Supine Supported Butterfly

I do this stretch almost every night before I fall asleep, and first thing when I wake up. Because you can do it very easily in bed still under the covers.

I love hip-opening poses, because whether you're sitting on a plane, train, bus, car, or just at your desk for most of the day, hip-openers help to release a lot of the tension that gets held in your pelvis and lower back.  My philosophy of back pain (I'm a chronic sufferer) is that any tension or tightness in the lower part of your body, and especially in your hips and pelvis, builds and expands to lower/mid/upper back and neck. Everyone has a theory, this is just mine. Anyway...

Supine Baddha Konasana:

• Lie on your back, bend your knees and position a pillow directly under where each knee will "fall" to the sides. 
• Bring the soles of your feet together, letting the knees rest on top of the pillows. (It doesn't matter how far or close to your body your feet are, as long as they are sole-to-sole.
• Inch your shoulders closer together, trying to get your shoulder blades flat on the mattress.
• A small pillow under your neck might feel really good.
• Focus your breathing on expanding the rib cage on the inhale (think pregnant lady lying down for a visual), and bring your navel towards your spine on the exhale. 
• To come out of the pose, place feet flat on the bed, knees bent, and turn to one side, hugging one of the pillows that was under a knee, and resting in this fetal-like position for about a minute.

Sourced from DallasNews.com

Benefits of this restorative pose:

• Lessens restrictions in upper body to allow for freer breathing. (Great if you've been on a plane where air quality is low and you might have a tendency to shorten your breath because of anxiety or just too many people in one space-I have to fight against doing this.) 
• Opens the hips, groin, and pelvic floor to support a healthy lower back and release tension held from sitting in cramped spaces. (Great after, say, a 6 hour bus ride without any stops.)
• Tones the digestive organs. (A gentle belly massage from ascending to descending colon promotes clearing of any energy blockages.)

So if you're not a fan of stretching out on hotel floors, this is a great pose for you to do to help achieve your peak performance during travel or any day of the week.