Searching for sleep

Do you know what it feels like to have a peaceful night’s sleep?

Do you know what it feels like to wake refreshed and ready to bounce out of bed in the morning?

It has literally taken me decades to be able to answer “yes”.

Some people find it difficult to fall asleep.  Others just don’t get enough sleep.  For me it was always about quality of sleep.  Deep peaceful sleep had always eluded me.

At the slightest hint of relaxation my restless legs would ache and jerk uncontrollably and most nights were spent with my body trying to drown me in copious amounts of sweat.  My sheets would be soaked every morning.  The restless nights were endless.  My health issues were endless and the mornings….oh the dreaded sleep deprived mornings.

Each day I would begrudgingly drag my body out of bed feeling like I had just done a few rounds in the ring with a pro boxer.  I found it harder and harder to concentrate at work, stay happy and cope with stress let alone have energy for fun or to get through the endless list of responsibilities I had as a single (working & studying) mum. 

What did I do?

I pushed on.

I forced my body to go go go. 

I continued to exercise every day.

I spent a fortune on a super duper bed.

I tried watching less TV at night.

What else did I do?

I started meditation.

I used candles at night instead of bright lights.

I tried various herbal teas to relax.

I placed drops of lavender essential oil on my pillow.

I started having healing sessions to work on underlying causes of chronic stress.

One particular morning after yet another bout of sleep deprivation I crawled out of bed, took two steps away from my swanky bed and collapsed.  I couldn’t move.  My body was literally exhausted.

What did I do?

I cried...    alot!

Then what did I do?

I had a lot of medical tests.

The results?

Endless...

Then I was shipped off to do hard time...        at a health resort.

I was not allowed to cook, clean, do anything for anyone else.  7 days of pure me time.

Considering that this was a foreign concept to me, I took to it like a duck to water & indulged like never before!   I did not want to come home! 

When I did return home what did I do?

I quit my job.

I studied full time (Kinesiology).

I moved house.  Even though this was stressful, my living arrangements at the time were more so.

I changed my exercise routine as the running routine I had was exhausting my adrenals.

I became seriously interested in meditation & healing.

I learnt to breathe properly.

I became an advocate of clean drinking water and an organic diet where possible.

I culled friends who were not healthy for me.

I took bucket loads of supplements for all my health issues.

All these helped my health and my sleep to improve but it was far from the results I wanted or needed.  I was always tired when I woke up.

So what did I do?

I spent years & tonnes of money working on my issues through different modalities.

The Results?

I like to think I became a well rounded, emotionally mature woman & mother, among other things.

I was also diagnosed as having Fibromyalgia.  This was a relief to me as it covered so many of my signs and symptoms over the years & it was great to put a name to everything.  I followed all the rules about maintaining my health but...

I was still waking up exhausted, in pain, and deep peaceful sleep still eluded me.

What did I do?

I kicked a bit and yelled a bit (not a bad effort considering how tired I was) until.....

Recently:

I discovered Kinergetics &

I discovered the power of magnesium oil!

Through Kinergetics I managed to finally release emotional & physical traumas that I had held onto for years that were putting my body into “Fight Flight” mode each night.  When I closed my eyes at night and my head hit the pillow my body was reacting with fear and running on adrenalin; no wonder I woke up exhausted every morning.  Being in this state meant my digestive system also shut down so all my supplements couldn’t do their job.  I found a whole lot of reasons my body wasn’t working properly or sleeping properly.  You guessed it, the list was endless.  Magnesium oil was a life saver for me (but that’s a whole other story)!

The Results?

No more restless legs.

No more night sweats.

Better quality sleep.

Happy days.

The only problem?

I am human. 

If only I were perfect!

I occasionally don’t use my magnesium oil.  I run late!

I let stress get the better of me sometimes.  I have teenagers!

I don’t always follow the perfect diet.  I love Haighs milk chocolate peppermint frogs!

But on the whole, life is looking a lot better.

I don’t always have a perfect sleep or bounce out of bed like Tigger but I am well on the way.

So whether you are a connoisseur of a full 8 hours, midday siesta or the good old nanna nap if you are having any trouble racking up the zzzzs, I highly recommend a Kinergetics session or two.

Sweet dreams everyone

With love, light & laughter

Tanya