Fear of
Letting Go and Insomnia!
After a three-day jaunt of stomach virus, I blinked my eyes
this morning and realized I had been asleep for almost 48 hours solidly. I can
hardly remember what I did, yesterday, I was so out of my body and out of my
mind. When your body aches, the natural instinct of the spirit is to let go of
the body and it’s pain and sleep.
This is how we heal naturally. Some people, however, will
not let go of their bodies for fear they may die. Their fear of death outweighs
the desire to get well.
In yoga the final pose of the asana, the movement portion,
is call svasana. It means literally,
corpse pose. You would have to wonder why the Ayurvedics decided that at the
end of a hard workout you would need to be as still as a corpse to allow for
your cells and your mind to memorize and absorb all the good work you have done
in the workout.
The Vedic principals were fairly simple when broken down to
the bare bones: if the human body is out of the way, then you will experience
God, the creator. If you are made by God, you must essential be made of God.
So, the breath—which keeps the body alive—held great importance to them. If a
yogi could almost still the breath and find herself hovering over the body in a
mock sleep and still be awake enough to experience the bliss, she hovered in
the realm of God.
So, not letting go of the body from fear, could be a way
that you prohibit yourself from healing. Most insomniacs have some fear of
being out of control, so sleep alludes them. Primarily, sleep is when you are
not in control at all. In fact, needing to be in control could cause a myriad
of problems while you sleep.
In sleep, my goal is to put my body to rest with progressive
relaxation or focus on the breath to quiet the body. I often imagine that my
breath progressively retreats toward my feet. In other words, I imagine
breathing from my mouth, then my heart, then my belly, then my knees, then my
feet. When you can get your attention away from you head and thinking
deliberate thoughts, often you allow your mind to quiet enough to sleep.
I have dealt with insomnia for many years. In fact, I got
hooked on Ambien after a stint of
being just fine with sleep. I suppose, if I look back, I can find the hook that
got me stuck in an insomniatic loop of sleeplessness. Most people have some
kind of anxiety that keeps them away while thinking deliberate thoughts. “What
am I going to do without him? How will I pay the bills? What will I do to be
the most prepared for work tomorrow?” You can’t sleep while you are in your
deductive mind. It’s impossible. So, your mind might be awake, while your body
is asleep, which usually is the case for insomniacs.
We go into a sort of trance state, and when the mind begins
to get more anxious it wakes us from moving in the direction of sleep. Also,
having a weak bladder can also contribute to insomnia. I know in times like
that, I’m up about 3-4 times in a night in the bathroom.
To calm the issue of a weak bladder, you could take a mild
sedative or an anxiety medication to keep your body feeling tired. This will
lead you toward sleep. But, if you haven’t worked out your anxiety, you
probably will find that it doesn’t matter how tired you, you won’t sleep
restfully.
I have gone through this. I know from which I speak. Now,
when I go to sleep, my mind must be clear and ready for rest. I take quiet time
between watching television and going to bed. I usually do a set of relaxation
exercises or stretches from yoga for about 15 minutes before I lay in bed. I do
NOT have a television in my bedroom. If you have one, get rid of it. You may be
ignoring sleep problems or even creating them by having a loud television
blaring in the background of solid sleep. This scenario isn’t a good one.
Ultimately, if you have struggles with sleep, I would go to
a hypnotist. The process of being self-hypnotized is the exact process the body
needs for sleep. You probably have to teach yourself how to rest, as your body
and mind have unlearned what naturally is a gift.
Go to Home Page: www.BoSebastian.com
* * *
Bo Sebastian is a Hypnotherapist and Life & Health
Coach, available for private sessions to QUIT SMOKING, Lose Weight, New
Lap-Band Hypnosis for Weight Loss, CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE! at
615-400-2334 or www.bosebastian.com.
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