Hi,
I'm Paula and I'm happy to have you here with me on this journey to live lighter and sleep better.
On day three we talk a little about how darkness is conducive to sleeping and we practice visualizing the darkness.
Another technique that has helped me greatly to be able to sleep even when the environment is not dark enough is to put a dark cloth over my eyes.
It could be in a form of a sleeping mask or simply a loose cloth.
I invite you to try to see if that works for you.
Today I have a question.
Do you have a ritual that tells your body it's time to sleep?
If you haven't already,
Maybe it's time to think about building one and in this ritual you can gradually incorporate elements that are conducive for you sleeping.
My ritual begins with the removal of all electronic devices that emit blue light.
Then it continues with darkening the room,
Closing the back out curtain with Velcro to obtain as much darkness as possible in a bright city,
Going through personal hygiene and as I lay down a moment of meditation,
Prayer and being thankful for the day.
Today I'm going to invite you to join me in a gratitude practice which if it works for you maybe you can consider incorporated into your sleeping ritual.
Let's start.
Adopt a comfortable position,
Sitting or lying down if you prefer.
If you want,
Close your eyes or keep them with a soft look and take a deep breath.
Inhale slowly and exhale perhaps even more slowly.
Gradually calm your mind and your body.
Do a quick scan at your own pace and check if there are areas on your body that are tense and can be relaxed.
Check specially the areas where you tend to accumulate tension.
Maybe the face,
Maybe the jaw,
Maybe the neck,
Maybe the shoulders,
Maybe the lower back.
Go at your own pace.
And gradually go over things that happen during your day with each memory that comes up.
Reflect a little on what you learned from that event and give thanks for the learning.
Some memories can be positive and that's fine.
Some memories may bring some more charge,
More intense feelings and that's okay too.
How our life experiences bring something good?
We just need to search for it.
Now I'm gonna give you time to do your own internal diving.
Connect with your events and be thankful.
And if your mind wanders during this process,
Gently bring it back to your breathing and start it over.
You can do this for as long as it's comfortable for you.
And when you feel ready,
Slowly go back to the present moment,
To the sounds around you,
To the weight of your body on the surface it is resting and have a good night.
Namaste.
