Sleep is an ongoing battle for almost everyone with PD. Several years ago I learned about Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra??? No it’s not really yoga. It is a guided meditation practice inducing a state between waking and sleeping, focusing on deep relaxation through breath awareness, body scans, and guided imagery, helping release tension, calm the nervous system, and promote restorative rest, often done lying down in Corpse Pose (Shavasana).* I tried it a few times, but wasn’t very successful with it. My AirPods were uncomfortable to sleep with. often one or both would often fall out during the night, disappearing somewhere in the bed.
A few weeks ago a friend told me that she found a headband with built-in Bluetooth headphones on Amazon. I found some really cute inexpensive ones with butterflies on them and placed my order. They came the next day. Eager to try them that night, I turned on a yoga nidra meditation and listened to about 1/2 of it before I drifted off into slumberland. Several hours later, in the middle of the night, I woke up to men’s voices. I was totally confused. I had no idea where the voices were coming from. Then I realized it was coming from my headphones. The meditation had ended and apparently flipped over into a podcast that I woke up to. I found out later that I needed to go into the settings of the app to turn it off when the meditation was over.
The first week was kind of up and down. Some nights I was too achy or wound up to be able to relax and get comfortable for the meditation. However, a short time later I found that on most nights, I could just turn the app on, and I was out within a couple minutes.
Does it always work? Unfortunately, no. Last night was one of those PD nights, when everything aches and you can’t get comfortable. On one of the meditations, the narrator suggests that you get comfortable and then get 5% more comfortable to start the yoga nidra practice. 5%???? I couldn’t make it to the first 5% of comfort. Trying unsuccessfully to find any % of comfort, I finally took a sleeping pill at midnight. Once it kicked in I got about 3 1/2 hours of good slumber before waking up again. It was too early to walk the dog, so I did the next best thing – I turned on the Australian Open Tennis tournament. Those people who tell you not to turn on the TV or other screens before bed are wrong. Somewhere in the middle of Coco Gauff’s match, I found my extra 5% and slept a few more wonderful hours.
Why I Rise
Last month I recorded a podcast with JM Kenny and Vinny for Why I Rise, which is sponsored by the Parkinson’s Wellness Fund. We had a lot of fun with this and I hope. you enjoy it.
Two Speakers in February!
In February, we have two wonderful speakers joining us on Zoom.
Ask Dr. Okun Anything
Friday, February 20 at 12:00 PM ET, 9 AM PT.
Just confirmed, Dr. Michael Okun will be joining us on Friday, February 20. Rather than give a talk about one subject, Dr. Okun would like to answer any of your questions about Parkinson’s. If you have a question for him, please email me at twitchywoman18@gmail.com by February 15.
Register here.
The Secret Switch. A story About Parkinson’s, Love, and the Power of Questions.
Sunday, February 22 at 1 PM ET, 10 AM PT
Julie Fitzgerald, author of the new book The Secret Switch, will join us to talk about her book which she wrote with her granddaughter to explain DBS to young children. If you have had DBS and have young children or grandchildren, you won’t want to miss this meeting.
Register here.
Have a great week!
*from AI
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