6 Yoga Poses To Practice On Bed After Waking Up

Yoga has been one of the purest forms of safely getting rid of the unhealthy aspects of your life. Moreover, the practising of yoga offers plethora of remedial assurances for varied sicknesses ranging from physical pain to mental stress.

However, most of the people don’t get time to keep themselves mentally and physically fit due to the lack of time and proper location to perform different yoga poses or any other form of fitness regimes. Perhaps, this array of yoga poses could help them and others who have been looking to start practising yoga.

These poses that we have for you are something that you wouldn’t hesitate to practice on a daily basis, because you can simply do it on your bed. Since, these are also the poses that are apt for performing in the morning; you might find it easy to perform them soon after waking up on your very bed.

Apanasana (Reverse Child’s Pose)

The rocking action is said to release serotonin and melatonin, which bring on a calming and blissful feeling. No wonder babies loved being rocked to sleep and who says you should not start your day calm and as blissful as a baby?

Steps

1. Lie on the bed with your legs extended.
2. Bend your knees in toward your chest and separate your knees.
3. Draw your knees tighter and wrap your arms around your legs.
4. Roll to your right.
5. Roll to your left.
6. Repeat several times.

Benefits

• Stretches the spine and shoulders
• Improves digestion
• Massages the abdominal organs and back
• Relieves lower back pain
• Opens the hips

Contraindications

• Knee injuries
• Hernia

Sukhasana (Sukha means Joy, Easy)

This is an easy pose, so sit up on the bed in a relaxed fashion. No need for a full lotus here.

Steps

1. With the buttocks on the bed, cross the legs. Ankles lined up one in front of the other.
2. Remove any flesh from the sit bones by pulling it back so that you sit on the fronts of your sits bones.
3. Rest the hands on the knees with the palms facing up or down. Knees should be lower than the pelvis.
4. Grounding the sit bones into the bed, reach up through the lumbar spine, open the shoulders pressing the chest forward and relax your shoulders.
5. Relax the face, release the jaw, and soften the tongue.
6. Breathing through the nose; diaphragm drops on the inhale and rises on the exhale.

Modifications And Props

• Place a folded blanket under the knees or under the hip bones.

Benefits

• Opens the hips
• Lengthens the spine
• Promotes groundedness and inner calm

Contraindications

• Recent or chronic knee or hip injury or inflammation

Nadi Shodhana

(Nadi means “river of energy”; Shodhana means “to expel from the body”)

Steps

1. Sit comfortably and bring your attention to your breath. Spend a few minutes breathing naturally.
2. Create Vishnu mudra with either your right or left hand.
3. You will begin this pranayama by inhaling in both nostrils and then exhaling out of one nostril. This is accomplished by closing off one of the nostrils using either the thumb or the ring finger. If it is before noon, you will exhale out the left nostril first, and if it is after 12 noon, you will exhale out the right nostril first.
4. You will then inhale in the same nostril you just exhaled from and switch nostrils using either the thumb or the ring finger and exhale the opposite nostril. Inhale in that same nostril and switch before exhaling out the other nostril. For example: Inhale in both nostrils. Close off the right nostril with your thumb (let’s assume you are right- handed) and exhale out the left nostril. Inhale in the left nostril and close it off with your ring finger and exhale out the right nostril. Inhale in the right nostril and close it off again using the thumb and exhale out the left nostril. Continue this for several minutes. Conclude by exhaling out the opposite nostril that you first exhaled from.

Benefits

• Increases respiratory health

Bhujangasana (Serpent Pose)

This is an easy stretch for the back but try not to come up too high. It feels great especially if you are a back sleeper.

Steps

1. Lie on your stomach. Bend your elbows and place your hands directly underneath your shoulders. Draw the legs together, with the inner thighs, knees, and heel actively touching. With the back of the neck lengthening, gaze straight ahead. Press you pubic bone down as you draw your buttocks together and tighten the thighs.
2. Inhale and begin lifting the chest up and the chin forward. Press the hands down into the bed. Keep your toes on the bed. Exhale. Inhale and lift a little higher, shifting part of your weight onto your arms. Hold here and exhale.
3. Inhale and lift one more time straightening your arms.
4. Exhale, relaxing the shoulders. Lengthen the fingers and press the weight down through them. Stay here if this is good.
5. If you want more, you can inhale and lift through the chest looking up over your head or to your third eye.
6. Hold for a few breaths. When you are ready, release your chin forward. Inhale.
7. Exhale, releasing to the bed.

Modifications And Props

• If this is too taxing on the lower back, lower, and as you come back up, pull the chest forward through your hands as you stretch through the spine separating the vertebrae and breathe in between them into the discs.

Variations

• If this still is too much, go to your forearms to sphinx pose

Benefits

• Strengthens the spine
• Strengthens the arms and shoulders, wrists, forearms, and hands
• Stretches abdominals and lungs
• Opens heart and lungs
• Therapeutic for asthma
• Relieves stress and fatigue
• Firms the buttocks
• Stimulates abdominal organs
• Soothes sciatica

Contraindications

• Back injury or pain
• Headache
• Pregnancy
• Carpal Tunnel

Balasana (Child’s Pose)

Beautiful counter pose for your back after serpent pose.

Steps

1. Kneel on the bed. Touch your big toes together and sit back on your heels. You can separate your knees if you find this more comfortable.
2. Exhale and fold the torso down over the thighs.
3. Place your forehead on your bed. Lay your hands besides your thighs palms facing the ceiling, bring your arms up over your head (as in picture and relax your shoulders. Broaden your sacrum across the back of your pelvis.
4. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis.
5. Lengthen the neck as you imagine that the crown of your head is reaching forward. Allow the shoulders to open at the shoulder blades.
6. Balasana is a resting pose. Stay anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
7. To come out of the pose, place your hands besides the chest and lift through the torso as you press your tailbone downward into the pelvis.

Modifications And Props

• If it is difficult to sit on your heels, place a folded blanket between the thighs and calves.

Variations

• To lengthen the torso, reach the hands up over the head. With each inhale, reach the hands further out lifting the buttocks up slightly. On the exhale, lay the buttocks back down to the bed.
• Take a slight twist to the side by walking your hands first to the right and then to the left. Wiggle about a little sometimes loosens up tight hips.

Benefits

• Stretches the hips, thighs, and ankles
• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and fatigue
• Relieves back and neck pain when done with head and torso supported

Contraindications

• Pregnancy
• Diarrhea
• Knee injury

Virasana With Arm Circles

Another great pose for mornings, especially if you are a side sleeper. It gets the shoulders moving and the toxic waste that has stagnated there moving out of the joint.

Steps

1. Sit comfortably in Virasana (as seen in picture above) or Sukasana
2. Place the fingers of the right hand on the right shoulder and gently make a circle with your elbow.

1. Continue making circles, but each time, make them a little bit bigger (we are opening up the shoulder joint).
2. Continue doing this for 10 circles one direction and then 10 the other direction.
3. Change arms and repeat.
4. Finish by rolling both shoulders forward and then back.