This post is a collaboration with our amazing blog partners Shakti Mats! We love them… and we’re pretty sure you will too after reading this.
If you’re looking for the best night sleep ever, serious relaxation and pain relief… I might just have the answer. Keep reading.
The first time you lay on your acupressure mat it may feel like a bed of nails and shishkabob, when you STAND on it, that’s a whole other story.
But when you hear that acupressure has been used for over 7000 years by the Chinese and 2000 years ago the Indians started using it for awesome health benefits, you kinda have to give it a good whirl… my prediction, it’s the next big THING that’s gonna stick around (definitely sticking around Merrymaker Land!).
It’s kind of like when I heard oil pulling is the best for detoxing (it is, have you tried it yet? Still around), or that cacao (yes raw chocolate) is bloody yum and good for you (features in Merrymaker Land Every. Single. Day). BOTH have stuck around… just like the Shakti Mat will. YAY!
Ok, so when the Shakti guys sent me my mat I gave myself 6 weeks to test it out, with the goal to use it every night and every morning, so I could share the results. Ooo an experiment! It’s like I’m back in my high school Science days but this is way funner. This was my Shakti Mat plan of attack (and by attack, it was more a plan of relax)… and yes, there’s me and Mat. I <3 Mat.
NIGHT: lay on the Shakti Mat for at least 15 minutes. I made a Spotify playlist called ‘Soft Love Meditate Yay’ and it has a bunch of awesome soft songs (pretty much cutesy, loves songs that make you go awww). If you like Ed Sheeran, you’ll probably love this playlist. I ended up trying all different things with the mat. Like…
- Rolled it up and placed it under my neck.
- Did a back bend (with shoulders still on the mat)… ooo so good.
- Folded it in half and moved it up and down my back.
- Legs up, legs down, ALL the positions (lol).
It was like everything would hurt for a second (because the Shakti Mat is like millions of little prickles at the same time… hence the name acupressure, like acupuncture but not) and then I’d breathe into it… and ahhh relax. So! The answer is yes! Listen to cute love songs and lay on the Shakti Mat before bed.
This = WAY WAY WAY better sleep. Like a faster getting to sleep process as well as deeper sleep. You know when you go to bed and then you think of EVERYTHING you forgot to do, or everything you gotta do tomorrow, or everything you gotta do in a year, 2 years… you know what I’m talking about. Well, this 15 minute Shakti Mat thing I’ve been doing puts me in the most relaxed state that when my head hits the pillow I actually want and DO fall asleep. #winning
I’ve also been waking up feeling way more rested. Deeper sleep also for the win.
My Shatki Mat night time thing has also helped my back pain, and my fave is DEFINITELY rolling it up behind the neck, headache and neck pain BE GONE!
MORNING: every morning after meditation, I’ll stand on the Shakti Mat while writing in my gratitude journal. Ha! Multi-tasking some would say. No joke… standing on this thing will wake you up in a second! WAY better than the morning coffee you think you need (like yes, I still get the morning coffee) but seriously, it’s like BOOM! OK! I’m awake!
Writing in my journal at the same time makes my brains think fast about what I’m grateful for. Maybe not the most mindful thing but also… whatever, because meditation + Shakti Mat + gratitude journal = awesome morning ritual. And morning rituals ROCK.
Ok… so how does the Shakti Mat actually make you healthier?
- Boosts your circulation, this is good.
- Increases your energy levels (I said better than coffee, remember?! I’m not kidding!).
- Relaxes your muscles… it kind of leaves you feeling like you’ve just had a blissful massage. Heck yeah.
- Releases endorphins (the hormone that makes you feel gooooooood).
- Releases any muscle tension, like if you have sore muscles, pinched nerves that kinda thing… this helps!
- LESS STRESS! And you know we’re all about that. If you prioritize your Shakti Mat ritual, it’s like a pre-bed meditation that makes you feel all calm and lovely and yum.
- Get better sleep. I already said this but it deserves another dot point. Fall asleep faster. Stay asleep deeper. How good does good sleep feel in the morning? It’s like “YES! I SLEPT GOOD! I FEEL ON TOP OF THE WORLD!”
So the Shakti Mat is pretty much magical. Not as magical as a magic carpet ride but pretty darn close. You can check out Shakti Mats online.
Always merrymaking,
Carla