Everything becomes more difficult if you are exhausted. An unrested writer may find connecting to that elusive flow all the more tricky. Ensuring you sleep well is one of the finest health tips that exist and crucial for your creativity. Yet so many people find that their evenings are swallowed up before they’ve truly relaxed or find that their sleep is tricky to come by, both of which result in fatigue that has a knock-on negative effect on your ability to be creative. This gentle meditation is ideal for calming your mind, body and spirit before you rest.
Meditation on the White Swan
Also called Hunsani meditation, this technique is often recommended to quieten the mind in order to fall asleep. The more you use it before bed, the more accustomed your body becomes to this process of physically settling down. When practiced regularly, it soothes your entire being and allows your body to slip into slumber far faster. Traditionally this is practiced while sat on a comfortable seat with a straight spine but you can also be lying down.
1. Fold your fingers into your palms with the thumbs extended. Press your thumb tips together until they turn white. The tips are facing down in a V-shape to keep the joint relaxed.
2. Place your hands 6 to 8 inches in front of the brow point, with the backs of the hands facing you. Fix your eyes on the white of your thumb tips and get a clear mental image of your thumbs.
3. Then close your eyes and clearly “see” the thumb tips through the eyelids mentally.
4. Let the mind meditate on the sound “Sat” (Sanskrit for “truth”) as you inhale, and think “Nam” (meaning “the expression of your truth”) as you exhale. Let the mental sound vibrate in your body and continue for 5-11 minutes.
5. Give yourself over to the sleep gods as you let go. You will reach a state of complete relaxation when you surrender all the mind’s busy thoughts and all of the body’s tensions over to someone or something else.
6. To finish, touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth, gently swallow, float your eyes open and lay down for a deep sleep.
- A. L. Kennedy’s 10 Rules for Writing Fiction - 23 October
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- Julia Cameron on Why We Should Write - 7 May
[…] Meditation on the White Swan (also called Hunsani meditation) is often recommended to quieten the mind in order to fall asleep. The more you use it before bed, the more accustomed your body becomes to this process of physically settling down. Once it’s part of your routine, it can soothe your entire body to fall asleep faster. Follow this link for how to practice this soothing meditation. […]