The Boring Story series
This story series is the solution to sleepless nights for both children and adults.
Utilising the guidance techniques of Yoga Nidra and the symbol-driven world of Carl Jung, these stories are my unique blend of storytelling practices to put you or your child into an easy sleep while encouraging a rich and creative dream life.
Coming soon! Follow on Instagram to find out when it is launched.
Bedtime Stories for the Unconscious
My entire childhood and well into my twenties, I struggled with insomnia, trying everything from melatonin to magnesium — I spent most nights awake at 4am begging my mind to switch off so that I could get some sleep. The one thing that worked was listening to podcasts or watching television — although I would frequently be startled awake when there was a loud sound in the show, leaving me feeling even more alert and stressed out than before.
If I listened to a too-dull audiobook, my mind would drift, choosing instead to follow anxious thoughts around in my head for hours.
Later in adulthood, I was trying to encourage a very anxious eleven-year-old to fall asleep, and I decided to use my training as a Yoga Nidra teacher to coax her into a state of relaxation. It seemed to be working. I utilised some other Yoga Nidra techniques to keep her mind partially engaged in what I was saying; not wanting to be so interesting that she stayed awake, while being just compelling enough to keep her mind semi-focused.
She was asleep in minutes, this technique worked even quicker on her brother — and so The Boring Story was born.
The Magic of the Method
Much like when I am guiding a Yoga Nidra, I have to enter a state of consciousness that allows my unconscious mind to come through, this means that sometimes my unconscious mind directs the stories in ways that are surprising to even me.
The images and story arcs are highly symbolic and archetypal, beckoning the listener’s unconscious mind to pay attention. As this happens, the conscious mind is being soothed by my narration style. There are specific techniques that I usually under-emphasise in Yoga Nidra because in Yoga Nidras I don’t want people to fall asleep — here, I can dial it up and encourage the conscious mind to feel safe enough to begin to drift off.
The results of this method of storytelling is a bedtime ritual that easily soothes the conscious mind into a restful sleep while telling you an enchanting story that will take you forever to get through.