if you have any problems related to indigestion or bloating that hamper your sleep quality, then make sure you practice these yoga poses regularly post dinner for better sleep and healthy life.
