I was introduced to body based meditation back in phys ed school where we were shown a variety of mind body practices. We did a body scan during the class while lying down and I fell asleep pretty much every time! I was also caught nodding off in class sometimes where my classmates were concerned for the health of my neck in how much it bobbed up and down quickly.
Even with many years of meditation practice behind me, it is still a significant risk for me to fall asleep during meditation while lying down. It amazes me how easily others in the field of yoga and meditation will diagnose me as exhausted and not doing the meditation properly. Having tried for 20 years, I have come to accept the possibility of a little snooze and enjoy feeling great afterward. The point of meditation is to relax, so snoozing a bit IS evidently changing your state to one of serious relaxation.
This month, I shared some meditation recordings at a class I covered and I would like to share them here:
This 20 minute meditation with the crystal bowls is incredibly relaxing and useful if you are ever up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling asleep again.
https://books.apple.com/ca/audiobook/seven-masters-one-path-course/id272362167
The John Selby book is an excellent easy to understand book on meditation. This audio book makes the practice more guided and accessible.
Apparently it is best that you remain awake during non sleep deep rest or yoga nidra, and honestly, sometimes I fall asleep and that’s ok, especially if you wake up feeling great.
The mind needs constant taming, and this is where daily mindfulness practice makes all the difference. Making a daily effort to practice even just for a few minutes IS the way to learn and improve.
