6. Sleepiness

Episode 5. Dealing with sleepiness

This is a production of TheCEOMonk.com. publisher of the book:  “A CEO, an Entrepreneur, a Tourist and the Monk.

The four most common causes of Sleepiness are :

1. A full tummy.  After a heavy meal it natural to feel sleepiness because the body is busy working on digesting the food, redirecting blood away from the brain.  So try not to have a heavy meal before meditation.
2. Fatigues. When our body or muscles are physically tired from work or exercises they need to rest.  Meditation helps the tired muscles to relax triggers the organs including the brain to slow down…which lead to falling asleep.  Do some stretching exercises before meditating.  Or do walking meditation.  Which will be covered in another episode.
3. Intoxicant.  Alcohol and other drowsy medicine could cause sleepiness too.  Do not meditate after you have consume intoxicants.  Or even better, do not consume intoxicants.
4. Lack of Sleep.  If you have not been sleeping well, then sleepiness could arise during meditation.  Just go to sleep and have a good rest before attempting to meditate.

Don’t work too hard to fight sleepiness during meditation.  You could come back to meditate another time.

I found that a good and hard stretching of the body and joints before meditation helps with a tired body.  If you find drinking Coffee or a strong tea help with sleepiness, go ahead have a drink before meditating.  Personally, coffee does very little to help me with sleepiness.

Let’s prepare our body for meditation by some stretching exercises.  Put your palms together in a prayer position, place them next to your chest in front of you. Take in a deep breathe and Raise   both arms straight above our head reaching up to the sky with your head upright looking forward.  Breathe out.  Pull you spine upwards and your shoulders as high as you can.  Bring the arms down to the front of your chest with your palms together in a prayer position.  Repeat this upward stretch 2 more times.  As high as you can stretch for the sky. Breathe out.  Stretch a little higher, and higher.  And bring the arms down and relax. And one final time, stretch upwards, breathing out. Higher, higher. And even higher.. and Relax and bring your hands down to your side.  Clasp both your palms behind your back, and stretch your arms back by pulling them as far back as you could away from your body. Feel the shoulder blades squeezing together and the chest expanding.  Relax by bringing the hands down to your spine.  Repeat this stretch 2 more times.  Stretch back, further and further.  Breathing out as you push your palms away from you.  Relax.  And one final time squeezing the shoulders and stretching the chest.  Breathe out.

Finally, place your hands on your knee. Relax and begin to stretch your neck by turning your head to the right, trying to touch the chin on the right shoulder.  Now turn you head to the left.. try to touch the chin on the left shoulder.  Repeat this 2 more times.  Breathing out as you feel the neck muscles stretched.

Let us begin our meditation session now.