6 Yoga Poses to Do in Bed to Heal Your Thyroid and Rev Your Metabolism

Bridge Pose

Many yoga poses stimulate the thyroid by compressing the neck, which encourages healthy circulation to the gland. The first posture on our list, bridge pose, does just that. To perform:

1. Lying flat on the bed with your arms alongside you, bend your knees and place the feet flat on the bed, as close to your bottom as possible. Make sure that your feet are hip width distance apart.
2. Pressing firmly into the feet, inhale as you lift your hips toward the ceiling as high as you can. You will start to feel your neck compressing.
3. Press into the arms and shoulders to lift your chest higher. If you’re comfortable, you can even interlace your fingers underneath your hips for an added chest-opening stretch. 
4. Hold the posture for four to five full, deep breaths. 

Note: For a more restorative bridge pose, stack a few pillows or use a yoga block (like this one from Gaiam ($9.99, Amazon) underneath your sacrum to keep the hips lifted. 

Supported Shoulder Stand

Supported shoulder stand is another yoga pose that stimulates the thyroid by compressing the gland and encouraging healthy circulation. This posture also decreases swelling in the legs and increases blood flow to the upper body and brain, so it's a perfect move to help you wake up and start your day. For this pose, you can place a pillow or folded blanket underneath your neck and shoulder blades for additional support. Your head should be resting on the bed. To perform: 

1. Lying flat on the bed, lay your arms alongside your torso, then bend your knees in, keeping your feet on the bed and bringing the heels close to your bottom, as you did in bridge pose.
2. On an exhale, press your arms firmly into the bed and draw your knees toward your torso. Then, using your abdominal strength, lift your hips so your knees are coming towards your face.
3. On an inhalation, bring your palms to your lower back with your fingertips facing upward toward the ceiling, keeping your elbows grounded on the bed and as close to the body as possible (shoulder-width apart). Do not let your elbows flare out to the sides! 
4. Using your hands for support, continue to push/lift your hips up toward the ceiling with the knees bent.  
5. Begin to straighten the legs upward. Use your hands to push your torso even higher. Push through the balls of your feet so that you're engaging actively through the legs. 
6. Gaze up at your feet and keep your head and neck in a neutral position (in line with your spine) and do not turn your head while in this posture. Press the shoulder blades down into the bed and draw them away from the ears. You should feel gentle compression in the neck. 
7. Stay in this pose for five to 10 breaths.

Note: Eventually, your shoulders, hips, and feet will all be in one line in shoulder stand, but remember: Wherever you are today is OK! You will still get the benefits of the pose, even if you can't get your legs to extend completely straight.

Another pose that stimulates the thyroid, plow pose will also help to give you a nice shoulder, back, and hamstring stretch in the morning, all while boosting your metabolism. To practice this posture:

1. From shoulder stand, keeping the hands on your lower back, draw your shoulder blades down and towards one another.
2. Keeping the legs straight, bring them down slowly behind you. Try to image drawing the tops of your thighs up toward the ceiling while pressing through the balls of your feet so that your feet are active and toes are pointing down towards the bed. 
3. Let the feet come down as far as they can. You may feel an intense sensation in the hamstrings, but don’t go so far as to feel uncomfortable. You should be able to breathe calmly wherever you are in this pose. Eventually when you are open enough, your toes will come down to the bed behind you. 
4. Stay in this pose for five to 10 breaths.

Note: Again, make sure that you honor where your body is today. The hamstrings can be quite tight in the morning, so make sure that you're not over-extending in any posture. If you need to keep your knees bent slightly, or your feet don't touch the bed behind you, that's OK. Relax into the posture wherever you are.

Fish Pose

It is absolutely essential to practice fish pose after shoulder stand and plow pose to counter stretch the work done in the neck and spine! Fish pose elongates the front of the neck and chest, and stretches the area of the thyroid, helping to balance the compression of the previous postures. To practice:

1. From plow pose, gently lower your legs down in front of you and tuck your hands underneath your bottom, with your palms pressing down into the bed and your fingertips facing your toes. 
2. Lift your chest up and arch the middle of your back up toward the ceiling, bringing the crown of your head down onto the bed. Make sure to press firmly into your arms so that there is not much weight resting on your head or neck.
3. Stay in this pose for five to 10 breaths.

Note: There are different leg variations you can take with fish pose for added benefits. You can keep the legs straight or, for a gentle hip opener, take the soles of your feet together and let the knees fall to either side (like you're opening a book). 

Bow Pose

Another thyroid and neck-stretching posture, bow pose elongates the front body while strengthening the muscles in the back body. Not only will your metabolism and thyroid thank you, but with practice, this pose can help to alleviate stubborn back pain and improve digestion. To perform:

1. Lay flat on your belly and extend your arms alongside you, palms facing up.

2. Bend the knees so that the feet come toward your bottom, and grab hold of the outside of your ankles with your hands. Be sure to keep the feet flexed and active, as this will protect your knees.

3. On an inhale, start to press your feet firmly into your hands, creating resistance. Imagine that your shins are actively pushing toward the back of the room. 

4. You may feel that your knees are splaying apart here, but don’t let them. While in this pose, pull the knees in toward each other to keep them in proper alignment, hip-width distance apart. This will draw your chest up higher and really stretch the front of the hip flexors, which tend to hold a lot of tension.

5. Using this resistance, exhale and lift up through your chest and heels, creating length in the front body. Do not drop head back! Instead, gaze directly in front of you with your chin parallel to the bed in order to keep your neck long and protect that area of the spine.

6. Pull your belly in and activate your abdominal muscles to lift a little higher, but stay in the posture once you've found a place where the breath is comfortable. 

7. Hold this posture for five to 10 breaths.

Corpse Pose

Last but not least, we always end our yoga practice, no matter how short, with the most important posture of them all: Savasana, or corpse pose. Corpse pose is the ultimate posture for improved health and wellness, and it's important that after any morning yoga routine, we take at least five minutes to ground ourselves before beginning the day. That's what real self-care is all about! To practice:

1. Lay flat on your back with your palms facing up, extending the legs down long in front of you and arms alongside the body. 
2. Keep the legs a bit wider than hip width distance, and let the feet splay out to the sides comfortably.
3. Close your eyes and relax deeply into the posture, taking full, deep, belly breaths. Thank yourself for the effort you put into your body and wellbeing this morning. 
4. Stay in the pose for five minutes, breathing intentionally.