“Your life is a reflection of how you sleep, and how you sleep is a reflection of your life.” - Dr. Rafael Pelayo
“Sleep is the best meditation.” - Dalai Lama
“According to The American Journal of Medicine, 91% of chronic insomnia patients were able to reduce or eliminate their sleeping pills by using meditation instead of medication.”
If your sleep troubles are rooted in anxiety and stress, you may want to try meditation as a holistic alternative to prescription sleeping pills. Meditation is easy. Meditation is relaxation. It’s also widely misunderstood.
In this week’s blog, I will demystify meditation and give you a simple breath meditation for relaxing the body and calming the mind, two essential ingredients for a restful night’s sleep.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is often thought of as a practice where one sits down with the eyes closed for the purpose of focusing and calming the mind, for attaining inner peace and equanimity. It is that — and much more.
Though meditation is an essential part of many religions, like Buddhism, the practice itself is not religion. It does not require a belief in any higher power or specific doctrine. It simply requires observing your thoughts.
According to Sarah McLean, founder of the McLean Meditation Institute in Sedona, all meditation starts with mindfulness — giving your full attention, your concentration, to any one object. That object could be anything detected by the five senses: the sight of a candle flame, the sound of a flute, the feel of a warm touch, the smell of a cinnamon roll or the taste of chocolate.
Anything you do with full awareness can become a meditation, as long as that activity is free from other distractions to the mind. For some, that means playing a musical instrument, or gardening or taking a mindful walk in the woods.
Meditation, Not Medication
Meditation refers to a number of practices, both modern and ancient, which calm the body-mind and train the brain to become more focused and less susceptible to emotional upset. When the mind is fully absorbed in meditation, worries and hurries disappear. Some of the most common types of meditation include breath awareness, guided visualization, mindfulness, chanting (mantra), musical meditation and moving meditations like Yoga and Tai Chi.
Meditation today has become a mainstream practice widely used in complementary medicine to reduce the effects of stress in the modern-day lifestyle. According to The American Journal of Medicine, 91% of chronic insomnia patients were able to reduce or eliminate their sleeping pills by using meditation instead of medication.
Breath Awareness: The Easiest Meditation
Perhaps the easiest way to meditate is to focus the attention on the breath, simply watching the breath rise and fall like the ocean waves.
Try this calming breath meditation now, in 3 easy steps:
1. Find a quiet space, place one hand over the heart and take three long deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
2. Feel the coolness of the in-breath as you listen to the sound of the of the air rushing in.
3. Feel the warmth of the out-breath as you listen to the sound of the air going out.
Repeat x 9.
Step 2:
Add an affirmation: “I am breathing in peacefulness and breathing out calm.”
A Singing Meditation
If you are the restless type (vata dosha), breath meditation may seem boring. Try a singing meditation instead — the most fun way for beginners to meditate.
Here we have Deva Premal from Germany singing Lokah Samastha — “May all beings everywhere be happy and free.”
Summary
Early in life sleep comes easy. Have you noticed how natural sleep is for babies?
Babies don’t experience the same sleep maladies that plague adults. They fall asleep effortlessly and wake up rested — the goal for every adult.
Yet somewhere along the road to adulthood, that natural sleep train often goes off the track. Most often the cause is stress and anxiety. Most of my patients would rather not depend on prescription sleeping pills that treat symptoms but rarely cure disease.
They prefer mindfulness meditation, natural herbs, and yoga therapy.
More? harrisongravesmd.com
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