MEDITATION - Slumber

There are many, many reasons why we do not sleep. Lifestyle, health complications, medication side effects, clinical disorders, fear of missing out, fear in general, anxiety, stress, partner's snoring, body tension......and so on and so on..... But let's reflect upon one of these main causes...... tension ...... Have you heard of the fight and flight response? A kangaroo freezes when caught in the lights of a car. Immediately it's diaphragm contracts, its eyes open wide, its muscles are held taut and ready for action. In that moment its immune system is suppressed, its nervous system stimulated, blood pressure rises, heart rate increases and adrenal glands release adrenaline. We can recognise this as the fight or flight startle response that we share with the rest of the animal kingdom. In the next instant the kangaroo realises that there is no danger, relaxes and hops away.....but unfortunately we, as humans, are gifted in our ability to hold onto physical stress for hours and even decades. Much of this can be related to how we think......a quiet mind, without doubt, is one of the major components in a deep, restful sleep. Thinking too much? It can be exhausting. Thinking promises to give us solutions and yes, of course, they have their good points. But, the more we think, often the worse we think. In fact, chronic thinking can wreck the quality of daily activities and our sleep for years. The mind needs something to do so it calms. This is known as mindfulness. One way is relaxing through scanning the body and releasing stress and strain in the organs, muscles, tendons and ligaments, the breath, the body and the mind. Quote: A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow. ~Charlotte Brontë

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