Hard Body, Soft Bed – Soft Body, Hard Bed
When I first began practicing Somatic Movements for myself a funny thing happened, I kept falling asleep when I would do the Backlift (see Backlift tutorial video below). I would lay down on my belly on the hard carpetted floor to do some Backlifts, I would begin with slow, careful contraction of my back muscles, lifting my head arm and opposite leg, and then slowly relax back to the floor under control…
…and then I would wake up about 20 minutes later in a little puddle of drool, slightly confused but very relaxed. The slow gentle release of tension in the muscles of my back as I pandiculated the Backlift, created a deep sense of relaxation and without even realising it I would drift off.
You see when you pandiculate, your muscles relax, soften and lengthen, reducing the level of tension in your body. And as they do this your whole body becomes more soft and pliable, making the hard floor feel more and more comfortable.
This led me to thinking about how many people sleep on incredibly expensive orthopedic mattresses. The manufacturers promise that it will feel like floating on a cloud, or being weightless. And I’m sure it does, but therein lies the problem. If YOU are hard, tense, stiff and immobile, you have to sleep on a bed that is soft and yielding in order to be comfortable. But, if YOU are soft and yielding in your body, suddenly the hard floor begins to feel just fine and comfortable. YOU begin to accommodate the floor.
Remember for hundreds of thousands of years we didn’t have beds or matresses. So as an experiment of sorts, I began sleeping on the floor. I did this for about a month. I slept on carpetted floor, on top of a yoga mat and a blanket. And whilst I did go back to sleeping in my bed, I slept just as well on the floor as I did in the bed. I will still periodically sleep on the floor, just because it feels good.
When I teach clients Somatic Movements on the floor, a question I often ask participants at the end of their class is “Do you feel like you could go to sleep where you are now on the floor?” And they always, without exception, answer with a kind of surprised, “Yes!”
I am not suggesting you throw out your bed and begin sleeping on the floor, but you could certainly use your comfort level on the floor to give you an idea of how much unneccesary tension you are holding in your body involuntarily (Sensory Motor Amnesia). If laying on the floor is very uncomfortable, you can be sure your body is tighter and more contracted than it needs to be.
If you would like to learn how Somatic Movements can help you feel more comfortable and sleep better book my Sleeping Soundly Online Class, this Friday March 19 at 8pm GMT or visit Learn Somatics on YouTube. With a daily Somatics practice the floor can be your friend again, just like it was when you were a kid.
P.S: While you’re here, let me ask you;
What is the one thing you’d like to address that would improve your quality of life?
Is it poor sleep? Chronic muscle pain? Or poor posture? Shallow breathing? Anxiety? Stress? Stiffness and tension?
All these issues can be improved when you Learn Somatics. Click here to fill in the Learn Somatics Pain Point Poll and tell me the one thing you’d like to improve most.
Help me help you!
As always thanks for reading.