This is a mindful stretching exercise that you can do at any time. However, please refrain from doing this very close to a meal. First, bend down to as much as you can. Don’t force yourself to do more than you can. Make your upper body utterly limp with your arms hanging down like a rag doll. Let go entirely and revel in that sensation of relaxation. After a few moments, start stretching your neck. Do only as much as you can. With mindful stretching, you will be more connected to your body, its sensations, and the emotions that you feel in parts of your body. As you stretch your neck on both sides and do a full swing, note the relaxation that sweeps through your body. If there is tightness, note and stay with it.
Breathe into the tightness and imagine that your neck is relaxing even more. Next, shrug your shoulders, and every time you shrug, make it a little tense and let it go limp completely. Your emotions are held up as tightness in your shoulders. Move your focus to this part, and try to name the emotion built up as tenseness here. The more you stay connected to your body and emotions, the more you are mindful, and the better your sleep is. Next, stretch your biceps and triceps. These muscles get uneven and tense. As you stretch, accept the sensation. Any thoughts, including judgemental thoughts, are just left to wash away.
Turn your chest both ways and stretch your chest muscles. Next, your lower body, including your hamstrings, quadriceps and calf muscles, will be stretched. Do not worry too much if you are tense and tight. This is common, mainly if you have carried a lot of stress, and it will reflect tightness in your muscles. However, as you stretch mindfully, you will be more and more relaxed, flexible and connected to your body as the weeks go by. Have a log book of how you feel before and after the stretching. Each time you stretch, aim to go a little further with the flexibility of your muscles. Imagine that your stress, knotted up as muscles, is letting go gradually. You might feel tense in your abdomen.
You must concentrate for a few minutes on this region to let go of the tenseness. You can breathe into the abdomen and imagine that the stress is leaving your abdomen. Try to figure out the emotions that have taken a seat in the abdomen and connect them to events in your life. The more of this activity you do, the better your life will become. You will start becoming more relaxed and more able to relax at night. Regular mindful stretching is a great way to kick-start the treatment for insomnia. When people want to avoid medications, they have to start taking responsibility for their health and start preventative modes to take care of their mental wellness. This will minimise the risk of health problems and the risk of long-term medications for sleep and insomnia.
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