Mindful Practices for Relaxation and Sleep
Calm your mind and body before bed with these simple mindful practices
One thing my clients often struggle with is sleep. It seems that relaxing our minds and bodies to get ready for sleep is quite a challenge.
Sleep difficulties aren’t surprising considering all the balls we’re juggling all day long. This is especially true as we get older and we’re possibly looking after children and/or parents, working, and trying to keep ourselves healthy.
Do you ever have problems relaxing your mind and body so you can sleep at night? It’s likely that you have. Whether you experience it often or only occasionally, lack of sleep can be annoying and debilitating, affecting all aspects of life and especially your mindset.
Sleep is an essential part of your self-care. Maintaining healthy daily habits including eating healthy food, exercising, enriching your mind through reading and writing, stretching your body, connecting with others, etc., is key and the ideal solution, but often very difficult. There will be many days when life gets hectic and you haven’t been able to follow through on all your healthy habits, so it’s helpful to have some strategies ready to help you get to sleep.
Here are 7 mindful evening habits that I personally find really helpful to help me relax for sleep:
Try not to eat anything heavy 2-3 hours before bed. If you want a snack, have a piece of fruit like an apple, orange or banana.
Don’t watch the evening news (really!)
Turn off your computer or other electronic devices an hour before bed.
Do a short 5-10 minute slow mindful yoga practice.
Have a warm bath or shower.
Read a few pages of a favourite book.
Write in your journal
Bedtime Journal Practice
I have found that one of the best ways to clear my mind from all the jumbled thoughts that go round and round all day is to write them down. I like to do a mind dump where I take a fresh page in my journal and write down every worrisome thought that is lingering from the day. Once I’ve exhausted all of those thoughts, I write down three good things that happened during the day and three things I’m grateful for. Then I close my journal and get into bed.
If you get into bed and you still feel keyed up, though, and can’t still your mind, your breath will be there to help.
Thankfully, our breath is always with us and available to help calm our nervous system. It’s our strongest ally in stressful situations, before bed, and in the middle of the night when we can’t get to sleep.
Here’s a breath meditation that I’ve shared before and it works so well for encouraging sleep that I’m sharing it again.
Sa Ta Na Ma Breath Meditation for Sleep
“Sa Ta Na Ma” may be translated to mean “truth” or “my true essence/my true identity”. It is rooted in the mantra “Sat Nam”. What I love about this meditation is its universality. I’ve experienced it in a traditional yoga practice and also as part of a school mindfulness program. I was first introduced to it through a Christian mindfulness teacher and then experienced it again during a yoga teacher training. There are versions that include hand gestures (mudras) as well as the version I’m sharing here that only focuses on the breath.
In this meditation, the breath is used as a bridge between your body and your mind. The mantra helps to sharpen your attention away from the thoughts swirling around your head. It will help you become more embodied to allow you to slow down, relax your nervous system, and fall asleep.
To use this meditation to help calm you for sleep:
As you’re lying down in your bed, start with a brief body scan and begin to relax your body into the mattress.
Close your eyes and tune into the subtlety of your breath. Really notice each inhale and exhale. Continue to notice your breath and try to lengthen your inhales and exhales.
When you’re ready, on an inhale, internally say “Sa”. Pause briefly at the top of your inhale and as you exhale, internally say “Ta”. Pause briefly. On your next inhale, internally say “Na”, pause, and then notice your mind saying “Ma” on the exhale.
Keep trying to continue slowing the breath and repeating that sequence:
Sa- inhale
Ta - exhale
Na - inhale
Ma - exhaleIf your mind wanders and you forget where you are in the sequence, simply start with “Sa” again on your next inhale.
It’s really that simple.
If “Sa Ta Na Ma” doesn’t resonate with you, I’ve also experienced and used the following translation:
Sa - birth (the beginning)
Ta - Life (our existence)
Na - Death (transformation of consciousness)
Ma - rebirth (regeneration, resurrection)
So, you could repeat the words “birth, life, death, rebirth” instead.
Birth - inhale
Life - exhale
Death - inhale
Rebirth - exhale
Or you can simply count - 1, 2, 3, 4.
This meditation can also be helpful anytime during the day when you want to calm yourself. Just close your eyes and silently say “Sa Ta Na Ma” as you breathe. You can also add a mudra by touching your thumb to each finger one at a time while you repeat the mantra. This gives the mind something else to do if you’ve been worrying and your thoughts seem to be spiraling out of control. (I did this the other night and it worked beautifully!).
By practicing a meditation like Sa Ta Na Ma you’re helping free yourself from unhelpful thought patterns, settling your mind and calming your body, not only in preparation for a good night’s sleep but also in living your very best life.
Sweet dreams!
For more mindful practices or to set up your free introduction to coaching session, please reach out. I’d love to hear from you! Email me at sharon@sharonashtoncoaching.com.
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