When your body is in a state of alarm – maybe you’ve been sick or injured or are in pain – the alarm center gets affected and the longer you are in this state of alarm, the more broken your alarm center becomes.

Alarm center sets your sleep (and blood pressure, temperature, weight, sugars, all sorts of things).

If you are not sleeping, it is a sign you are not relaxed. Learning to sleep again starts the moment you wake up. Spend as much time as you can in a day waking up all 5 sensations – deliberately go out to smell things, taste things. Do the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding as often as possible.

5 – look for 5 things you can see and say aloud
4 things you can touch and say name aloud
3 things you can hear and name aloud
2 things you smell and name aloud
1 thing you can taste – go and taste something if you can’t taste

If you have time, this is an excellent way to improve sleep:
Scribble down notes – whatever is on your mind, for 15 minutes twice a day. Crumple up the paper and throw it away.

For the next two weeks, consider yourself in a sleep camp. In the morning, before getting up, practice ventral vagal breath. Lie in bed with your hands on your lower belly and breath in, with the belly moving to the ceiling and out with your belly moving to the spine. Relax the shoulders.

The easiest is to press against your belly towards your spine as you breath out. Remember relax the shoulders. The in breath must be shorter than the long outbreath. Make a noise as you breathe out. Do this for at least 10 breaths.

Do the evening Qigong at night. Even if you can’t do the actual exercises, listen and breath.  Use cushions next to your body to help and straps for your feet if you need them.

Once lying down and ready for sleep, practice Ventral Vagal Breath. Don’t think about sleep. Say – I am relaxing. That is all that matters.

If your sleep is severely disrupted, then you may need more work. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon – listen to the meditation tapes. You can sit in a comfortable chair with shoulders and legs relaxed or lie in bed. If you fall asleep, that is fine.

Then at night, focus only on your breath. Each time your thoughts go elsewhere, gently bring them back to your breath. You can use the meditation tapes to help you fall asleep.

Good Luck

Judy