It's 2am and you're awake. Maybe your heart is beating pretty fast as memories jostle each other for attention and the emotions tied to these memories all come at once. Suddenly you notice how fast your mind is going. It is amazing how the mind can jump from yesterday to 12yrs ago to a perception of 20yrs from now. It can fluctuate from acute anxiety, frustration, worry or self-loathing as you recall so many moments from the past or uncertainties of the future.So your awake and your wondering,'why does insomnia happen'?
Insomnia is considered a symptom of a very wide range of physical illness & mental illnesses. It is the cause or causes that produce insomnia that need investigation. And insomnia is very common with one with out of 3 of people in Australia self-reporting that they experience insomnia from time to time. The likelihood of insomnia is increased by a range of issues such as employment, diet, health & wellbeing, mental health, social connections and a feeling of fulfilment in life. And while some reflection is helpful to ensure you are living a values-driven life, however at some point (usually around 3:30am) I realise that this reflective session is not going to end on its own. I'm going to need some tools to help myself switch off the 'fight or flight' response happening in my body which has my adrenalin pumping and keeping me wide awake.
Breath Awareness
Yoga for insomnia can start with, 1) Breath Awareness such as becoming aware of the breath flowing into and out of the nostrils and the touch of the breath at the opening of the nostrils. 2) You can also work with counting the breath to a count of 4 or 6 on the inhale and the exhale, called Sama Vritti (even numbered breath) is also very helpful to stabilise the mind, begin to engage the para-sympathetic nervous system to move it towards 'the relaxation response'. Practicing Sama Vritti for 15 mins works incredibly well to calm over-active thoughts and running emotions.
Metta Bahavana - Loving Kindness
3) Beginning a Loving Kindness practice where I focus on my heart centre is another great technique to calm insomnia and an overly critical mind. The heart centre is alive with over 10,000 nerve endings and is a sensitive and powerful part of the body to focus positive energy and vibrations. So 'switching on the heart light', is one thing that works wonders to dispel the heaviness of the kind of self-reflection that happens for me at 2am. I also enjoy doing a slow body scan, like a progressive muscle relaxation. As I become aware of each area of my body I focus on relaxing and increasing my loving kindness in that area.
Yoga Asana
And lastly you can combine these practices with a yoga posture. I find when working with fear, yoga postures which open the hips work wonderfully well. I often do the Pigeon Posture in bed, while resting my head on my pillow, using breath awareness and increasing my loving-kindness. The Pigeon Posture is considered the King of Hip Openers in the yoga world and has easy and accessible supportive variations. You can use pillows or cushions to support the head and chest, or lift the hips (on the bent leg side) to help you if the hips are tight.
These are techniques which are widely used in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction practices. From John Kabat-Zinn (2003),
MBSR uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, body awareness, yoga and exploration of patterns of behaviour, thinking, feeling and action. Mindfulness can be understood as the non-judgemental acceptance and “open-hearted” investigation of present experience, including body sensations, internal mental states, thoughts, emotions, impulses and memories, in order to reduce suffering or distress and to increase well-being.
I hope the next time you are wide awake at 2am and reflecting on your life to date, you are kind and compassionate to yourself and try some of these practices to help move you from being critical or analytical into feeling balanced, grounded and grateful for life and the life that is unfolding for you...Namaste.
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