Sleep Like a Baby by Cate

If you sleep well and arise refreshed, then you don't need this routine or this blog. If you struggle with falling asleep, getting quality sleep, staying asleep, or feeling rested when you wake up in the morning, then try it. It works! You really can access deep restorative sleep.

The routine consists of a 15 minute meditation, a quick body scan, and a trick for beginning to fall asleep.

If I lost you at "15 minute meditation" because you don't like to "be with your thoughts," please know that in this meditation you are NOT with your thoughts. You are with mantra and a breath pattern. You don't give your thoughts the microphone. You give mantra the mic and the thoughts recede like muzak at the grocery store. 

1. Meditation for Deep Sleep. Just before bedtime, sit in any comfortable posture with the spine straight. Place the hands in the lap, palms up with the right hand over the left. The thumbs are together and point forward.  Focus the eyes on the tip of the nose with the eyelids just a teeny tiny bit open, letting in a sliver of light. The eyes are 9/10 closed.  Inhale in 4 equal parts, silently  repeating to yourself the mantra Sa-Ta-Na-Ma. (Sa means Infinity, Ta means Life, Na means Transformation, and Ma means Rebirth.) At the top of the inhale, hold the breath, silently repeating the mantra 4 times (Sa-Ta-Na-Ma, Sa-Ta-Na-Ma., Sa-Ta-Na-Ma, Sa-Ta-Na-Ma) for a total of 16 beats. Then, exhale in 2 equal strokes silently repeating  Wahe Guru (Wahe Guru means Great is the Infinite wisdom). Continue for 15 to 62 minutes. Those of you who go past 15 minutes, kudos. But you only need 15 minutes to get the benefits. I can't emphasize enough how well this meditation works. You can wake up feeling better. With consistent practice, you can reset your circadian rhythm. 
2. ​Release Body Tension: Get into bed and lie on your back. Consciously, relax. Tell your limbs, your muscles, your organs, and all your cells to soften. Remind yourself that it's okay to let go. Feel into a relaxed state of being. Remain in awareness as you begin at the head and scan the body for residual tension. Be curious and detailed. Feel into every nook and cranny and command each part of you to relax. Scan from head to toe. For example, relax your temples, your jaw, your eyes. Moving down the body: soften the neck, the shoulders, the arms, the fingers. Let go of tension in all the muscles around the spine, the lungs, the diaphragm, the belly, the hips, the buttocks, the thighs, the knees, the ankles, and the feet.  (If you have trouble accessing a feeling of relaxation and release, try tensing parts of the body and then relaxing them. In other words, squeeze the muscles of the face and relax, pull the shoulders up toward the ears and relax, makes fists of the hands and relax, etc.)
3. Turn onto your right side.  Use your right pointer finger to block the right nostril and take 10 deep breaths in and out of the left nostril only. The left side is our relaxing side, our moon side and we want it to be dominant to access drowsiness and sleep. (Throughout our day, which nostril is dominant changes. See if you can tune into that and notice that at times.) After 10 breaths, remove your right finger and let go of conscious breathing. Adjust to your desired sleeping position and sweet dreams. 

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Will you give this a try? If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will respond as soon as possible. I'd also LOVE to have you come back and leave a comment when you're experiencing the results... because you will. 

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