Sleep Hygiene
Here is an example of a bedtime routine for someone who wants to wake up at 6:30 AM.
Begin the bedtime routine 2 hours before you want to go to sleep. For 8 hours of sleep, you can go to bed at 10:30 PM therefore you would begin the bedtime routine at 8:30 PM
Communicating to Your Body that the day is Over
8:30 PM Step 1 Reducing Stimulus: Dim lights, including screens, and send any last texts/emails
8:35 PM Step 2 Prepare the nervous system: Make a tea: chamomile, and linden flower tea help to calm the nervous system. Prepare your journal & pen.
Unwinding The Body
8:40 PM Step 3 Motor Relaxation & Inducing Baroreflex: Bedtime Restorative Yoga Sequence (6 Poses). You will need a bolster, two blocks, and a yoga strap. If you don’t have a bolster, you can make one by firmly tying two pillows together. It must be rather firm to get the effect. If you don’t have yoga blocks, you can use books. If you don’t have a yoga strap, use a scarf or a necktie. Put your headphones and set brain.fm for 30 minutes on ‘Relax’
Viparita Kirani - Legs up the wall (5-10 min)
Supta Badokonasana - Reclining Bound Angle (5 minutes)
Supported Setu Bhanda – Heart Opening Pose (5 minutes)
Supported Twist (2.5 minutes on each side)
Supported Balasana – Child’s Pose (5 minutes, turn the head halfway through)
Legs on a chair with legs strapped together supportively (5-10 minutes)
Unwinding the Mind
9:15PM Step 4 Calming the mind: Drink your tea, and spend 5-10 minutes writing in your journal. List 5-10 things you are grateful for in your life, and then set an intention for your day to come.
9:25PM Step 5 Mindfulness of Breath: Sit in meditation for 15 minutes, focusing on the sensation of your breath coming in and out of the body and becoming mindful and aware of any sensations cropping up in the body.
Cleansing your Energy & Optimizing Your Electromagnetic Field
9:40 PM Step 6 Skin Warming: Take a warm shower, wash away the day, and any negative energy you may have picked up. Brush your teeth and floss.
9:55 PM Step 7 Inducing Darkness: Turn off your phone and set it to charge outside your bedroom. Set your clock-radio alarm for 6:30 am. Turn off all the lights except for one dim light or candle next to your bed, turn off your internet router/modem, and turn down any heaters. Drink a cold glass of water. Refill the glass and place it next to your bed to drink as soon as you wake up.
10:00 PM Step 8 Cognitive Relaxation: Get into bed. Read one-two pages of an inspiring book. It is important that the book is not one that will stimulate or install fear into your psyche. Whatever you read before you fall asleep will inform your dreams. Choose wisely. Set your book next to your bed. Write any last thoughts, feelings, notes into your journal and place it next to your bed to be available to record your dreams in case you wake up in the night.
10:15 PM Step 9 Inducing Parasympathetic Nervous System:
Turn the lights out and Begin your breathing practice.
Alternate nostril breathing
Can be done laying down. Breathe out through the left nostril. Breathe in through the left nostril.
Breathe out through the right nostril. Breathe in through the right nostril. Repeat 4X.
10:20 PM 4-7-8 Parasympathetic Breathing Pattern
Laying on your back or however you are most comfortable in your bed, relax your belly and your abdominals completely. Begin with a few rounds of soft belly breathing. Resting your hands on your lower belly, in between the pubic bone and the navel breathe, allow your belly to rise as your breath to come into your hands on the inhale, observe as your belly naturally falls on the exhale. Try to remain in observation mode and simply watch your breath as it comes in and goes out of the body. Once your belly is soft and relax begin the 4-7-8 breathing pattern. Breathe in for 4 counts. Hold your breath for 7 counts. Breathe out for 8 counts. Repeat a maximum of 3X.
If it feels tiring then just do one or two rounds. Gradually over time you can build up to three rounds.
10:25 PM Step 10 Bodyscan.
Laying in your most comfortable resting position in your bed, close your eyes. Relax your jaw completely. Notice if you are clenching your teeth together. Separate them slightly and relax your tongue in your mouth. Relax the area behind your nose. Relax your eyes and the little muscles around your eyes. Relax your forehead. Relax your scalp. Relax your ears and the space in between your ears. Relax your neck. Relax your shoulders. Work your way down your left arm, relaxing each bit of your arm, piece by piece, down to your hand, relax each finger individually, then work your way back up your arm to the other side, relax your right arm piece by piece and then each bit of your right hand, each finger one by bone. Then work your way back up your right arm to your chest. Relax the area around your heart. Relax the area behind your heart. Soften as much as you can your sternum. Work your way down to your belly. Relax your abdominals completely. Let your belly be soft, allowing for the breath to flow and out naturally without trying to control anything. Then relax your upper back, middle back and lower back. Relax your pelvis and hips. Work your way all the way down your left leg, relaxing the left knee, the left ankle, the left foot. And then relax each toe individually. Work your way back up your left leg and across your pelvis to your right hip. Work your way down your right leg relaxing each part, bit by bit. Relax your right knee, your right ankle, relax your right foot completely and then relax each toe.
It’s likely that you won’t make it all the way down to the right foot but if you do, then work your way back up the body bit by bit piece by piece, looking for areas to relax, where you are holding tension. Use your exhale to relax and release. Continue this bodyscan from head to toe until you fall asleep. If you don’t fall asleep (which is unlikely) then you will at least experience a very deep mind and body relaxation which will prepare you for the following day.
If you wake up throughout the night, take a moment to try and remember your dreams. Write them down in your journal and then use the bodyscan technique to fall back to sleep.
Whatever you do, do not bring your phone into your bed. And if you wake up at night resist the temptation to check your phone. The light emitted from your phone will disrupt your body’s natural melatonin levels convincing you that it is morning and time to wake up for the day.
Excerpt from The Body Navigation Guide Copyright Rebecca Halls 2022