In this exercise, you will learn to breathe lovingly and compassionately. Self-compassion is about mindfulness, common humanity and kindness. Your breath is a tool that you can use to keep practising acceptance and compassion. Lie down in a chosen place. This exercise can be done closer to bedtime or even just before sleep. Lie down in the most comfortable position but on your back. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to get you back into the now—the present moment. For the next six rounds of breaths, inhale so thoroughly that your belly fills up like a balloon and expands. As your belly fills with air, imagine that the air is full of love and acceptance, and you have just got that feeling into your belly.
As you are breathing out, exhale the air, imagining that any resistance and frustration are leaving you. If you feel comfortable, you can continue this exercise beyond the six rounds for, say, even up to 10 rounds. After these ten rounds of deep breathing, you feel more acceptance, love, and a feeling of letting go. Revel and enjoy that state for a few moments. For the next few rounds of breathing, notice the breath going through your nostrils and the lungs. Notice the temperature and nature of the inhaled air. As you exhale, trace the air back out of your nostrils. Do you feel warmer when the air leaves your nostrils?
Now that you have brought your attention to the breath, you will realise that your thoughts do not wander too much. Even if it wanders, you can gently guide it back to your breath. Do not force your thoughts to stay in the present. As you train your mind, it will be easier to remain present. As the next step of the process, imagine a calm and peaceful colour such as blue or light green as a light which washes you from your head to your toes. Imagine that as it passes from your head to your feet, it relaxes every muscle and nerve. It overcomes all resistance and eases out any resistance in your body. It fills your body with profound acceptance and non-judgment, allowing you to be at peace with yourself. As the light leaves your toes, all negativity from your thoughts and your tendency to wander back and forth between the past and the future will accompany this.
Do you notice any sensations in your body while doing this exercise? Where do you feel it? Are you experiencing any emotions? What is it? Are you able to identify the emotion that is in you right now exactly? If so, can you trace it back to the source? Is it about a person, an event, a life situation or anything else? How long do you spend dwelling on that? However, now is the time to let go of those emotions and accept the present with no judgments, just enjoying the calmness of the exercise in the moment. As you learn to do this exercise regularly, you will realise that you are less frustrated when you cannot sleep. You are more accepting. Paradoxically, this will work in enabling sleep. This is an effective mindfulness exercise that is part of your treatment for insomnia. You can do this regularly and benefit from this.
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