In the Art of Shralpanism, snowboarder Jeremy Jones mentions his process for waking up regardless of if he is at home or in a tent at 14,000 feet with a blizzard surrounding him.
- He repeatedly fires his glutes and quads to wake his legs up and get the blood flowing. When he is in the backcountry, this has the additional effect of heating his sleeping bag.
- He counts ten breaths. Inhale, then exhale while keeping his mind focused on the breath. If he deviates and starts thinking about breakfast, taxes, or some other random thought, he starts over. He continues this process till he has the ten breaths.
- Then he gets up and goes with his day.
I love this process and have been practicing it for a few weeks. I have managed to get the ten breaths on the first try once. It’s a great kind of short meditation and helps me realize how random my brain is and how much I need to work to keep it focused on whatever task I am working on.
2 responses to “The Art of Waking up”
I feel like I would go to sleep if I stayed in bed and tried to count to 10. 😂 I think I’d have to swing my feet to the floor first or this would just be an exercise in sleeping in.
Hahaha, that same thought came to mind when I started this practice. Then I realized I had to start the count over again as my mind had wandered away from counting my breath!
I see where there could be a challenge with falling back asleep. One suggestion might be that you need to be rested and sleep more.