XPost: alt.meditation, alt.yoga   
   From: trusth@outthere.net   
      
   ART OF RELAXATION   
      
   by Avadhutika Ananda Mitra Acarya   
      
      
      
   Watch a baby asleep on a bed. It gives up its weight entirely to the bed,   
   without any muscular tension Nomadic peoples all over Asia, journeying night   
   and day, reach an oasis or camping place and at once throw themselves on the   
   ground and lie there limp, apparently lifeless from head to foot. One hour   
   of this rest refreshes them with as much new vitality and energy as a   
   night's sleep for the average person. These wanderers are able to undertake   
   surprisingly long journeys with very little rest.   
      
      
      
   Babies and so-called primitive people have not yet forgotten the art of   
   relaxation, the ability to completely rest at will. This art has been   
   practiced by yogis since ancient times. They began their experimentation on   
   this state by watching animals in deep relaxation during sleep, and   
   especially during hibernation.   
      
      
      
   During even a few minutes of deep relaxation, there is a rapid fall in blood   
   pressure and pulse rate; and the strain on the heart is reduced. The   
   overtaxed nerve centres are revitalised and muscle tension drops even below   
   the basal muscular tension level. Since during deep relaxation only a very   
   small amount of vital energy is being consumed, the remaining energy which   
   is being constantly produced by the cells of the body can be conserved and   
   accumulated for future use.   
      
      
      
   Yoga practitioners do not need to go on vacation to relax. They can remain   
   seated in a room open to the traffic of a busy metropolis and can transform   
   themselves to the point that they hear no sounds, being relaxed and quickly   
   self-possessed on a chair, just as if they were in a green Swiss valley.   
   Translated into medical language, this capacity of voluntary sensory-­motor   
   inhibition is achieved through a gradual and conscious inversion of   
   biological current: no longer a flux from the interior to the exterior, but   
   a flux from the exterior to the interior   
      
      
      
   To give an example, again taken from electricity, yoga practitioners can   
   voluntarily put themselves in the position of a telephone or radio operator   
   who wants rest, and so switches off all the live contacts of his or her   
   sets; impulses still reach the sets, but are no longer perceived as active,   
   and therefore, do not disturb the operator, but are certainly there and may   
   be recorded. Lying thus in a state of perfect and conscious peace, yoga   
   practitioners can, through respiration, connect themselves with vital energy   
   or pranic energy. Now they are like batteries put into contact with a source   
   of electrical energy, whereas the average person is like a battery working   
   continuously, unable to recharge itself .   
      
      
      
   POISE IN ACTION   
      
      
      
   When this deep relaxation is carried over to the state of activity, the   
   muscular reflexes respond more rapidly to stimuli and every task can be   
   performed more efficiently, more effortlessly.   
      
      
      
   A cat crouches before a mouse-hole, gracefully motionless. It exhibits   
   tremendous strength and vitality in repose. The machinery of action is not   
   strained in waiting, but all is ready ... and when it darts forward, action   
   bursts like a flash of lighting from its stillness.   
      
      
      
   Every genius consciously or unconsciously relaxes during the process of   
   creation, and for this reason is so efficient in his or her art.  Contrast   
   this poised grace to the movements of today's hurried business people, who   
   with their exaggerated, wasteful movements, fidget and fume, and wear   
   themselves out before the hour for action has arrived.   
      
      
      
   Through the regular practice of deep relaxation, yoga practitioners develop   
   the ability to keep their minds and bodies in perfect equilibrium in all   
   situations. Learning how to relax and maintain "grace and pressure" in this   
   age of rapid change - when high blood pressure and heart disease are the   
   number one killers in technological societies - is one of the most valuable   
   abilities of human life.   
      
      
      
   DEAD POSE   
      
      
      
   Shavasana or "Dead Pose" can be done anytime, even at times when most other   
   yogic postures (asanas) cannot be done, such as during sickness,   
   menstruation, or pregnancy. In this pose, the body remains completely   
   motionless and becomes recharged with vital energy or pranic energy, and the   
   mind's attention is gradually withdrawn from the body and surroundings to be   
   absorbed in a state of deep inner tranquillity. The body and mind together   
   attain a perfect blissful repose.   
      
      
      
   To receive the complete benefit from the practice of yogic postures   
   (asanas), the Dead Pose should be performed for about ten seconds to one   
   minute between two postures. The proper rest in Dead Pose completely calms   
   the body and prevents the overstraining of muscles and the over-stimulation   
   of the glandular, circulatory and respiratory systems. One should rest at   
   least until the breathing and heartbeat have become calm. Asanas and massage   
   should always be followed by the deep relaxation pose for at least three   
   minutes. Those with high blood pressure should do at least five or ten   
   minutes of deep relaxation daily; for as we have seen this is one of the   
   best treatments of hypertension.   
      
      
      
   To perform the Dead Pose lie down on your back, covering yourself with a   
   sheet if you feel a chill. Stretch the arms and legs gently apart and aim   
   the palms up; the fingers will naturally curl in. Close the eyes. Do not   
   move any muscle of your body, even your eyeballs. Remain as motionless as if   
   you were dead. Immerse your mind in the flow of your breathing, in a state   
   of refreshing peace.   
      
      
      
   Relax your feet and your toes ... your calves, knees and thighs ... feel   
   that both your legs are completely relaxed - there is no tension or pressure   
   anywhere.  Now relax all your internal organs - your digestive system, your   
   lungs, your heart ... relax your back and spine ... Now feel your fingers:   
   relax your fingers and hands, your wrists, your lower arms and elbows, your   
   upper arms and shoulders, and your neck ... Now you should feel that your   
   entire body from the neck down is completely relaxed; there is no tension   
   anywhere.   
      
      
      
   Feel that flow of relaxation now moving up into your face, relaxing your   
   cheeks, your mouth and lips, your ears, your nose, and your eyes - feel all   
   the tension around your eyes completely dissolving - your forehead and head   
   are completely relaxed ... Feel your brain inside your skull ... your brain   
   is also completely relaxed. Now your whole body from the tips of your toes   
   to the top of your head, is completely relaxed. You feel as light as a   
   feather, and very comfortable.   
      
      
      
   Now be aware of your breathing. Breathe slowly and deeply, from the   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)