I bought a new alarm clock yesterday. The one I had was pretty small, and I struggled to read the time on it when I woke up every couple of hours during the night. Then with it not going off again yesterday morning, I knew it was time.
Of course, this morning, I chose to stay in bed until the alarm went off because I wanted to make sure it worked. There were probably a hundred different ways I could have done that check more efficiently, but it is what it is now.
The good news is, the bigger alarm clock means I was able to see the times I woke up better. 10:45, 12:15, 1:30, and then the alarm went off at 2:30.
Hopefully, my REM cycles are much faster than the average of 90-120 minutes; otherwise, I’m just continuously cycling through the First cycle average of 70 minutes.
But, despite the fact I’m getting up around 230 these days, my energy levels at work remain pretty steady until around 1, when I find myself battling negative emotions like sadness, grief, and feelings of loss.
As for this morning’s practice, thankful I added the metronome into the mix. It’s a real blessing. When I was doing the sacral clock routine, I became aware of how it was challenging to do the breathing to the metronome because it is one of the few poses with movement in it that isn’t based on the breath.
The challenge of breathing to the metronome made me realize why I haven’t been able to do the metronome practice while I’m working. I might try it today, though, as, after a few attempts, I could do the sacral clock routine while breathing to the metronome pretty easily.
Also, I became aware or more aware of how my mind is creating an imaginary alternate reality throughout the practice. I mainly became more aware of it because the alternate reality that it’s making is far different than the normal ones it creates.
Today’s alternate reality was much more pleasant and peaceful.
35 min meditation
5 min sphinx/cobra pose w/metronome
5 min sacral clock w/metronome
5 min shoulder opener w/metronome
5 min reclined butterfly w/metronome
5 min Fish w/block and metronome
10 min quad stretch w/metronome
5 min cat/cow w/metronome
30 min half sun salutations w/metronome
20 min shavasana
