METHODS OF RELAXATION

Articles In This Section:

· NOTHING MAGICAL IN YOGA

· YOUR BODY

· RELEASING STRESS WITH YOGA

· PURPOSE OF BREATHING

· PROER BREATHING

· DYNAMIC BREATHING EXERCISE

· METHODS OF RELAXATION

· YOGA DEVELOPED BY WATCHING ANIMALS

· IMPROVING THE BODY WITH YOGA

In the first place, there probably never was any such thing as an old, orthodox method of relaxation. Try to check on yourself and you will begin at once to see the fallacies: Slump in an armchair, and you will find you retain tensions in a dozen muscles. Are you frowning, grinding your teeth, drumming your fingers on the arm of the chair, tapping your foot? Is the back of your neck tight? Are you keenly aware of every sound around you? Check closely, and you will be astonished at what you discover.

Now try lying flat on the floor a few moments. Close your eyes, let your arms and legs go limp, your neck and spine loose. Can you tell the difference? Of course you can. Tension begins to flow out of you almost at once, yet you haven't even learned how to lie down properly.

The principles of relaxation on which all asana are based are these: It is essential to find positions in which it is possible to "let go" as many muscles as possible and as many thoughts as possible. This relieves both mind and body of all conscious tension and contraction. Naturally total relaxation is not possible, especially in a seated position, for in order to hold the back erect certain muscles must of necessity remain contracted. But if the body is balanced and at ease, very little effort is required to keep it erect. This balance and limberness of muscle is what the Yogi develops through assiduous practice.

It is a mistake to assume, by the way, as some students do, that in order to be successful, asana must be hard to do. Many are simple enough for anyone to assimilate comfortably; others, while difficult at first, soon respond to steady, patient application. Moreover, rather than risk discouragement the Occidental is always advised to start out with a preliminary series of easy, comfortable stretching exercises.

Conscious stretching, together with conscious relaxation, are the best possible preliminaries to the practice of asana. Their techniques are given in detail in Part II of this book, but right now try a few simple routines:

After you have completed your Dynamic Breathing and the Cleansing Breath, stand straight but relaxed and slowly start to bend over so that your fingers touch your toes. Begin by relaxing your neck so that your chin touches your chest, let the chest cave in while the shoulders move forward and your arms hang loose and limp. Arch your spine and try to bend, vertebra by vertebra in a rolling motion until your whole torso feels limp like the body of a rag doll. If you cannot touch your toes the first time, do not strain to do it; instead, try to bend lower by pushing the body from the waist down in a few easy, jerking motions. Now straighten up by reversing the process—tense each vertebra in turn, this time from the waist up. Now do a thorough stretch, breathing deeply and luxuriously. Repeat once or twice. You will be astonished at the elasticity your spine acquires if you do this regularly every day for a week.