A few years ago I attended a lecture by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, the head of the Himalayan Institute. He started by saying that he had traveled all over the world and seen people in war-torn countries and people in extreme poverty but he had never seen anything close to the psychological suffering of the people in the United States. He felt that we were more depressed, anxious, and stressed than any other group of people he'd seen, and he was there to tell us the secret of happiness. The secret is this: a good night's sleep! Without a good night's sleep the body can't do its work of repairing and rejuvenating, the mind can't rest, and we start the day with stress that could continue to snowball. One of the most common questions that my students ask is "Do you have any tips to help me sleep better?" As a matter of fact, I do. I have lots of tips and tricks for you to try:
1. Meditate before bed time. Although most people think the ideal time to meditate is just before the sun rises, whenever I meditate right before laying down for the night, I sleep like a baby. I keep my meditation cushion near the bed and I usually find that I can't sit for long before I start getting sleepy. Keep in mind that if you aren't an experienced meditator, it takes time and practice to be able to quiet the mind, but the results are definitely worth the effort.
2. Practice breathing. Unlike meditation, you can do this while laying in bed if you prefer. For instructions, click here and go to "Yogic Breathing." Whenever your mind wanders, take your focus back to the breath. The sound of your breath can be like a soothing lullaby.
3. Unwind the mind. I got this tip from Osho's Book of Secrets: As you're ready to fall asleep, go through your day backward. It's important to go backward so you don't get caught up in details or start remembering things that you forgot to do. Just name the events and move on to the next. You may be asleep before you get what happened in the morning.
4. Push through the chakras. This is something I developed when my mind is too active at night. If thoughts are racing through my head, then most of my energy must be up there in my head. So I visualize gathering the energy and pushing it down to the throat. From there I push it down to the heart, then to the belly. You can visualize the energy as mercury in a thermometer. Once the energy is in the belly, it's no longer in the head and you can rest. (I also suggested this technique to a student who was suffering from vertigo, and she reported back that it worked!)
5. Listen to soft music as you are falling asleep. If you have a sleep option on your cd player, you won't have to worry about turning it off. One of my favorites is Vandita's Ram lullaby on her CD, Transform, Relax and Renew. (Click here for details.)
6. Relax. Even if you can't fall asleep, if you practice these suggestions and can get yourself into a relaxed state, you will still receive many benefits from resting. Not as good as sleep, but better than being agitated.
Namaste!
Sandy Pradas