after a long tiring day what you desire the most is the rest and a good night sleep. if you can relax your body before going to sleep then your sleep will be very restful and deep. next day you will wake up refresh and charged.
its a important practice to relax your body or meditate before going to sleep. because it changes the whole quality of your sleep and makes it more relaxed and deeper.
also check – tips to get a good night sleepย andย 8 spiritual things you can do before going to sleep.
steps to relax your body before going to sleep:
1. lie down on your back in your bed. spread out your legs and be in a relaxed and comfortable position.
2. close your eyes and take few deep and slow breaths. while breathing in and out, pay attention to the incoming and outgoing breath. do it slowly and consciously. breathing is the first step towards relaxing your body. so do it very slowly and consciously and take deep breaths.
3. make sure you breathe correctly. that is when you inhale then your belly should rise. you should inhale from your nose and not from mouth. lastly theย breathing should be deep and not shallow. so when you inhale then breathing should reach till your abdomen. many people breathing is shallow and it only reaches till the chest. right breathing will not only make your relaxed but will also contribute to good health.
4. alternatively, while breathing you can also visualize that while exhaling the tiredness is going out of your body and while inhaling the fresh energy is entering in your body. for people with good visualization skills this method works easily.
5. after taking few deep breaths, bring your attention to your toes. see if their is any tension or stress in them. if yes, then slowly release the tension consciously. you can give command to your toes to relax itself. your body follows the orders given by you. relax both the toes. notice how much relax they are feeling now. again there is no hurry, so take your time to do it. remember, you are alreadyย done with the day’s work. another way to relax the toes is to first tighten them to increase the tension and then relax them. this works for hands, eyes and face also.
6. after releasing tension from toes, move your attention to your feet. see if you find any tension there. if yes then again release the tension by following the step 4. observe and feel how much relax you are feeling in your feet.
7. slowly do the same with your ankles.ย repeat the same procedure of relaxation for your knees, legs, stomach,ย buttocks, chest, hands, arms, shoulders, neck, face and head. slowly relax the whole body.
8. do it slowly and consciously. once you have relaxed each part of your body then observe your whole body and see if you can feel tension in any part of your body. if yes then release the tension consciously and relax it.
few tips for relaxing the body:
1. its best to do this exercise with lights closed. if you are comfortable with the darkness then it is the ideal situation. always avoid the bright lights while doing this exercise.
2. playing a soothing or relaxing music will also help a lot.
3. switch off your mobile phones or put them in silent mode. so that no interruption pccurs while doing this relaxing meditation technique. thats why it is best to practice this in your bedroom or in a space where there is least noise and less disturbance.
4. taking a hot water shower before doing this relaxing exercise will also release lot of tension from your body.
5. wear the fresh set of clothes. don’t go to sleep with the clothes you have worn during the day time. also don’t wear tight clothes. wear loose fitting and relaxed clothes. the quality of clothes also matters. your clothes should breathe well. thats why its good to wear natural clothes like cotton or khadi and avoid wearing synthetic clothes.
6. in modern lifestyle, your eyes gets tired the most. this is because of watching too much TV, Cinema or working in laptop. so its very important to relax the eyes. so give special time to relax your eyesย in this exercise.
7. you can do this relaxing exercise any time of the day. it can also be done in office timing while sitting on chair.
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