As a parent,
You hear it all the time,
Why don't you just nap when your baby naps?
What people fail to recognize is that it's not as easy as that,
Is it?
You spent the last 35 minutes or more trying to get your baby settled and now you're in a strange mix of excited to sleep and anxious that you won't be able to before they next wake up.
And plus you're still a bit frustrated about how long it all took.
You worry that you'll never get rest again and these kind of thoughts just weigh on you.
This may surprise you,
But this is not the ideal situation for sleep.
Let me show you how we can get around that.
Now,
I don't need to tell you,
Raising kids is not easy and sometimes it's a downright pain.
We're all so busy looking after them that sometimes we forget to look after ourselves and today we're going to change that,
So let's do that together.
Get yourself into a comfortable laying down position if you're not already.
If you fall asleep by the way while we do this,
That's totally fine,
I encourage it.
Goodness knows you probably need some.
As you're getting comfortable getting the perfect laying down position set up,
Start to close the eyes and then take a deep breath in through those nostrils.
Sigh out through the mouth and one more just like that.
Deep inhale through the nostrils and big sigh out through the mouth when you're ready.
Now just some breathing in and out through the nostrils.
Getting settled in,
Knowing that this is your time.
As a parent,
I know it's hard to think that there isn't something that you need to be doing right now but I want you to commit to being still just for a short while together,
Both in your body and in your mind.
And I know as your body gets still your mind begins to wonder,
That's okay,
All I want you to do today is NAP,
That stands for Notice,
Allow and Pause.
So when thoughts arise you just want to notice what they are and you can often do this by giving them a name.
Allowing them comes in the form of accepting the thought as something that's on your mind and accepting the fact that it's just a thought.
And the P stands for Pause which is just to say you let this thought pass out your mind just as easy as it came in,
Often with an exhale can help.
So now you have your assignment,
Just to nap,
Resting your mind on your breath,
Aware of your inhale and your exhale and then as thoughts come up you just name them,
Allow them and let them pass,
No need for any more or any less,
Give it a go now.
Remember,
No need to force a thought out,
Just let them arise,
Notice them,
Allow them and let them pass,
Keep that breath calm and smooth.
Thoughts are just thoughts,
They're not the enemy.
Just noticing,
Allowing and passing,
Then simply coming back to the breath.
As we continue to practice this we realize that thoughts are only as powerful as we allow them to be,
They are simply just thoughts.
We can rob them of their power by simply facing them head on,
Noticing them,
Accepting them and letting them pass.
Don't waste your energy on thoughts that only disturb your peace.
Now come back to thinking about your breathing and just enjoy the simple pleasure of laying down and enjoying your time.
Try get some rest and if any thoughts come up the next few minutes,
Carry on with that nap protocol or just get some sleep.
Good luck out there.
