The following procedure is recommended

  • lie down and switch off the light,
  • adopt a comfortable posture,
  • focus your observation on individual senses: what you touch, feel or hear,
  • name the associated experience,
  • only ever use one (!) word when naming,
  • say the word silently to yourself,
  • take a short pause after each word,
  • in which you feel, sense or hear something else and
  • continue the exercise until your mind has calmed down.

It takes a little time for the thoughts you were previously preoccupied with to calm down and for the restlessness to subside.

Important note

Observing and naming body sensations is merely a matter of spatial orientation. Restlessness needs time to settle. A little patience is therefore necessary and helpful. If the restlessness persists, the exercise can be ended at any time by concentrating on another task or activity.

Do not use relax on naming when driving a vehicle or operating machinery, as it can cause you to fall asleep when you are already tired.

Relax on naming body sensations can help to shorten waking phases and brooding and to find inner peace to fall asleep.

Example - sense of touch, sense of temperature, sense of movement, sense of hearing

The day had once again brought a lot of trouble. He had been lying awake in bed for a while and wanted to fall asleep. Instead, he continued to think about the difficulties and events of the day. So he decided to try to fall asleep by relaxing through observing and naming bodily sensations. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out calmly. He chose the sense of touch first and felt how the pillow felt against his cheek. It felt soft. He pronounced the word “soft” in his mind. He moved his head slightly. The pillow gave slightly with the movement and felt cozy. He said the word “cozy” in his mind. Then he switched to the sense of movement. He moved slightly on the mattress. It felt very comfortable. In his mind he said the word: “Comfortable”. Then he switched to the sense of temperature. It was pleasantly warm under the comforter. In his mind he said the word: “Warm”. He switched back to his sense of touch. His hand lay calmly on the sheet. It felt smooth. In his mind he said the word: “Smooth”. It felt good to just lie there. In his mind he said the word: “Good”. The comforter on his body was not heavy. It felt lightweight. In his mind he said the word: “Light”. He switched to his sense of hearing and listened to the silence. He heard nothing. In his mind he said the word: “Silence”. After a short time, he heard bells ringing. In his mind he said the word: “Bell”. A couple was walking down the street and talking. In his mind he said the word: “Couple”. He listened again in his room. It was still quiet. In his mind he said the word: “Quiet”. His cat walked past the bedroom. In his mind he said the word: “Cat”. He continued the exercise until he felt an inner calm. Then he finished the exercise and surrendered to his inner peace.

Practical application

On his exploration tour in bed, he observed what he could perceive with his various senses and said the respective word silently to himself in his mind: Soft … short pause, in which his attention continues to wander quietly … cozy … short pause, in which his attention continues to wander quietly … comfortable … short pause, in which his attention continues to wander quietly … warm … short pause, in which his attention continues to wander quietly … smooth … short pause in which attention continues to wander calmly … good … short pause in which attention continues to wander calmly … light … short pause … silence … short pause … bell … short pause … couple … short pause … quiet … short pause … cat … short pause …

You can also use

PIRKA® relaxONnaming® surrounding to fall asleep
PIRKA® Improve falling asleep and staying asleep
PIRKA® Shorten waking phases
PIRKA® Fall asleep more easily

© 2024 PIRKA® Wolfgang Smidt. The content provided on this website is protected by copyright. Any use requires the prior written consent of the author. The information and advice provided has been compiled to the best of our knowledge and carefully checked. However, it is no substitute for expert psychological and medical advice in individual cases.

Try it out!

PIRKA wishes you every success with the application.

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