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2torial #0445:
Learn2 Cope With
Insomnia (Continued)
Try the body sweep
In this exercise you move your attention slowly
up your body. As you pass over it with your
awareness, flex and relax each muscle group that
you pass. Once again, the goal is not to fight off
the thoughts that arise, but to keep yourself
detached from those thoughts, letting them depart
rather than chewing them over.
- Breathe low and easy. Start at your
toes. Flex your toes, and relax. Then flex your
toes and your feet and relax. Then your toes,
feet, and ankles, calves, etc. If you aren't
sure that you're flexing the correct muscle
group, don't worry--a calm attitude is more
important than precision.
- Feel your body getting heavier and
sinking deeper into the ground. Work up your
belly and chest, and then move up your back.
Then move your awareness from the fingertips to
your hands, and up to the shoulders.
- From your shoulders, go up to the
neck--contract all the muscles front and
back, and feel the tension flow out as you
release.
- Lastly, work up to your head and
face. Some people carry a lot of tension,
often related to anxious thoughts, in the
muscles of the mouth, jaw, ears, eyes, and
skull. Flex each these, or close them shut
tightly in the case of the eyes and mouth.
Exhale as you release, allowing all tension to
flow out of you.
Step
3
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