Day Nine: Tea Bath

Well, I've learned a few things along the way with this project.  In addition to learning about my new experiences and about the impact of novelty on my life, I've also learned that I am tired...  And achy.  The yoga nidra practice gave me enough time and space to tune into my poor body for it to become abundantly clear that I am a hurting puppy.  I don't know if this is due to birth, or the residual effects of carrying around an extra 30-40 lbs during the last few months of pregnancy, or carrying a 30+ pound toddler up and down stairs, or sleep deprivation, or stress, but whatever the reason my body is tired and sore.  

So, with my son tucked safely away at my sister-in-law's daycare and my daughter sleeping peacefully, I decided to try to find a novel experience that would help me to address this issue.  You see, I'm a huge believer in responding to feedback.  Whether that is the feedback of a person, an experience, or my body, my belief is that many of our difficulties arise from ignoring information that is right in front of us if we choose to give it credence.  So as soon as I became aware of the SOS messages from my body, it became a priority for me to do something about it.  (Just not quite as high of a priority as almost everything else in my life!)  

Truth be told, I had hoped to find a way to justify having some sort of novel massage therapy technique...  and I may still do so.  However, today a less glamorous opportunity presented itself when my daughter slept peacefully through my entire three minute shower and I realized that I might actually get away with taking a bath!  

The more challenging question was how I could make this novel...  With a quick search of the bathroom cabinet, I found my answer.  There, unopened, was a box of herbal bath bags that had been gifted to me following a loved one's trip to Taos, New Mexico.  I'd soaked in many baths in my time, but never in a tea bath!  And the box promised to turn me into the "Goddess of the Bath!"  

So, knowing that my time was limited I quickly turned the water to hot and dropped in a tea bag hoping to give my body some well needed relief.  Ahhhh, sweet sanctuary!

My Sanctuary

OK.  Well maybe not...  My bathtub is shared with a toddler.  So honestly, it more closely resembles a shrine to Elmo than a relaxing refuge from the stressors of life.  But I can overlook that.  The fact that my bathwater more closely resembled urine than tea was a bit more challenging for me to ignore, however this was my chance and I wasn't going to miss it.  

So I lowered my exhausted self into the tub and made a distressing discovery...  For some, still unknown reason, the water was only lukewarm.  And if you've ever tried to brew a cup of tea with lukewarm water you know that this is ineffective at best.  Still, the bath did give off a pleasant, eucalyptus scent that I'm sure will be wonderful for clearing congestion the next time I have a cold.  And I loved the (very) few moments of quiet that my daughter's slumber allowed me to have.  So, perhaps this wasn't quite the novel experience I had hoped to have, but at this time in my life I appreciate any opportunity for mindful relaxation that I can get!

Day Seven: Sleep Deprivation and Yoga Nidra

Sleep.  It's such a simple concept.  You lie down, close your eyes for at least 8 hours and wake up feeling refreshed, energized and ready to face the day.  Right?  Unfortunately, I have not had this type of sleep since June of 2008.  You see, for some reason when I am pregnant the first symptom that shows up is insomnia.  Don't get me wrong!  It is quickly followed by the incredible, slammed up against a wall, exhaustion that most pregnant women speak of.  But as soon as sperm meets egg, I am waking up multiple times a night wanting nothing more than to be sleeping.  Other symptoms come and go, but this is the one thing that stays constant throughout my entire pregnancy. 

The actual birth of my son just made matters worse.  While he is an absolute joy, (most of the time), he is an epically bad sleeper.  Though he will be turning two in a few weeks, he has only slept through the night (erratically), since a few weeks before the birth of his sister.  And, just in time, I am back on the round-the-clock feeding schedule of my newborn daughter.  I figure that at this rate it will be November of 2013 before I will be getting a full night's sleep!

So, for a long time now, the idea of trying Yoga Nidra has been tucked into the recesses of my foggy, sleep deprived brain.  Although I was once an avid yoga practitioner, prior to today the only thing I knew about this practice is that doing it for 30 minutes supposedly gives you the equivalent of 3 full hours of sleep.  A half hour of rest equalling three hours of sleep?    That means that if I could find a mere hour and half of quiet I could actually feel like I'd had the 9 full hours of sleep a night I had come to know and love prior to motherhood?  SIGN ME UP!!!

As I woke up feeling particularly exhausted and desperate to get more rest, today seemed like the perfect day to give yoga nidra a try.  I had no idea what to expect, but I purchased the MP3 of the CD pictured above and took heroic measures to get both of my children to nap at the same time.  With my IPod ready, I lay down on my bed and...  promptly fell asleep for two hours.  I didn't even manage to hit play.  My two hours of traditional sleep potentially cost me an additional 10 hours of rejuvenation!

By some miracle, the stars had aligned and both children were still asleep when I woke from my slumber.  This time, I actually managed to hit play and settled in to be transformed back into my normal, rested self.  At first, it was very much like your traditional relaxation practice; asking you to get comfortable, scan your body for tension and try to let it go, etc... etc...  After that, it got a little freaky! 

In my job, I've experienced a lot of relaxation techniques and scripts, but this was completely novel...  and at times bizarre!  The lilting voice instructed me to rapidly switch my focus from body part to body part; a practice that I found to be effective in rapidly getting me to a deeper state of relaxation.  Then, we were to focus on feeling common physical sensations:  warmth, relaxation, COLD, PAIN.  Ummm...  What?!  Imagining that I was walking on a cold floor in bare feet or feeling excruciating pain did nothing to relax my aching muscles!  Following this step, I thought that we were back in familiar territory as the voice started to guide me through some mental imagery.  Some images were calming, some were neutral, and then some were of snakes.  SNAKES!  Really???

As the practice was nearing its end, and the voice was gently coaxing me back to a wakeful state of consciousness, my son awoke with a shriek, causing my little one to howl and i was abruptly jarred back to reality.  Several hours later, when I had my next quiet moment, I immediately started researching just what it was that I had been through.  The information I found was fascinating and I will post the most useful links in the Nerd's Corner, but in a nutshell the idea is that to prepare to attain the state of yoga nidra you are rapidly led through the phases of sleep in order until you reach deep sleep... with full wakefulness and awareness.  So the snakes and other imagery were meant to mimic REM or dream sleep!  Interesting!

In conclusion, after the yoga nidra practice I definitely felt more rested than I had in days.  However, it's hard to say whether this was due to the practice or my accidental nap!  What I can say with certainty is that the yoga nidra mp3 I used was very effective at putting me in an altered state of reality.  Alhough it was not always "relaxing" in a traditional sense, that doesn't mean that it wasn't restorative and I do feel that it was effective.  But you won't find me trading in good, old fashioned sleep anytime soon!  Not that I have any to trade in, anyhow!