Asklemmy

It sounds so dumb, but it really works for me. I can almost always put myself back to sleep now within a few minutes- except for the nights when I'm really mad at work and, instead of doing the process, i wallow in the misery of insomnia as if that's somehow hurting the people I hate.

I get in a good position and get my pillow and covers just right. I take 3 breaths and focus really really hard on my breathing. I take 10 breaths to focus on relaxing, being calm, and feeling the comfort of my pillow, the weight of my covers, and how good my bed feels. I start at my feet (both feet on a regular night or one at a time if I'm really struggling) and for 3 breaths i relax them and feel their weight sink into the bed. Then i work my way up, moving to my ankles, lower legs, knees, ... taking 3 breaths at each one....and I'm usually asleep before upper legs. The hardest part was learning to focus hard on each breath, in and out, and each feeling, so it fills up your brain and other thoughts won't fit. If something else creeps in, i reset with 3 focusing breaths, then continue.