Insomnia, Imbolc, and Intentions
I used to be tormented by waking up in the middle of the night.
I still wake up between 2am and 4am most nights, but it no longer torments me.*
The situation didn’t change. The story I told myself did.
For decades, my story was that I’m a bad sleeper. (The diagnosis from a sleep clinic in my early 20s was that I couldn’t turn my brain off. Thanks.)
Bi-phasic sleep and changing the story
About a year ago, I learned about bi-phasic sleep. Before the industrial age, sleeping in two chunks was the norm, and anthropologists have found evidence of bi-phasic sleep in cultures across the world. For much of human history, getting up in the night to stoke the fire, ponder, have sex, or tend to something else was the norm.
Now, when I wake up at 3am, I don’t berate myself for “being bad at sleep.” I think, “Oh bi-phasic sleep again. This is ok.”
Not surprisingly, I fall back asleep much more easily when I’m not beating myself up.
Maybe your issue isn’t insomnia, but something else.
Where are you telling yourself a story that doesn’t serve you, and how can you shift it to a more neutral place?
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Imbolc & the Bear Moon
Talking of rest is seasonally appropriate, too. Yesterday was Imbolc, which marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It got me thinking about still being in this winter season of rest while starting to feel the tendrils of brighter spring energy.
In her beautiful book You Are the Medicine, Asha Frost shares the Indigenous wisdom of the Bear Moon, the February full moon, which is occurs this Sunday.
“Bear moves through this Moon phase to teach us that the cycle of hibernation is necessary in order to integrate all other aspects of our lives. When we pause, there is deep magic that happens that we may not always see…When our capacity is full, Bear encourages us to move into a cycle of rest as Medicine.”
Our personal energetic seasons often align with those outside, but not always.
What energy are you feeling at the moment, and how can you nurture it? What lessons can you glean?
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Checking in on intentions
Finally, I opened the year encouraging you to go slowly in the right direction. Now that the calendar has turned to February, how are things going? Where can you give yourself kudos? Where could you use a little extra TLC?
*Important caveat: I have -- finally, thankfully -- moved out of the major sleep deprivation that comes with having babies and toddlers. I don't know if this would have been as helpful a reframe if it were compounded by my wee ones waking me every few hours. If you're still in the thick of it, hang in there! It will pass, even if right now it seems interminable.
P.s. As a coach, I get to help you tap into your deepest wisdom so you can build the life you want – whether it’s beating burnout, making a career change, or understanding and acting on your deepest desires. Book a discovery call here.
