If for many the “sweet sleep” is one of the pleasures of life, the opposite can be said for 12 million Italians. The same ones who suffer from insomnia, and for whom the night has the bitter taste of crumpled sheets and out of place pillows. A problem that with the pandemic has enlarged its audience by at least 40%, as stated by the president of the European Association for Panic Disorders (Eurodap) and responsible for Trainer Bioequilibrium, Eleonora Iacobelli.
A factor that is decisive in the difficulty in falling asleep or in frequent awakenings it is stress. An omnipresent enemy in our days who, especially in the evening, weighs down the problems, causing them anxiety, tension and, in fact, insomnia. Apart from drugs, there is also a sweet remedy that goes beyond chamomile or relaxing herbal tea. The techniques of meditation before bedin fact, they relax and calm body and mind, helping to reduce stress. And, if done correctly before bedtime, they can have benefits on sleep. How? We asked theexpert in holistic disciplines Walter Zanca, who founded the center in Milan Alma Matters where he comes lectures in many courses, from Tibetan bells to Ayurvedic massage.
«Meditation techniques before sleep lead to a deep relaxation linked to breathing, they teach us not to judge and not to get involved with external things. – explains Zanca – In this way, our nervous system automatically detaches itself from the whirlpools of everyday life and finds peace and rest. Practicing these exercises daily, or even when you wake up, also help a lot in cases of severe insomnia and headaches. So much so that it is proven how one hour of meditation of this type corresponds to 8 hours of deep sleep. However, when we are very stressed, even just 15 minutes give excellent results ».
First Meditation Exercise: Bring awareness to the breath
Easy to replicate and at no cost, here’s how to perform Walter Zanca’s exercises. “Go to bed, preferably in a supine position and under the covers, as relaxation can cause the body to cool down. Bring the left hand on the heart and right on the abdomen and breathe normally. At this stage it is important orient our awareness on how we breathe merely observing our air entering and exiting the body following its path. As if we have internal eyes that watch the air enter through the nose, travel the throat, chest and inflate the abdomen. And at this point we observe it coming out warmer, passing through the abdomen, chest, throat, nose ».
Any tips on how to best perform this first technique? “We have to keep two things in mind when practicing. The first is to initially observe the breathing without any judgment, let it flow and look at it as it is, without forcing it. Then, slowly and gradually, we need to make sure that the air gets to swell the belly and for this reason the right hand resting on the abdomen helps us, lifting up, to understand if this happens. In fact, Western man’s breathing is often defined as “a dog”, precisely because it is fast, breathless and the air usually reaches only the upper chest area, to the collarbones. There are no particular indications regarding the duration of the practice. This sequence leads to relax deeply and also dissolve tensions and physical pains».
Second meditation exercise: focus on the sound
«This practice is also recommended for those who usually have a strong mental brooding or mentally tend to plan, conceive and organize relentlessly. We put ourselves in the same position as the first method, but this time with i palms facing up. We begin to breathe in a relaxed way trying to get the air down to the abdomen, but without forcing this phase too much. The moment we feel comfortable and relaxed, with our eyes closed we bring attention to any sound that comes from outside our home or room and we ‘observe’ it.
We just look at this sound without judgment, so without thinking about whether we like it or not. Let’s observe it for a few seconds and then let it go and look for any other sound. We look at this sound for a while, without judgment, and once again we look for another sound and repeat again. Now we search instead for a sound inside the room in which we find ourselves and we repeat, looking again for another sound always inside our room. If we can, we can now try to look for a sound inside our body. The operations of observation of the sounds must last at least 10 seconds for each sound ».
Third meditation exercise: try the Tibetan bells
«The non plus ultra to be able to meditate passively and promote rest is listening to or using Tibetan bells. This ancient oriental instrument has a powerful benefit on the mind and body, as it produces sounds and physical vibrations that act on the unconscious. It’s about a passive meditation which leads us to completely disconnect from the outside world, thoughts and worries. Physical vibrations bring the mind into states of Theta and Delta waves, which are those of meditation and deep, dreamless sleep. If you have one or more Tibetan bells, before going to bed you sit on a carpet or pillow placed on the floor and play them in a relaxed way, without rushing to go from one bell to another. We must try to let the vibrations and sounds flow within us. The vibrations, working on the water, act deep in our body and mind, as we are made of 70% water. It is not necessary to follow or learn particular protocols, but to play as we feel we want to do it ».
What if we don’t have these tools available? «Listening to good sound baths also helps a lot in our rest, relieves tension and increases diuresis. Good Tibetan bell concerts can be found online to be listened to preferably with headphones. On the YouTube channel of my center, for example, there are several videos created especially for meditation (you can find them at this link) “.
Good sleep and good meditation!
(credit photo: AdobeStock)
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