Mindsets and meditations to ease nighttime distress
November 4, 2022
The other night as I was getting into bed I noticed my stomach was feeling uncharacteristically jittery and unsettled. A list of likely culprits surfaced: Loved ones going through health crises, relationship challenges, big life decisions, and mood struggles. Looming unpleasant and stressful to-dos. Clients in difficult circumstances. Gloom and doom election headlines. And maybe too many Almond Joys.
While doing a scan of my physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy bodies, like I do with clients, it struck me that first, there are just so many reasons to feel distressed. Personal and universal. It gave me real empathy for people whose anxiety frequently surfaces at night in this way. It's awful.
My second realization was that I had tools to work with the message my body was sending. Below are some practices that have worked for me. Give them a try and let me know how it goes!
When struggling with a particular issue: Evening Energy Accounting (Compassion, Forgiveness, Gratitude)
If you're feel drained, agitated, resentful, regretful, angry, or sad about something that happened or didn't happen, something you said or didn't say, something you did or didn't do, try compassion + forgiveness + gratitude.
First, access compassion. Send it to yourself and anyone else impacted: "This is suffering. We all suffer. We all have mis-steps, we're all struggling, we're all trying, and we all do better when granted kindness."
Next, free yourself with forgiveness: "I forgive myself for acting out of fear - exhaustion - stress - old patterns - ignorance - confusion. I forgive myself for neglecting or mishandling this important issue. I forgive myself for falling short of my standards. I forgive my friend - partner - coworker - child for the same." Forgiveness is freedom.
And last, summon gratitude: "I'm grateful to have this awareness. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and do better tomorrow."
When you're tangled up in thoughts: Energy Retrieval
Let your awareness land on something that is draining your mental energy with endless rumination. Are you ready to release it? Place each hand on a different area of the body, letting your intuition guide you to what feels right: hips, lower belly, upper belly, chest, base of throat, forehead. Take a few deep breaths through your palms. Try this invocation:
I now call my energy back from any person, situation, belief, or event that has held it before now. I invite my energy back with ease, grace, and gratitude. I am whole and complete.
Visualize the energy disengaging and returning to you as an infusion of fresh light.
When you're not sure what's the issue: Pump up the volume
Take a few deep breaths. Imagine that there's a lightbulb in the center of your body, maybe in your chest or in your stomach, let your intuition guide you. Begin to slowly turn up the amount of light. (I actually use my fingers to turn an imaginary dimmer knob, but you can also just visualize it.) Imagine the bulb becoming brighter and brighter, eventually filling your whole body with bright light. Allow a smile to come to your lips. Imagine this light is your deepest, truest, highest essence, and when it fills you up you become buoyant, brilliant, and impenetrable. You can keep going to extend the light as far outside of your body as you want, creating an aura of protection and strength, expanding to share your light with anyone else who needs it. Enjoy the sensation of your shiniest, brightest, most fulfilled and centered self.
