Yoga at bedtime can help you fall asleep faster and sleep better. Trudy, a registered yoga teacher and fellow Physical Therapist, stops by to show me a therapeutic yoga bedtime routine.
Therapeutic yoga focuses on gentle yoga or modification poses with breathing techniques. Trudy is not only a friend and mentor, but she is also from Canada! So if you are a Canadian viewer, make sure to give her a shout-out in the comments. And Canadian or not, make sure you visit Trudy’s website!
When trying to get a good night’s sleep, you want to do stretches and exercises that don’t wake up your spine, so try not to extend your back or open up your chest area before going to sleep.
A piriformis stretch is a great way to help relax the glute area and relax the lower body.
Next, is a double knee to chest stretch. Make sure everything is in alignment, and that you are not getting any pinching in the front of your hips.
Finally, legs up the wall helps with lymphatic drainage. This is a great way to relax the whole body and help with sleep.
Exercises for Osteoporosis can help prevent further decline and help protect the bones. It’s important to move safely if you have osteoporosis: Maintain good spinal alignment by keeping hips and shoulders in alignment (no twisting). These gentle exercises when done at one’s own pace may help.
Bell’s Palsy is the sudden weakness of your facial muscles on one half of the face. These exercises may seem like you are just making funny faces, but this will help get the weak muscles working again.
TENS units & EMS units can be very helpful when recovering from an injury or surgery. The two are very different, but often come together in one unit like the iStim EV-805 unit I use in this video.
If you're a truck driver or a delivery driver, sitting all day can put a lot of stress on your body, especially your back, bottom, legs, and hips. These stretches and exercises are a great way to help keep your body moving for all kinds of drivers and anyone who sits a lot throughout the day.
If you're a Retail Worker and you stand all day, that can put a lot of stress on your body, especially your back, neck, feet, and hips. These stretches and exercises are great for retail workers, teachers, factory workers, or anyone who stands a lot throughout the day.
Exercising your tendons isn't something most people think about since tendons aren’t muscles, but tendon-specific exercises can improve joint health, reduce pain and stiffness, and improve speed and agility.
Core exercises are very important to have a healthy and stable back as well as the whole body. The core is not only the front, sides, and back of the trunk, but it is also the pelvic floor. When first starting core exercises, it is best to try modified ones first and then progress to harder movements as the core gets stronger.