Day 27: Additional Help for Insomnia

I read with deep interest the article about the doctor who had years of chronic insomnia. For most of my life, I had the same issue, and in the last 20 years of insomnia, the symptoms intensified with night terrors, panic attacks and night eating syndrome. A doctor had put me on enough clonipin to knock out a horse, and it never stopped the symptoms. The drug only made me exhausted 24/7.

I wanted to share another tool with you all that easily fits into the TMS recovery program: yoga nidra. 3 years ago, I was in a yoga teacher training program, and was advised by my teacher to take a yoga nidra training course for my elective training hours (she saw the condition I was in).

In short, yoga nidra (also called yogic sleep), is a form of guided meditation that includes hypnosis, breathing techniques, biofeedback and affirmations. The individual is guided as they are laying down (or in a position where they feel safe). The body essentially "goes to sleep" as the person is brought into a deeply hypnotic state (the brain operates at delta/theta levels), where the subconscious is accessed.

It is at this very open state that the facilitator states affirmations about letting go, healing, no need to control, etc.

After a month of practicing the technique, my night terrors, panic attacks and hourly wakings disappeared! My "stress barometer" also went down significantly.

The results were so astounding that I went on to get fully certified in this method. During this training, I discovered the magic of neuroplasticity and healing.

Insomnia affects so many different aspects of our health. When we can finally regulate our sleep, so many other areas of our health can improve, including our well-being. Yes, I believe my issues are TMS related, because there are still pain issues to address. For me, the quick-fix didn't come by reading Dr. Sarno's book, but I think this program is the last piece of the puzzle.

For those still suffering from pain, other weird reactions, etc, I'm hoping that adding another tool, yoga nidra, may help you on your journey. So many of us may find it difficult to bring down the stress response, so I am hoping this information may help those of you who need to bring down that "fight or flight" response.

 

Thanks for the information. I'll look into yoga nidra.

 

Ellen;
Some yoga studios offer it. Also, you can search via these two yoga nidra training schools to find a certified facilitator near you. Not all are yoga teachers. Some are massage therapists, others are counselors, social workers, nurses, and psychologists:

Amrit Method of Yoga Nidra: http://www.amrityoga.org/classes.html
Yogi Amrit Desai, Founder
Dr. Kamini Desai, Psychologist and teaches this method

iRest Yoga Nidra: http://www.irest.us/teachers/certified
Founder/Creator: Dr. Richard Miller, a psychologist and yoga teacher

Other yoga lineages teach it, but I'm not very familiar with them.

 

Thanks, Shirley. It's actually offered at the yoga studio down the road. But I will check out those resources. Thanks!

 

My mind was too active in bed last night so it took a while before I got to sleep.
I'll look into yoga nidra for sleep. Thanks.

 

I just checked Youtube and see there are some videos on yoga nidra.
I'll look at them later today.