Topic 1

The Art and Science of Relaxation

Relaxation is an art, for there are various plemented with techniques that quickly and
practices which one can develop and utilize to efficiently remove worry and stress.
bring about relaxation of the mind and body, It seems to be a contradiction, but it is
transforming life into an expression of well- nevertheless true that those persons who can
being. Relaxation is also a science, for it is easily relax can do more work, can enjoy life
based on solid scientific fact. more, need less sleep a n d tend to have
Relaxation sounds easy - one merely closes smoother social relationships in all spheres of
the eyes and sleeps. But, in fact, for most life. Now you might ask: "What about lazy or
people relaxation, deep relaxation, is very lethargic people, they are completely relaxed,
difficult. While resting, their minds are in a yet not working?" Actually this is something
state of turmoil and their bodies are continually different. A lazy person is someone who is
tossing and turning, and the muscles twitching. either full of so many mental disturbances that
The biggest obstacle to overcome is for people he is unable to direct his willpower towards
to actually take active steps to bring about some activity or achievement, or his mental
relaxation, to develop and use the various makeup is such that he is reluctant to do
techniques that are available. Because most anything. This is different from relaxation. A
people cannot relax, in the real sense of the person who can truly relax is able to recuperate
word, they will find that their whole lives will mental and physical power and focus it in one
change by just being able to relax. It is such a direction when required. This is in fact will-
simple thing, but it can bring wonderful results. power, the ability to direct one's whole being
Relaxation is essential in everyone's life. By toward the attainment of one objective without
relaxation we mean a release of tension in distraction. Relaxation leads to strong will-
both the mind and body for a period of time to power. Tension leads to dissipation of energy
allow complete rest and revitalization. This is and attention in all directions.
the whole reason for sleep, but because of the During yoga classes wonderful changes can
tension-filled lives that most people now lead be seen in people. Many people walk into class
in the daytime, sleep no longer performs its with tension written on every line of their face
functions properly. Many people find that they and on every word they speak. Aggression
don't relax even during sleep - they continue pervades them. Their bodies are filled with
to worry and try to solve their problems. This tension, worry and unhappiness. They start
does not lead to the rest that the body and practices, not necessarily difficult ones, and
mind require. People wake up in the morning slowly but surely the stress and emotional
still exhausted and this state remains through- turmoil begins to evaporate. They generally
out the clay. It is a vicious circle - for they don't know it, but the yoga teacher can see the
again go to sleep that same night with the transformation on their faces. T h e students
accumulated tensions of the day as well as the only realize their relaxation at the end of the
exhaustion that has accumulated from n u m e r - lesson when they find that they are smiling,
ous nights of insufficient rest during sleep. really smiling, not superficially, for the first
It is no wonder that when the weekend holidays time in days, and that they are actually singing
arrive many people spend much of their time to themselves as they walk down the street.
deeping - they need it. It is for this reason that They find that in comparison to before the
modern man needs to know systematic tech- lesson they afe feeling light, carefree and have
niques which specifically induce relaxation. confidence in themselves. This is not an
Sleep is still necessary, but it needs to be sup- exception but the rule. These people by the

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systematic process of relaxation techniques ate yourself, then tension is removed: you
have changed their whole attitude towards begin to relax.
themselves, to other people and life in general. T h e factors that prevent man from fitting in
This transformation may only last for an hour with his surroundings are fear, hatred, dislike
or so, but it leaves a wonderful impression on and jealousy, etc. These are accumulated since
the mind, and helps to permanently encourage birth and cause a disruptive interaction with
a more relaxed attitude towards life. It is a others. T h e s e remain mainly in the sub-
starting point from which you can fully begin conscious layers of the mind, but have an
to enjoy mental and physical relaxation as a enormous influence on our daily life. Let us
normal part of your life, whether during take a simple example. Perhaps one person is
intense activity, sleep or whatever, and not as scared of the dark because as a young child he
something that you experience only occasion- was accidentally locked up in a small, dark
ally, perhaps during yoga practices. cupboard. T h e resulting fear continues into
We want your life to be an expression of adulthood, so that now he is always afraid of
relaxation and joy. T h e way is by cultivating the dark. Whenever he has to walk in the dark
the ability to relax under all conditions and at he becomes tense and fearful. This is only one
all times. Everything you practise in yoga example and perhaps an extreme one. Other
brings about relaxation a n d a t h o r o u g h people have inferiority complexes, others a
revitalization of the body and the mind, whether fear of heights etc., all because of previous
it is by means of asanas, pranayama, medita- unpleasant experiences. Our minds are full of
tional practices or whatever. Yet there are such fears and complexes, and these are the
some special techniques which are very simple, major cause of tension in our lives.
which specially bring about relaxation in a
short period of time. These will be discussed at Physical manifestations of mental tension
the end of this topic and at various stages Normally the body's muscles are supplied with
throughout the book. a continuous weak influx of nerve impulses
from the brain. This is known as muscular
Mechanics of tension tone and maintains the muscles in a healthy
T h e root cause of mental and physical tension and prepared condition for instant action if
is faulty thinking in relation to other people required.
and to our surroundings. Our way of thinking Every psycho-physiological disturbance
does not harmonize with our external environ- every negative and destructive emotion causes
ment. This results in conflicts of interest conflict in the brain. This interferes with the
between ourselves and other people. O u r normal tonic rhythm of the muscles and keeps
internal environment does not match our them in an abnormally high state of tension
pattern of existence. In other words we live in This over-activation of the muscles without
the same way that a fish would out of water - the corresponding muscular activity results in
continually fighting our surroundings instead a continual drain of energy from the body
of merging and flowing with life. This is like leaving the car lights on - after
Consider life as a jigsaw puzzle. If each piece some time they drain all the power out of the
of the puzzle fits and is in the right position, battery. If you turn the lights off when they
then the picture is complete and in balance. are not needed then the energy of the car
But if some pieces don't fit or if they belong to battery will be conserved. It is the same with
a different jigsaw puzzle, then there is no unity. the muscles - if you turn off the tension in life
It is the same with people in the world: when then you can conserve your body energy.
there is conflict with their outer surroundings, Why does this drainage of energy through
there is disharmony. Generally there are few muscular contraction occur? T h e reason is
changes that an individual can make to the simple. When you think something, the body
external environment, and so the change to automatically prepares itself to transfer the
bring harmony must come from the internal thought into action. T h e brain and both are
environment, namely one's attitude to life and two parts of the same unit; they are not
other people. When you peacefully coexist separate. Take an example: after a hard and
with your surroundings, and no longer separ- particularly tense day at work a man returns

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home, feeling angry and looking for a way to tinuous muscular general body and mental
relieve his frustrations. As a result he may tension. It is impossible to relax with adrenaline
become angry with the neighbour's dog for being continually p u m p ed into the blood.
no apparent reason, but just as he begins to This adrenaline response system is absolutely
walk towards the dog to kick it, an inner order necessary, but only during emergencies. An
from the brain centres warns him that the dog example would be if a car suddenly a n d
will bite. This causes indecision and the muscles unexpectedly appeared around a blind corner
remain in a state of tension, ready for action. where you were walking. It is the adrenaline
This kind of emotion, with or without transla- which is almost instantly released into the
tion into physical action, results in dissipation blood, which makes you afraid and jump to
and wastage of energy. T h e result is chronic the side of the road to avoid injury. But its use
fatigue. For many people these emotional is only intended for emergency situations. In
disturbances and their corresponding detri- the fast modern world of today this emergency
mental physical effects are almost a continuous response system is abused, for most people
part of life. People are continually feeling anger, view every situation in life as a crisis. They are
fear, jealousy, etc., which makes them per- continually on their guard, angry, fearful,
petually tense in mind and body and ultimately hateful, etc. T h e adrenaline is p u m p e d into
leads to disease, either physically or mentally the bloodstream almost as fast as it can be
or both. manufactured. How is it possible for them to
T h e r e are f u r t h e r repercussions of this relax?
continuous muscular tension. T h e larger There are further repercussions of tension.
energy demands of the muscles require the T h e whole endocrine system is forced to
circulatory, respiratory systems, etc. to work operate at a high level, to cope with the
h a r d e r to maintain the higher supply of corresponding high level of body functioning.
energy. T h e body operates in a higher gear. This eventually leads to organic malfunctioning
This increased demand on the body processes and inefficiency, which in turn is the cause of
influences all the muscles controlling the inner many m o d e r n ailments - diabetes, sexual
organs - intestines, heart, lungs and blood sterility, ulcers, strokes and so on.
vessels. T h e organs and the associated muscles Digestive ailments are generally caused by
are r e q u i r e d to work h a r d e r a n d u n d e r tension, whether it is indigestion or stomach
extreme conditions for protracted lengths of ulcers. Tension interferes with the normal
time. This can eventually lead to their partial digestive functions, which in turn causes the
or total failure a n d this is when disease ailment. Added to this is the fact that tension
manifests itself. Initially the organs might work leads to hasty eating habits, which results in
less efficiently and one's health will insidiously insufficient mastication and digestion, which
decline, perhaps so slowly that it cannot be in turn leads to overwork of the digestive
noticed at first. This is inevitable, if one cannot o r g a n s a n d their eventual r e d u c t i o n in
fully relax oneself for some time during the efficiency.
day or night. As a body becomes weaker through tension,
There are various other related outcomes it simultaneously becomes less and less able to
of tension. For example, with emotional face the onset of bacterial infection. When a
responses, adrenaline is automatically injected body is strong a n d healthy, it has a very
into the bloodstream from the adrenal glands. powerful autotherapeutic strength to resist
This subject has been widely discussed. It is an bacteriological disease. This power is weakened
instinctive mechanism which prepares the body in a body that is unhealthy or tension ridden.
for maximum efficiency and readiness during T h e body becomes a target for the onset of
emergencies. T h e adrenaline causes contrac- disease.
tion of the muscles, constriction of blood T h e body is like any other machine, even
vessels, increases the heart and respiratory though it is infinitely more complex. If it is
rates, speeds up the thought processes and so misused or made to work abnormally it starts
on - all the things that are necessary to resist to develop faults. These are in the form of
danger. As is to be expected, its continual arthritis, heart trouble, constipation, diabetes,
presence in the bloodstream leads to con- asthma, etc. These ailments are so prevalent

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today, even children of just a few years of age wav, relaxation techniques stop the ceaseless
are starting to manifest disease symptoms. and futile cycle of brooding on problems.
Removal of most ailments, their prevention, Simultaneously the muscles are consciously
a happy life and a flight into higher conscious- relaxed. Most people, however, may find this
ness is impossible unless we can start to give a difficult process. During yoga lessons people
our mind-body complex a rest. Easier said are told to relax, and though their bodies
than done you might say. Well, to be per- remain stiff and tense, they believe that they
manently relaxed we agree takes time and are fully relaxed. It is only when the teacher
effort. In fact, a very high state of permanent lifts their arm upwards, and the arm remains
relaxation is a very advanced state of yoga straight instead of being limp, that they realize
called sahaja samadhi (spontaneous and natural just how stiff the muscles really were. Relaxation
equanimity) which automatically implies higher techniques require you to consciously order
consciousness. But systematic relaxation for a your muscles to relax. Over a period of time of
few minutes when one feels tired can be easily practice it should become possible. It is
carried out using the methods explained in absolutely normal with animals to be able to
this book. T h e tranquillity that you gain will consciously command the muscles to let go.
give you a new, more relaxed platform from When an animal or child relaxes or sleeps, its
which to continue your daily life, even if this muscles sink towards the floor, and where
sense of well-being only lasts for a few hours. possible assume the same shape as the floor.
This is a good indication that there is no undue
Mechanics of relaxation techniques muscular tension remaining.
How can we relax and learn to do it well? As is When you immobilize your whole body, as
often the case, for the answer we have to look you do in relaxation practices, a n d sys-
towards the animals; or to those humans less tematically relax different parts of the body.
disturbed by the tumultuous world, namely what exactly happens? Of course the muscles
our children. When a child sleeps it forgets all are relaxed, something they probably very
problems. When a child sleeps it really sleeps, much need to be. Since the muscles are not
if it plays then it really plays and when it works being used, both the sensory nerves, which
it works. There is full intensity in the activity at send messages from the muscles to the brain
hand. Adults have the habit of mentally working and the motor nerves, which send messages of
when they sleep and play, and of sleepwalking action from the brain to the muscles, cease to
when they work. So one basic rule of relaxation function. This cuts off your consciousness of
is to shut off thoughts on a conscious level the body. T h e more you are able to relax and
about things that you have completed. Don't not move the muscles, the less aware of your
dwell or brood over problems. Your sub- body you become. You feel light and euphoric
conscious mind actually has great powers to because of this disconnection between mind
solve problems without any need for the and body. In deeper states of relaxation you
thought processes to be at a conscious level. will find that your mind seems to be completely
When you have fed the necessary data into the detached from your body. This disconnection
mind about any particular topic, forget it. T h e produces wonderful effects. The muscle cells.
mind will churn out the answer when it is nerve cells, organ cells, blood vessels, etc.
required. Your conscious brooding on the become totally relaxed and in this way are
problem in an effort to aid the process does revitalized. And of course regions of the brain
not help. Have more trust in the capabilities of are given much needed rest from the continual
your mind. influx of sensory data from the body and the
Relaxation techniques start by taking your outside world. Further, awareness of different
consciousness away from emotionally charged parts of the body or the breath coaxes the
thoughts and directing it to activities that are mind away from normal patterns of worry of
emotionally neutral such as the awareness of discontent. This has a wonderful calm:ing
your breath or different parts of your body. It influence on the mind. T h e amount of benefits
is almost impossible for anyone to remain or gained from relaxation techniques is in direct
to become tense and angry when their atten- proportion to the degree of mental awareness
tion is directed towards their big toe. In this on the practice in hand. If you are not aware of

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the mechanics of the practice then you will way out of this dilemma - anger, fear, etc? T h e
gain little or no results. But if you remain answer is to change the program in your brain
aware throughout the practice, then a few min- so that you don't respond in a negative way
utes relaxation in this way can be worth more, when you meet a particular situation. However
and be more refreshing than many hours sleep. this cannot be achieved overnight. But with
Many ailments are caused by inhibitions patience it can be done. It is this subject that
imposed on the body functions by the higher we intend to discuss in the next lesson 1 .
brain centres. By disconnecting your awareness
from your body, the lower brain centres are Practices for relaxation
allowed to carry out their duties without It may seem surprising, but the first step in
hindrance from the higher brain centres. T h e attaining deep relaxation through asanas is to
lower brain centres then start to restore tense the whole body. It is only after applying
equilibrium in the muscle body tone and muscular tension to the entire body that you
endocrinal system. Further, your awareness can subsequently allow your whole body to
on different parts of the body, or whatever, as relax. Think of when you did a particularly
prescribed by the practice, removes stress and hard day's physical work. Do you remember
fear. As such the adrenal glands stop injecting how easy it was to lie down on the bed and rest
adrenaline into the blood system. This brings or sleep? This assumes, of course, that you did
the body down to a lower level of activity. T h e not over-exercise your body to make it ache at
whole body is allowed to rest from its continual the end of the day.
stimulation.
All the previously mentioned factors inter- NAUKASANA (BOAT POSE)
relate with each other. A reduction in thoughts
and worries reduces the adrenaline level in the This is a very good asana for relaxing the
blood. The reduction of adrenaline in the blood muscles and joints of the body. It brings
reduces the intensity of emotional and mental immediate relief to people suffering from
conflicts and so on. T h e overall result must be nervousness and tension.
experienced to be believed: an indescribable
feeling of freedom from mental turmoil. You
must try it for yourself.

Mental programming
Now we have a problem. You have experi-
enced calmness and have rested your body by
performing the prescribed relaxation tech- Technique
nique. Yet ten minutes later you meet someone Place a folded blanket or rug on the floor. Lie
whom you intensely dislike. Your tranquillity flat on the blanket facing upwards (supine).
and well-being immediately disappear. Adrena- Rest your straight arms on the floor beside
line is released. You become your abnormal your body with palms facing downwards.
normal' self-depressed, angry, aggressive and Breathe in deeply and retain the breath inside.
uptight self. Your mind has been programmed Simultaneously raise your legs, arms and
to respond in that manner. You had no choice shoulders off the ground.
but to be angry when you happened to meet Ensure that the arms and legs remain straight.
that person. Point your arms towards your feet.
Your brain is a computer and it has been Try not to raise the feet or shoulders more
conditioned since birth. You responded in the than 15 cms from the ground.
way that you did because of your mental Stretch and tense the whole body.
programming. You are at the mercy of the Feel that every muscle is tensed.
way that your mind has been conditioned to Don't strain, but try to hold this raised position
act. T h e root cause of your chronic tension lies for as long as possible, while retaining your
in your emotional reactions to people and breath.
situations around you. And your reaction is Aim at eventually maintaining the raised
determined by your conditioning. Is there no position for at least a slow count of 10, though

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at first a count of 2 or 3 is sufficient. Keep your attention on the pressure between
T h e n allow yourself to slump back to the floor, the floor and the buttocks for a few seconds
but without letting your h e a d strike the until you think that this area of the body is
ground. relaxed.
Let the body sink into the floor. Now try to feel the contact between the ground
Slowly count from 1 to 60. and the right heel for a few seconds.
This completes 1 round. Repeat the same thing with the left heel.
Perform 3 rounds. Now- feel the contact between the floor and
After completing 3 r o u n d s of naukasana the right arm, right hand, left arm, left hand,
r e m a i n in the supine pose a n d relax in middle of the back, each shoulder blade, the
shavasana. back of the head and finally the whole body;
spend a few seconds at each point of contact.
Simpler variation Next, try to feel that your whole right leg is
Naukasana requires great effort. Those people very heavy and that it is sinking into the floor.
who find it impossible to raise their body If you cannot feel this heaviness, don't worn :
should tense the whole body while remaining a little practice is necessary in the beginning.
on the ground. However, this alternative is Feel the right leg become limp.
much less effective than the raised position. Repeat the same thing with the left leg. Feel
the heaviness of the whole leg and that the leg
SHAVASANA (CORPSE POSE) is becoming limp and sinking into the floor.
Do this for a few seconds.
This asana is also known as mitrasana (the In turn repeat the same thing with the right
dead man's pose). In this topic we will consider arm and the left arm.
only part 1 of shavasana 2 . If there is tension in your hands, perhaps your
hands are partly clenched, release the muscular
contraction.
Feel your shoulders slump into the pillow;
remove the load from your shoulders.
Many people, because of tension, habitually
hunch their shoulders. Let them sink into the
Technique pillow.
Lie flat on your back in the supine position. Now d r o p your lower jaw; let it sag, but
Place a small pillow or folded b l a n k e t b e h i n d keeping your mouth closed.
y o u r h e a d with t h e corners pulled under If you feel yourself frowning, try to release the
the shoulders; this ensures that your neck and muscular tension on your forehead.
shoulder muscles can relax. Don't use a thick Throughout the practice your worries or prob-
pillow for this will tend to cause more tension lems may keep appearing.
by arching your neck upwards excessively. Tell these problems that they will receive your
Rest the arms in line with and on each side of attention after a few minutes, but now you are
the body. Leave a little space between the practising shavasana. Don't suppress the
arms and the side of the body. thoughts if they occur; merely continue to
The palms should face upwards and the hands direct your attention to the systematic relaxa-
should not be clenched. tion of the different parts of the body in the
T h e legs should be straight a n d slightly way we have already explained.
separated. If you have time repeat the same process again..
Close your eyes. If you have m a n a g e d to carry out these
Try to feel the different parts of your body in instructions in the way described, with aware-
contact with the floor. This is most important ness, then you should find that you have
for it starts to develop your awareness of the attained a wonderful relaxed state, physically
different parts of the body. and mentally.
Feel the contact between the floor and the When you finish the practice, gently move and
buttocks. If you feel that the muscles of the clench your hands, move your feet and slowly
buttocks are pulled together, release them. open your eyes.

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Awareness and duration A tense mind automatically implies a tense
This practice gives m a x i m u m benefits if your b o d y . F r o m this c o m b i n a t i o n r e s u l t t h e
attention is totally involved in the practice. If majority of diseases which inflict mankind.
you do shavasana without enthusiasm then it Shavasana, by relaxing the mind-body com-
will not give the required results. A little mental plex, helps to relieve a n d prevent disease. Its
effort is necessary, but without mental strain. benefits are inestimable. T h e r e a d er should
T h e duration of the practice should suit the not believe us when we say how effective this
time that is available; the longer the better. practice is - you should try it a n d find out for
For normal purposes five or ten minutes is yourself.
sufficient. Naukasana takes between three a n d
four minutes, so in combination they take little
ume, especially in relation to the vast benefits
that they can give.

Sequence
Shavasana is ideally practised after naukasana,
because while it creates the tension, shavasana
releases it. Shavasana can a n d should be prac-
tised whenever you feel tired or tense. It is
such a simple practice, yet it can bring wonder-
ful results. It should also be p e r f o r m e d after
yoga exercises or asanas, a n d between the
practices if you feel a little tired.

Movement and covering

try not to move your body at all d u r i n g the
practice of shavasana. T h e r e is a very good
reason for this: even the slightest movement
will bring certain muscles into play. As such
you are immediately creating muscular contrac-
tion. the very thing we are trying to eliminate.
Some people may find it uncomfortable to
lie on the floor with only a pillow u n d e r their
head. In this case pillows may also be placed
u n d e r the knees, to take up the gap between
the floor a n d the back of the knees, a n d u n d e r
the small of the back in the region of the waist.
T h e support of these extra cushions will help
you to attain m o r e relaxation. Don't lie on a
soft bed or mattress as this will not allow you
to distinguish whether you are relaxing the
muscles or not. If the a t m o s p h e r e is cold or if
there are any small insects in the air, cover
yourself with a large sheet or blanket. But the
covering should not be too heavy.

Benefits
Basically shavasana relaxes the whole physio-
logical-psychological system. A relaxed mind
allows you to see a n d relate to the world a n d
the people aroun d you in a m o r e realistic light, Notes
carry out your work m o r e smoothly and attain 1
Book I, Lesson 2 Topic 7
more happiness in life. 2
Book I, Lesson 2 Topic 8

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