by Nina

Just had an idea I want to share with you. Someone was telling me how calming gentle inverted poses were for him, and was regretting how cold it was in the house before bedtime or in the middle of the night, which is when he typically needed calming. “Too bad,” he said, “that I can’t do these poses in bed.” 

“But you can!” I said, as the light bulb went on. I realized that there was one gentle inverted pose that you actually could do under the covers. And here it is:

Photo by Melina Meza

This is a form of supported Bridge pose, with a bolster under the pelvis instead of a block. If you have a bolster, you can keep it near your bed and just slip it under your pelvis whenever you like, either at the beginning of the night or in the middle of the night. If you don’t have a bolster, you can just use bed pillows! When you slide the bolster crosswise under your pelvis and release down onto it, make sure the entire bolster is below your waist and is not supporting the curve of your lower back. If necessary, move it to a better position. And as you relax in the pose, allow your knees to fall toward each other, rather than further apart. 

Because this pose takes advantage of way your body regulates blood pressure (see Why You Should Love Your Baroreceptors), it is automatically calming. If it’s comfortable for you, you should try to stay at least 10 minutes because it takes a while for the Relaxation Response to take full effect. 

Practicing this pose before sleep or in the middle of night might help you fall asleep more quickly and/or sleep more soundly. But even if it doesn’t, you will still reap all the benefits of conscious relaxation. In this state, your body reduces stress hormones, slows your heart rate, decreases blood pressure, allows your digestive, healing, and immune systems to function optimally, and quiets a racing mind. So it’s all good!

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