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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Welcome back to Day Two of
our seven day Sleep Challenge.
I hope yesterday went well for you.
And if not, we have
another opportunity today.
In this session, we're going to
explore the positive impact of deep
breathing to help us fall asleep.
Now I'm first going to share why deep
breathing can be useful, but then I'll
share a particular strategy that we'll
be practicing in today's meditation
that I find to be the most useful.
So to begin, deep breathing is
useful because it engages the
parasympathetic nervous system.
This is the part of our nervous system
that helps us relax, that reminds our mind
and body that we're safe, that this is a
time for rest, restoration, being at ease.
It helps calm down that excited, agitated,
stressed out part of us that is activated
by the sympathetic nervous system.
And if you think about this in the context
of deep breathing, it makes logical sense.
Think to any time that you've
been stressed or agitated or on
the edge of your seat, wondering
what am I supposed to do.
In those moments is your breathing
long, relaxed, deep in your belly,
or is it more shallow, tight,
constricted, up in your chest?
Most likely it's the latter.
When we're in a tense or stressed
out state, we trigger these shorter,
contracted, shallow breaths.
Conversely, when you've been calm,
relaxed, maybe on a beach or in nature,
and you don't feel stressed or tense,
what is your breathing like that?
Assuming you're not exercising,
it's most likely calmer, relaxed,
longer, deeper in your belly.
And the interesting thing about
this is that, yes, a calm state
tends to induce these longer, deep
breaths, but we can also induce a
calm state by dropping into those
deep breaths, even if we're agitated.
It's sort of a trick for the mind and the
nervous system to say, Hey, it's okay.
You can relax.
You can be calm.
Now, my favorite breathing practice for
this is called the four-seven,-eight
breath, which involves breathing in
for four seconds, holding for seven
seconds and exhaling for eight seconds.
I'll walk you through
that in the meditation.
But I do this at the very least for
a few minutes before going to bed.
And what I most appreciate about
it is that it lowers my heart rate.
And the faster we can lower our heart
rate before sleep, the sooner we'll
be able to get into deep sleep and
the more restoration we'll experience.
So I'm looking forward to doing
this with you in today's meditation.
Thank you for your practice
and let's settle in.
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