Improving sleep by improving everything
There is so much to write about sleep that it is difficult to know where to begin. Science is fascinated by it, yoga reveres it and as individuals, we are enlivened by its presence and tormented by its absence. Sleep rests, repairs and restores our organs, it weeds out unnecessary synapses leaving neurons free for new connection, it enables growth, immunity, pacifies the heart and resets the disturbances in the breath that are not pathological.
This is the science of sleep but is there more to this extraordinary frontier? In the context of yoga, sleep is one of the five faculties of mind. These faculties, dependent on their presence and combination, can cause suffering or peace. The first is pramana: the activity of the mind that registers things accurately through the senses. We see, smell, touch, hear or taste a thing and we know what that thing is based on past experience or education. Viparyaya is the activity of registering things that are never accurately confirmed. We may not have a previous connection or enough information to come to a full understanding. We assume. Vikalpa is imagination, it has no substance or reality, it is simply based on words and ideas. Nidra is dreamless sleep and smrti is memory. These five faculties can lead us to suffering or assist us to come out of it. Nidra, the dreamless sleep, is unique in that when it is in action, it is the only faculty at play.
In yoga, this Nidra state is described in its highest form, as a return to the lap of the Mother. That in our deepest, highest quality sleep we return to source and from there each new day, we return. Just reflect on that for a moment. That every night when good sleep is attained, the ultimate goal of yoga is reached. If that is not the best way to work, I don’t know what it is. The interesting part of this though, is that of course there are many hurdles and pitfalls that get in the way of this Nidra occurring BUT if we make it one of our goals, we will experience the change of all of our life! For to attain this state, we need to filter every action from the moment we wake up through this intention to the goal. Holding sleep so high, that we are willing to bring the necessary quality to all of our actions, so as not to disturb the mind in such a way that Nidra will allude us.
Yoga Sutra I:38 discusses the reflection on the quality of our sleep, including any dreams we may have experienced, as one of the tools to surmount the obstacles that appear on our path of making life a little better. Last night, I dreamt of the breakdown of my relationship with my husband Shane, I couldn’t find my children and when I woke, the feeling that remained was one of such a deep loneliness. In my waking life I see myself as a very capable lone wolf but this dream and the feeling it left, challenged that false idea I held of myself. Not only did the dream offer me some insight into some deeper truths, the poor quality of the sleep itself - not just dreaming but bad dreaming - also gives me further reflection on what actions did I take leading into the sleep that afflicted it? I did eat a lot of popcorn, oh and a piece of delicious honeycomb. I had a cup of tea close to bedtime and had throughout the day, more computer time then outdoor time. In just one reflection based around my ongoing goal of quality sleep, so many possibilities for refinement!!
This is a small insight into the goal of Nidra, the deep, dreamless sleep but this perhaps is enough to get you started, excited and enthused about the way in which we deeply dedicate ourselves to the important process of sleep. If we are disturbed in our sleep, what is disturbing it and how do I change that? Insomnia is a terrible sufferance, bearing the irony that exactly what is required to heal us, is the thing that is absent. With good diligence, even the worst insomnia can be overcome - it takes a strong fire of determination under the heavy obstacle of fatigue, a commitment to physical movement, good routine, improved diet and interactions with others but to make it the goal (whilst holding the goal lightly) all areas of life will benefit, the sleep will return and the person will have dramatically changed in all of the very best ways.
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