Practicing Yoga Before You Go to Sleep Part One

These photographs were taken when I had pretty bad osteoarthritis, but I didn't yet know it. I just knew something was wrong. You can see that my legs are thin, and very wide apart. I couldn't get my knees together. The balls of my hip sockets had moved outward. I was also very stiff.

Each night I have a ritual. I eat a healthy dinner, take a hot bath using my homemade soap, and then practice yoga. It's so calming and healing. Since having both of my hips replaced, I have gone back to doing a simple and traditional yoga class. I always find that drilling the basics helps me, regardless of the subject.


I start out with some deep breathing while laying on my back. I inhale for eight counts, hold the breath for eight counts, and then exhale for eight counts. I do this for five to ten minutes. After that I do some easy warm up stretches. I reach through my fingers and toes as I'm laying on my back. From there I sit cross legged and do a few neck rolls in each direction. I join my fingers behind the shoulder blades, and stretch out my shoulders and upper back. I rock back and forth on my spine for a couple of minutes. This moves the life force energy up and down the spine. I do four or five repetitions of cat/cow pose, and press my body into downward facing dog for several breaths.

From there I stand up and do a couple of the warrior poses. I follow my intuition, and work on the positions that will strengthen my legs. I do some forward folds, and variations on those poses. I kick up into a handstand, and work on dolphin and plank pose on my elbows.

After that, I relax on the back,  and then move into the floor poses. Right now I have been mixing in Pilates with this part of the routine. It helps me to have a strong core and to engage the leg and buttocks muscles. I also run through the basic physical therapy exercises that I learned when I had my hips replaced. I always feel good after doing those; they are very specific.

After a deep relaxation, I take the dogs out, double check that my cottage is securely locked, and then head off to bed. I really think that this has helped me to keep my weight down and enabled me to sleep well. Before I had my hips replaced, I dreaded going to bed at night. The aching would keep me up, and nothing would relieve it.  Thanks to the expertise of my surgeon, Dr. Joel Matta, the pain is now gone. 

Tomorrow I will write about the floor section of my nightly yoga sequence. It amazes me how doing a simple class can keep you toned and fit. Workouts don't have to be hard and strenuous. Consistency and technique are key.