The Art of Napping

Ok, we’ve all seen the great napping memes on social media sites.

This is my current favorite one!

But in all seriousness we need these naps! Some of the smartest and most powerful influences in the world firmly believed in taking naps. Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Thomas Edison, Salvador Dahli, Napoleon Bonaparte, and even Leonardo da Vinci—to name a few—were known for their incredible nap-taking skills. It was part of their daily lives! If you do a little research, it’s pretty fun to read how some of these people developed the habit of napping and why their techniques worked so well. Some took naps as short as a second, while others made it a lengthy two-hour restful nap. I’ve found it fascinating that people can still accomplish so much and still find time to take a nap. Imagine the creative juices that would begin to flow with a rested mind and body!

Here are some techniques or exercises I use that you might try to help you relax a little. Maybe you can squeeze in a short 10 minute power nap at the very least.

I use essential oils such as lavender, chamomile, and rose. Sometimes If I don’t want to put droplets on me I just use them in a diffuser. I’ve used many different brands and they all have the same effect. Zzzzzzzzz………………….

Deep, slow breathing while lying on my back helps me to concentrate on my body and turn inward instead of worrying about everything around me. With my eyes closed and once my breaths are slow and deep, I start silently “shutting off” my toes, fingers, legs, then arms and continue mentally turning everything off until….well, honestly I don’t remember. I never actually get that far! If you do, try repeating the exercise.

Side note: the most effective breathing is done when you breath like a baby! Your belly should slowly rise and fall as you breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. I’m not an expert, but that’s what the experts have told me 😉

My mom is a massage therapist and recently showed me some stretching exercises she does EVERY night before bed. I found this chart here to give you some ideas.

http://www.eternity-yoga.com/yoga-stretches.html

 As you hold each stretch, take deep breaths and imagine the pain or stress leaving your body as you exhale. The power of the mind and visualization in general is AMAZING.

There are great YouTube videos with guided mediations or hours of relaxing music to help tune out the world and renew the body through sleep.

I’m one that has to stop the chatter in my mind by replacing it with something else. One of my absolute favorite exercises is a rainbow visualization that I’ve memorized over time, and now I can mentally walk myself through it as I fall into a quick but deep state of relaxation. Here’s a link to a script you could familiarize yourself with. http://www.innerhealthstudio.com/calming-color-relaxation.html

 Again, I never actually get to the end of this exercise either. I doze off somewhere between yellow and blue!

The Lord has blessed each of us with incredible bodies and capacities to fulfill our mission here on this earth. As we become good stewards of our bodies and our time, we will be greatly blessed and will in turn bless the lives of all those around us!

  Post by Melodi Melecio, Blossom’s Specialist on “How to Be Your Best”