Thank you for starting this course and recognizing yourself for taking those initial steps to help improve your sleep.
Spending a few moments getting into a lying down position,
You can use a pillow behind your head,
Under your knees,
Nice and comfortable.
We'll start with quite a simple breathing technique,
But a technique that many of us have lost touch with.
We want to return to the way we were born to breathe,
Nasal belly breathing.
So in your position now,
Place a hand on your chest and a hand on your belly.
Breathing in and out through the nose,
Encouraging the belly to rise on your inhale and allowing it to fall on your exhale.
These deeper breaths tell your nervous system you are safe,
Which is great for relaxation and moving you towards better sleep.
It's important that the belly is doing the majority of the work and the chest is remaining relatively still.
There'll be a little bit of movement there,
But you're really focusing on the inhale inflating the belly and the exhale drawing the belly back down.
Getting that pattern correct is really important for the relaxation response.
Keeping your awareness on that movement of the belly and if your mind wanders,
Just coming back to that movement and all the sensations of breathing deeper,
Slower,
More relaxed.
Now that the belly is moving nicely with the breath and any tendency to take shallow breaths in and out of the chest has been removed,
We will start breathing to a ratio of a three second inhale and a five second exhale.
Still breathing in and out through the nose,
Belly rising for three seconds,
Drawing the belly down for five seconds.
These lengthened exhales tell our nervous system once again we're safe,
Ready for relaxation.
Each lengthened exhale slows down the heart rate,
And the entire nervous system moves towards deeper relaxation.
Feeling that safety signal move around your entire body with each and every breath.
Continuing three second inhale,
Five second exhale.
With each exhale feeling a sense of letting go,
A sense of surrender.
And now letting go of that control of the breath and allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Keeping your awareness on those subtle movements around your belly noticing the body breathing itself and then letting go of that awareness of the breath.
Allowing yourself to rest for a few moments and then starting to move into whichever position you sleep in.
Acknowledging yourself for influencing the nervous system to produce a state of relaxation to help ensure a better night's sleep.
