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When I was a young sprout there were times when my overactive and perpetually creative brain just refused to shut down and let me get to sleep. On those occasions my mother would guide me through her method for calming the mind so the body could rest. In all fairness having a calming and soothing parental presence can certainly be an aide in and of itself but her method pretty much never failed. As I grew older and learned more about meditative techniques I came to understand why.
I will first lay out and guide you through the method itself then offer a bit of explanation for why it tends to be so effective. And just as a warning I am going to write this out as though I were actually talking someone through it so there could be some danger the eyelids might start to get a bit heavy as you’re reading this.
Once you have made all your preparations for bed (brushed the teeth, gone to the bathroom, changed into the pj’s, etc.) get into bed with whatever lighting and background noises you are used to.
The most effect position for this is to lay on your back with your arms either flat at your sides or lightly folded across torso. For some, however, this position can be less than ideal for a variety of reasons so get into whatever position is…