In Addition

1. Health Tips

Wake up to sleeping well!

“One should have sound sleep during night.¹Forgetfulness sets in if one sleeps for more than the required time. Hence, forgetfulness does not come with age, but it comes due to sleep in excess of the required time.^2”…Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn…Mahatma Gandhi

1.Sleep is important^3-6

Sleep is dear to us. It is a necessity, not a luxury.³ When we wake up in the morning refreshed and peaceful, we say that “I had a good sleep”. Sleep impacts our daily life in every way. It reflects in our looks, receptivity, behavior, and how well we accomplish our tasks.⁴We realise its importance when we are starved of a good night sleep at any point of time.⁵ Several structures within the brain are involved with sleep.⁶We need to be aware of our inner clock and what happens when we sleep.

2. Know your sleep cycle^3,4,6-8

Healthy sleep has a four-stage cycle. Stage 1 is a light sleep stage between being awake and falling asleep. In stage 2 we become disengaged from surroundings; breathing, heart rate, and BP slow down, and body temperature drops. Then, we gradually get unplugged from the world and enter stage 3 of deep sleep (called SWS, slow wave sleep)⁷when body and brain become rested and blood gets directed to muscles. This stage is crucial for physical restoration and refuelling, hormonal regulation, immunity building, and growth.

Stage 4 called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is crucial for cognitive faculties and memory. In this stage brain catalogues and cleans the previous day’s experiences, clears the unwanted, enhances our memory, mood, and alertness. Dreaming often happens in this stage. When we cut on our sleep, REM sleep suffers most.

We experience 3 or 4 cycles of all the four stages during a full night sleep,each lasting 60-90 minutes. Deep sleep, constituting about 20% of our total sleep, occurs for longer periods during the first half of the night. REM sleep increases as night progresses. Sleep cycle is not an exact science and may not be the same for every person, and may not be the same every night for the same person. It depends on one’s environment, life style, and state of health.

3. How much sleep is adequate^2,6,9-12

Sleep should be neither too little nor too much. There can be no single “fit for all” formula. Infants need 22 hours of sleep. It gradually decreases as a child grows. For children between the ages of 5-12, ten hours of sleep is essential. Then up to the age of 32 one would require 7-8 hours of sleep.²It also depends on the level of activity one is engaged in. With age and relaxed pace of life, the rhythm of sleep may vary. We have to work it out and allow the body to decide how much sleep it needs.^6,9,10

Going to sleep and waking up at approximately the same time is as important as the number of hours one sleeps.^11-12It was a tradition in India to go to sleep by 9.30 pm and wake up around 4.30 am daily to remain healthy and in tune with Nature and one’s inner biological clock.² Regular sleep and wake-up schedule keeps one agile and enhances performance, according to some research studies done on students.^11-12

Follow the inner clock says recent scientific discovery.^13-15 Three Nobel laureates of 2017 in Physiology/Medicine have unraveled the mystery and importance of our internal biological clock (known as circadian rhythm) by discovering and isolating the genes that drive the circadian mechanism in living beings. Our inner clock adapts our physiology to the different phases and fluctuations of the day with exquisite precision in tune with earth’s rhythm of day and night. It is as fundamental as our respiration and regulates critical functions like behavior, hormone levels, sleep cycle, body temperature, and metabolism. Our wellbeing is affected when there is a temporary mismatch between the external environment and this internal biological clock eg, during jet lag. Chronic misalignment between our life style and the rhythm dictated by our inner timekeeper is associated with increased risk of various diseases.

4. Holistic perspective on sleep^2,10,16-17

There is a view that ideal way to live life is to sleep minimum and keep oneself at ease the rest of the time. What human body needs is rest and sleep is just one form of rest. “Rest” implies that we are changing the energy equation within us by lowering its consumption to feel rejuvenated. If we keep ourselves relaxed consciously, even while we are active during the day, we will not feel tired and our sleep requirement would go down.

This may not be possible for an average human being due to inertia in the body and inability to remain at peace with oneself due to various worldly considerations running in the mind. An exhausted mind-body would go to sleep at the first opportunity as that is the only way it knows how to rest. We must improve the quality of our life first to improve the quality of sleep. If we are sleeping well, then we are living well. A body well rested would wake up naturally without the need for an alarm.^16-17

5. Tips to sleep well and wake up well!^{2,3,6,9,10,18-24}

*Let the meal taken get digested before one goes to sleep. This also means that no beverages or any other stimulants in the evening so as to allow the body to be in its own rhythm.³^,^6,9,18,20

*One may take shower before going to sleep to purify the energy within and to induce sound sleep. A stroll in fresh air may help.^6,18

*Drink a glass of water before going to bed.¹⁸

*Keep away from bedside all modern gadgets and other clutters.^3,6,9,20

*May light a candle or a lamp with any organic oil and cotton wick in the bedroom to purify the environment.¹⁸

*Sleep on your left side to boost the digestive, cardiac, and lymphatic systems. Never sleep with the head towards the north when one is in the northern hemisphere and vice versa as magnetic pull will rush extra blood towards the brain and hence put pressure on it.^18,22,23

*Allow sleep to take over. One should not make it a habit to keep awake for long during the night on the pretext of work pressure or meeting deadlines. Disassociate from the day’s work and activities and the identifications one carries in the mind. This would become easier if one does some reading, contemplation, chanting, and relaxed deep breathing or any spiritual practice to be in tune with one’s inner self. It is good to recall every night that no one knows for certain whether one would wake up the next day, as millions leave the planet earth every day, and then let go of all the baggage from the mind.²^,18,20

*Set a schedule to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.^6,9,19,24

*Wake up with a smile. Rub palms together a few times and place them on your eyes so that the nerve endings on the hands would wake up the systems of the body in a natural way. Then get up after rolling over to the right side so that there is no pressure upon the heart.^18,21

*Elders can take a power nap after lunch/mid-day for not more than 10-20 minutes to recharge the body-mind complex during the day. Youngsters should just sit relaxed with eyes closed for five minutes after lunch, as blood rushes from head to the digestive system inducing drowsiness.²

*Adopt an appropriate life style and diet coupled with regular spiritual practices like meditation to calm the body and mind and uplift the quality of life.²⁴ Sleep requirement would gradually go down to the required minimum giving more productive time to pursue and achieve the purpose of life.^10,17,18,20

6. Take steps to prevent sleep disorders^5,25,26

Key indicators of sleep deficiency: No one would welcome the idea of being driven or flown by a driver/pilot or operated by a surgeon deprived of sleep. Sleep deficiency has been linked to mood swings, irritation, anger, depression, lack of alertness, lack of clarity, and inability to think and perform effectively. If the backlog continues, one would be prone to illnesses and may attract debilitating diseases. Pioneering experimental studies have proved that sleep is a vital function; continuous sleep deprivation - a torturous ordeal- causes physical and mental decline to the point of damaging the cognitive faculties.^25-26

Sleep disorders²⁷: One must be aware of one’s sleep requirements and one’s limitations and therefore take steps well in time to lead a healthy life in tune with one’s inner clock. If ignored, sleep disorders can arise and take various forms. Some examples are inability to fall asleep or stay asleep (insomnia), sleep related breathing disorders (sleep apnea, snoring etc), sleep timings not aligned with one’s 24-hour internal clock (circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders). A disorder could be temporary as in jet lag or shift duty, or it could arise from habits and life style or some health problem. One must consult a physician to take remedial measures in time.

Sai Vibrionics, blessed by Sathya Sai Baba, offers remedies for jet lag as well as all kinds of sleep disorders. Practitioners may refer to ‘108 Common Combos’ or ‘Vibrionics 2016’ book.

References and Links:

2. Chennai, India - one-day refresher workshop 15 April 2018

A one-day refresher workshop conducted by Vibrionics teacher¹¹⁴²² was attended by 8 practitioners. As usual, they shared their successful cases and had a discussion on difficult cases. They were asked in advance to go through the last 12 newsletters on the basis of which a quiz was organized. In this highly interactive session, the questions were mainly derived from the Answer Corner. This turned out to be the highlight of the day. Some take home lessons, after interaction with Dr Aggarwal on skype, were:

strive to work more from the heart than from the head
think in terms of serving plants and animals as they have no mind and are most receptive to vibrionics
ensure complete and timely case recordings of patients for authentic case histories that are vital to the growth of vibrionics
pray intensely with intent and devotion for patients and hold Swami in the heart while writing prescriptions
always remember that Swami is the Healer and we are merely His humble instruments!

3. AVP workshop in Italy - Musings from the participants after qualifying

“Coming from different parts of Italy, we started our e-course on 26 January 2018. We regard our Vibrionics journey as a wonderful adventure. As we had not studied in a formal way for decades, we worried about studying again at this age. However, we found the study material and method of teaching were presented in a valid and intelligent way.

What helped us most was the joy, the freshness, and the love of Trainer ^{02566…Italy} who not only communicated the contents effectively but also expressed his passion for vibrionics helped us to become honorable and conscientious practitioners.

For 2 months we were in constant touch. Every week, our trainer sent us one chapter from the book to study and to read and write multiple times in our personal exercise book. After 2 days he sent us questions on the chapter we had studied, and we wrote the answers. On Fridays and Saturdays we met each other on Skype. For 2 hours we corrected our mistakes and we worked to understand the material better and exchange our thoughts and ideas. After 2 months, we gathered together to receive our practical training. We had two full days in close contact with our trainer and two hours on skype with Dr Aggarwal…Fantastic experience!!!!!

We returned home filled with a lot of enthusiasm. The results were excellent and immediately noticeable to us. Our biggest surprise was from all the people who received their first treatment. They were amazed to find out that the remedies did not cost anything, all were free. In our culture we are used to paying for everything and one can’t imagine receiving treatment without commerce and profit. Thanks to this training method, we were fully introduced into the selfless world of Vibrionics.

For us this is the start of a journey towards harmony between nature and Divinity!

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In Addition

1. Health Tips

2. Chennai, India - one-day refresher workshop 15 April 2018

3. AVP workshop in Italy - Musings from the participants after qualifying

Om Sai Ram