A Good Night’s Sleep Yoga Routine for the Whole Family

• Yoga

By the time my daughter was five, it was clear that bedtime was not going to be an easy affair. There really weren’t enough glasses of water, back rubs, or stories for her to feel ready to say goodnight. Maybe that’s just being five, but for her it continued year in and year out. She wasn’t an anxious child, but it was as if she just never quite wanted to let go of the day. Putting her to bed always included a moment where we had to say some form of “enough” and cut her off. It didn’t feel great, and I was convinced that there was something we could do to help her use that active brain of hers to help herself to settle down.

Being that my husband and I are both yoga teachers, it seemed like there had to be an answer there. So we started doing a special nighttime flow: Good Night Yoga. It really helped! We quickly had a routine in place to close the day together. Doing the practice together was actually calming for both of us. I stopped feeling like I was entering a diplomatic negotiation every night and could just enjoy a little time with my daughter, knowing that we were doing something relaxing that seemed to give her the mental and physical calming practice she needed.

When I added the Cloud Journey Visualization, it brought a whole new dimension. With a relaxed mind and body, she could be still and use the visualization to self-soothe and further release any tension that might get in the way of falling asleep. (She is now 13 and on occasion, when middle school life is feeling very full, I’ll still read her the Cloud Journey Visualization to help her get back to that calm release inside).

I still kept bringing her one more glass of water when she asked but, half the time, she was already asleep when I came back.

Even a few poses can go a long way to using that powerful mind-body connection to create a calm child (and calmer parent) at bedtime. Below is a yoga sequence to use with your children, from my book Good Night Yoga: A Pose by Pose Bedtime Story, plus the Cloud Journey Visualization.

1. Tree

Become tall in your spine. Rest your foot on your ankle or above your knee and then balance. Switch feet.

2. Butterfly

Sit on the ground, press the soles of your feet together, and roll your shoulders back.

3. Bee

Inhale and sit up straight with your arms back. Exhale and lower your forehead toward the ground. Buzz your way down.

4. Cat Tilts

Inhale and look up and let your belly drop. Exhale and tuck your chin, lifting your spine high.

5. Child Pose

Press back onto your knees and relax.

Cloud Journey Visualization

Lie on your back with your hands by your sides.

Take a deep breath in … and let a long breath out.

Imagine you are lying on a white, puffy cloud. Feel yourself sink into its softness as the cloud lifts you up, up, up into the air.

You are floating. Rocking back … and forth. Your cloud is taking you somewhere you love to be. This wonderful place has colors to see and sounds to hear.

Feel how good it is to be there. Breathe in. Breathe out.

When you are ready, your cloud slowly brings you down, down, down. It settles you gently back on the earth. As your cloud pulls away, it takes with it anything that is troubling you—whoosh!

You are left feeling calm, peace, and happiness inside. Take another deep breath in … and let a long breath out. Sweet dreams!

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