Visualise your way to better sleep
Award-winning intuitive healer Sinéad de hÓra shares tips for building a solid sleep routine and feeling more well-rested
Sleep is just one of the elements of our lives that has been impacted by lockdown. Whether stress is keeping you awake, or your routine has gone out the window in favour of endless scrolling, many of us are depending on caffeine to fuel us through the day.
Some of us have never had a proper ‘sleep routine’ and while we may tell ourselves that we’re not early night people, lack of sleep is a real problem for our health and mood.
Heal your sleep
Intuitive healer Sinéad de hÓra explains that too many of us sacrifice rather than prioritise sleep.
“I labelled myself ‘a night owl’ for years. The type of person that could stay up all night, work until 2 or 3 am and then sleep in until nine and practically run on empty. Let me tell you, you cannot run on empty. You might think you can now, but you will start to notice things in your life not functioning to the level you deserve or need them to,” Sinéad says.
“Perhaps you have noticed that you have been procrastinating, you are finding it hard to concentrate on one topic at a time. You have no motivation to exercise; you reach for the coffee first thing to give you stimulants and another in the afternoon. And you find yourself living for the weekend so that you can rest and do it all again the following week. I can tell you now, with sleep and recovery, you will not need anything to fuel your energy because you will naturally do so overnight.”
Sound familiar? Here are some of the tips to help change your sleep pattern from night owl to the sunrise chaser.
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Create a soothing routine and stick to it
Create an evening routine that brings balance and harmony. We all know by now that being on your phone or laptop late at night is too stimulating for our brain. We know this yet continue to do so anyway. Instead of punishing yourself and trying to be disciplined by breaking this habit, add something beneficial into your routine that adds value instead. Such as having a warm drink at night whilst listening to soothing music. Lighting incense in your room such as sandalwood can be grounding for a half-hour before you go to bed. Commit to reading 10 pages of a book that you have wanted to read for some time or journaling and reflecting on the day you have had. Remember that consistency is the key to success here.
2. Let go of the stress of the day
As you lay in bed with your eyes closed, visualise a yellow balloon in front of your body. A balloon filled with all of the energy you gave away on the given day. The energy you have to emails, texts, social media, your loved ones etc. and as you lay there, I would like for you to imagine the balloon bursting in reverse as your body and energy absorbs all of the goodness you once gave away. This is how you start to refuel your energy.
3. Distance yourself from other people’s energy
Use this time too to send back any energy that you may have absorbed from others to their highest good. Imagine being connected by red string to everyone you came in contact with that day. and imagine sending all of their energy back to them through that string to their highest good to be recycled. This is a form of energy detoxing. Once you have sent the energy back, imagine yourself cutting the string that connects you with those you are thinking about. This makes room for the sting or also known as cords to form again with whole new energy if needed.
4. Envision your ideal tomorrow
Visualise or set intentions for the day ahead. As you lay in bed, start to imagine how your day ahead will turn out. What you will wear, what you will do, who you will see etc. And set an intention of what you want to gain for the day ahead. As you do so, you align your energy with the energy of attraction, in other words, you begin to manifest your day ahead.
5. Try a meditation exercise
After doing all of the above you will start to become quite tired. Perhaps you didn’t even get to do each step and fell asleep. But you might need to add in one extra tip to get your body and energy into a deep state of relaxation. Try the body scan or Yoga Nidra technique.
Lay perfectly still. Focus on your breath as you go limb by limb, focusing on every inch of your body at a time. This is known as a body scan or Yoga Nidra. It promotes a psychic sleep, in other words, it deeply relaxes your body as you stay perfectly still so that your body can sink into a deep state of rest and recovery. Your mind will wander and that is ok. Bring it back to your breath and to the area you are focusing on and in time you will naturally drift off to sleep. As I mentioned before, consistency is key to success. Remove the habits that keep you awake and activate new ways that work for you and your energy as you create a new rhythm that allows your body to truly rest and recover so that you no longer need to reach for the morning coffee.
Get more advice and tips from Sinéad at sineaddehora.com.
