Calming Down in the Evening

Evening Calm 

Ending your day with practices for a calming night creates space for decompression, relaxation and a night of well rest. Select some or all of the suggested best practices to welcome in your own calm body practices for your evening wind down. 

Once you have entered the space where you will end your night and enter rest, make yourself comfortable.  Try these nervous system down regulating breathwork practices. We will also visit a special breathwork practice for sleep a bit later on. 

Form a comfortable shape with your body. You can be sitting upright, supported by pillows or other items that will support your body.  You could be laying completely flat on your bed. Whatever feels intuitive for your body. 

Notice the natural rhythms of your breath, and see if you can allow yourself to  just be with yourself as you are. Notice the subtle energies of your body. Honor how you feel in the present and maybe send gratitude for either the course of the things of your day or the fact that you moved through the things of your day and are now in a place of safety and reflection.

Breathwork Practice 

*Special note: breath count is suggested. Breath count should be done comfortably. Breathe in, out, and hold for however long is comfortable to you.  Everyone's breath capacity is different. 

• From your comfortable shape breathe in for 6 counts. Hold for 6 counts. Breathe out for 6 counts. See if you are comfortable repeating this cycle between 6-8 rounds. 

Rest and Breathe 

• After this first breathwork practice resume the  natural rhythms of your breath. Send attention to the subtle movements of your breath. Notice the air filling your belly, rib cage and chest and notice the release  of your breath and see if you can settle more into ease and comfort in your embodiment and environment.  Here you may find yourself entering into a quiet  time of mindfulness centering your breath and the subtle energies of your body in each moment.  Call in gratitude in these moments of presence and maybe feel your heart beat or the rise and fall of your belly in awareness of your physiological systems and the life force that animates you. 

Body Bread 

Knead your body because you need your body. Ok maybe that’s not the great  pun. Here we want to show our embodiment some extra love with some self massage. It’s encouraged here to massage the palm and backs of each hand along with the top and soles of each feet.  Wherever you feel naturally led place pressure in the places around your upper and lower torso where you feel might need extra love. Focus on cycles of breath as you move throughout the massage of each part of your body. Try thirty or more cycles of smooth even inhales and exhales.

Body Scan

Deep relaxation may be setting in at this point. If so, here is an invitation to soften more into the comfortable shape that you have chosen for yourself. Bring awareness to specific areas of your body with intention. Maybe start your gradual body scan at the crown of your head working your way down through cycles of breathing in and out. Maybe start at the soles of your feet and gentle wiggles of your toes and work your way up. Remember in your scans that you are purposeful in your ease and relaxations. Enjoy this mindful check in. 

Savasana

Open your shape into corpse pose or savasana if this is something you find comfortable in your practice. Maybe at this point you have moved to the bed or the place where you will finally sleep for the evening. 

Here is an invitation to just be. 

Nothing to think or do. Rest in presence, your embodiment, a sense of your being and the heart of all that you are. Another day has ended and you get to experience the gift of rest.  Let savasana be your ritual into that rest. 

Breathwork for Sleep 

As promised here is a breathwork practice for sleep.  

Inhale for the count of 7.

Hold before exhaling for the count of 7

Exhale for the count of 7

Repeat this as many times as you like (try five or more) and you may find that you relax to the point where you automatically return to your natural rhythms of breath and maybe just maybe you may find yourself fast asleep.

 

Danny Fluker, Jr. is a yoga teacher, founder of Black Boys Om and author of A Healing Journal for Black Men: Prompts to Help You Reflect, Grow, and Live With Pride.  Called a “beautiful and emotionally powerful book is the healing journal we all need today. . . I can’t wait to recommend this book to my Black male clients. This book is by someone who gets it—a community insider who has and is walking the road toward healing.”  Available at Amazon.