Sleeping without Drugs

A long, long time ago in the land of pre-menopause, falling asleep was easy. I would climb in bed, lay in my favorite sleeping position, and fall asleep. It would be just a matter of minutes until I was off to dreamland. Then I started going through menopause, and began to experience sleeping problems. Besides having a difficult time going to sleep, I would have nights of tossing and turning, and flipping and flopping. Some nights I would be burning and sweating like I was simultaneously on fire and drowning. Then I would kick the covers off, and lie relaxed in the moonlight until I started shivering.

It has been about 23 moons since my bleeding stopped. The hot flashes have mostly settled down, but it can still be challenging to fall asleep. I ended up getting a prescription for Ambien to make it so I could rest on those nights when I just couldn’t fall asleep. That drug was so helpful that it became difficult to fall asleep without it. Then I became afraid of addiction to it, and. Ambien can indeed be addicting, especially when used regularly for longer than a few weeks or at high doses. People who have been dependent on alcohol or other drugs in the past may have a greater chance of becoming addicted to Ambien.

It has been over two weeks now that I haven’t taken any Ambien to fall asleep. What is working for me is the combining of ancient ways: essential oils and mudras. Peace and Calming helps me relax and gives me a deep sense of peace. Mudras are hand positions for your hands and fingers. Shakti Mudra is done by placing your ring fingers and baby fingers together. The other fingers are loosely bent over your thumbs, which are placed on your palms. In Mudras, Yoga in Your Hands, Gertrud Hirschi describes and illustrates how to use a wide variety of hand mudras.