Do you wish to meditate, but can not always find the time? Are you too stressed out to meditate? Do you find it difficult to relax and fall asleep? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you are not alone. I’ve heard these things from several people when teaching meditation practices.
Brain Waves Activities
What affects our everyday life and our ability to meditate also affects our ability to fall asleep and get a good night’s rest. Both of them are closely related for an excellent reason. Our minds don’t own a shut-off change and also the things that make us stressed during the day, our perceptions, also make us stressed and not able to fall asleep.
The science of brain waves can teach us a lot about meditation and sleep. Researchers have discovered that there are four different brain wave patterns which can be measured. Using a an electroencephalograph, scientists can track brainwaves and determine which brainwave pattern someone who’s sleeping or meditating is experiencing.
Deep sleep is characterized by delta brain wave activity. Before we enter the delta wave action we encounter the theta condition when theta waves are seasoned. Theta is a state of amazing relaxation and the sub conscious mind is vulnerable to suggestion from the theta state. It might also be described as a hypnotic state.
In the alpha state we’re relaxed but not as profoundly as in theta. It’s similar to the state of beginning to fall asleep and relax that all of us encounter as we lie in bed and begin to go to sleep. We’re still conscious of our environment and that we’re in our own bed. Furthermore, if there is a need to wake up, we may do this very quickly. Another instance of alpha brain wave activity is when we’re focusing very difficult and tune out the rest of the world and its distractions. When someone enters hypnosis or meditates, he or she encounters this state of being.
Finally, there’s the beta condition, complete alertness but our mind is somewhat scattered since we’re keeping track of so many things. It’s the normal waking state.
This teaches us is that every individual goes through several brain wave patterns on their way to sleep or to meditation. If you’re bored and bending down and go into meditation, you will most likely also drift off to sleep since the approach is exactly the same for both meditation and sleep.
Simple Relaxation Method
So if you’re lying in bed or trying to go to bed, something that’s almost always a failure is attempting suggests activity and difficulty, two adjectives which don’t describe the sleeping process. Use this simple meditation method to gently ease your mind to the alpha and then the theta state.
First, make sure that the room is dark and you’re as comfortable as possible and shut your eyes and keep them closed. Secondly, start to notice your breathing. With each in breath feel the air filling your lungs and then gently lifting your chest and diaphragm. It may help to really put the palms of your hands in your stomach or diaphragm where your ribs match your stomach. Gently push your palms up with your stomach as you fill your lungs with breath.
As you exhale feel your hands sinking down.
- With the first exhalation envision your neck and head relaxing.
- With out the second breath, feel your shoulders sag and let go.
- With your following breath sense a warm soothing wave of comfort and relief wash down your spine into your hips.
- On another breath, feel your chest relax as another hot wave flows your chest in your stomach and eventually into your pelvis.
- The following out breath starts in your pelvis and gradually moves down your legs washing away stress and tension in your legs and flowing out through the soles of your feet.
Continue to breath and recognize you feel so nice that you no longer worry about falling asleep because you’re relaxed and feel great. Now it’s time to get a funny little game. Count backward from 1000 from threes starting with; 1000, 997, 994, 991… and so on.
Reach Deep Sleep
This technique works for many people because the breathing begins to stimulate alpha action, the first step in relaxation or sleep. As opposed to fighting to go right to sleep, which really tired or stressed out people frequently do, you’re gently taking the actions to profound sleep by stimulating alpha action first.
By the time you complete the progressive relaxation you’ll be in the alpha state, obviously. When you focus on the backward counting, you will input theta and go a bit deeper. You won’t even recognize it, however you’ll already be in the phases of sleep as you’re still counting. Meditation, hypnosis, and sleep are easy and natural and all involve the same brain wave activity.
