Relax and Live Fully
Relax and Live Fully
By Swami Jyotirmayananda
In the hectic pace of modern life, more and more doctors and psychologists are recognizing the importance of relaxation for treating various ailments of the mind and body. Thousands of years ago, Yoga discovered the secrets of recharging the body when tired and elevating the mind when depressed. Restlessness, nagging worries, grief and all the frustration that accompanies these mental symptoms sap the body of the vibrant energy it once possessed.
A person who is not relaxed wastes both his mental and vital energy. Such a person has a mind inclined to thoughts of anger, hatred and manifold forms of agitation. His breath is ever irregular and disturbed, his body suffers from imbalance and his nerves are tense. Every angry thought produces a twitch in his forehead and a frown in his face. Every fearful thought creates a feeling of hollowness in his heart. And so, dancing to the tune of the "devil" of ignorance, his tense body succumbs to untold miseries as well as untimely age and death.
Observe those who live a life of perpetual tension. When they sit they fidget with their legs or hands. When they talk, they repeat the same thing over and over again. When they wait for someone to arrive or for something to happen, they place a great burden on their hearts as well as on their nervous systems. A sense of impatience grips their minds. They are ever frantic to think that their expectation may not be fulfilled. Yet if their expectation comes to pass, they can't enjoy it to its fullest. One who doesn't know the art of relaxation is tense while expecting a certain development, tense if the expectation if frustrated and even tenser if the desire is fulfilled.
On the other hand, a relaxed person breathes deeply, softly and rhythmically. He opens his lungs to the ocean of vitality around him. He doesn't maintain abnormal tension in the body while sitting or lying down, conversing with others or performing various duties in daily life. When at work, he's dynamic, precise, and turns out a greater amount of work, skillfully performed and with less output of energy. He knows the art of conserving his energy and recharging himself whenever needed.
When a person needs to lift a heavy object, he must develop tension in his hands and arms. But after the lifting process is over, there is no need to maintain the tension. Much in the same way, though intensely involved in action, you can turn away from the rush of activity and resign to the joyous breeze of relaxation blowing from the ocean of universal life deep within. Just as a swan can shake off any water clinging to its feathers, leave the lake behind, and fly into the vast sky, so too a relaxed person can shake off activity by a mere act of will and experience deep relaxation within himself.
But apart from promoting health and an increasing level of vitality, relaxation is the gateway to the development of an ethical, spiritual life. One who is relaxed is more tolerant and understanding towards the eccentricities of others, more enduring in conditions of pleasure and pain, more patient in situations of adversity, more resourceful in pressing circumstances and more receptive to the deeper meanings in life. A relaxed body is ever ready to respond to the demands of life and ever flexible to the needs of the soul.
Therefore, educate your body so that it can house a joyous, fulfilled mind and be a constant channel for the blissful expression of the soul. Continually observe the condition of your body, your nervous system, your various muscles, the nerve centers of your spinal column, your breathing process and your diet. When a continued balance and harmony is promoted in the body through the practice of relaxation, the mind is gently urged to an elevated state, which in turn brings success to your efforts towards the higher goals of life.
“International Yoga Guide” June 2012, p.244
...