There are times when a person cannot get relaxed enough to fall asleep at night. There are also those times when a person cannot seem to get a restful night sleep. A person will try all of the natural and inexpensive ways that they can think of to combat these issues. I have put together a nice routine that works wonders for me. I thought I would share it would everyone.

I combined my training, experience, and things I already do into a nightly routine that seems to be working well for me. I needed to find a way to relax my neck, shoulder and back muscles. I also had to relax the mind and combat sinus headaches. Massage, acupressure, reiki and meditation seemed to make sense to me.

I sometimes take an aromatherapy bath before I get ready for bed. I use eucalyptus and rosemary because they clear my sinuses. They also help get rid of the smell of chlorine in my water. I usually use either sweet orange or lemongrass because I enjoy the citrus scents. The citrus seems to help me boost my mood. A bath also helps me start my relaxation process. I try to wash away all of my worries and stress from the day.

Every night I also do oil pulling with coconut oil. I swish the coconut oil around in my mouth for 10-15 minutes. Then I spit it into a water bottle. I use the time that I am oil pulling to get my bed time clothes on and write in my journal if it has not been done yet. I then brush my teeth with homemade coconut oil, baking soda and peppermint oil toothpaste.

I have two rice heat packs that get heated up in the microwave. When I am ready for bed I heat up the heat packs. I lay on my back in bed with one heat pack under my lower back region and one heat pack under my shoulders. This step can be skipped. I find that the heat helps relax my muscles especially after a long day working at the computer or a hard work out.
The routine has four parts. Each part can be done separately or combined.

Part One: Massage

Start with a scalp massage. Move your fingers through your hair while massage your scalp. You can scratch your head also. Then massage your face. Use different parts of hand, to find out what feels best for you. Start with your forehead and work your way down to your jaw and chin. I only massage the head and face. Self-massage on other body parts can be added.

Part Two: Acupressure

Start by placing one finger on the point between your eye brows and one finger on the back of your skull, between the bottom of the skull and your spine. Stay on those points as long as you feel you need to stay. Move to the eyebrows. One finger goes at each end of the eyebrow and one in the middle. Hold for as long as needed. Move to the bone above your eyes, the top of the eye socket. Move your thumbs or fingers until you find an indentation on both sides. Hold as long as needed. Next move to the two points on your cheek bones which should be close to the middle. Hold as long as needed.

Part Three: Reiki

You can skip this step if you are not a reiki practitioner. Use normal reiki positions especially the head and face positions. Breathe deeply, relax and enjoy.

Part Four: Meditation Breathing

You can do this while practicing reiki, after reiki or instead of reiki. You can use a simple breathing technique. Inhale to the count of six, hold breath for the count of six and exhale to the count of six. You can increase the count as you are able to increase it. I increase the count by one every three breaths. There is no other reason to increase after three breaths except that I just needed to do three breaths.

After this sequence I roll over and go to sleep. If I still cannot sleep I do progressive relaxation, chakra meditation or both. Most of the time the sequence enough to go to sleep but there are times when I need to relax more.

I created this sequence because it works for me. I used my own training and experience to create my ideal relaxation and healing sequence. Use what you know and enjoy to create the perfect sequence for you.