Spent - Week 1, day 4

I had to work last night, which means that after the kidlets are in bed, I go downstairs into our rather stinky-smelling little office/storage room and do a whole bunch of admin/bookkeeping work until bedtime. Recently, on these working nights, Ryan is also busy - he rushes out to his rehearsal (which I'll talk about in the next post!!) just before the girls' bedtime, so usually by the time they're in their beds and the doors are closed, I'm rather tired and the last thing I feel like doing is heading down into the stinky dungeon to work myself silly until my eyes pop out of my head and I start drooling from sleepiness.

But last night was quite different.

I was actually still feeling fine after the girls went to bed. In fact, I worked and worked and felt productive, sharp, and happy even past 10 o'clock!! This is unheard of, people. I am a 10pm (or MAYBE 10:30pm) bed-timer, and I get really tired really quickly around that time of night.

But there I was, at 10:30 when Ryan came home, still happy and peppy and working away! I actually had to stop myself because I didn't want to stay up too late!

That was the first big difference I noticed. Not exhausted by 10pm. Amazing.

Today has been even better. It's nap time right now, and normally I'm falling over with exhaustion, cranky and unpleasant at lunch time, and just DYING to get the girls into their rooms for a break, or even a nap if I allow myself that luxury. But I'm not tired. I am sitting here, feeling like it's still 9:00 am. I feel great!! I can hardly believe that there's such a difference after only 4 days, but here it is!!

Okay, so onward.

Day 4: Breathing for Mindfulness and Relaxation

This is easy-peasy, and quite relaxing.

"Sit on a chair, preferably one with a straight back. Place both feet flat on the floor, and lay your hands in your lap or gently on the top of your thighs. You can close your eyes or leave them open, but many people find closing their eyes easier because there are fewer distractions. Begin by bringing your energy down to your feet and feeling the floor as you "watch" your inhale and exhale with your mind. Breathe in through your nose, allowing the breath to move into the back of your body and down to your feet. Exhale through your nose, allowing the breath to soften the front of your body - easing the thighs, ribs, and shoulders. When you notice your mind wandering, just come back to your feet and breath. ... Easy soft breaths. Inhaling and exhaling."

Yup, this is about as easy as it gets, people. Just breathe throughout the day, especially when you start feeling stressed or tense.

There is, at the end of each daily section, a little something about enhancing your sleep. The one for today was at about 1/2 an hour before you go to bed, to turn off all cellphones, handheld devices like Blackberrys and iPhones, wireless connections, and computers, or at very least, keep them as far away from your head as possible. Dim the lights too! We're finding this to be really sleep-inducing. It has also previously mentioned that watching tv in bed, or even knitting or reading (!!) in bed can inhibit your production of melatonin, the chemical (?) that helps our body to go to sleep. In fact, he says that there are only two things that one should do in bed, and they both start with "s". Tee hee!!