annanotbob2's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More good things in 2020 My leg really hurts - is it sciatica? It's disconcerting, hard to concentrate. I'm going to take a codeine when I go upstairs to bed. Good things in 2020 - I remembered another one - yoga nidra. This is a very specific relaxation that only requires you to lie down and not get cold, so get under a blanket. You listen to someone online talking you through and you do what they say in terms of breathing and focusing and you get into this place between asleep and awake that is so fucking restorative. I was doing two during the first lockdown, via the Natural Health Centre, neither of which are still on offer. There are loads on youtube but I hardly ever remember to do them if I can do one anytime I like. Monday midday and Friday 7.45 - that's the way to do it - pay upfront, set a reminder and emerge like a new person after half an hour. It's like having your stress level reset back to zero. OK, thanks to JoP I now have the means to do a link (Have you noticed that?) so here's an article about yoga nidra that includes links to five different sessions. I've done the second one and loved it - I shall do the one for sleep when I go to bed. Much better than taking a codeine. If you're struggling with life in the pandemic (as if there's anyone who isn't, soz), and even more if you live in the US and have all that shit going on too, I recommend giving it a go - twenty minutes. The other thing that I remembered is that when I do the meditation, there's always a bit where he says to listen to the sounds around you, both near and far. Now I have a clock that doesn't tick, my room is silent so I have the window open and there's always a car or bus going past at some point, the low roar of the big road in the background, birds singing. Sometimes, when I was still going to acupuncture and had an early appointment I wouldn't have done my meditation before I left home, so I'd do it there. D always leaves me to 'cook' with the pins in for a while. The room there seems silent too - it's a therapy room and has double-glazed windows, shut in the winter - but when you listen you can hear the sounds of the city, even through the double-glazing. I love it - there are layers and layers of sounds - the traffic on top, but then always snatches of conversations, often distant bass-lines or music, and just noises, building work, I guess, just life, city life, being lived all around. Makes me feel safe in a way that the quiet of village life never does. Three Good Things Today Night night 11:10 p.m. - 14.01.21 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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