Yoga can be a great way to relax and unwind, especially after a stressful day. It can promote a sense of calm, making it easier to fall into a deep, restful sleep, according to yoga teacher Veronique Ory.
“Often worry, anxiety, or mental unrest linger in the body at the end of the day,” she explains. “Moving slowly with awareness allows that energy to soften and move through.
“At night, we’re not trying to stimulate the body, we’re inviting it to downshift.”
Article continues below
With this in mind, Ory has designed a short flow with gentle movement, breath and twisting to release physical tension while giving the nervous system space to settle.
“Gentle spinal movement and twisting help release tension from the day,” she explains, “while slow breathing encourages the nervous system to transition into rest.”
Before you begin, Ory recommends you take a moment to create a calming atmosphere by dimming the lights or lighting a candle. Dress in something comfortable and cozy, and silence any phone notifications.
“These small rituals signal to the body that the day is coming to a close and it’s safe to begin unwinding,” says Ory. “This short sequence helps the body process lingering worry or stress. Feel free to move through this flow as slowly as you wish.”
How to do the bedtime yoga flow
There are five poses in the flow:
- Child’s pose
- Cat-cow wave
- Side stretch
- Table-top with eagle legs
- Gate pose stretch with thread the needle
There’s an extra, final seated, meditative pose to finish off the flow, which can also be done lying down. Some of the moves are repeated—such as a single cat-cow wave and child’s pose—which are added between each pose.
1. Child’s pose
- Kneel on a yoga mat.
- Lower your torso to the floor, resting your butt on your heels and your forehead on the mat.
- Extend your arms out in front of you, palms on the mat.
- Take a few slow breaths here, allowing your body to settle.
2. Cat-cow waves
- From child’s pose, lift your torso and hips into tabletop position, with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
- Inhale as you lift your gaze and squeeze your shoulder blades together to open your chest. This is cow pose.
- Exhale as you round your spine, drawing your navel inward and dropping your gaze towards your thighs or stomach. This is cat pose.
- Repeat several times, flowing smoothly from cat to cow.
- Return to child’s pose before the next move.
3. Side stretch
- Move into a high kneeling position, with your hips directly above your knees and your back straight.
- Slowly sweep both arms overhead.
- Lower your left arm to the floor as you reach your right arm up, leaning to the left to feel a stretch along your torso.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Return both arms overhead, then lower back into child’s pose briefly.
- Flow through cat-cow again.
4. Tabletop with eagle legs
- Return to tabletop pose and cross your left shin over your right calf.
- Sink your hips back toward your heels and lower your head toward the mat.
- Come back to tabletop position, then repeat on the other side.
- Then come back to tabletop position and flow through cat-cow again.
- Return to child’s pose.
- Add another side bend here, keeping both arms extended overhead, leaning over to each side.
- Finish with cat-cow and child’s pose.
5. Gate pose side stretch with thread the needle
- Move into a high kneeling position again with arms extended overhead.
- Extend your right leg out to the side.
- Reach your right hand down the right leg and reach your left arm up and over your head, lengthening through the left side of your body.
- Cartwheel your hands down in front of you into tabletop position, keeping your right leg extended out to the side.
- Cat-cow and push back into child’s pose.
- Return to tabletop and move into thread the needle pose, reaching your left arm under your chest, extending it towards the right side between your right elbow and knee, allowing your left shoulder and head to relax toward the floor.
- Open your chest again by reaching the right arm straight up, then behind you.
- Counter this twist by coming onto your knees, placing the right hand on the floor and extending your left arm.
- Come into cat-cow and then child’s pose.
- Come back to kneeling and repeat on the other side.
- Move through one last slow round of cat-cow before settling back into child’s pose for a few quiet breaths.
6. Close seated
- Slowly roll up to kneeling and settle down into a comfortable seated position.
- Roll your shoulders back and down, resting your hands gently on your legs.
- Let your breath become steady and easeful.
- From here, you might linger in quiet meditation—seated or lying down—allowing your body to fully settle before sleep.
Veronique Ory is an international yoga guide, retreat leader, and author of Shine On & Off the Mat. Originally from Montreal, she’s now based in Florida and teaches both virtually and in person around the world. Her approach blends creative movement, poetic storytelling, and mindful somatic practices rooted in longevity and joy.