A young student says….

“Yes I like relaxing. But I’m not always in the mood for it. The best times seem to be after I’ve had a really busy day or had a game of football.  Then it is usually good. But anytime I can make myself feel cooler or warmer as I want to by using my breathing exercises. I like to lie down and do nothing as it is pretty peaceful.”

……………..

“I lay down to relax hoping to see just how far I could go. First I let all the muscles in my body relax and feel loose and free. When I was sure that there was no more residual tension left in my body I started to concentrate upon my breathing – taking deep but rhythmical breaths. After this was established I tried to make my mind relax but I couldn’t. Then when I stopped trying to slow my brain down, it did actually slow down.

My body then became very light except in the joints, that still felt heavy. Then to my surprise I began to feel smaller and smaller until I felt about 1 cm square!

After this I felt I was being expanded, blown up like a balloon and became very rounded. This feeling lasted for a while and was pleasant enough. Then I began to feel normal again but it was the most fantastic sensation I have ever felt and although I have tried again, I haven’t been able to accomplish quite the same again.  But each time I relax I feel something different and it is always good.”  A student.

…………

“I prepared in the classical manner – lying flat on the floor in a north/south aspect.

As soon as I shut my eyes I began to feel aware of the physical sensations of my body and had to make a slight muscular adjustment here and there, in order to be totally comfortable.

Then I began the tension/release technique, thinking of each part of my body in turn, starting with my feet and deliberately tensing my muscles to feel what that felt like, and releasing strain to be conscious of what relaxation was like. Part by part I did this throughout my whole body. By the time I reached my head and tensed my eyes and relaxed them I was happy just to lie still and become aware of the pleasant feeling that pervaded my whole body.

After a minute or two I commenced rhythmic breathing but soon tired and wanted to be still. As soon as I did I felt my body become light and I seemed to lose the sense of my body. It was lovely.  I just seemed to float and I enjoyed it.

I have no idea how long this lasted but I didn’t actually go to sleep although when I thought of moving it was just like awakening in the morning. I was pleased to stay where I was but knew I had to get going again. The pleasant feeling stayed with me for several hours. ”

A student

 …………..

“I’d been having a bad time with relationship problems and was feeling pretty confused and lost.  I felt I had to do something to get over this mood yet everything I tried didn’t work. So eventually I thought as a last resort to do nothing at all.

I lay down and shut my eyes but as it was still daytime it felt strange at first. Then I decided to keep very still and not move a muscle, just to see if I could do that. But the thing that prevented me was the process of breathing . Somehow instead of being disappointed, I began to get interested in deliberately breathing deeper and deeper. I’d never done that before, but at least it kept my mind off my problems.

This must have gone on for some minutes until I felt tired of doing this and thought I’d lie still again, which I did. I felt strangely light with a sensation of floating that was very pleasant and had to allow myself to indulge in this new experience that reminded me of something similar I’d known as a child on going to sleep.

But I didn’t sleep. I just lay there feeling light and free and floating and my inside feelings were just that nothing mattered very much. Everything felt right. Somehow I knew my problems were not very great and would soon dissolve and I would feel happy again.

I really enjoyed this time of being still and now I practise it whenever I feel the need. It certainly worked for me the first time and most times afterwards.”

 A student

……….

“I find relaxation practice a reliable and exciting time. It is not a discipline, as it was at first but has become enjoyable and refreshing. Each time it seems to produce different experiences and I can never relate these to anything.  They just seem to happen.

Always I begin in the way I was taught in class to lie flat, without a pillow and wait for my body to be comfortable on the floor.  My eyes are shut and I begin to be more aware of the sensations I have in my body. I am not moving at all except of course with respiration. I feel energy sensations in my feet and hands and eventually all over the body.

This particular time I felt the energy centred in my upper body and head and became aware of a beautiful coloured deep blue light, although my eyes were still closed. I felt as if I was being pulled upward and lost all sense of my muscles. I didn’t feel conscious of a shape, I just felt I was a being.

With the wonderful upliftment came a feeling of protection. It was as if I should never feel alone again. There would always be this lovely presence to care for me. I didn’t see anyone but felt there perhaps was someone beyond the blue light. The light became soft and gradually less, just like an electric dimmer.

Then my attention returned to think of my body and it felt soft and relaxed and my breathing gentle and I remembered this special feeling of being protected and stored it away to remind myself in the future.”  A student

………………..

“After all the preliminaries of exercise, some breathing techniques, muscular commands and so on I entered the first stage of relaxation which felt very pleasant except for a little discomfort on the hard floor.

Then I was ready to involve my imagination and persuade my body to feel ‘heavier and heavier’ as my teacher said would encourage total physical relaxation.

So I began to affirm to myself, “I am feeling heavier and heavier”. I confess I was a little cynical about any result and was amazed when I began to feel leaden and extremely heavy. But because the sensation was pleasant, I did not resist it. After a little while I was ready for the sequel exercise. This is to help emotional relaxation by imagining any hardness and heaviness melting to become soft and fluid. I did this pretty easily and found it quite delightful. I felt beautiful in fact. I felt nothing would every worry me again if I could retain this feeling. Although I can’t always succeed, but I remember to practise this feeling of melting when I feel stressed and up tight. It helps.”

A student

 …………

Those who make time to practise simple relaxation techniques, or employ the fine yogic technique of Yoga Nidra find that these measures are satisfactory in reducing stress.

However even if we are able to use self discipline to melt away our tensions that come from extreme activity and pressures of current society and that can affect our personal and family life as well as business, it is rarely that any self measures are successful without some changes and adjustments in our own lifestyle.

In the meantime it is helpful to speak frankly to an impersonal professional. This will provide you with a freedom to express your real feelings and thoughts without censure and to benefit by their skill in helping to direct you to an improved state of mind and emotion.

It is important to find an analyst to whom you can give your trust and with whom you feel comfortable. Arrange a brief introduction before your first consultation if possible to assess your feelings.

It is also natural to have a query that comes to mind – Who analyses the analyst?

All meditative states of consciousness commence with a stimulus or focus. If we have a material focus such as a beautiful flower we will be inclined to expand our thoughts and emotions and also elevate them as we look at the intricate handiwork of nature and drink in its beauty.

We will do much the same when we contemplate any beautiful painting or object in a gallery or museum that displays the skill and the beauty of human creativity.

However, when we are viewing the grandeur, the expanses of Nature’s handiwork outside these restricted environments something is added to our consciousness. Whether we call it a greater appreciation, or realize the scope and grander scale of landscapes and complexities, or viewing it evokes an emotional response such as awe or even worship, we are entering a different state. From the comfort of the smaller sphere we are entering the explosive realization of the majesty of life that creates and maintains limitless life and beautiful forms on our planet.  We cannot help but stretch our hearts and minds in an effort to embrace the reality.  If we will allow it, this will invite immensely satisfying spiritual or soul experiences beyond the mundane to freshen our senses and mental perceptions.

The grander the landscape, the vaster the horizons, the more majestically we perceive Nature as a whole. As a scientist gazing for hours into the worlds of the minute dimensions would react to the sudden focus upon the most imposing examples of the magnitude of natural creations such as Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon outside, so we find our ‘muscles’ of consciousness undergo movement and changes when we switch from our little personal world to contemplate the realities of the universe beyond. In some measure this will tend to happen with all meditations to a greater or lesser degree.

Our expansions and contractions of consciousness are always likely to be exercised according to our personal interests, tasks and responsibilities. But it is generally in states or moods of stress that we suffer from contraction and feel tight, limited and insecure. We need then to relax, to stretch and to feel aware of the wonderful vastness of life as a whole, and so feel our soul embraced and safe.

There are degrees of learning and many ways of storing past information. Apart from the usual techniques used in classical educational practices when we learn through familiarity with exercise and practice, we respond to events and life circumstances spontaneously as if reacting to unconscious causes and an unremembered past.

We find when the brain is relaxed and our bodies are at rest, memory will often serve us well after having stumbled at some prior effort of recall – be it a name, place, occasion or need for action.  Our memory functions best it seems, without pressure.

Some of us are good at remembering some things – and others have different memory facilities – some are good at remembering people, names, numbers, places, and others recall events with perfect clarity. The visual sense plays a large part as stimulus to our memories, as does olfaction with the hint of a perfume. Hearing also enables us to recall with sentiment a previous occasion when the music had a strong emotional content for us.

There are some extraordinary and fascinating examples of the faculty of memory being used as a fine tool.  Before the advent of computers, dedicated workers in various spheres of business and industry were greatly relied upon for their retention of facts and figures, or recordings of goods and intervals of time.

Some people when meeting others afresh 50 years after sharing school days can immediately remember the face and name of that person. Others in social life need no reminder of the name after meeting a host of guests and will have instant ability to refer to a person by name, encouraging a warmth and familiarity that is always well received.

Memory training in the usual studies of various subjects in schooling and education, follows certain well known familiar patterns. Good students with keen memory have little struggle compared with those who are slower in their mental function or have less interest. Extreme development of the talents of memory exist in the detailed and vivid memory recall of savants that amaze us with their spectacular abilities.

Each time we hear of unusual memory talents displayed by anyone, it is usual for most of us to feel in awe of an ability we ourselves do not possess.  It is not a situation where any one of us can use our will and enthusiasm to develop these extraordinary feats but is a somewhat mysterious gift, demonstrated by those of genius status.

Most of us however, are happy to remember our plans for the day, our simple responsibilities and duties and would like to avoid embarrassment by remembering the names of people to whom we have recently been introduced.  It is also ideal to remember the birthdays of all our family members!

In the meantime, as we are working towards alternative situations, how do we free ourselves from negative reactions and symptoms of stress that cause us so much concern and often embarrassment. How do we alter our defensive reactions to life and to people? How do we cease to care what others think about us? What will change our anger when we feel offended or our impatience when we’re in a hurry?  Perhaps our attitude is an important factor.

We must examine our own reactions and stress symptoms. All of them tend to be based upon fear of some kind. All fears can be reduced, once we are prepared to face them and deal with them. We need a clear picture of our ideal self image to refer to our search for replacements for those in our personality.  Stress levels are frequently found to relate to the degree of concern we have about ourselves. Self centredness is definitely an added burden.

Fear is insidious.  We have to be prepared to attend to our ‘homework’ by keeping eliminating them throughout our lifetime. Fears are to be compared with weeds. They have a habit of popping up where not wanted and threaten our well being.

It is self confidence that plays a part in determining our ability to make many changes. Self confidence will allow decisions to be made more easily, without fear of taking a path that cannot be changed later if we wish.

Those whose minds are free of stress and nervous tension are better companions and more fun to be with than those showing strain.  Their minds produce more interesting thoughts and their emotions are inclined to be lighter. They usually also have more friends.

Stress has the power to ruin your life, so why not become free!

There are many personal common behavioural habits that we have such as hand gestures, foot tapping, and other obvious and often irritating ways. We are more often than not, unaware of these displays of unease. But in social life and in business in particular, these signs tell another person what is our subconscious state of mind and so is keen to observe and to interpret this information according to the situation.

If we are not feeling self confident we tend to be more defensive or aggressive to make up for it. It is certainly generally accepted by those who study behaviour, that when we feel inwardly confident and therefore at ease, our behaviour and the aura around us will be more relaxed.

However, we all have different degrees of capability in disguising our inner stress. It is not always apparent to others that we are suffering butterflies in the stomach or sweaty palms. Our self discipline then becomes a private awareness and a determined will to overcome the cause of our stress.

A calm, self possessed person engenders good responses in others.  A highly nervous, tense or angry person has the opposite affect.

We are also generally aware that when we are suffering from nervous tension, our behaviour is affected in some way.

We must persist in observing our own behaviour for signs of strain just as we become aware of symptoms of stress in others.  Symptoms may be biting finger nails, or fondling a strand of hair and other habits which do not harm or affect others except by causing irritation.  Others can be more serious.

Do you have any often repeated habits or repeated reactions that others may find irritating or to conclude that you are a person with stress?

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: A Simple Self-Help Guide”, offers simple and timely solutions.

Material success in regard to career, wealth and financial affluence is certainly a part of our modern culture. Although it is the type of success most accented in our materialistic world, it is also most likely to cause major stress in our lives. This is surely not the success we are seeking.  Most of us would rate the deeper issues of emotional and spiritual satisfaction as important. And after all, our real success is experienced only by our degree of happiness.

The value of what we are doing must always be tested by whether we feel inwardly successful and at ease and whether success has brought us lasting joy. We can judge our lack of success as a society by the number of stressed, depressed and unhappy people around us today.

It the material ambitions and desire for success motivates us to require the artificial stimulus of drugs or alcohol sometimes a desperate need to escape the life we have created, then something is wrong. Holidays are an accepted part of modern lifestyle. But if we are not happy to also get back to work and enjoy the opportunities we have for creativity, we need consider whether we are deluding ourselves in thinking that the personal sacrifices we have made are worthwhile.

For instance, the stress we undergo in earning a livelihood to support the family may be warranted for a time. The strain we may experience while studying to satisfy our desire for knowledge or to qualify for a preferred employment in addition to coping with family life may or may not seem a worthwhile sacrifice. Certainly if our efforts are appreciated by our loved ones, it helps.

But we must be relaxed and happy whilst working towards our goals, whatever they may be, if we are to experience mental fitness. We must incorporate a degree of the wisdom into the mix.  We need time to feel integrated with all natural life; to observe the joy in sunrises and sunsets and things of peace and beauty.  Then we will be more likely to feel we have truly succeeded in life without neglect of the most important opportunities to enjoy the most important, natural and enduring of life’s pleasure.

So we should learn the simply value of stillness and contemplation, and for our mental fitness, practise meditation as means to dissolve or prevent inner stress.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book Mental health and Fitness: A Simple Self-help Guide, offers simple and timely solutions.