As I write this the rain is pouring down outside in a typical North Carolina spring shower. The windows are open and the smell of the rain is blowing through the house. It is a perfect thunderstorm to fall asleep to, but here I am unable to turn my brain off.
Recently I've been doing my daily meditation practice at night before bed so I can fall asleep easier. I never used to be one for meditation, too hard to sit still and slow my brain down. But throughout my yoga teacher training I have come to realize how beneficial it is. It has helped to learn that it is considered normal to struggle with interfering thoughts during meditation. They teach us to simply let the thought pass through, and go back to your mantra or breath each time one occurs, and that slowly over time that will happen less and less.
Currently we are practicing silent Om Japa concentration (dharana) and silent SO-HAM meditation (dhyana). Basically, you find a comfortable, meditative position and recite the mantras in your head. At first I felt so ridiculous and it was impossible to stop my internal dialogue. But it has gotten easier with practice! Even though I still find my mind wandering, it has now become a matter of getting in the zone and then thinking 'I'm doing it!' only to realize I just ruined it with that thought haha! Oh well, regardless, it has been quite an interesting experiment and I am pretty thoroughly sold on the idea of a nightly mediation and breathing practice :)
I use an app on my phone called Insight Timer, which allows you to set a time and intention for your practice. I definitely suggest it if you are interested in trying to incorporate a structured meditation or pranayama practice into your life. This app also has guided meditation sessions for any number of things; sleep, anxiety, encouragement, confidence. Check it out, its a neat app!
I also use this app for my nightly pranayama, or breathing practice (also required by my RYT200 course). Each night we are asked to incorporate a Nadi Shodana breathing exercise and a basic 2:1 breathing exercise. In Nadi Shodana, you breathe through one nostril at a time using the vishnu mudra. And in 2:1 breathing you inhale for a certain count (say, 3) and exhale for double that (in this case, 6). I have a....complicated relationship with Nadi Shodana since I can't ever breath through my nose, so I usually do it first so I can use my 2:1 breathing time to calm myself down afterwards haha!
All of this would have sounded crazy to me before I started this class! But it has been very eye opening and I recommend researching some of these methods if you are curious because they aren't as crazy as they sound :)
Does anyone else have a nightly routine involving meditation or breathing (pranayama) techniques? What about a nightly asana practice?
Nighty Night
Em
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