STEP II
RELAXATION
THERE ARE WELLDEFINED techniques for developing the process of relaxation, and we can use the gains derived from the preceding exercises. Whatever position has been employed previously should be con- tinued now. Either a supine or upright position may be used. If the latter, a stiff-backed chair to support the erect spine is undoubtedly best. If lying down on a couch or bed, the mattress should be moderately firm: but if not, the best alternative is a well-carpeted floor. The reason for this latter recommendation is that the floor will not yield, so it will have to be the practising student whose body yields to relaxation.
Before lying or sitting down, there are a couple of movements that I recommend to patients in the office. First of all, spend a minute or two, skipping with an invisible rope in a stationary position. This is not merely an exer- cise to enhance the blood circulation and stimulate deeper breathing, but by virtue of the alternate contraction and relaxation of muscles, it will go far towards providing the right somatic basis on which to proceed with these psychological relaxation techniques.
Following this, stand upright, with legs about a foot apart, and having inhaled, expel all the air as you let your- self fall forward from the waist, limp like a rag doll. It is similar to a calisthenic exercise of trying to touch the toes without bending the knees, falling forward completely relaxed. We are striving to produce relaxation how- ever, not to do calisthenic exercises. Let the body above the waist fall down with the exhalation, with the fingers and hands dangling near the feet for a second or two, then, as you inhale, slowly rise up to the standing posi- tion. Repeat this process a dozen or more times. It will help you to get your wind back, after the skipping exer- cise and also to relax many of the muscles of the torso. The head and neck too should be permitted to drop limp as you exhale, while letting the upper body drop from the waist. This will relax the neck musculature.
Keep your mind attuned and focussed on your body sensations. Think only of what you are doing. Observe and concentrate on the various sensations of the body.
Now you are ready to begin the relaxation exercise proper. Take a few very deep breaths and, as you exhale, heave some very deep sighs. If the diaphragm and abdominal muscles relax, the greater part of the musculature and other tissues supplied by the involuntary or vegetative nervous system, too, will loosen up with it. Lie quietly in this position for a few seconds, observing yourself all the time. Become familiar with the body; learn to notice what the body feeling is like, becoming even more aware. The former exercises will have acquainted you with this method and its sensations.
The next stage of the process actively employs the imagination to extend the boundaries of your awareness. There is a well-known physiological law that an increased flow of blood to any part of the body can be produced by concentrating on that part of the body. Whether it is merely becoming conscious of the blood already in the vessels there, or that nervous impulses are conveyed to the muscular wall of the arteries and vessels in the area contemplated, thus relaxing those walls to permit an enhanced blood-flow, does not matter; either explanation will suffice. That this can be done is an actual experience you can demonstrate to yourself.
By knowing that there are tensions in a certain limb or organ we can, by using the imagination, stimulate va- sodilator fibers which relax blood-vessels enabling the blood to flow there in larger quantities. A surplus of blood—a congestion—will cause a degree of heat which in turn will induce the relaxation of muscular fibre and tissue that we desire. This is the theory; it leads directly to practice.
It calls for the active use of the imagination. First of all, visualize your brain. Everyone has seen diagrams and drawings of the brain frequently enough to know what it looks like in the main, without naming the technical neurological details. It is a mass of white and gray substance, convoluted and twisted in upon itself, divided by a long fissure into two lateral hemispheres, with a front and rear portion. Picture it, as you have seen it in the drawings. Hold the picture firmly in your mind until you begin to sense a warm feeling spreading out from the center of the skull. Sometimes it may be accompanied by a gentle tingling, a pins-and-needles sensation. Facil- itate this process by imagining that the blood-vessels within the brain have dilated enough to hold larger amounts of blood, thus turning the brain pink, and that this congestion has produced the warmth that has al- ready been sensed.
From the brain proceed to the eyes, imagining that these are like two balls, each hanging from four tiny muscular chains. Manage this picture as you have the previous one. By building the imaginative picture, the lumen of the blood vessels in the muscles become enlarged and hold more blood which warms the surrounding musculature. They then relax, yielding the sensation of the eyeballs sinking back into their sockets.
It is important to develop your powers of concentration while practicing these relaxation exercises. Do not allow your mind to wander from what you are doing, or more particularly, from the area you are relaxing. Con- centrate. Think only on what you are doing. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back. Your power of concen- tration will improve each day.
Pursue a similar procedure with regard to the rest of the head—that is, visualize the warm blood flowing through widened blood-vessels to the temples, the ears, the cheekbones, then to the nose, mouth, lips, tongue, jaws and chin. In much the same way, after having made the mental constructs, you will feel warmth and tingling build up in the areas imagined, with the gradual emergence of the relaxed feeling.
By the time you have gone thus far — and at least ten minutes should have been spent in this action — the greater part of the body will reflexively have undergone a relaxing process. No matter how greatly relaxed you felt after the first exercise of merely observing your body — this merely prepared the pathway. The current exercises carry them tremendously further.
The remaining part of the half hour — and the exercise for this month should take not one minute less — should be devoted to dealing with every part of the body in much the same way as described above. The whole neck should be dealt with thoroughly. Work down easily through the shoulders and the arms until the abdominal area is reached. Give this then a thorough working over. The more you relax this middle area of the abdomen, the more likely it is that the whole of your body will respond with massive “letting-go”. Dr. Georg Groddeck, the father of modern psychosomatic medicine, called this area the “middle-man” of the body. In the beautiful imagery and psychological symbolism that this physician employed, this middle part of the body was conceived to be endowed with a species of intelligence even as is the breast and the head - this belly-mind being often opposed to the cold inclinations and rational activities of the head-mind. It is the seat of the instincts, feel- ings and passions, and all the dynamic forces inherited from the past that we attribute to the Unconscious. Finally, visualize the stream of blood separating from the aorta into two powerful arterial streams, two rivers of warm blood descending from the pelvis into the thighs, legs and feet. Be very attentive here, too; visualize all the tight, stiff, taut thigh and leg muscles thoroughly in order to relax them under the stimulus of the imagination and the warmth of the blood. In this manner, proceed until the toes are reached. Then pause. You have completed a great cycle in the relaxing process. Pause to consider and observe. Note how you feel. Your previous work should have heightened your ability to sense what is happening somatically. Record your feelings. Permit the sense of real pleasure and enjoyment and freedom to make an indelible impression upon your mind. If the memory of this experience is well-recorded, it can be evoked at any moment from your storehouse of memories. It doesn't matter if you are riding in the subway or driving your car, at home reading or listening to the radio, you have only to remember the pleasure of relaxation and forthwith the memory is evoked from your psyche to impact itself upon all the tissues and fibres of the body. Relaxation then follows. It is well to enjoy this feeling of deep relaxation. Impress it thoroughly upon your mind. Get the feel of complete relaxation as vividly and as strongly as you can, because henceforth, when you need to relax, you can restore this state of calmness, serenity and complete relaxation merely by thinking of it. When you next want to relax, all you have to do is take a deep breath and as you exhale, think of the word relax and remember this wonderful serene feeling of complete relaxation and once again it will be immediately re- stored to you. Inhale and as you breathe out, mentally command yourself to relax. Soon this conditioned reflex will be immediate, automatic and complete. Approximately half an hour at a time should be given over to this practice. If you are able to, pursue the process twice a day, morning and evening. Concentrate on the formation of the conditioned reflex which will then produce the relaxed state without the loss of valuable time. But there must be considerable practice first be- fore the conditioned reflex can be established. Once a day will do; twice a day is better. In this way, the foun- dation is laid down for the more significant and spiritual work to be developed and worked upon later. As an aside, it might be worth recording that this exercise in one form or another, is now being used in the
NASLOVNA STRANA
