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Fantastic 15 Minute Bedtime Routine for Children or Adults

A chlld resting at the end of yoga class and yoga bedtime tips to help children relax and sleep.

 

Let’s face it, no matter what your age, there are times when it’s hard to fall asleep.

Anxiety can cause disruption to our sleep patterns, like worry about the first day of school for instance. For students, parents, or teachers having an effective bedtime routine can  can make the difference between a bright and chipper morning or feeling like cranky old so-and-so.  So what do the yogis recommend for a serene slumber?

First of all, it is always helpful to do a few yoga poses before beds and you can check out my favorite pose for sleep here.

But if you want a quick routine try incorporating these yogic tidbits that shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to get you relaxed and ready to doze off.

Bedtime Routine for Children or Adults

  • Wash Your Feet in Cold Water (5 minutes): Stand in the tub, turn on the cold water and stick one foot under the water and then the other.  Do this at least 3 times per foot. Better yet, sit on the side of the tub and rub both feet under the frigid flow.  Let the worries of the day wash away and bring your attention to the present moment – namely your feet.  When the cold cascade is finished, rub your feet vigorously with a towel to stimulate all the 72,000 nerve endings in your tootsies.  It should feel like a wonderful foot massage.  If you’re helping someone else have a good night sleep, giving them a foot massage while they lie in bed is a sure fire way to show how much you care AND get them ready for sleep.
Yoga bedtime routine for children
Don’t Forget Your Feet for a Good Night’s Sleep!
  • Vision the Perfect Day (5 minutes):  One of the purposes of learning yoga is to help you think about what you want to think about, instead of thinking about what you don’t want to think about.  Once you are in bed and feeling relaxed from your foot massage, spend some time thinking about what kind of day you WANT to have. Vision that you wake up feeling refreshed, put on your favorite clothes (laying your clothes out in advance can also save time), have a great breakfast.  Imagine all the details you can in a positive way, like getting up a few minutes early (often doing this will help you wake up a couple minutes before your alarm goes off).  See yourself getting to school smoothly, a few minutes early so you are not rushed and frazzled.  Imagine greeting people you see with a smile.  If a worry crops up, then transform the worry into a wish of what you want and how you can handle problems that arise.  Many yogis find that when your vision of the future is clear, it is easier to achieve.
    The Yogis Suggest you Breathe through your Left Nostril to Relax

     

  • Turn on Your Right Side and Breathe (Left Nostril Breathing – 5 minutes):  Now you’re ready to fall to sleep.  Lie on your stomach and turn your head to the right so that your right cheek and nostril are smushed into the pillow.  Closing your right nostril will mean you are breathing through your left nostril, you can even put your hand under your cheek and use a finger to block the right nostril completely. Breathing through the left nostril is the cooling, relaxing, calming side.  See if you can slow your breath down so it is nice and slow. Try to reach 4 or less breaths per minute. This also helps the mind slow down and get into a relaxed state. Continue this long deep breathing listening to your breath or silently saying a mantra as you breathe in an out, like inhaling “Sat” (truth) , exhaling “Nam” (name/identity) or inhaling “Calm” and exhaling “Happy” or simply inhale and think “inhaling” and exhale and think “exhaling.”

These yogic steps can help you get really sleepy and when you are about to drift off you are welcome to change positions and fall asleep as you wish.

A little yogic wisdom can go a long way especially when it comes to a good night sleep.

Wishing you all a great night’s sleep and a great day ahead!  You’re invited to leave your Sleep Stories in the comments.

 

Upcoming Events:

Back to School means time for learning and development both professionally and personally.   Consider the upcoming training events with out Registered Children’s Yoga School (Yoga Alliance approved training) for your own back to school experience.

 

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training Courses and Dates in Toronto at this link

Share Yoga with Children and Uplift Yourself at the Same Time
You’ll be glad you did!

 

Pajama Day Yoga – 3 Tips to Help Children Sleep

Lately I keep showing up at my daycare yoga classes to find kids wearing long johns and night shirts, clutching their teddy bears.  I make my standard quip that everyone seems to have forgotten to get dressed this morning to which the kids say, “No it’s Pajama Day!”

Those who work with kids know that one way to keep things interesting is to change things up.  Sometimes we do it by changing the routine, like doing everything backwards.

Sometimes we use funny voices or expressions like saying a pose is “easy peasy lemon squeezey.”

On Pajama Day you get to roll out of bed and out the door without changing.

Yoga tools can help children relax and sleep

Teach a Bedtime Yoga Routine to Help Children Sleep

Pajama Day is a great way to break out of your routine and use the silliness to incorporate teaching moments into your lesson plan.  It is a perfect tie in for bedtime yoga. Here are three of my favorites bedtime yoga activities:

  1. Table Pose: Here’s a pose that has helped many children have a good night’s sleep.  Read about one child who did it for 11 minutes then slept though the night and even slept in the next morning.
  2. Love it, Lose It, Look At It: Try naming these three things – Love It: Name the thing you loved  most about your day and why.Lose It:Name the thing you liked the least about your day.  What would you do differently next time to have a different result?Look At It: What got slightly better today?  Sometimes we only look for huge changes, when really it’s the small changes that indicate things are getting better or worse.  Can you find the little changes today?  It’s the little actions that make or break our habits. Discuss these and consider starting a bedtime journal so children can make their own lists.  Writing in a journal is a wonderful way to wind down at the end of the day.
  3. Foot Yoga in Bed: Here’s my most favorite.  One student, who’s about to turn 16 this summer, has used this to fall asleep since she was seven years old when she learned it in our yoga class.  That’s nine years!  Here’s how it goes:Get in bed and get nice and comfortable under your blankets.  Lie on your back (corpse pose) and start to notice your breath.Now begin to point and flex your feet in rhythm with your breath.  When you inhale, flex your feet by pointing your toes to your head.  When you exhale, point your toes away from your head.  Continue with a relaxed breath and time your foot movement perfectly with your breath.Try silently thinking of a mantra while you flex and point.  Inhale: Sat (truth) Exhale: Nam (name) or Inhale: I Am, Exhale: Peace.Continue till you fall asleep.

Lovely sleep routines like these give kids the tools to relax themselves at bedtime.

Children with Sleep Problems

There were four children in the Family Yoga Class of my Kids Yoga Teacher Training last weekend.  Three of the children said they were tired when they arrived at 10 am.  The same three put up their hands indicating they have trouble falling asleep.

It wasn’t a Pajama Day class, but I changed the lesson plan on the fly to teach them the Foot Yoga In Bed exercise during relaxation.  The kids were so relaxed, they didn’t want to get up!

Lack of Sleep Makes Adults Groggy but Kids Hyperactive

By teaching kids how to have a good night’s sleep it’s good for everyone because adults and children respond differently to lack of sleep.  Adults get groggy, children get hyperactive. Science backs up the benefits of sleep:

Kinda makes you wanna take a nap right now, doesn’t it?

With Pajama’s or regular clothing, the message is clear that children will benefit from learning yoga to help them sleep.