Trouble Sleeping?

Try a “Head Orgasm”!

Or to give it its technical term, ASMR, short for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Fans of the relaxation method have also referred to it feeling like a brain massage, similar to how background or white noise is used by some people to lull them to sleep.

What is it?

Basically, it’s a tingly sensation in your head and/or body caused by hearing certain sounds, usually tactile, soft and repetitive, such as whispering, tapping, scratching, using scissors, striking a match or ripping of paper, for example. In fact, on You Tube there are literally hundreds of videos of folk doing just that which until I tried it, frankly, I was certain would be more annoying than relaxing to listen to. I was wrong.

Is it for You?

There’s probably an ASMR video for pretty much every scenario you can think of. Some take more of a healing “reiki” based approach. Others are role plays where questions are asked of you in various settings whether at a doctors, a make up artist or a hairdressers, all whilst various other noises are made in the background. Then there are the more imaginative role plays: a vampire’s snack, alien abductee, zombie apocalypse!

Does it Work?

I can only speak from personal experience and I find it intensely relaxing, but of course some videos are more relaxing than others. If you’re trying it for sleep-inducing purposes, I’d suggest a reiki/healing-based ASMR video, at least initially. I rarely make it to the end of one of these videos without drifting off into a deep, relaxing sleep.

Is it Safe?

The general consensus on the internet at least seems to be that where ASMR is used for relaxation purposes in adults, then it is thought to be relatively risk-free. As with any new practice, I’d always recommend doing your own research, speaking to your own health care provider and factoring in your own specific health needs before giving it a try yourself.

If you’ve factored all that in however and are ASMR-curious, why not give it a try and see how much better you sleep? Or feel free to share this article with someone who you know needs a good night’s sleep.

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Looking for Something A Bit Different?

Try This!

Depending on what you mean by “different”, this may or may not be it! Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working through a 6-part guided meditation by White Cloud Mystic, who I follow over on You Tube, which I’ve really enjoyed listening to. I’ve included a link to the first one below for anyone who fancies giving it a try.

What is a Guided Meditation?

For those of you who’ve not yet tried a guided meditation, you might wonder what it involves. Generally speaking, guided meditation is where one person leads a person into a meditative state, usually by describing a story or scenario for them to imagine and/or follow the instructions given.

Why I’m Recommending It

Because I enjoyed it and wanted to give others a chance to enjoy it too! It has a really nice simple storytelling style, tone and pace which is so relaxing. I always had a great night’s sleep after listening to one of these.

Sharing here is also a good way for me to make others aware of the channel so that hopefully it grows and we get more great meditations from White Cloud Mystic 🙂

The whole series has a child-like innocence and nostalgia to it where you get to follow your own fairy into a magical world whilst you relax and drift away. There is also, for those interested, the idea that this meditation can be used to develop your own “magic”, whatever that means to you.

Give it a go if you’re interested by clicking on the video above. If you’ve tried it, let me know what you think in the comments and feel free to share with anyone who might benefit from a good night’s sleep tonight!

Tried Outdoor Yoga Yet?

Get Your Outdoor Yoga On!

With it being Springtime here at the moment in Manchester, it’s been a welcome change to take my yoga practice outdoors on the better days.

Being lucky enough to have a larger, closed off garden, this is the first time I’ve practised outside and it’s been a totally different but positive experience, in case other beginners feel similarly inspired.

Where to Start?

I use and recommend Yoga With Adriene (YWA) on YouTube. To take it outdoors, however, depending on your wi-fi connection, you have to be an FWFG monthly subscribing member and/or download the video but well worth it for me.

There are of course many others on YouTube but also many gyms and leisure centres now provide yoga classes some of which practice outdoors from a quick Google search.

How it Differs from Indoor Yoga

What stood out to me was how much more there was to distract me outside. The first inverted (upside down pose), was amazing. Indoor yoga involves seeing the room upside down but seeing the outside world upside down really challenged my balance and senses.

In many yoga classes, gentle music or sounds are played alongside the poses. Outside yoga gives the chance for a more authentic experience from time to time.

Practising yoga outdoors is also very grounding. When I first heard about grounding my energy, I wasn’t really sure if I knew what it meant. It tends to be thought of differently for people but, for me, it’s just a means of getting out of my thoughts by concentrating on what my body is doing right now. It helps me relax and detach from things that might be bothering me. I know a yoga session has gone well when I stay relaxed.

If you’ve tried it let me know by commenting on how you found it.