Sleep meditation has begun to catch on in recent years. Thanks to increased public awareness and the emergence of mobile apps that can teach people sleep meditation at home, sleeping better by engaging in the practice is now more common.
To be clear, sleep meditation finds its roots in yoga. But where yoga tends to have some spiritual aspects to it, straight up sleep meditation does not. Both sleep meditation and yoga nidra can help people accomplish many of the same things.
Sleep Meditation Explained
In a nutshell, sleep meditation refers to a collection of guided practices developed to help people relax on a deeper level, thereby making the transition to sleep easier. It is essentially preparing the mind and body to sleep more deeply and consistently.
Scott Moore, an internationally known sleep meditation teacher, says the practice makes use of things that encourage meditation. He utilizes calming music, soothing narration, and a number of relaxation techniques when he teaches.
The Basic Premise
In its purest form, sleep meditation relies on a guide. That guide can either be present in person or accessed through a video or mobile app. The guide walks a practitioner through the process as that person lies comfortably in bed.
The guide encourages the practitioner to focus on breathing first. After that, they move toward progressively relaxing the muscles and visualizing peaceful environments. If all goes as planned, the practitioner is no longer distracted by life’s day-to-day worries. He grows increasingly more relaxed until his body is ready to transition to sleep.
5 Key Components
One of the things that differentiates sleep meditation from a practice like yoga nidra is that it is intentionally designed to be utilized just before falling asleep. The whole point of sleep meditation is to prepare the mind and body to sleep restfully.
Yoga nidra, while it can accomplish the same thing, can also be practiced in the middle of the day to help a person be more at peace with the world around him. Yoga nidra seeks to achieve a state of consciousness that isn’t quite full sleep. Yet the practitioner is not fully awake, either.
As for sleep meditation, its process is built on five key components:
- Preparation – Guides will always encourage practitioners to find a quiet, comfortable space where there are no distractions. They also encourage practitioners to begin sleep meditation with the actual intention to rest.
- Breathwork – Breathwork is what gets the whole thing started. Once the practitioner is lying in a comfortable position with distractions eliminated, the guide begins leading the person through deep, slow breathing exercises designed to calm the mind and body.
- Body Scan – Muscle relaxation is a key component in sleep meditation. That being the case, the guide walks the practitioner through what is known as the body scan. The practitioner systematically moves from one body part to the next, relaxing each one through a two-step process of tensing and releasing.
- Visualization – Alongside muscle relaxation is its mental counterpart. Guides encourage practitioners to imagine peaceful, tranquil scenes. They encourage focusing on places or experiences known to foster a sense of peace and security.
- Release – Finally, practitioners are encouraged to release worrisome thoughts. They are encouraged to let go of things that would otherwise trouble them. As a means of making it easier, a guide might also utilize affirmations or other forms of encouraging speech.
Sleep meditation helps countless numbers of people fall asleep faster, stay asleep throughout the night, and better manage stress and emotions during waking hours. It’s amazing what such a simple practice can do.
