Last updated: February 4, 2017
If you have been searching for a good nighttime routine to help you fall asleep, look no further than yoga. we will help you find best yoga DVD and the right yoga workout to help you get centered and back into a normal sleeping pattern.
A bonus is that yoga will improve many other aspects of your health and life as well. Yoga is a total mind and body workout. Combining strengthening poses, deep stretching, breathing, and meditation, it will keep you fit and calm your mind.
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Product | Features | Our Rating | Price |
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  Yoga for Beginners & Beyond |
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| $$$$ | |
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| $$$ | |
  Kripalu Yoga Gentle DVD |
| $$$$$ |
Table of Contents
Health Benefits of Yoga
Alleviates aches and pains
Tight joints can cause many aches and sore muscles. Tight hips can strain the knees due to improper alignment of the thighs and shins. Tight hamstrings can cause flattening of the lumbar region of your lower back and lead to back pain. That back pain can spread into other areas of your body, as well.
Yoga improves your flexibility which will gradually loosen your ligaments and muscles for healthier joints. Loose joints and ligaments will greatly alleviate your aches and pains.
Builds muscle strength
Strong muscles protect your back and also reduce the chance of developing arthritis.
Injuries that can cause serious problems are also less likely to happen when you have strong muscles. Lifting a box, for instance, can cause your back to slip a disc and lead to enduring pain and therapy.
Strong muscles also burn more fat. A leaner body with less body fat improves your overall health. Diseases like diabetes are kept at bay in addition to helping with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and reducing the strain on your heart.
Better bone health
Bone diseases like osteoporosis are very common as we age. The strengthening of your muscles from yoga also increases your bone strength and reduces the chance of developing bone ailments.
The stress hormone, cortisol, is responsible for the weakening of bones by affecting the levels of calcium. Yoga can decrease your cortisol levels and keep more calcium in your bones.
Increased blood flow
When your blood increases, so does the oxygen level in your cells. Since cells are the building blocks of your body, healthier cells lead to a healthier you.
From swollen legs and ankles to kidney health, higher levels of oxygen in your blood will take care of many problems in your body.
Boost immunity
Stronger muscles, stronger bones, better blood flow, all of these lead to a stronger immune system. Deep breathing and meditation keep your mind clear of stress and increase your alertness.
When your whole body and mind are stronger, you are less likely to catch that cold or flu.
Improves lung function
Learning to take fewer, but deeper, breaths is more efficient and also increases lung capacity. This brings more oxygen into your blood and improves many disorders. In addition, it increases your physical capacity to exercise more and lead a more active life.
De-stresses your life
When your body is strong and your mind is calm, you feel more positive about yourself and your life. This leads to positive changes in just about every area.
Stress causes many of our ailments, including insomnia. It’s a vicious cycle. You’re stressed, so you can’t sleep which makes you unhealthy, which makes you stressed. When we tackle stress, many other issues take care of themselves. Read more about the benefits of yoga here.
How does yoga help my sleep?
Yoga provides you with a holistic approach to curing your sleep problems like insomnia.
By strengthening your body, you are less likely to be sick with viruses or infections. We all know how hard it is to sleep when we have a cough or cold. Preventing these illnesses is much easier than treating them and, when you are sleeping better, you are less likely to get sick.
Modern life can be overly stimulating at best and stressful at worst. This greatly impacts your sleep.
Even a good day with many positive elements can cause you to lose sleep if you can't slow your mind down from thoughts of the day's events. Obviously, a stressful day will have your mind racing in a negative way.
When you do yoga, the breathing, stretching, and sweating all combine to put you in a meditative state. This will declutter your mind and help keep you in the present. A clear, calm mind will eagerly go to sleep at night.
Great Add On
Essential Oil Diffusers Help You Relax
An essential oil diffuser can help you get in the perfect mood for yoga. Sometimes motivation can be the limiting factor to working out, so give yourself the best chance by setting the mood correctly! Read more about essential oil diffusers here.
Best types of yoga to help sleep
There are dozens of different yoga styles and techniques, if not more. The best yoga for sleep is one that you will want to make a part of your routine.
Any type of yoga will lead to better sleep, but here are some styles that are good for people who are just wanting to relax and don’t have much experience with yoga.
Sivananda Yoga
This is a very gentle style of yoga that is perfect for beginners and people of all physical abilities. There are 13 poses with breaks in between each pose in which you lie down. The poses are not complicated, but they still encourage stretching, develop muscle and bone strength, and increase flexibility. It’s very meditative and slow which is ideal for winding down before going to sleep.
Viniyoga
In this slow and gentle yoga technique, you focus on your breath and how it affects your poses. With more emphasis on your breathing, the accuracy of your poses is not so important. This is great for people who are not so flexible and can’t do many poses required in other yoga styles. Slowly, you will increase your flexibility and become able to try other more advanced yoga poses.
Iyengar Yoga
This yoga is very slow paced and is ideal for those who have never tried yoga. You are able to use props in Iyengar yoga to properly do the poses, thereby increasing your alignment and helping to stretch out those ligaments. In addition to being meditative, it increases blood flow and strengthens muscles.
Kripalu Yoga
The poses in Kripalu yoga are very slow; it is almost like doing Tai Chi. The focus is on aligning the mind and body. It is very meditative and less physical than many other yoga styles. By connecting your mind and body, your mind will be calm and your body loose. Body tension can increase depression, so people who suffer from anxiety leading to their insomnia will really benefit from this type of yoga.
The Best Yoga DVD for Inflexible People
Yoga for Beginners & Beyond
- AM and PM customized routines to start and finish your day
- Slow pace and flowing routines for beginners of any physical ability
- 40 different routines for different needs
- Modifications of poses for people who are not flexible
- Filmed in Half-Moon Bay, Antigua with amazing scenery
Best Overall
This beginner’s yoga DVD is less about a rigid yoga style and more about finding routines that work for you.
It’s great for beginners and especially people who have trouble completing many of the poses required to do yoga. Even though doing an incomplete yoga pose will still give you many benefits, it is more encouraging to be see yourself doing the poses properly.
That helps you stay confident and will lead to you trying more yoga. This will lead to you becoming more flexible and being able to do more advanced yoga.
The highlight of the DVD is the fact that it differentiates the poses for morning and evening yoga.
The PM yoga poses focus more on calming and letting go of stress. This prepares your mind for a deep and peaceful sleep. You will fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer once you put this PM yoga into practice regularly.
The AM yoga helps you start your day with proper breathing and getting the blood flowing. Starting your day with these routines will set your day up to be productive and energetic in addition to putting your mind in a positive place.
There are three discs included.
The first one focuses on meditation techniques which are great for stress relief. Disc two is full of yoga routines for beginners and includes the AM/PM routines. The third disc is meant for inflexible people with poses that use seated positions and chairs as props.
In all three discs, you will find many useful techniques that will allow you to easily incorporate yoga into your daily routine. Once you start, you will see the results in your sleep. This healthy sleep will allow you to keep going strong with all of your newfound energy.
Best Yoga DVD for Weight Loss
Biggest Loser: Weight Loss Yoga
- From the hit NBC show The Biggest Loser
- Weight loss results in 6-8 weeks
- No in shape athletes- models are all regular people just like you
- 55 minute DVD includes 3 different workouts-Core Strength, Ab Workouts, and a Standard Gym Workout
- Friendly and encouraging instructors
Best Overall
Yoga can be intimidating when you are overweight. Going to a studio can cause anxiety for many people but especially for those with weight and flexibility issues. Following along with this DVD is ideal for those people who want to ease their way into yoga and start their weight loss routine.
The instructor is great at explaining how to do the poses in a way that most people can achieve. Telling you to straighten your back is much different than showing what it looks like. And best of all, you can pause and rewind, something you definitely cannot do in a yoga studio.
Though this yoga DVD is for beginners, it is not easy. You will be challenged and will find yourself uncomfortable, which is a good thing. This will not only kickstart your weight loss, but also, as you get better, you can still use this DVD to help with strength training.
Losing weight is important for your health. When it comes to sleep, losing weight will show you immediate results in the quality of sleep you are getting. WIth better breathing and increased circulation, you will find that, as the pounds drop, you will feel more rested when you wake up.
This yoga DVD for weight loss is a great first step in getting healthier and sleeping better.
The Best Yoga DVD for Limited Mobility
Dahn Yoga for MS
- Developed and instructed by an individual with Multiple Sclerosis
- Features Dahn Yoga which is designed to accommodate the needs of people with multiple sclerosis and other similar conditions
- Will help reduce muscle pain, spasticity, and fatigue while boosting energy and managing stress
- Easy to follow and modified poses for people in wheelchairs
Best Overall
You don’t have to have MS or any other ailment to benefit from this yoga DVD for MS. If your mobility is limited due to an injury or ailment, you can get back on your feet with these yoga routines. Dahn yoga is ideal for people with aches and pains that go beyond just your everyday soreness.
Eradicate the fatigue associated with your ailment and get your life back on track. Eliminate the pain in your joints, relieve your stress, and start sleeping better.
Poses are modified for sedentary individuals and those in wheelchairs. Anyone, at any fitness level, can do these poses and strengthen their body and mind.
The Best Prenatal Yoga DVD
Best Prenatal Yoga DVD Vinyasa Workout with Julie Schoen
- Vinyasa flow yoga poses are modified to create a routine for pregnant women
- Yoga kees pregnant women active, relaxed, and comfortable throughout the pregnancy
- 60 minutes of restorative poses with meditation for all levels
- Developed by Julie Schoen, certified pre-natal yoga instructor, author, and founder of Yoginiology.com
Best Overall
No matter what stage of pregnancy you are in, you will enjoy this prenatal yoga DVD. Yoga is especially important when you are pregnant. Mobility becomes limited, energy levels are low, and sleep is hard to come by. Getting comfortable is a challenge.
The yoga in this DVD is great for beginners, even if you have never done it at all. The poses are not very challenging, so it is easy to stick with the routine.
A pregnant woman increases her amount of blood by up to 40%. Getting that blood flowing smoothly is very important. These poses are ideal for stretching out those joints and improving your circulation. Eliminate that end-of-day fatigue by doing some simple poses from this DVD.
Getting your sleep while pregnant is even more important than ever. Pretty soon, the baby will come and disrupt your sleep for months and years to come. Trying this yoga will get you sleeping better and have you rested for the big day when baby arrives.
The Best Yoga DVD for Sleep
Kripalu Yoga Gentle DVD
- Kripalu Yoga is gentle and the meditative approach works with any hatha yoga practice
- Great for increasing flexibility, releasing tension, opening the spine, promoting back care, and strengthening muscles
- Appropriate for all levels. There's no need to be especially strong or flexible
Best Overall
If you are looking for a gentle yoga routine that focuses on calming and meditation, you will love Kripalu yoga. It is ideal for improving your sleep.
If you are a beginner, or even someone with yoga experience, you will get your mind and body connected in a relaxed way.
There are two half hour routines that can be done separately or consecutively. The first section focuses on breathing and meditation. It’s perfect for an end-of-day destress session to set yourself up for a deep and healthy sleep.
The second half hour picks up the pace somewhat while still taking a slow approach. The poses will help get your hips open and your blood flowing in a nonaggressive way.
Even if you are in a more intermediate level of yoga, this DVD will fit the bill when you are looking to slow down and just focus.
Either way, this DVD is highly recommended for those who just want to get their sleep back on track.
Final Thoughts on Yoga DVDs for Sleep
After watching the best yoga DVDs for sleep, you will immediately see results in your sleep.
When you just get started, you will fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer, waking refreshed.
After using the DVDs and incorporating yoga into your daily routine, you will notice how many other aspects of your life are improving beyond just your sleep. It’s so easy to fall out of a routine that is healthy when you don’t see results.
That is why yoga is so wonderful as a practice. Literally, the day you start, you will feel the benefits.
Getting yourself to a yoga studio and paying for expensive workouts is sometimes not the best option. Instead, take advantage of these DVDs and start doing them at home.
Make it a part of your life and, before you know it, your sleep, mood, and health will improve. Then watch how everything else in your life starts improving too.
Best Pick: Yoga for Beginners & Beyond
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