“Sleep when your baby does,” can be difficult advice to follow when you have one baby, with two children it can be almost impossible. In this last post in the series based on Dan Siegel’s, The Healthy Mind Platter ,we look at the last serving and maybe the most challenging of all: Sleep Time, “When we give the brain the rest it needs, we consolidate learning and recover from the experiences of the day.” Let’s change “Sleep Time ” to “Rest Time.” Why?
I used to think of nothing but sleep when my children were babies. When I saw pictures of people sleeping I would be filled with envy, I would daydream about sleep uninterrupted. I wanted to sleep so much, that when I had the chance to sleep during the day, I simply couldn’t. The harder I tried the more agitated I became. For some parents, sleep after baby is not that big a deal, for others it is THE BIG DEAL. If you are having trouble sleeping, even when there is an opportunity, because the lack of sleep is making you anxious or agitated, think instead of ways to get REST. Instead of lying down right away when you feel exhausted but agitated, try doing some breathing and stretching. Then see what comes. Intentional Rest can be as restorative as sleep.
On The Mat–
- Put on some relaxing music, make sure the room is warm enough for your muscles to relax. Start with some slow deep 3 part breathing filling the lungs and belly with fresh oxygen.
- Stand in Tadasana or sit in a comfortable cross-legged position. Bring attention to your jaw, if it is tight, tighten it even more, then allow it to open slightly and relax. Raise your arms with each inhale and lower them with each exhale. Repeat for 3 slow breaths. This loosens tight shoulders and gets blood flowing.
- Take Child’s Pose for 1 minute
- Legs-Up-The -Wall Pose –Vipariti Karani
- Roll onto your back. Inhale, squeeze your body into a tight ball, knees to chest exhale. Repeat 3 times.
- Savasana, or corpse pose. You can follow along with this audio recording from yoga journal for added support. Lie on your back, legs and arms and body relaxed. Make sure you have a blanket to cover yourself with if it is cool. Feel your body melt into the floor. Give yourself at least 3-5 mins. of relaxation. If you fall asleep, great, if not, you will be rested and your body will be relaxed.
Off The Mat— When you are feeling exhausted, but have trouble sleeping, with only a few minutes. Lie down with the intention of resting, not necessarily sleeping. Heat up a microwave pack, put it on your body anywhere you feel achy–back, neck… Imagine yourself being gently rocked in a large soft hammock of caring. Send yourself some love and compassion; this job you do is long and difficult. It is a marathon of loving.
“May we all be at ease, may we all rest, may we all feel loved”
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