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10599621Sleepless?in South Devon?‘One woman's mission to find the ever-elusive utopia of a good night's sleep by experimenting with the?ancient art of Yoga?Nidra.’??Sleep. My nemesis, my obsession, my arch enemy and my beautiful savior when it finally decides to let me have it. I’m not sure when this?war with sleep?began. During?my childhood, teens and twenties, sleep meant nothing to me. I’d go to?bed,?have?the requisite seven hours,?wake up and get on with my day, full of vim and vigor.??Now as I reach middle age,?I find myself barely able to keep my eyes open without the aid of lashings of mascara. I am locked in a battle of sleep deprivation.?Sleep has turned into a?grotty?little gremlin. Determined to wreak havoc over my life with its petulant game of hide and seek. ?Having children, being on red alert in case of an unexpected coughing fit or a nightmare, whilst invariably waking to find one beside me in bed?with?either a foot or an elbow firmly entrenched into my ribs. Combined with the fact, ‘him indoors’ snores so loudly that he leaves my ears ringing with irritation, has ensured sleep is no longer my reliable friend. Now I lay awake,?internally?screaming at myself to GO TO SLEEP. Whilst externally screaming at him to, “SHUT THE FUCK UP.”Growing up I was bemused by my own mother. Rolling out of bed in the morning looking like she had just done ten rounds with Tyson. She would tell me she had been awake since three suffering with insomnia. I’d think ‘God, she goes on,’ and go about my business of being young and sleep satisfied. But as time passes,?I too begin to drag myself up?with the alarm;?cave woman hair standing on end,?looking like I have just done ten rounds with Anthony Joshua - (if only) The question on every one's lips (including the dogs) has mummy slept???We are?not alone in this. Sleep disorders?affect an estimated 1.5million in the UK, with an average of one in four women having trouble falling and staying asleep. The reasons for this vary, for women it could be hormonal with changes in cycle effecting sleep along with the onset of menopause.??Speaking to my?mum about her insomnia, I find myself more?sympathetic to her plight. Explaining how it felt?for?her?as a working parent, she said?that:?‘Margret Thatcher famously used to run the country on four hours sleep a night – all I can say is I would've struggled to run for a bus.’ Telling me that she can: ‘Only describe insomnia as the most debilitating non-illness ‘illness’ I have ever suffered. ??Stress is one of the biggest contributing factors?facing this nation of insomniacs. We overly stimulate ourselves with screen usage and many of us suffer from anxiety or depression. We find?we?are?locked into a continual battle. Sleep is known for its restorative benefits and we know being tired can only increase our stress, but the harder we try to sleep the less likely it is we seem to get it.??I have?tried?many cures for my insomnia; prescription medication, herbal remedies, long hot baths,?a caffeine ban, large glasses of sauvignon blanc combined with antihistamines (not recommend but highly effective) and even particularly athletic sex. None have led me to sleep seventh heaven.??Then a friend of mine, who is also a psychotherapist, told me she often recommends a technique called yoga nidra to her clients who suffer from sleep disorders. Telling me: ‘yoga nidra enables both body and mind to relax and let go, I find it very useful for sleep but it also has the potential to restore energy for life and bring about a deep sense of well-being.’ One of the leading experts in yoga?nidra,?Gurumaa?Ashram, explains that, yoga nidra works by balancing the left and right side of the brain. This enables us to reach several states;?from?beta,?where we have lots of brain energy, through to?delta,?which is the restorative state.?Ashram believes, ‘yogic sleep’ is more beneficial than conventional sleep as such a ‘deep sleep state’?is achieved. This improves the function of the nervous system. Making us calmer, more able to deal with stress and increases concentration. In fact, she states if you were to practice yoga?nidra?daily,?your life would be stress free. What's not to love??So, it's my time to try it. Perching on the edge of my bed, I download an Insight Timer app. The sight informs me it has over 15,000 meditations available, all for FREE. Excellent start. I click on the sleep icon and there I am greeted with a plethora of ‘Bone Deep Sleep’ meditations. I start to feel excited. After all, over 4 million people have tried the one I choose and have awarded it four and a half shiny yellow stars. ???I?wait until everyone else is asleep and the house is still.?Make?sure the room is dark, curtains stretched to full capacity.?Then after ensuring, he who sleeps for a full eight hours, is on the farthest reaches of our bed, I?cocoon myself in my hefty 13tog duvet;?put in my headphones, wrap my pillow around my ears and get comfy. (Ironically, I am still firmly attached to my iPhone when the bedroom is supposed to be free of all electrical devices, but we shall skim over that part.)??Slow gentle music begins and a woman with a slightly annoying American accent tells me how to breathe. I take three?long, deep breaths which leave me feeling somewhat lightheaded and then I can resume normal breathing. She tells me that if a thought?materialises?in my mind, not to hold onto it. Just acknowledge it and let it drift away...??I find myself wondering where the pooey nappy went earlier, how my sons PE kit is still unwashed and that I need to sort out my roots, but follow instructions and let the thoughts go. I don’t have time to think now, I am engrossed in?her voice.?We move onto body scanning. I am to pay?particular attention?to my feet, do they feel warm, light,?heavy?or cold????The next thing I know it’s 2.22am. I have been asleep for three hours. I take out my headphones, roll over ignoring my daughters' sharp toenail in my side and continue in a deep, dreamless,?blissful?sleep.??At last it seems my Nirvana has been reached.??Must tell mum…?10599621Critical Reflection for Professional Writing Summative Assignment: Submission 1For my first assignment in professional writing I wanted to experiment with my style, specifically finding my voice. In writing ‘Sleepless in South Devon,’ I attempted to combine humorous anecdotes about my life and others who are affected by insomnia, and my journey toward finding a cure by trying the ancient meditation practice, yoga nidra. I wanted the piece to contain factual elements about how yoga nidra can help, backing this up with scientific research which hopefully encourages my readers to try it themselves.George Orwell writes in his article, Politics and the English Language, that: ‘A scrupulous writer [..] will ask himself at least four questions thus: What am I trying to say? What words will express it, what image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?’ (Orwell, 1946, p.5) I was very conscious of this when trying to establish the tone I wanted to portray within my writing. Sleep has always been an issue for me and I am aware it is for many others so I thought this was a good subject to address, especially given my discovery that yoga nidra actually works. I felt that keeping the tone humorous and light hearted would help embellish the piece, but also make it evident to the reader just how much of a problem insomnia is for me. For example, when writing about why sleep is so difficult I mention my children, stating: ‘invariably waking to find one beside me in bed at night, with either a foot or elbow firmly entrenched in my ribs, has ensured sleep is no longer my reliable friend’. Thus, attempting to keep a light-hearted tone but evoking an image that would resonate with many parents who do not sleep. One of the writers I particularly enjoy is Sarah Turner, writing as, ‘The Un-Mummsy Mum.’ I feel that although her writing is comedic it is also relatable which is what I was hoping to emulate. Brendan Hennessy, suggests it is helpful to find an alternative voice to add to your own opinion to help enforce it: ‘Work out how your subject is illuminated by having other experiences from other sources, used as commentary on your own.’ (Hennessy, 2006, p.27) This was also part of the feedback I received during my work shop tutorial, that adding quotes would benefit my piece. In order to achieve this, I asked my mother for a quote as she has always suffered from insomnia. I also added a quote from a professional psychotherapist, who often recommends the practice of yoga nidra to her clients who struggle to sleep. I feel that adding both of these perspectives enhanced my article. This did however, make the drafting and editing process more of a challenge for me as I found it difficult to combine the right number of quotes and statistical information whilst balancing it with my own commentary. I had to undertake quite a few drafts to reach something I felt was a good balance between all of the components I wanted to menting in Telling True Stores: A non-fiction Writers Guide, Susan Orlean offers guidance about the importance of developing a sense of your own voice: ‘Self-analysis is crucial to developing a strong voice. Who am I? Why do I write? Your identity and your self-understanding become subliminal parts of your writers voice.’ (Kramer, 2007, p.158) Following this advice I decided to make my article very personal to me, as though writing an opinion piece or a regular column. I wanted my readers to identify with me, to achieve this I used an amusing strap line, that would also pique interest. Then I made my feature personal by immediately drawing my audience in by describing the battle I have with sleep, or my lack thereof. I particularly admire the work of Polly Vernon, who writes a regular column in Grazia magazine. Although Orlean, would advise against trying to mimic another writers voice, she suggests you could take inspiration from their style, building on that to make one of your own. (Ibid) Without fail Polly’s articles always make me laugh out loud and I look forward to reading them. I enjoy the sense of almost reading my own thoughts but seeing them put so succinctly and wittily through somebody else’s voice. Although my reader may not laugh out loud, I do hope to at least achieve a smile of recognition from my audience. Sleeplessness resonates with so many of us that I felt the readers would identify with my frustration, especially through trying to create images with my use of descriptors such as, being unaware my daughter had crept into bed until I realised her toenail was digging in my side. I was concerned about how to keep the upbeat tone whilst including factual information, such as the science behind yoga nidra and some of the causes of sleep deprivation being anxiety and depression. Then I discovered an article written by Polly in 2017 for The Telegraph. She was writing as part of the health and lifestyle section. The article was about the chronic back pain she suffered and how she found a cure for this by trying Pilates. It still had the amusing title: ‘Blimey! How I accidentally got abs in my 40’s’ (Vernon, 2017) and contained many light-hearted anecdotes. However, she also provided the reader with informative information about what exactly Pilates is and how it worked for her body. This helped to re-assure me that it is possible to combine humour with facts. This also helped me establish the type of publication I was writing for. I had experimented with yoga nidra before writing the piece and am now a regular user of ‘The Insight Timer’ app. However, I was quite unaware of the science behind it and how the meditation helped me to fall asleep. To further my knowledge, I used online search engines for information on the causes of sleep disorders and viewed many yoga websites with testimonies from teachers of yoga nidra expounding on its benefits. I also watched a tutorial from the leading expert in yoga nidra, Gurumma Ashram. This was available on YouTube and I found it an invaluable source. I really enjoyed the cathartic process of writing about something so personal to me. However, having read and re-read my piece many times throughout the editing process, I began to doubt if the point I was trying to make was indeed, informative, interesting or had any comedic value at all. I was eternally aware of Sharon Wheeler’s words, in her chapter on developing an ego: ‘The thing to bear in mind here is that you must make your readers care about your chosen subject rather than rolling their eyes and muttering: so what? Or get a life!’ (Wheeler, 2009, p.177) BibliographyCall, W, Kramer, M. eds (2007) Telling True Stories: A Non-Fiction writers guide. Harvard: Harvard University PressHennessy, B. (2006) Writing Feature Articles. London: Focal PressGlover, S. ed (2000) The Penguin Book of Journalism, Secrets of the Press. London: PenguinOrwell, G. (1946) Politics and The English Language. London: HorizonRandall, D. (2007) The Universal Journalist, fourth edition. New York: Palgrave MacMillan Wheeler, S. (2009) Feature Writing for Journalists. Oxon: RoutledgeOnline sourcesarticle/view/5-benefits-of-yoga-nidraallaboutyoganidragurumaashramtheunmummsymum.co.uktelegraph.co.uk/pollyvernon/pilates ................
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