A 20-Minute Feldenkrais Bedtime Routine

Before you start

• Dim the lights. Not dark — you want to see enough to move without effort.
• No warming up, no stretching, no target.
• If something hurts, make it smaller. Discomfort of effort is fine; pain is a signal to stop.
• Rest between sections. The rest is where the change registers.

Section 1 — Lengthening the back (4 minutes)

Lie on your back, legs long, a small support under the knees if your lower back complains.

1. Notice where your back touches the floor and where it does not. No judgement — just information.
2. Very slowly, let one knee bend and slide outward a few centimetres, then return. Five or six times, barely moving.
3. Other side. Compare.
4. Rest flat for a minute. Notice whether more of your back now meets the floor, and whether your breathing changed.

Section 2 — Palms and breathing (4 minutes)

1. Arms resting on the floor beside you. Turn the palms slowly to face the ceiling, then to face the floor. Small range. Fifteen to twenty slow repetitions.
2. Halfway through, stop and notice: which shoulder feels heavier? What is the jaw doing?
3. Put one hand on your lower ribs and one on your belly. Do not breathe deeply. Just notice where movement already occurs.
4. On the next exhale, let the belly soften a little more than usual. Do not push it. Six breaths, then rest.

Section 3 — Eyes, head and jaw (5 minutes)

1. Let the eyes look gently to the right; allow the head to follow only as far as it wants. Then left. Ten slow repetitions each way.
2. Let the lower jaw slide very slightly forward and back — millimetres. Notice what happens to the back of the neck.
3. Open the mouth a little, let the tongue rest on the floor of the mouth. Breathe through the nose. Stay for ten breaths.
4. Rest. Notice the jaw.

Section 4 — Pelvis and legs (4 minutes)

1. Lying on your back, let both knees stand up, feet flat and hip-width apart.
2. Very slowly let both knees fall a few centimetres to the right, then return to centre, then to the left. Small, slow, continuous.
3. After ten or so movements, let the knees stay fallen to one side and just breathe there for thirty seconds. Then the other side.
4. Bring the legs down one at a time. Rest for a minute.

Section 5 — Rest and comparison (3 minutes)

Do nothing. Specifically: notice where your body meets the surface, notice the breath without changing it, and notice whether the two sides of your back feel different from when you started. Then turn out the light.

Making it stick

• Practise at the same point in your evening for two weeks. Context helps.
• Shorten rather than skip: on a bad night, sections 2 and 3 alone take five minutes.
• Combine with stimulus control — if you are still awake after 20 minutes, leave the bed rather than doing more movement.
• Pair it with sleep restriction if you also have a maintenance problem.

Variations

• Cannot get on the floor? Sections 2 and 3 work in bed or in a chair.
• Hip or knee pain? Reduce the range in section 4 to an inch, or skip it.
• Restless? Do section 1 twice as slowly. Slow is the intervention.
• Want a teacher? Look for a certified practitioner — see how to choose a practitioner.