Sleep Tight - Sleep
Right
In
this fast paced, rat raced life, when we are struggling to complete our TO-DO
list, it may seem that cutting back on sleep may be the only answer. Yet we all know from experience that if we do
not get adequate sleep we not only become grumpy and not nice to be around, but
it can also be detrimental to our health.
Although
I am no sleep doctor or professional of any sort, I have learnt a thing or two
about using meditation as a tool to deepen the quality of my sleep.
In
fact, it is not only at the end of the day that we have to be concerned about
our sleep. The quality of our waking hours will also determine the quality of
our sleep at night. Try sleeping after a
bout of anger, after gossiping about your friends or being unfaithful to your
partner. The chances are you will be
tossing and turning in your sleep “and you are not likely to come out of it
feeling rested.
Although
many will argue that we need 8 hours of sleep a day, it has been proven time
and again that in practice, yogis do need less sleep. Having a simple and uncomplicated lifestyle
also helps, as does a vegetarian diet since a plant-based diet is much quicker
and easier to digest.
But
the main reason the yogi needs less sleep is because of their ability to manage
their thoughts. If we are able to have
fewer but more powerful thoughts, we conserve our energy and are able to stay
light and stress-free. So we don’t leave
all the hard work and responsibility to our ˜sleep factory to replenish us, but
with meditation and peaceful thoughts we are able to constantly rejuvenate
ourselves.
We
can complain about having bad dreams but this is the result of not having done
the work of cleaning our sub-conscious.
Filtering our thoughts, letting go of the past, and choosing to retain
good memories, are all ways in which we can help to make our dreams sweet!
With
the advent of electricity we have turned night into day and day into
night. If we would follow the rhythm of the
day as nature intended, we will be in tune with the natural energies t hat
surround us. Staying awake at night
throws us off balance. The body will
function, but not optimally.
Firstly,
before retiring to bed, it is important to sit for a few moments of reflection
to check on the day and see how positive or otherwise we were and how much we
may have misused our precious energies. Therefore, if we need to ask for forgiveness
or apologize to someone we should. If we
settle the karmic accounts of the day, we will sleep with a light heart.
Secondly,
as we lie in bed, imagine floating off to a land of light, the home of the soul;
this visualisation helps us to realize that we are not just this body and the
paraphernalia that is connected with it.
Just as actors go home after their performance, so too we need to take
off our costumes and return home after a day’s performance! This world of the soul is a world of light,
simple and quiet. Take thoughts up above
to this place of silence and visualize the body resting down below. In the morning, imagine that I, the soul,
have come down from this world of light, free from all worldly concerns, and
ready and eager to play today’s scenes on the stage of the world.
It’s
time to improve the quality of our sleep by improving the quality of our
thoughts. Use meditation as a tool to
improve the state of mind. Bring closure
to the day and awaken refreshed and ready to tackle the days TO-DO list.
