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….. It is
well known to me, now a days I am Passing through a Vairagya.
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. 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 (When in Vairagya) 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 that 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. Using 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment