Wednesday, March 26, 2014

RECLAIMING SACRED SLEEP FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH & INTUITIVE CONNECTION

         VIBRANT HEALTH TIP FOR YOUR LIFE! UPLEVEL YOUR SLEEP HYGIENE.

 Ok we all know sleep is important. What you may not know is that the quality of your sleep habits is a direct indicator of the level of energy and wellness you currently have and if you are one of millions that have very poor and inadequate sleep hygiene, you literally are putting yourself at risk of manifesting chronic illness, inflammation, high blood pressure, heart disease,  weight gain/obesity, diabetes and even cancer  and a strong indicator that your life span is going to be shortened! 

Do I have your attention? Sleep is not a sexy topic in our hyper-paced, modern tech- infiltrated, info- overloaded culture but SLEEP is the essential ingredient in creating a vibrant life of physical well being, emotional stability and necessary in unleashing our creative potential to co-create a high prana infused, conscious life in which we are contributing the highest gifts we are here to offer this world. I have over the years heard from folks who claim they only get 4-5 hours of sleep if that, stating" I 'll sleep when I'm dead". Most humans need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. If your motto is to bankrupt your longevity potential by shortchanging sleep, you will sleep when you die and that death could come prematurely.

So what to do? First take an honest inventory of your current SLEEP STATUS. 
A. Are you well rested most days : Wake up without an alarm and feel rejuvenated, inspired and ready for the day?
B. Experience some sleep deprivation on some days: Go to bed at different times each day and have no set ritual for consistent rest. Good sleep is hit or miss for you.
C. Very Sleep Deprived: Sleep through your alarm most days, suffer from chronic fatigue or insomnia, compensate with stimulants, caffeine and sugar to push through. Frequently feel moody, agitated and depressed.

   If you are like most people you fall in to B or C. If you want to make a powerful transformative shift towards creating deeper health and conscious, creative wellness, make a soul commitment to practice the following to return the intelligent aspect of your body- mind to its natural healing state.

Committing to daily SLEEP HYGIENE will produce the healing shifts that improve our wellness on all levels.

RITUALS CREATE RESULTS!

1. Thi
s week, go to bed 30 min. earlier than your are each night, next week go 30 earlier than this week and so in. If your current bedtime has been midnight, in one month you will train yourself to be in bed by 10 pm the MAGIC TIME FOR REJUVENATION. Between the hours of 10pm -2am is the PRIME TIME for our livers to detox the energy of our day, and this is a critical aspect to whether your body is able to keep up with cellular repair and rejuvenation or fall into a pattern of backlogging waste in your tissues and organs creating chronic inflammation and dis-ease. This is a fire element time so if you don't get yourself in bed by 10pm you might get a second wind and stay up way too late, depriving your body of this crucial detoxing time.

2. Stop eating 3 hours before bed, so in an ideal world 7pm. If you eat a large meal between 8-9pm or are snacking after dinner, your body just got bombed with overload! It can't detox when your GI tract is loaded with food to digest. Try and eat your largest meal between noon-3 then have a light supper , soups, salads, small portions. Dial back caffeine consumption to near 0 or again, no caffeine after 6pm. Camomile tea is a soothing tea for sleep prep.

3. Unplug from all screens one hour before bed to detox mind. Take a warm bath with epsom salts (magnesium will relax your muscles) and lavender essential oil to calm your nervous system.

4. Remove tech devices from your bedroom including TV'S and piles of books and papers or clutter. Bedrooms need to be clear for rest and intimacy with minimal distractions. Best rest is experienced if your bed faces south or east. Worse direction for rest is a bed facing north! Too much magnetic force on you. If you have a dresser directly at the foot of your bed with a mirror, either move it or cover the mirror with a cloth at night.

5. Meditate daily: Start with 5 min practice for one month then bump that up to 10 min, and so on until you have a REGULAR ONCE OR TWICE DAILY 20-30 MIN MEDITATION PRACTICE. simply begin by sitting comfortably still and observing a deep breath in an out. If your mind wanders (and it will) just simply begin again and return your focus to the sensation of your breath moving in and out.
Think of this process of taking your mental garbage out to the curb. Imagine if we did not take our household trash out each day what the state of our living quarters would be in a week or two. Well now imagine the mental state you are in if you have never consistently emptied the trash! Get the picture? Toxic waste dump in our minds. Love yourself enough to meditate daily.

6. Left nostril breathing: Pranayama is breath work exercises that expands the flow of prana (life force) and shifts us from imbalance to balance. This practice, breathing in and out of the left nostril, known as your cooling, lunar current can support rest. Place your right thumb against the right nostril, breathe slowly into the left nostril, then press your right pinky finger to close off your left nostril and breathe out of your right nostril. Continue that loop, breathe in the left, exhale the right. Do 12 rounds.

7. Try placing an eye pillow on your eyes to support the muscles of your face and eyes in particular to soften and relax. Because of our extreme levels of processing energy and info. through our eyes, they need some TLC to release. It's known that when your eye muscles are chronically too tight and strained, we cut off from our 3rd eye or intuitive insight, the treasure trove of truth and wisdom that can guide us to living in great health.

So thats your SACRED 7 STEPS TOWARDS SHIFTING TO A OPTIMAL LIFE SUPPORTING SLEEP HYGIENE. What an essential gift to give yourself. The better rested we are , the more alive we feel, the healthier our bodies and minds function , the more we are capable of giving to the world.
Let me know if you are willing to commit to Sacred Sleep Hygiene Rituals and how the practices are going for you! I would love to hear from you. Namaste & Blessings for Strong Intentions to Reclaim your Sacred Sleep. If you know anyone that is suffering from poor sleep, please LIKE & SHARE this post with them. Anne Townend-Duffey

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