Napping and Not sleeping
In our earlier discussion of sleep, we spoke about sleeping for 5 to 6 hours per night. That is versus the typical eight hours suggested in the past. This is according to Yoga. As it is believed, that sleeping longer is actually not restorative because of the subconscious mind dumping into dreamand. Personally I was pretty surprised when I started to dig deeper into this concept, as sleep is like gold to me since starting a family, and my sleep is typically 8 hours. I decided to recently put this to test. I did think that having a longer morning, plenty of time for Sadhana, journaling, and taking things slow sounded like a good trade. I’ve started setting my alarm earlier and noticed very shortly that I was more alert at 5am than at 6:15am… In the past with my strict Kundaline/meditation practice my alarm would go off at 4am (the Amrit Vela time) so I had time for a complete morning ritual. If you are interested, here is a suggestion for the Yoga Nap, which can help us get through the day…and a bit of an earlier bedtime.
It is said that a true yogi can put himself to sleep almost on command. For those of us who haven’t mastered the art of instant shut eye, here are some napping strategies:
Before you nap, splash, a bit of cold water on your face, hands, wrists, forearms, and feet. Cold water hydrotherapy on these PowerPoint, relaxes the nervous system and prepares the body for rest.
Stretch lightly where you feel tight to trigger the body to release
Use a Compass application to orient your body to east to west. The sleep configuration recharges your energy field.
Nap for a total cycle of 11 minutes
A recording of a gong. The sound of the gong purifies the subconscious mind and allows the body to relax more deeply.
If you’re still having trouble unwinding, block your right nostril with your index finger and breed long and deep through the left nostril. Left nostril, breathing triggers cooling in the body. Breathe this way until you feel happily dreaming.
Healing insomnia, naturally
If you are finding it difficult to go to bed at the hour you want to, or wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to bed, there are some tools to alleviate your insomnia. Insomnia is not a myth. 72 million people suffer from insomnia every year, and almost half of the senior population in the United States faces sleepless nights.
So insomnia is a real issue. We’d like to discuss the way to approach the condition and the treatment of it. When you see statistics that high, it speaks deeply to a society that does not have the tools to deal with the every day stressors and pressures they are facing. Not to mention that insomnia is a hugely profitable modern malady.
The pharmaceutical industry has a market share of around $1.6 billion from sleeping pills. They have a vested interest in you not being able to sleep. So let’s just see the whole reality for what it is. Certainly stress is involved, so having a daily meditation practice will start to shift your sleep cycles. But more often than not, it’s not just anxiety but also an actual physiological component that is blocking your sleep.
The pineal gland, a small gland the size of an apple seed that sits in the center of your brain, produces the hormone melatonin, which is in charge of regulating sleep cycles. When the pineal gland is healthy and clean it is very photoreceptive. Though the pineal gland doesn’t pick up light the same way our eyeballs do, it does register illumination, and darkness. And this very simple photo receptivity gives it the sophisticated messaging. It needs to release the luxurious melatonin secretions at the right time, and in the right amounts.
So in a healthy brain, sleeping is happening in a smooth, regulated way. However, most people don’t have soft, receptive, pineal glands. They have calcified pineal glands. And that happens from fluoride and drinking water, and toothpaste, toxic compounds, pesticides, and all other kinds of sources. It is also a byproduct of unhealthy and rapid aging processes. You would do well to cut some of these items from your life. But we live in incredibly toxic world. You just can’t control all the substances that come into your body all the time.
This is another reason why yoga technologies are so essential on the planet right now. We can’t control what’s happening with food, packaging and company dumping. But you can detoxify daily. One of the best yoga meditations for decalcifying the pineal gland and restoring natural melatonin balances is the Shabad Kriya for deep sleep, and radiance.
This meditation creates relaxed, restorative sleep patterns, regenerates nerves, and releases the secretions of the pineal gland. And because melatonin and the pineal gland also regulate tissue growth, the kriya for deep sleep and radiance also grows beautiful hair and skin. After a few days or months of practice the rhythms of your sleep will be regulated, and this new healthier rhythm will actually stay with you throughout the entire day, which is very practical side effect. Stress will slowly leave your system, which allows your body and mind to heal even more
Shabad Crea for deep sleep and radiance
For maximum effectiveness practice this meditation every night before bed. If you wake up in the middle of the night, just start the meditation again and continue until you fall asleep.
Posture: do a little beditation, and find a comfortable position in bed that allows the spine to be straight. Place your hands in your lap palms up with your right hand resting in your left. Touch your thumbs together and point them forward.
Eyes are closed almost all the way with a focus at the tip of the nose
Breath: inhale in four equal parts, mentally enchanting our mantra “Sa Ta Na Ma” . Hold the breath, vibrating the mantra four times for a total of 16 beats. Exhale two equals strokes, projecting mentally “Wahe guru.” This is the sound current of the pineal gland and it means in essence, it’s sublime to get enlightened. It said that Wahe guru is literally the sound that the pineal gand makes as it secretes the way plop plop is the sound of a dripping faucet
Continue until you fall asleep :-)
