(gentle music)
- A lot of people, when
they work out after work,
in the evening, they become
energized and it's hard
for them to fall asleep.
And usually, it's because they're taking
high intensity formats
that are very dynamic
in nature and sets the body
and mind in a very dynamic,
energetic state of mind.
If you feel that you want to still move
but in a way that's going
to leave you relaxed
and not too energized, then
I like to take slow-moving,
circular motions, especially here,
but the most important thing you can do is
to align your movements with your breath.
Taking an inhale on the
upward (breathing deeply),
and exhale on the downward
(breathing deeply).
And when you focus on
coordinating your breath
with your movement, it
puts you in a focused state
of mind that's very calming.
You can also incorporate
this into your shoulders,
breathing in as they circle
back (breathing deeply),
exhale as they circle
down (breathing deeply).
And also, if you find
it very hard to meditate
because I know sitting still is very hard
for severals, including myself,
even if it's just
slowing down your breath.
(breathing deeply) It can be very helpful
(breathing deeply), in that respect.
Other movements I like
to take are side bends,
(breathing deeply)
taking a twist as well (breathing deeply).
(gentle music)
External hip openers, too,
I like to take on the bed.
The bed is soft so it
doesn't feel as intense
when you're sitting on it and
taking on these positions.
If you feel that bending
both knees is tough,
you extend the inside knee.
You can shift side-to-side.
You can use the mattress to kind
of help your body forward over the legs.
(gentle music)
Because, again, you're
getting ready for bed,
so don't turn this into an
intense stretch session,
'cause I know sometimes that can happen.
Get very passionate about it,
then you have to remember,
you're looking to fall asleep,
not get bendy before bed.
I like to take the hip stretch
and morph it into a twist.
You get a two-in-one situation there.
And also, self massage is really good.
If you find that you suffer
from tightness in the neck,
I like to use my fingers
and just gently manipulate
the back of your neck in towards the head,
especially here, where
the neck meets the skull,
could be also very tense.
(gentle music)
Taking the traps as well,
you can just easily manipulate
the traps with your hands.
Massage is said to induce relaxation,
especially done in a
very, non-aggressive way.
So don't hurt yourself here.
You don't wanna bruise
yourself before bedtime.
But even just that very
little hand manipulation
on the shoulders and the
neck can help better sleep.
If you like to massage the
temples on your forehead,
if you suffer from
headaches, from migraines,
I know it is all tied to different things
in terms of nutrition and
genetics and a lot of conditions,
unfortunately, can
contribute to migraines.
But if you feel that gentle manipulation
of the facial muscles might relieve
that tension and that pain,
sometimes I like to do this
and use the fingers just around
the perimeter of your forehead.
(gentle music)
Being a group fitness
instructor, I talk a lot,
and my jaw can get very tight.
So sometimes, I just use my
hands to gently manipulate
my jaw muscles here.
It's very helpful.
(gentle music)
If you want, you can lie down on your bed.
I'll face side so you see better.
But make sure you put
your head on your pillow,
because if you fall asleep,
you'll be in the right place.
You can take your knee circles here.
(gentle music)
Also, if you have a high
bed, you can take advantage,
bring your hips to the edge of the bed,
let the leg hang, and
then pull your knee in.
This makes for a great hip flexor stretch
as well as quadriceps stretch,
if you're tight there,
but this is very restorative
in that you're relying
on gravity to lower the leg
and not manipulating it down
and just letting it, again, hang.
You could even gently
move it side-to-side.
You could take the bent
knee in and out in circles.
Gently switch.
This is a great way to just
relax the body because, again,
the mattress is working with the contours
of your body, the leg is dropping down.
It feels really nice on the hips.
A figure four is always
a great one to take.
(gentle music)
I wanna say just spend
30 seconds, but again,
you don't have to count.
You just hold it until it feels good.
This is not an intense stretch routine.
This is more just to feel your body
and address the portions
that feel tight and tense
and just to use these
restorative movements
to help loosen them up and
to get you ready for bed.
You could also roll out the ankles
if you are on your feel a lot, heels,
or even men in shoes, whatever,
women in regular flat shoes
could be very tough on the feet.
You could also take this
to massage your feet,
and also the calves, too.
You could help manipulate in that way.
(gentle music)
Basically, your bed could
turn into a massage table.
That's really what this is about.
Whatever you need, you know you can do it
on your bed before bed time.
You take your knees, rock side-to-side.
You take your head, gently,
and pull and feel the stretch
in the back of your neck.
You could perform slow
roll-downs and rolls up.
(breathing deeply)
This might look like a sit-up
but the focus is not so much abdominals.
It's more just articulating
through the spine.
(gentle music)
And I'm holding onto my legs on purpose,
so I'm not so much, again,
making this into a six-pack exercise.
Remember, we're going to bed.
This is all for bed.
If you find that you have a hard time
stretching during the day,
I know this is not a super
intense stretch routine,
but at least your body
will gain benefit from it,
even if it's very restorative in nature.
If it's before bed and
that's the only time
that you have to do it, not
only will it benefit your body
in terms of creating more space in it,
it'll also relax you and
ensure a better bed time.
Sleep well.
Thank you so much for watching.
If you haven't already,
please subscribe to Well
+ Good's YouTube channel
as well as my YouTube
channel at kinkysweat.
I hope to see you guys again and I hope
that you have a better bedtime.
