It’s been a fascinating season of growth for me –spent 5 months immersed in an online study of feminine cycles through the lifespan,
with Sara Avant Stover and other guest luminary leaders in holistic well being.
This experience has truly deepened the heart and soul of what I feel my job is – to add more quality rest and sleep to the world!
I’m referring to the feminine as an essence, not a gender.
Among other symbolism, the feminine represents the night, moon, and fertile darkness.
Hanging out in the Dark
One of the leading integrative sleep experts in North America, Dr. Rubin Naiman,
believes that we as a culture have a ‘darkness deficiency’.
People tend to associate all kinds of positivity with the word ‘light’,
and all kinds of negativity with the word ‘darkness’.
Yet, being able to ‘see in the dark’ is critical and also offers much nourishment and deep insight.
Evidence suggests that even moderate exposure to artificial light at night can dramatically suppress sleep.
How might this be affecting us over months, years, decades?
How is it impacting our dreams, and our ability to surrender into the deepest serenity of sleep?
As we head into a new season and the cycles of light and dark are shifting,
so too does our need for reflection, rest and sleep.
In this little note I would love to inspire even just one person to view these worlds with fresh eyes.
Waking up at night?
During my sleep yoga workshops,
people often wonder and worry about waking up in the middle of the night –
if their sleep doesn’t fit neatly into a single 7-8 hour chunk, it is often assumed to be ‘bad’ or something to fix.
But what if middle of the night awakenings can not only be natural,
(yes, even for those of us without babies to tend to)
AND also present unique opportunities into a different kind of consciousness…
with potential benefits quite different from daytime consciousness?
The ideas and evidence in this article are interesting, including the comments and feedback from its readers.
AND, I also feel it could be taken a couple of layers deeper.
What do you think?
Wishing you rest and sleep,
sweet, often, and deep,
wherever you may be in the world.
~ Jennifer