Now, everyone’s experience with meditation is different, but I can tell you mine. I’d be curious to hear back from you as to whether you find I am on the right track. First, are you falling asleep during your meditation? Now, there is nothing wrong with falling asleep during a meditation, but it really depends upon how long you sleep and what your level of fatigue and your state of mind were when you began meditating. I have felt like I was dragging after meditation in two different circumstances, first, when I was very tired at the beginning of the meditation. And, second, when I was feeling depressed. In both cases, I ended up falling asleep for longer than one hour.

Here is how I resolved both situations – I made sure I kept my meditation shorter – usually as short as 15-20 minutes. Now again, there is nothing wrong with having a longer meditation. Nor is there anything wrong with falling asleep – the sub-conscious mind continues the meditation for you regardless. However, there is something about falling asleep during a meditation that can sometimes (not always) make you feel very sleepy for the rest of the day. It is easier to tell if you are falling asleep when you are sitting, because your head will nod. If you are lying down, like I normally do, it is a bit more difficult to tell! However, I can tell if my mind has strayed from my meditation.

If you feel like you are waking up from a nap when you are coming out of your meditation, try to get yourself back into that meditative state before you move, or return to your body state. Once you reach a heightened level of meditation, that would probably be a good time to choose to come out of it. I typically come out of it very slowly. I start by moving my fingers and toes, then gradually work up the extremities to the trunk. I usually move my head and neck last – not sure if that is meaningful or not, though. It is especially true that if you limit yourself to a 15-20 minute meditation, that you will feel more refreshed when you return to your bodily state – even if you fall asleep.

Now, you can have longer meditations, however, falling asleep during a long meditation increases the chances that you will feel groggy or sleepy for the rest of the day.

Again, please let me know if that information helps!

Namaste

sharon