Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong need help with broken sleep

I'm having a problem - broken sleep. I'm waking up in the middle of the night and I'm not able to fall back asleep easily. I suspect it's because of the medications I take - adderall and lexapro. I don't want to discontinue these meds as they help me in some areas of my life.

I just received the level one materials(manual, DVD, audio CD on sitting meditations) and I'm doing the active exercises during the day. I thought about doing some of the exercises right before bed but worried I might be too energized to sleep.

I'm wondering if people here have any suggestions. Should I try doing one of the active exercises when I wake in the middle of the night? Should I try sitting meditation and the chants to get back to sleep? Or should I do active exercises before I lay down to go to sleep(usually 10:00 p.m.)?

Is there anything in level 2 that would make this easier to solve? I ordered the level 2 manual but have not yet ordered the DVD and I was going to wait a few months before trying the level 2 stuff as I thought level 1 is a lot to learn.

There is nothing from the level II material that comes to mind.

I know that some have reported the be energized after doing the active meditations. Personally, I feel serene and calm after any of my meditations.

One thing I had noticed in the past is that when I was regularly doing a lot of meditation each day, was I need for less sleep. I would wake earlier that I had planned but was fully awake. For me this was only a matter of an hour, so I used it to start my morning earlier.

Other sleeping experiences I have relate to starting a small universe meditation, when I go to bed. As with any meditation, I start with making a request for how I would like the universal energy to shape my life. I do the meditation with the intention of it continuing after I drift to sleep.

At times I've awaking much too early in the evening. At those times if sleep doesn't return quickly I will do the above small universe meditation with the intention of falling asleep. Remember, to make your request and let it go. Don't keep checking to see if you're getting sleepier or not. Just make the request and do the meditations. It works quite well for me.

Of course when my practice is solid, I don't have the sleeping issues.

I choose the small universe because it opens the channels and promotes the flow of qi. Also I can get quite hot when doing breathing universal energy, which doesn't help with my comfort and sleep goal.

You are perfection,
Iam2

I have always slept much better doing the active exercises before going to bed. I really sleep hard if I do Small Universe.

It is probably my energy make up but going to sleep after any of this really is the icing on the cake for me.

I use to really enjoy greeting the sun every morning with meditation and then going back to bed a couple hours afterwards, the world was just the best after that.

Why don't you talk to your Doctor? There are other drugs that do the same thing as lexapro but help one to sleep at night.

Hi,
I have an un-SFQ related suggestion, as an ex-insomniac. If you're not sleeping through the night, the absolutely incredible solution can be found at centerpointe.com - the holosync solution. I started sleeping so deeply from day one, it's just been amazing.
No, this is not a commercial - just the truth. ) It works well as a companion to SFQ too. There's an online audio sample if you want to check it out.
I hadn't slept well in years, and now I very rarely have a bad night.
As far as SFQ goes, I think everyone's different, but as a dance instructor, I know that anything that's intensely focused should not be done right before bedtime. A few folks will do well with that, but many can't relax out of the focus, so trying something you find especially soothing might be best, or doing your practice at least an hour before bedtime.
Good luck!

Aloha,

SFQ is "expecially soothing", unless one is new to it and/or in thier head - double checking that they are doing everything right.

Do the active exercises before bed one night and the sitting meditation another and see what works best for you at this time.

Much Love, Shawn