Sounder Sleep System

The Sounder Sleep System

​

Self-Healing for Insomnia and Everyday Stress

​

Text courtesy of Michael Krugman, creator and founder of the Sounder Sleep System

The Sounder Sleep System is based on the discovery that certain small, slow, and repetitive movements can guide us from an active and alert state to one of deep physical and mental rest. When we reach this state of calm, if we need sleep, we will fall asleep.

​

To learn more about this mechanism in detail, please continue reading.

​

How does the Sounder Sleep System work?

 

The Sounder Sleep System efficiently uses the concept of two fundamental and opposing forces in the human nervous system—excitation and inhibition—to produce effects that lead to sleep.

​

Excitation is the driving force behind all our actions, whether physical or mental.

​

Excitation allows us to initiate, direct, and sustain all our activities. But excitation cannot do its job without the action of a regulating principle that limits, refines, and calibrates it. That principle is inhibition. Inhibition adjusts the speed, intensity, range, dimension, and duration of our actions so they better align with our intentions.

​

Working in coordination, excitation and inhibition give shape, coherence, and direction to all our actions. Simply put, we need excitation to do things, but we need inhibition to do them well.

​

Beyond this essential role in coordinating action, inhibition is a fundamental factor when it comes to sleep. Falling asleep is a process in which the balance of excitation and inhibition in the brain (called "cortical excitability") radically shifts in favor of inhibition. As a result, brain processes slow down to a fraction of their waking levels, and billions of brain cells “synchronize”—that is, they all do the same thing at the same time. As a result, cognitive activity diminishes, metabolic activity decreases, and the entire body quiets down. This is the natural process by which we fall asleep.

​

The key premise of the Sounder Sleep System is that we can initiate this inhibitory process at will, through our own voluntary movements, to achieve natural and restful sleep whenever we need it.

​

Every physical movement we make produces a mix of excitatory and inhibitory activity in the brain. Large, fast, and strong movements generate abundant excitation and relatively less inhibition, tipping the brain’s functional balance toward greater excitation. On the other hand, small, gentle, and delicate movements generate abundant inhibition and relatively less excitation, leading the brain to reduce excitation and, subsequently, to sleep. (For those with a scientific interest, a recent study in English on excitation and inhibition revealed the practical mechanisms of this effect.)

​

The Sounder Sleep System teaches us to harness the inhibitory power of small, gentle movements. This way, you get all the natural and restful sleep you need, when you need it. You’ll sleep better, feel better, and enjoy life more.

​

Origins of the Sounder Sleep System

​

The Sounder Sleep System is based on a lifetime of study, experience, and observation by the system’s founder, Michael Krugman—a Feldenkrais practitioner and pioneer in the field of somatic sleep education. Although original in its concept and implementation, it is inspired and grounded in contemporary science, medicine, and the arts, using proven principles common to both traditional and modern self-healing systems. The system’s effectiveness has been demonstrated by hundreds of Sounder Sleep System students in clinics, schools, and hospitals worldwide. There are currently around 200 certified teachers in twelve countries.

​

A Comprehensive Approach to Restorative Sleep

​

In practice, the Sounder Sleep System is a two-fold approach that works both during the day and at night.

​

During the day, unique self-healing techniques called DayTamers effectively combat stress, tension, and anxiety, bringing more peace to your life. And when life is more peaceful, sleep is more peaceful too.

​

At night, small sleep-inducing movements, practiced in bed, speed up the onset of drowsiness and ensure quick recovery from unwanted nighttime awakenings.

​

The daytime and nighttime techniques of the Sounder Sleep System work together to reduce life’s stress and ensure you get all the natural, restorative sleep you need.

The movements are so gentle that even your partner won’t know you’re doing them. You’ll enjoy making these easy and pleasant exercises part of your daily and nightly life.

Harmonic Breathing in the Sounder Sleep System

By Michael Krugman

​

The Sounder Sleep System consists of a series of gentle and enjoyable physical and mental practices that ensure deep and restful sleep. It is a self-healing path for insomnia and stress. One of the system’s distinctive cores is the principle of “harmonic breathing,” which forms the foundation of its sleep-inducing exercises.

​

The principle of harmonic breathing is easy to understand. It means accepting the breath just as it is, from one inhalation to the next. When we accept the breath as it is, we are in a state of harmonic breathing.

​

Many self-healing systems use breath control exercises for various purposes. But controlling the breath often leads to excessive effort, stress, and anxiety. Harmonic breathing is already within us, right now. There’s no need to control anything. We simply pay attention to the breath and, while doing so, accept it just as it is, without trying to change it.

​

When we focus on our breath in this way, we’ll notice that some breaths are longer, others shorter. Some are faster, others slower. Some are deeper, others shallower. When we accept each breath as it is—whether long or short, fast or slow, deep or shallow—we are practicing harmonic breathing.

​

There is one more thing to keep in mind: Sometimes when we pay attention to our breath, we will automatically control it, making it longer or shorter, faster or slower, deeper or shallower, even if that isn’t what we intend. This is the result of the interaction between our physical body, which breathes according to the ever-changing needs of metabolism, and our thinking mind, which holds ideas and beliefs about how we should breathe. Even without the intention to control our breathing, our mind often leads us to do so without realizing it. We call this the “uncontrollable control.”

​

In this case, the secret of harmonic breathing is to remember that the “uncontrollable control,” whenever it happens, is a natural and normal feature of our breathing. In fact, it offers a fascinating opportunity to observe the interaction between our thinking mind and our breathing, living body. So, we accept the uncontrollable control just as it is. We don’t try to do anything about it. We let it happen and observe it from one inhalation to the next. If we don’t intentionally try to control or manipulate the breath, we remain in a state of harmonic breathing.

​

Your breath is an essential part of yourself. When you practice accepting your natural breath just as it is, you engage in a profound practice of self-acceptance. Every time we miss the chance to accept ourselves as we are—every time we criticize, devalue, or diminish ourselves—our nervous system becomes overstimulated, and our body contracts, producing both physical and emotional pain. Acceptance is a powerful tool for self-healing.

​

Harmonic breathing can be practiced simply at any time of the day or night. All you need to do is stop what you’re doing and pay attention to your breathing. You can practice for as long or as short a time as suits you. Sometimes a full practice may last ten minutes or more; other times it may last only one breath. When we are in harmony with our breath, we experience a pleasant feeling of tranquility. It makes our lives more peaceful and our sleep deeper and more restful. Why not give it a try?

​

Michael Krugman