Back on track

I'm back on track! I did follow my napping schedule yesterday and felt very good. After work I went to my yoga class, which really energised me. I was planning a polyphasic night but with a core sleep. It worked yesterday and I felt great. The core was quite long (4 h) but that was just to set me back to my old routine. Basically I slept between midnight and 4am.
I felt really good driving to work that day thinking how I pushed myself in the past. Was that necessary? I don't know, I did it and it was a lesson.
I'm ready now to take things a little bit more easy. When I was driving to work I felt my old self, like I used to be, fully energised and awake.
So the core works and I will keep it for a while.
As I mentioned earlier last night I also included the core sleep, this time from midight till 3am. I felt fantastic waking up at 3am, rested and ready to go. It was nice to be able to wake up and not to jump out of bed in fear of falling asleep again.
It is 7am now and I'm ready for my nap, the sleepiness is creeping up but I must hold on for another 1/2 h to estabish a new pattern. When i go back to work on Monday 7.30 nap will be perfect.

Flotation tank

Two days ago I visited a flotation tank. It was my birthday treat from my best friend and I was really looking forward to it. It was an amazing experience but it completely wiped me out! My whole polyphasic routine went to pots. That night I just couldn't get myself out of bed from the naps so I almost slept the whole night! The next day I was alright and carried on with my midday and the afternoon nap. In the evening I went to the cinema with my family and came back almost ready for my midnight nap but I was very tired. I set up my alarm for 4am as I decided to go back to core sleep for a few days to get myself back on track.
For some reason I decided to wear my Q-Link, which I abandoned when I started the polyphasic sleeping. It was sending me too much into the deep sleep.
Unfortunately my alarm didn't go off (I fiddled with it before I went to sleep) and to my horror and amazement I woke up at 7.30am! I couldn't believe it. I jumped out of bed and rushed to work trying to figure out how I managed to sleep whole 7 hours without waking up once! I felt really bad. I had a headache and my face was puffed up. That sleep didn't feel good.

The power of breath

...and the fog has lifted again...
Tonight I meditated with my friends, although they are all in different locations we managed to 'meet'. It was a wonderful experience and I still feel the benefits of it and that was hours ago.
It only took 10 min but I used my breath very consciously. I was taking very slow and deep breaths at the same time connecting with my friends and the omnipresent light of the Universe.
That meditation re-energised me beyond belief.
I'm still astonished by it.
I had a very long day at work today. My 4pm nap was very short and I don't even think that was I really asleep. I had to stay at work till 8 pm and drove home at the time of my nap! I was fully awake and didn't encounter any symptoms of sleepiness. I had my nap at home at 9pm followed by the shower and the meditation. I was sure that I would collapse tonight but to my astonishment I'm fully awake and it's 3am. There is a beautiful buzz around me. I feel like I'm vibrating with joy and happiness. I can't even describe it and only yesterday I doubted myself and the path I have chosen. Thank you Angels for helping me. I feel so inspired. Miracles happen every day!

Spring

Yes, the spring is coming. I went for a walk today despite the rain to look for the first signs of spring. I took lots of inspiring pictures and will be posting them here every day with a new post.

It was a strange weekend full of doubts and struggle as if the fog came over me and the inner light of joy was hidden. I couldn't find myself.
My struggle with Uberman schedule was the main reason of my discomfort. I was oversleeping a lot. After my 8m nap this morning I found myself staying in bed and drifting between the dreams till almost 11am. It's not that I sleep deeply in those times but I literally wake up every 20min. or so to recall the dream and go back for more. This morning I almost became lucid as in one of the dreams I knew I was dreaming but didn't make a command to fly or do anything. I simply acknowldge it but didn't do anyting about it.
After the midnight nap, just now I realised that I was dreaming about travelling. That is a sign for me to wake up in a dream but I didn't.
By the way I stayed in bed after this nap for another hour drifting between the dreams. I'm fully awake now and rested so maybe I will adapt this technique for a while to stop this constant battle with myself that I'm not doing clean uberman. That midnight nap will be my dream nap, close to a core sleep.
1. Polyphasic sleep - everyman
2. Raw food - 80% (had steamed pumpkin soup and a piece of spelt bread)
3. Meditation - yes but very short
4. Clear mind - no
5. Reality checks -no
6. Exercises - yes
7. fresh air - yes

Greed

I had my lunch after my afternoon nap at 4pm so I felt hungry and greedy. I must make sure that won't have such big gaps between the meals otherwise disaster strikes. I simply stuffed myself and felt heavy and sick afterwards. As a result of that my 8pm nap lasted 2hours.
What I was thinking? It's 6am at the moment and heavy rain and high wind are taking over the morning. Yesterday was such a beautiful day and I was planning to go today for a long walk and immerse myslef in nature. I don't think that will happen now.
I think I go and do some yoga. I have become very lazy this weekend...

Morning coffee

This Friday early morning before I went to work I decided to avoid coffee, which I had for the whole week to keep me awake in the car. Bad move. I was struggling really bad. The rain didn't help also and I remembered that my blood pressure is usually very low and coffee is beneficial for me. I'm afraid I'll have to stick to coffee for road safety reasons at the moment.
When I got to work I realised that I've forgotten my phone and that equals alarm clock. My friend Helena had a day off so I couldn't ask her to wake me up or borrow her phone. As a result I overslept the 8am nap for about 30min. That morning I felt a little bit groggy and only after midday nap I regained my natural state of being.
I woke up naturally after this nap and asked my students to wake me up from my afternoon sleep.
In the evening I went to my friends party and had cooked food! It was a lovely vegetarian enchilada. I didn't have time to eat after coming back from work and I was hungry. I felt in a party mood and wanted to be a little bit naughty! Strangely enough alcohol didn't even cross my mind.
That night I slept most of the time between 4am and 8pm. It was a conscious treat and I loved it.
I felt fantastic during my dance step class and afterwards went to town to by a new journal.
At the party I was talking to an old lady, who has been recording weather and nature for the past 15 years. I was really inspired by that idea and started thinking about doing it myself.

The white noise

I think I know why I was so sleepy the other night. White noise. I was meditating listening to the white noise CD, which induces deep relaxation altered state. When I was a monophasic sleeper I used to listen to it mainly on weekends because I could sleep longer. After a session on white noise I had extra wonderful dreams but at the same time my sleeping was very deep and I usually slept much longer than usual.
I guess I'll have to quit the white noise for now as I did with the Q-link. My Q-link is now sitting on my bed side table rather than on my neck. I miss it in a way but again the Q-link had great impact on my sleeping similar to white noise so for now I'll just look at ti form a distance.

Closing window

I couldn't open my eyes after the midnight sleep. I got up and fall asleep again for another 40min. I was trying to do some housework to keep awake but collapsed on the nearest bed and fell asleep for another 40min. Woke up and forced myself again to keep going and was falling asleep while trying to read the e-mails. I only regained full consciousness at 3.30am! This is crazy as I have to catch another nap at 4am. Those naps between midnight and 4am are not my best thing at the moment. I don't know what's going on. I feel great for the rest of the day and night but this window for some reason is shutting down on me.

Those extra moments

I had a cup of coffee at around 6am because I was worried about my drive to work. I woke up form the 4am nap feeling groggy. In fact I should of get up at 4.45am but let myself staying in bed for another extra 25 min. as I was really spaced out. I didn't do my morning yoga and it took me time to feel normal with the help from coffee. The drive to College was just fine and the whole day went by fast, full of energy and good work. The naps were of high quality, on time and full of dreams but I still can't recall them totally. It's interesting how at work I don't experience any dips in energy and don't need any stimulants to keep me going. It's high performance at all times. My food intake is also minimal. I have my apple breakfast followed by a bowl of soup at lunch. I make the soup in the morning at home and take it with me in a flask. Usually I have been able to get through the whole flask and had some extra snacks. Now I can hardly go through half of the flask. I'm not hungry and yest my energy levels are great.
I came home around 6.30pm and did the whole set of yoga. I was surprised as I didn't feel like doing even half of the set. However I miraculously found some energy and kept going.
After my 8pm nap I did the usual mistake of staying in bed for that extra stretch and comfort and yes..fall asleep again for another 30min. I don't know how I'm letting that happen?! I felt great after the nap and yet again was over confident so allowed myself to just let go. I really need to get that habit under control.
The same thing happened after the midnight nap! I failed getting out of bed and as a result of that overslept quite substantially. I woke up at 12.30am, stayed in bed and fall asleep till 1.10am and then rolled over my front just for another extra moments (!) and found myself waking up at 2.10am. Disaster. I wasn't happy but felt fully recovered.
So here I'm ready for my 4am nap. I feel very good so hope to wake up feeling even better.
My seven rules:
1. polyphasic sleep - everyman
2. raw food - apples, soup, home made oats and flaxseed crackers with some (not raw but organic) mushroom pate
3. reality checks - yes quite a few
4. meditation - no
5. exercises - no cardiovascular
6. clear mind, download of chatter - yes
5. fresh air - no

Light. The winter is over!

Yes, I know it's still very cold and it's January but today for the first time as I was driving to work at around 6.30 the sky was getting lighter and lighter. The pitch black drives are over!
What a relieve. I was in such a good mood by the time I arrived at work welcoming the bright sky.
Last night was a struggle but I overcome it. I think I can see a pattern I've established with my sleeping schedule. Basically towards the end of the week, especially Friday night I tend to oversleep massivly, followed by lazy late mornings at the weekend where I also sleep longer than I should. That allowes me to store enough energy and sleep in my body for the beginning of the next week. Usually Monday and Tuesday are great and then in the middle of the week I start flaking running out of fuel. By Friday I find myself oversleeping again with the explanation that I deserve more sleep because I have just worked a full week!
Great excuses. Well, I just have to break this pattern. Last night was the first attempt. I didn't let go. The time between midnight and 4am was pretty lame, the old sleepiness creped up I spent some time in the kitchen preparing raw crackers till 2am and then went on the computer. Unfortunately my husband took my laptop (he went to Sweden for a business trip) and left me the main house computer, which is great but the keyboard is a nightmare! I was very discouraged and didn't engage in my usual networking activities.
However I had a great day.

Massive dream

I felt pretty good this morning after my 4am nap but I was quite worried about driving to work. So far I had two clear nights on uberman and things were going very smooth. At 6am I decided to have a small coffee. It was a good move as my drive to work was fantastic. I felt fully awake and in good spirit. I had no problems with falling asleep at 8am nap so everything was going just fine.
My day at work was excellent. I was focused, in good mood, bright and energetic. The naps were of good quality.
After work I did some yoga and had a big green salad. Everything was fine until my midnight nap. The alarm woke me up and I was totally disorientated. I thought it was a phone ringing and who could that be calling us in the night? Then I realised where I was I and picked up my alarm. I was sure I overslept. I had a feeling that I slept through the whole night. It was 35 min past midnight. I couldn't believe it. It was almost impossible. There was this massive dream still hanging around me, it felt like I have been dreaming for ages. I got up and made myself a cup of herbal tea. I couldn't shake off the sleep and was trying to remember the dream. I stayed in bed for another hour just sitting up right sipping my tea and just being.
I feel back on track again but it took me some time to come back to normal. This last period was quite a challenge. It's my 4am nap soon and I hope I'll feel as good as yesterday.
I didn't do any reality checks today. I'm going to put some reminders around me about that.
I didn't get any fresh air. Now thinking back I could of got out in that critical time and do some breathing outside...
I didn't do the exericise about downloding my busy mind.
Everything else was there: raw food, polyphasic, meditation, exercise.

Seven rules of a warrior

I had a really good day and night so far. My energy levels stayed the same, very positive and encouraging. I even did some marking!
I had one little stumble this morning because after my 8am nap I failed to get up from bed. Yes, yet again I trusted myself that I'm well rested and decided to recall my dream lying down. Bad move as I fall asleep again and woke up at 10am! This was the last time I allowed myself to stay in bed after awakening.
I had breakfast and read 'Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman. I saw the film and was inspired to read the book. I really enjoy it and this book encouraged me to stay on track.
My goal is to become a warrior and I understand that the journey to it is not always easy. I have made a list of tasks I want to follow every day:
1. Stay polyphasic on uberman schedule
2. Stay raw as close to 100% as possible
3. Do reality checks as often as possible
4. Meditate/work on conscious OBE (out of body experience)
5. Exercise - yoga and cardiovascular
6. Clear my mind - download the constant dialog on paper and burn it afterwards
7. get fresh air

I had a nap at midday and after that I went for a long walk. The air was warm and the sun was shining. Another glimpse of spring.
I had a glass of freshly squeezed organic orange juice. Heaven!
I did some study on Greek Plays as I'm directing now "Trojan Women" with my students.
The 4pm nap was equally pleasant as the midday one and I woke up before the alarm. I had a large plate of fresh salad and did some marking. This is an achievement as I never do my work on the weekend.
Then the 8pm nap came and after that I watched some tv with my daughters. It's nice to spend some time with them eve if it's watching tv.
It is now almost 3am and I feel pretty good. I hope this energy will stay with me when I drive to work. I need it then the most.
I can feel the sleepiness coming upon me slowly so I better do something...

Uberman and Spring

This is my last attempt to do clean uberman schedule. If I fail I'll give it a rest for two month. I was already pondering about giving up but decided to to carry on and be strict this time. Changing and chopping my sleep pattern with everyman (core sleep) is not very good and messes up my system. I was chatting on line to another experienced polyphasic sleeper in Australia and he gave me lots of advice.
So this was my first night. I had a crisis at about 3am and I was struggling to keep awake but I managed to survive till my 4m nap. I got up from my 4am nap against all odds as it was so tempting to just go back to sleep. I did yoga straight away and that helped alot. My determination to keep going is back and I just have to remeber this feeling in moments of weakness. Well, I have to remember all those beautiful moments I had in the past and just be more srtict with myself.

Today I felt the first glimpse of spring! The sun was warm and encouraging and the garden was calling me, so I did some sowing. I did a tray of salad in a cold frame and some pots of courgettte, which I kept at home. Something to look forward. It's only the second half of January but I can smell spring in the air. Very encouraging.
So thumbs up for my new start with uberman and the spring!

The whole night sleep!

I slept the whole night and I feel strange. I have a little headache at the back of my head but I also feel extremely rested. I don't know what happened last night...well, I do.
Paul is really missing me sleeping in bed with him so I decided to dedicate this night to him. I still went to bed at midnight for a nap but failed to get up. I did wake up but for some reason I couldn't be bothered to get up so I fell asleep again. Then Paul woke up and we read books for a while, this was around my 4am nap. After that I was ready to get up and do some writing but Paul asked me to stay with him longer and I fell asleep again till 8am! Great excuses!
I gave myself lots of liberties because it's a weekend and I didn't have to get ready for work after my 4am nap as usual. More excuses...
I guess lately I have been oversleeping too much and now I long for a new beginning. Lets start again with full uberman schedule and 100% raw diet.
I'm challenging myself again and will be recording my progress here of course. Paul is going away for a week so there will be no distractions and no excuses, so I hope.
Today is the 17th of January and in a month time (16th Feb.) I will be going to Italy for two weeks. This month will be pure and challenging: polyphasic, raw and full of exercises.
I'm exited again.
By the way I had fantastic end of the week as my Friday was very creative at work, the night before was crystal clear and full of awareness. I was even jumping on my trampoline in the middle of the night and did yoga in the early ours of the morning. I also did full set of yoga at the end of the day.

more core sleeps

Last time I was wondering how this week will turn up hoping for a clean uberman nights. Unfortunately things didn't turned up the way I wanted them to go but nevertheless everything always has it's own course of truth so I just followed that.
Last Monday night I spent all my hours creating my new website. I'm really exited about it as I was planning to do it long time ago but never had time and inspiration to do it. Finally it arrived and I'm creating. As soon as the site will go live I shall announce it here. I was so awake and full of ideas. It was a great creative spell.
Tuesday night at my usual writing slot between midnight and 4am I simply couldn't open my eyes. I also had a very heavy day at work so I was pretty tired and I decided to go to sleep for three hours. I felt invigorated the next day and ready to follow up the program.
However I felt overconfident the next night and after waking up from my midnight nap I decided to lay in bed for a little longer to find my dream. I felt really awake and thought to myself that there is no way I could just fall asleep with such energy around me.
Well, I was wrong, the next thing I knew was me opening my eyes feeling absolutely brilliant but it was 3am on my clock!
I've missed another session of writing and my own development. As I usually get up at 4.30 after my nap and get ready for work I decided to enter the dreaming state for another hour.
At work I carried the napping as usual although some of them were not very productive, I simply didn't fall asleep but still had a rest.
I'm back on track tonight and feeling really good. I think that the core sleep once or twice a week is really beneficial to me at the moment so I will follow that pattern.
I just have to be careful not to become lazy and slip more core sleeps into my routine.
The days are getting longer...:)

Polyphasic weekend

I made really tasty raw burgers today (see recipe at the end). I love weekends and this one was amazing. Nothing special happened, it was just an ordinary weekend if you look at it from the outside but for me it felt warm, buzzing and joyful. My naps had special quality to them, I was waking up seconds before the alarm. I allowed myself lying in and extra dreaming in the mornings without feeling guilty or thinking that I'm not doing uberman by the book. This weekend I wasn't and it didn't matter. On Saturday and Sunday morning I went to bed at 7am rather then 8am and had a core sleep for about an 1.5h. I then read and had breakfast and went for another nap or two. It felt great and I just missed the midday nap instead. The days had real quality to them as I felt uplifted, inspired and just simply happy. There was no particular reason for my positive feelings. I just felt really good. I met some friends today and they commented on my good looks considering that I wasn't sleeping according to the rest of the world sleeping rules.
The raw food and polyphasic sleeping are working to my favour. I hope this week will be special too. I won't have extra naps in the mornings but I think I managed to recharged myself for the whole week. We shall see. I'm curious if I'll maintain this level of energy towards the end of the week. It will be challenging as students are back tomorrow so my work will be also more demanding.
Here is the recipe for the raw burgers:
2 cups cashew nuts
1 large red pepper
2 celery sticks
1 small red onion
1 garlic clove
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
celtic sea salt
black pepper
Blend the cashews to a fine powder in a good guilty blender. If you don't have one just blend them in any blender as fine as you can. Take it out and put aside.
Blend the rest of the ingrediens and add the cashews. Mix it all by hand and form burgers.
Ketchup: blend 1 tomato with 3 (pre-soaked) sun dried tomatoes with 1tbs of honey and 1tbs vinegar
I served it with rocket salad, finely chopped parsley and gherkins.
Delicious. Enjoy!

New Beginnings

It's a middle of January and winter is still here in a full glory. The Solstice back in December marked a new beginning. The plans are starting to wake up as the days go longer.
Last year in late summer I planted the top of a pineapple not really believing that anything will happen to it. I just left it in my room upstairs where there is a lot of light and warmth to itself.
To my surprise the pineapple adapted itself and is growing beautifully.
This gives me the inspiration to grow too, to expand with the light and continue on my journey.
Last night was very productive and calm. I was fully energised and yes, there were moments of the energy dipping down but of no importance. I just simply changed the focus of my attention and with it the energy changed too.
I must say early this morning I allowed myself to stay in bed for a little bit longer and indulged in dreaming. I went to bed an hour before my 8am nap and got up at 8.50am. It was a true laying in on Saturday morning. That what's the weekend is for!

Core sleep

Last night I gave up. After my midnight nap I found myself struggling again, I was very, very tired and I didn't even had energy to do some physical activities like pottering around the house. I tried to have something to eat to get that sleep away but I was falling asleep eating! This was too much and eventually I gave up at around 2am and went for a core sleep. I put my alarm for 4.30am and I did wake up at that time but decided to carry on and eventually woke up naturally at 6.35. I had 4,5 hours core sleep. I went to work and missed the 8am nap but from 12.00 I started again and functioned very well. My naps were still very good and full of dreams. It is 1.30am now and I'm functioning really well. I'm fully awake and energised.
Yesterday I went to London with my friend and had a colonic irrigation in the morning followed by some shopping and late lunch. My 4pm nap didn't happened till 5.30pm in the car on the way back home.
This was my first week of work and together with the trip to London it definitely put a lot of strain on my body. The core sleep restored me and brought me my strength and clarity back.
I did a full ashtanga yoga session tonight.
I have a weekend in front of me and I will rest so I can have maximum energy for the up coming week. I hope it will be easier on me.
I'm learning so much about my body and I really need to put more attention and more care to it. I understand now that we do take our bodies for granted and we exploit it as much as we can. The whole Uberman schedule makes so much sense. Our body needs a rest every 4h. We can't maintain operating on full charge for 12h per day on the monophasic sleep. Our working hours are too long. We do not rest sufficiently, do not exercise regularly or take enough fresh air into our lungs.
The Ubreman schedule gives me the opportunity to take care of my body with more consideration and telling me that I should slow down. I did gain so many hours but I must make sure I use them wisely otherwise those hours will become empty, a low energy, sleepy wasted time. If I want to live by the Uberman schedule I must be very disciplined and aware of everything around me. I need to revise my time between the naps and change my way of being
even more.
One block should contain the following:
- on awaking go outside and do some conscious breathing
-have something to eat, small and raw
-dedicate only 2h to mental activity to get the maximum results
- do some light tasks
- do some more breathing
- time for the next nap.
This is the rough outline of each section of the day/night. Of course they will vary. The most important thing is to realise that there is only 2 hours for a solid work, be it mental or physical in one block.
I shall try to implement these changes immediately.

those sleepy moments...

I don't know what's going on. Today was a real struggle at times. The naps are going really well, I even remembered very vivid dreams but the times between the naps were surprisingly sleepy.
The ride to work this morning was a real challenge. I had to open windows (it's freezing cold at the moment) and sing out loud to keep going. After my nap at 8m I couldn't wake up. I even had a coffee to function properly! I was alright for the rest of the day but the drive back home was again difficult.
I was looking forward to my night time between midnight and 4am as I usually do some creative writing, catching up on e-mails, etc but to my surprise again I wasn't functioning well. I had very good nap and was fine but couldn't shake off the sleep. I found myself falling asleep in front of the computer, literally with my head dangling down?!
The nap at 4am was again full of dreams. I like it and keep an eye on them as the next step is lucid dreaming. During my last nap I was traveling and that is usually a trigger for me to realise that I'm dreaming, not this time though.

Improvements

I decided to add some images to my posts from now on. These are my apples, which I collected from my garden in the autumn. The apple tree was very generous this year. I still have few bags of these delicious apples in the garage. I 've taken this image today. The apples are still crisp and sweet as...
I'm back on track with adapting to work situation. Today I slept like a log during my naps. I had a low moment after lunch but brushed it off by simply going for a walk to town. The weather was glorious today, very cold but sunny.
Last night after my crisis around 3am I suddenly came to life again and all my energy was restored. I did more meditation and didn't fall asleep. The ride to work was also easy. I'm in good form.
When I came home after work I felt really tired so I had the shower and then rested on my bed for about 1/2h. I was hovering between the dreamworld and this reality again. I even remembered the dream. It didn't feel like I had a nap but very good rest. I got up and went abut my business. Life is sweet. I carried on with my naps as usual.
Before Uberman I used to come home from work exhausted and always had a short rest so today was not unusual to rest after work. I think sometimes I'm too hard on myslef :)
I'm still finding myself chasing time. When I come home after work I rest till my 8pm nap. Then the time before midnight nap I send with my family, eating, watching tv, chatting so really only this section of the routine from midnight till 4am I have totally for myself for writing/reading/learning. When I rise from the 4am nap I do yoga, prepare lunch and breakfast and leave for work. I think that's a good balance anyway; well, except for too long period at work.
I bought some CD's to learn Italian and I listen to them in the car. this is an addition to my Monday's lessons. I really want to absorb that language.

First Day at work

The struggle is back and I'm having major doubts again. Today was my first day of work after two weeks holidays in a comfortable home environment.
I was very alert during the day. I started the preparation for work after my 4am nap. I did some yoga, made my lunch and breakfast, had very long, luxurious shower and set off for the road at 6.30 am. I didn't feel sleepy on my journey. It was a tough one as the snow was constantly attacking my front window. The first snow this winter. It turned out a beautiful, crispy and sunny day. Unfortunately I had to spend it in the office :(
The quality of my naps at work were very poor and that's why I think I'm so tired now. I just couldn't go to sleep straight away and some naps went even without the sleep.
For the last two weeks I was sleeping in a warm, cosy bed and now this was replaced by a yoga mat on the floor with a small cushion and my coat as a blanket.
I'm sure tomorrow I will be sleeping very deeply on that floor.
I had a little dip in energy at around 2pm during the Italian class, which by the way went very well. I recovered very quickly after having few sips of my tea.
I'm wonderig if the quality of my sleep had something to do with the tea I brewed this morning. It was a mix of Pau d'arco and green leaf tea. Some schools say there is a fair amount of caffeeen in the green tea others say the trace is so minimal that it doesn't efffect us in a any way.
I think that it has some efect on me.
In the early evening at my pilates class I was falling asleep. I came home and had a wonderful nap in my bed. However my energy was still not restored. I spent all evening on the sofa watching tv with my family. I didn't feel like doing anything else. I wasn't sleepy but I just lacked in energy and alertness.
After the midnight nap I felt better but still not myself. It's 2.32 am now and I have already been outside few times to fully wake up. It has been a struggle.
I think I have to allow myself few days to get back into the routine of going to work and sleeping on the floor again.

I decided to write my blog today in sections according to my nap schedule:
8am - 12.00 noon
as I said earlier I stayed in bed most of the time enjoying my last day of holiday. Multiple napping.

12 - 4pm
I skipped this nap because of the morning napping and went for a bike ride instead. It was very cold and my feet were suffering the most. I roasted a pumpkin in coconut oil with some celtic sea salt, Yummy, and watched a movie. Very nice.

4pm - 8pm
A txt message on my phone woke me up at 16.15 so I reset the alarm for another 30min. I must remember to switch my mobile off.
I prepared more yummy raw food and put it into the dehydrator. I had a feast at 6pm and after that decided to clear up my desk and pack all assignments into my car for tomorrows work. I didn't do all the marking I was intended to do but never mind. I still have a week without students so hopefully will catch up on that.

8pm - midnight
I woke up with the alarm from the nap half hour later. I decided to study some Italian. I'm joining a new class tomorrow. I also studied new assignment for next term for my Y2 students. I'm really exited about it. We are going to do a Greek play.
For the first time on polyphasic schedule I attempted to do some meditation/relaxation and energy work in between the naps to induce Out of Body experience. I was fully alert and in a good form so the danger of falling asleep was very weak. I prompted myself on the sofa with cushions and legs up, the reclining position. I was going to leave my head without the support but decided against it as it was too straining for my body.
It was a good experience and lasted 17 min. I went into a deep relaxation and then tried to hover over my body. I did not exit but felt very mild sensations of expansion.

Last day of holidays

I can't imagine going back to monophasic sleep.  This whole system makes so much sense. I'm totally in harmony with it.

Today my energy throughout day and night was of a high standard. I love being so awake and content.

This morning I went to my step dance class and really enjoyed it. Usually I struggled with remembering the sequence of steps but now I can follow it with hardly any mistakes. My head was up and I was putting more effort into the performance routine. I really like this class.

I would like to do more dancing. Maybe I can find a suitable dance class at my College? That would be good.

I'm neglecting my Italian so must learn something tonight. I'm starting a new class on Monday.

5am

I felt totally in the zone of this reality during all night. I also did some pretty good writing :) My project is going well. 

A miracle just happened. At around 3.50 (just before my 4am nap) I decided to do some relaxation exercises. I sat in a reclining position on my sofa. I didn't put the alarm on. This was going to be just a short interlude to my nap. The next thing I knew was me waking up. I looked at the watch with anticipation. I was fully rested and thought I slept few hours.

It was 4.40am. Thank you. 

I was amazed. After all my body is listening to my commands. This was a great achievement as this was the most difficult nap to wake up from so far. Okay, it wasn't 20-30 min nap but 40min is just as good, considering no alarm. Yes, I felt a little bit groggy but that went shortly after waking up.

I also had a very vivid dream. Huge progress.

I did yoga at around 7am and progressed to my 8am nap.

I was a little bit lazy after that. It was my last day of holiday so I let go and lazed about in bed surfing between the dreamland and this reality. I had breakfast in bed, cuddled up with my daughter and finally got up at 11.30 am.

Despite the cold weather I went for bike ride. I'm sure my body craves Vitamin D and from tomorrow I will be at work all day long.

Moody Friday

Friday just passed and Saturday is emerging. I had a good day but with some glitches. In the morning I was chatting with other polyphasic sleepers. It’s great fun. It’s also really nice to know that there are other people in the world going through what I went and am still going on.
In the early afternoon I went to a shopping centre but didn’t feel that great. I don’t know if it’s the energy of the shopping mall or just me running on law battery. It wasn’t too bad but bad enough to notice it.
The second part of the afternoon I must admit I just spent relaxing on the sofa knitting , watching some tv and having my main meal. I had my favourite green raw but hot soup. I’m so glad that I can eat that soup day after day after day and I’m not bored of it. It’s the most healthy thing I have in a day. I have been snacking a lot yesterday as I didn’t have a biggish meal and some of the snacks were not as healthy. Well, they were really healthy for a person with a traditional diet but not for me. I had too many slices of the most delicious rye bred. That’s it. No more other snacking.
In the evening I went to see the film about the Cuban revolution “Che”. Absolutely fantastic film. I’m so glad I saw it. It made me little bit sad. It was strange to watch a movie, where the main characters were fighting for communism. Being raised in a communist country with so much resentment towards this regime, I felt sad that all that blood was shed for not what was going to be achieved. The ideology of communism is great and their first leaders very passionate, true human beings. However what they thought for turned into a big ugly monster. Humanity wasn’t ready yet to embrace that idea. Greed and selfishness buried it in the ashes of pain and poverty.
As for the naps, they were rolling pretty good. No oversleeping, some waking up before the alarm but as the night approached I felt a little bit down at places.
It’s very cold and grey and I didn’t go for a walk today. It’s dark most of the time and I really miss the sun and warm weather. I will keep going and yes, I need to change my tune.
It’s 5.30am now and I should go down to do some yoga but I’m already considering skipping it. I’m going to my dance step class in the morning so that’s not too bad.
I still have to fight sleepiness from time to time and I think that’s’ where the moodiness comes from. Like now I feel tired and I wouldn’t mind going for a good sleep…
I went online and had a great chat. Feel totally awake. Now yoga and then 8am nap. Life is beautiful again,

New Year resolution

First day of 2009. I was thinking about my New Year resolution. At first I didn’t want to do any of it but somehow all day long my mind was pondering about this issue.
I was giving a lift to the train station to one of my daughter's friend. This was a first time I met this boy and as soon as we sat in the car he asked me what is my New Year resolution. I laughed and said that I’m not doing it this year.
For sure one of the angels sent him to me prompting me about this subject. I wasn’t let off easily.
I couldn’t get to sleep at my 8pm nap, well, I don’t really know if I fell asleep or not. However I was “dreaming” about my New Year resolution.
I’ve got it. This idea has been in my head or rather heart for a long time. I always thought that I would do it when I stop working full time but my desire was stronger. The angels again took care of the events and here I’m being a polyphasic sleeper with so much extra time on my hands.
I’m over the adaptation stage and feel wonderful. I’ve decided to even stop counting my days/night. I’m a polyphasic sleeper, full stop. I absolutely love it. If I stop for any reason I’ll just stop and that will be it but for now I’m in full swing of it.
The battle or a game is over and even if I let myself oversleep at times so be it. On monophasic sleep we often let ourselves sleep longer than required, specially on holidays and weekends. This same can apply to polyphasic sleeping. After the adaptation faze one can play around with timings.
My New Year resolution is to be creative but specifically to write a book. Till now I new I wanted to write a book but I didn’t really knew what about. The 8pm nap solved it. I’ve got a clear idea, of course I’m very open and things can change as I’ll go along but nevertheless the idea is there.
I’ll start tonight and my slot for writing will be between midnight and 4am nap.

My other New Year resolution is to remember to smile, at all times, down to every organ in my body.
After the midnight nap I did my first writing. It felt good. I have no idea how it will develop but I will try to write a page a day.
I feel a little bit groggy after my 4am nap. I think it’s because I let myself to stay in bed longer. I kept my alarms by my side table and I simply switched them off and stayed in bed. Usually I have them away from me so I have to get up from bed. Anyway all I need to do it to go outside and breathe for a while.

I had few breaths barefoot (it wasn't freezing tonight) and felt much better. I then did half set of ashtanga yoga.

Polyphasic New Year's Eve

Here we are 2009. I just got a newsletter from the astrologer I see every year for some guidance. Looking at the planets he is predicting crazy January:
‘The coming three months are split into two halves with very different effects. The Mercury retrograde happening during the last three weeks of January will bring massive over expectation in many different areas and there will be a lot of headless chickens running around madly. This will end up by the start of February but clarity will not come until the middle of that month, so decisions made impulsively in January will prove to be unsustainable. Don’t buy into what appears to be happening at the end of January, there will be a large element of hype and spin about it. Suspend judgement until mid February.’ Steve Judd steve@stevejudd.com

I guess we mustn’t get frustrated if our sleeping pattern gets out of hand. Just keep going and hopefully things will come down in February.

I had an interesting morning yesterday (New Year’s eve). I crushed at 7am, I was really tired and stayed in bed until almost midday! The strange thing was that I didn’t sleep like a log for a solid period of time. I was waking up every half hour. Stayed awake for a bit enjoying being in bed and went for a snooze again. It was as if I was floating between dream land and this reality. At first I was a little bit disappointed with myself but then I realised that it doesn’t really matter and I can allow myself to just let go and be lazy.
I also miss that feeling of waking up from a dream and going back again, diving in and out of it. After all I’m on holidays and I’m entitled to enjoy myself. It’s winter and lying in bed is just beautiful.
I nearly hit the lucid dream at one point but didn’t quite get there. It’s fine I will.

I moved my naps an hour early so I could accommodate the party and the midnight countdown. I slept at 3pm and then at 7pm jut before we went to the party.
This was my first New Year without alcohol. I still don’t miss it. I felt relaxed, comfortable and in good spirit for the whole evening. At 11pm I had a nap at my friend’s bedroom. I didn’t really fell asleep as it was a bit noisy but I had a good rest.
I felt that I went into a deep relaxation. I can now recognise the stages of falling asleep. I actually feel the sensation of dropping down a faze going deeper and deeper. I went quite right down but not into a deep sleep.
However I felt fine and refreshed. I was in full speed again. Just after midnight I became a taxi driver. I had to pick up my daughter and her friends from one part of town and later the other one from the other side of town.
I landed at home just before 3am and had my nap in my bedroom. Usually I take my naps in a spare bedroom, where I spend my nights. It’s a spacious room where I have my office, sofa and tv. I love spending my time there.
I thought that I will struggle with getting up but to my surprise I didn’t! I woke up and managed to stay in bed for another half hour, just contemplating on my state of alertness and enjoying lying in bed. I got up at 4am sill fully amazed at my fantastic condition of being.
I’m aiming to get my next nap at 8am, so going back to my old routine.
I just found www.glastonburyradio.net great stuff.
At 6.15 I did a full set of ashtanga yoga. Life is beautiful.