Courtney E. Ackerman - Calm Your Thoughts, Still Your Body, and Return to Sleep

Midnight Meditations

Calm Your Thoughts, Still Your Body, and Return to Sleep

Courtney E. Ackerman

Weve all been theresuddenly awake in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, with our minds racing. We wake up for a variety of reasons, from simply falling asleep in an uncomfortable position to a problem weighing heavily on our minds. Whatever the reason, its frustrating to find yourself alert and awake when all you want is a little rest.

Its a common problem, but the good news is that you dont have to sit and stew while you wait for sleep to overtake you again. Calming meditations like the 150 options in this book can help your mind and body relax and get you back to sleep in no time. Midnight Meditations offers several techniques designed to lead you back into dreamland: breathing exercises, visualizations, body-focused meditations, and more. You might find that one technique is more effective for you than others, or you might find that certain methods work better in specific situations. For example, breathing exercises might help when youre stressed, while body-focused meditations may be most effective when your body is stiff or sore. You can read through all the meditations in this book first, or feel free to jump right to one that resonates with you (they are organized by technique). Different meditations will hit the spot at different times, so make sure to try lots of the many options.

Above all, try not to get too frustrated or anxious when you wake up unexpectedly. The best way to fall back asleep is to forget that you should be asleep right now. The more you focus on what you should be doing, the harder it is to relax enough to actually do it. The meditations in this book use a variety of methods to help you get back to sleep, but they all start with soothing your busy brain to a relaxed state and giving it permission to shut off again. Thats the key to getting back to sleep.

So, while you flip through this book to find a meditation that you think might work for you, remember to show yourself some compassion and go easy on your busy, all-too-alert brain. We rarely get back to sleep by berating ourselves or thinking of all the things that annoy us, so skip that approach and get right to the ones that work.

Let these meditations help you lie back, let go, and drift into peaceful slumber once again. Give your overworked body and mind the restful and restorative time they deserveeach and every night.

This book provides 150 different meditations for you to use when you wake up in the night and want to get right back to sleep. There are meditations in a variety of techniques for you to choose from, so youre sure to find one that works for you no matter how alert you are when you first open this book.

To maximize the effectiveness of these meditations, Id like to offer some suggestions on how to use them. Before practicing any sort of meditation, pause, take a moment to focus on yourself and how you are feeling, and cultivate some mindfulness. Mindfulness is all about being aware of yourself and being present in the current moment. Meditation and mindfulness go hand in hand, and its a great idea to gear yourself up for meditation by being more mindful.

Its also a good idea to set an intention before you meditate. For a general meditation, ask yourself what you would like to do during this time youre carving out just for you. What do you hope to get from this experience? How would you like to feel afterward? Of course, if youre using this book, your intention is to get back to sleep. But you may want to set other, more specific, intentions before engaging in any of these meditations, like My intention is to relax and ease the tension in my shoulders or My intention is to let go of this thought thats been bothering me. Your intention will help guide your meditation practice and keep you on track.

You can meditate in any position or posture you like, but there are two postures that are most often adopted when meditating: sitting upright (either in a chair or on the floor/a cushion with crossed legs) or lying flat on your back. Lying flat on your back will probably help you get back to sleep more quickly than sitting upright; however, its up to you how you want to meditate. In some cases, you might feel more comfortable sitting than lying down. Unless otherwise noted in the meditation, you can choose whichever position feels better in the moment.

Likewise, you have two options for your eyes: You can leave them open with a soft focus (i.e., glazed eyes, looking at nothing in particular), or you can keep them gently closed (not squeezed shut). Closed eyes will likely get you back to a sleepy state better than open eyes, but you may find thats not the case for you. Feel free to give both a try and see what works. Unless otherwise noted in the meditation, you can go with either option.

Posture and eyelid position can affect your results, but the most important things you can do to prepare for these meditations are to:

1. . Acknowledge that you are currently awake when youd rather be asleep, but accept that this is the way it is.
2. . Decide to be open to whichever exercise you choose.
3. . Follow the instructions and give it a chance to work.

Happy meditating!

This meditation is a building block of a good meditation practice. It focuses on your breath and is very simple, as there is only one rule: Come back to your breath. Follow these instructions to give it a try:

1. You can be either seated or lying down for this exercisejust make sure you feel comfortable and can breathe easily.
2. Focus on your breath. Think about how it feels to breathe. Notice how you draw in and then expel air.
3. Eventually, you will not be able to focus solely on your breath anymore, and your mind will wander. Dont beat yourself up about this; its a common occurrence in meditation. When you catch your mind wandering, simply bring it back to your breath. Do so gently, and with compassion for your busy mind.
4. Continue focusing on your breath and bringing your mind back to it when it wanders.

If you feel youve been focusing on your breath for a while and you are still not sleepy, try setting a timer with a soft, soothing sound for 5 minutes. If you dont feel sleepy after 5 minutes of focusing on your breath, try a different meditation.

Focusing on your breath is a simple way to gently lull your busy mind back to sleep. There are several effective techniques, including this square breathing method. With this exercise, focus all your attention on your breath as you purposefully breathe in, breathe out, and take meaningful pauses. With this method, you spend equal amounts of time breathing in, holding your breath in, breathing out, and then pausing. This creates four equal sides to your breath, making a square. The square breathing method ensures that you take in enough oxygen during your in-breaths and challenges your lungs when holding between in- and out-breaths. In addition to being good for your lungs, this technique helps settle and clear your mind, giving you the peace you need to drift back to sleep. Heres how it works:

1. Gently breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds.