falling asleep w/ anapana

The most daunting part of the 7-day vipassana meditation course was the timetable. The prospect of waking up as early as 5 AM to meditate and sleeping as early as 9 PM made me apprehensive of whether I’d be able to complete the course. Falling asleep is sometimes difficult for me, especially if I’m tense or stressed, so sleep only comes at a later hour.

In the course, as I expected, I lay awake and uncomfortable even after our scheduled sleeping time, but this time it was different; I knew how to deal with it. Through anapana, or focusing on breathing, we were taught to calm ourselves and calm our minds; part of the reason this has to be practiced in an upright position is because it makes you drowsy, and so it makes you fall asleep in only a few minutes of practice.