I wasn't a sleeper... until I trained my body to let go and allowed my mind would follow. I had to teach myself HOW TO sleep again. I had to show my body how to reset itself and allow my cells to regenerate and heal. I had to be brave enough to be vulnerable while I slept... I had to turn off the lights.. step away from the sugar that called to me and aided my plight to stay awake... alert and aware. I had to let go.
According to the National Institutes of Health, 7% to 19% of adults reportedly do not get enough sleep, 40% reportedly fall asleep during the day at least once a month, and 50 to 70 million Americans have chronic sleep disorders. These disorders stemming like weeds from a multitude of things... most if not all stemming from trauma.
I didn't know a lot of people slept on average 6 to 8 hours every night with the recommended amount of sleep being 8 hours. In the different stages of sleep, different things happen... and when you can tap into the delta sleep, a place of cell regeneration happens. Sleep aids in physical recovery. Its like a fountain of youth turning back time and reseting your mind and body. Sleep also improves your memory, gives you clarity and helps with indecisiveness. Combining all these benefits together, you become a powerhouse of booming potential.
Everyone I was familiar with functioned on just a few hours of sleep. But when I say everyone, I meant the people I was surrounding myself with; the abusers and the abused.... the survivors and the inflictors, those living in abuse and those still reeling from its effects years and sometimes decades later. Some living white collared lives in too big for themselves houses, fat bank accounts and an overflow of excess. Others living on the edge with cut off notices and asking for rides with ends barely meeting.
Additional studies have shown, those who've experience a traumatic event are more prone to suffer significant sleep problems. These sleep problems stacking up and will more likely to develop PTSD in the future. PTSD and sleep have a complex relationship. Though sleep problems accompany many mental health conditions, sleep problems in PTSD2 are actually considered part of the disorder.
How do we find peace? How did I retrain my body and mind to find peace and to no longer fight my sleep? I found it in the ancient and holistic practice of Yoga Nidra. This nonphysical form of an ancient yogic practice that’s both a form of meditation and a mind-body therapy. It is a systematic form of guided relaxation that not only deeply relaxes you but retrains your mind and body to learn how to sleep. An hour of Yoga Nidra is equal to four hours in delta sleep where your body begins to repair itself.
If you're interested in more about Yoga Nidra, stay tuned as I begin to release youtube videos, recordings and live events. If you'd like to book a private group session over zoom, reach out and lets begin this journey!
Sincerely,
Polly