Changing Lives through Dancing by David Woodbury
Arthur Murray Santa Monica
You must think I’m crazy writing this blog. What am I talking about? Here it is. Sometimes I wake up at 3 AM and I’m fully awake, and I must get up and get dressed. Sometimes I’m up all night with an upset stomach due to my meds or messing up my diet. I’m up for several hours every few minutes and I cannot rest.
Other times I just stay up way to super late, knowing I must get up the next morning between 5 and 6 AM. I do it, but I’m so tired during the next day I cannot recover.
So, I’ve figured out a way to trick and treat myself. Let’s say I have 30 minutes where I can rest, but I truly need to sleep for a few hours, 4 preferably. This is how I do my sleep exercise.
First, I sit quietly and make sure I am in a safe, restful position and I’m warm and comfortable. Then I take my “first hour” nap by saying silently to myself, “10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 minutes with a slow, deep breaths in between each 10-minute count.
Secondly, for my “second hour”, I say “15 minutes’, and breathe, “30 minutes”, and breathe, “45 minutes”, and breathe, then “60 minutes, and I inhale deeply.
Thirdly, for my “third hour”, I say “30 minutes”, then I take a very deep breath. Then I say, “1 hour”, and breathe slowly.
Finally, for my “fourth hour”, I say “one hour”, and I breathe, and breathe, and breathe some more. I then practice complete silence of mind and speech for as long as I can.
Now, I have “completed” a four-hour nap. If I have not fallen asleep during this exercise, I will repeat saying the “first hour” in six 10-minute counts, then I say the “second hour” in four 15-minute parts, then the “third hour” in two party, 30 and 60 minutes, then for my “fourth” hour, I finally I count off one full hour. I then reset again five minute if possible.
The reason I’m blogging on this is that after I stand up from my 30-minute four-hour nap exercise, I am rested, refreshed and I feel alert. I’ve done this so many times that it has become a part of all my naps and usually I’m asleep halfway through the first meditation. I am able to “let go” and give my body some rest.
This little trick calms me, sooths my mind and body, and gives me rest instead of worry. It’s crazy, but it works for me. I just did this during a 6-minute break today, and when I stood up, I felt great. It works!
For nighttime, morning, and waking up during the night I have a failsafe way of guiding my last thoughts before falling fully asleep, going back to sleep after a mid-night drink of water, and guiding my first thoughts upon awakening. I’ve done this now for so many years, its has become a habit and lifestyle for me. It’s a series of memorized thoughts and meditations that I say over and over. For me, it works and keeps dark thoughts out of my sleep and brings bright thoughts of light to my morning.
If you’d like a blog on this, text me at 747-900-1016 and request my sleep and awakening blog.
Now, I’m working on guiding my dreams. I have a very long way to go on this! I know what and how to do it, but I’m not fully committed and focused and skilled enough to master this just now. I’ll eventually learn and practice guided dreams in the future.
I’m almost 68 and I’ve been dancing 48 years. I need my rest, and I get it! My body loves my “four hour naps” in my 15 minute break!
I’m claiming my promise from Proverbs 3:24 NIV
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid, when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet”.
Thanks for reading,
David Woodbury