Lullaby and Good Night
The idea of sleep has come up a few times in the past month. First, a friend said I should change the club’s name to the Breath and Water and Sleep club, because sleep is so healing and rejuvenating.
Then I got a note from a reader:
*I’ve told you often enough how the breath and water practice has changed my life, how I’m happier at work and in my marriage. But there’s another result, and that’s that I’m sleeping! I’ve been an insomniac for much of my life. Restless legs, running mind, and racing heart keep me awake. I almost hate to say it (knock on wood) but I’ve been sleeping well for a few months now. I started doing the evening breathing right before bed, and it helps to relax me and get me ready for sleep. Plus, I’ve gradually been replacing all the fluids I used to drink — coffee, tea, caffeine free diet Pepsi, even juice — with pure water. Now I’m sleeping through the night (I even go back to sleep when I get up to pee at 3 AM) and it makes a huge difference! I’m smarter! I look better! I had no idea life could be so easy! How can I thank you?
And then I got a newsletter from Yoga North. Deborah Adele wrote about rest, a close relative of sleep. Here’s part of what she said:
*What rest does, I think, is give back the sense of mystery. In this insane culture of activity we can so easily get captured in, what greater way is there to bless ourselves than to stop and rest. In this simple act, our eyes are shifted to the wonder of it all and our hearts spontaneously burst with continual songs of gratitude.
Are you sleeping?
I’ve always thought of autumn as a good time to sleep well. The hot nights are behind us, the humidity has lifted, and darkness comes earlier and stays later. Until at least the next newsletter, add get a good night’s sleep to your Breath and Water practice.
As always, let me know how it goes.