By the time you climb the stairs, your body has usually had a very long day. Shoulders have crept up towards your ears, your jaw has been quietly clenched since about 3pm, and your lower back is stiff from sitting. None of that disappears just because you have turned the light off. A few slow, gentle shapes — held for a couple of minutes each, in dim light, with no ambition whatsoever — can tell your nervous system that the day is finished. This is not a workout. It is a handover.

Why Gentle Movement Helps at Bedtime

Sleep does not switch on like a tap. It arrives when your body feels safe enough to let go, and that means coaxing the parasympathetic nervous system into gear: slower heart rate, softer breathing, relaxed muscles. Long, slow stretches do this particularly well, because they combine movement with long exhales. The exhale is the important half — it is the part of the breath that signals calm.

Bedtime yoga is different from the yoga you might do at other times of day. Skip anything standing, anything heating, and anything that makes you puff. Sun salutations at 10pm will wake you up. Instead, choose poses where you are supported by the floor, where your head is level with or lower than your heart, and where you can stay long enough for the muscles to actually change their mind. Two to three minutes in each pose is plenty. Longer is fine if it feels lovely.

Set the Scene Before You Begin

The environment does half the work, so make it easy on yourself.

• Turn the main light off and use a lamp or a candle instead. Bright overhead light tells your brain it is midday.
• Keep a blanket, a cushion or two, and a yoga mat or thick rug within reach. You will want them.
• Wear something soft and warm. Socks are allowed. Cold feet are the enemy of relaxation.
• Leave your phone in another room, or at the very least face down and silenced.
• Aim for ten to fifteen minutes. If you only have five, do legs up the wall and nothing else.

Child's Pose: A Full-Body Exhale

Start here, because it is the fastest route to a slower breath. Come onto your knees with your big toes touching and your knees hip-width apart, then sit back towards your heels and fold forward. Rest your forehead on the mat or on a cushion, and walk your hands out in front of you if your shoulders are happy there. If they are not, bring your arms alongside your body, palms up.

Breathe into your back ribs rather than your belly — you will feel the breath spreading behind you, which is oddly soothing. Stay for two to five minutes. If your knees complain, sit on a cushion, or try a seated version at the edge of a bed or chair with your forearms resting on a pillow. If you are pregnant, take your knees wide and keep the space generous for your belly.

Legs Up the Wall: The Reset Pose

This is the one most people fall in love with. Sit sideways next to a wall, then swing your legs up as you lower your back to the floor. Your hips do not need to touch the wall — a fist's width of space is usually more comfortable, and further away if your hamstrings feel tight. Rest your head on a folded blanket and let your arms lie out to the sides, or rest your hands on your belly.

Stay for five to ten minutes. Your feet, calves and thighs will begin to feel heavy, and the lower back often releases with a quiet thunk. If your lower back aches, slide a cushion under your hips for a gentle lift. This pose is a gift after a day of standing, and an equal gift after a day of sitting.

Seated Forward Fold: Letting Go of the Day

Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you, or on a cushion if your lower back rounds immediately. Bend your knees as much as you need to — this is not about touching your toes. Inhale to lengthen your spine, then hinge forward from the hips and let your hands rest on your shins, thighs or feet, whichever is available without strain.

If folding forward feels cramped, stack a bolster or two pillows over your legs and rest your forehead and chest there instead. Stay for two to three minutes, softening your neck and jaw on every exhale. You will feel the backs of your legs and your spine lengthen, and the shoulders finally drop away from your ears.

Putting It Together, Then Going to Bed

A simple sequence that covers everything above:

• Child's pose — 2 minutes
• Legs up the wall — 5 minutes
• Seated forward fold — 2 minutes
• Lying on your back, hands on your belly — 10 slow breaths, making each exhale roughly twice as long as the inhale

Then get up slowly, keep the lights low, and go straight to bed rather than back to a screen. Keep your bedroom cool and dark, and try to go to bed and get up at roughly the same time each day — consistency does more for sleep than any single pose. If you are pregnant, injured, or managing a health condition, check with your GP or a qualified yoga teacher before starting something new. Otherwise, roll out a mat, breathe out for longer than you breathe in, and let the day be over.