1 2 3 Relax.
I am going to be completely honest with you. I find relaxation hard! Like anything in life, it is a practice. As someone who has practiced yoga for a number of years and someone who teaches it, I will tell you that it’s the practice I resist the most and one I often see students struggle with.
Why is that?
My Dru yoga colleagues, fellow teachers and senior teachers will tell you that the Dru 4 stage relaxation is one of the essentials and if nothing else, one should make an effort to practice this regularly.
What are the benefits of relaxation anyway?
Calming an overstimulated nervous system.
Gently dissolving stress, tension and even trauma from the body.
Relaxing tight muscles.
Balancing hormones.
Reducing blood pressure
Activating the bodies innate healing response
Improving sleep
Bringing a sense of happiness / joy which comes from a sense of ease physically, mentally and emotionally.
Empowers creativity, ability to problem solve and find solutions to challenges.
In a state of relaxation we are more at ease, our vagal tone is improved. We find it easier and more ‘natural’ to relate well to others so our relationships can improve!
When we are in a relaxed state of being more of the time, life may not GET easier but it will FEEL easier.
This is because we tend to open and flow with the ups and downs of life instead of being rigid, tight and contracted.
In a state of contraction and rigidity, we can become attached to our opinions, loosing perspective, flexibility and opportunities to enjoy our life!
The challenge is that we are not really supported in our society to prioritise conscious relaxing. We are rather, taught to prioritise productivity and can wear our “busy-ness” like a badge of honour or carry it as a burden of duty we feel we have to take on.
In our tech dominated world, our nervous system can get out of balance without us being aware of it. If we use social media (or alcohol / drugs / food etc) as a way to relax, (I definitely have) we can experience a kind of numbing out.
This is really a superficial mode of relaxation that sees us avoiding our stress and tensions over actually tending to, letting go of and releasing it from our tired and often wired body and minds.
Think of an exhausted baby.
They can quickly become so tired from being wired that their little bodies become rigid, their limbs flailing about, their faces screwed up tight, they become very frustrated and agitated and super sensitive to noise and so startle easily. Their sleep is shallow and fitful. They don’t really eat well but want to snack as their body is drained of energy.
We are really not much different at any age. Only as we get older we find vices and activities that in a sense, trick our minds and bodies into pushing ourselves further into tension and stress, even when we are not aware of it.
Just think of the boom in the coffee industry, and I do love a cup of coffee, don’t get me wrong!
I have experienced periods of burn out which have come about through pushing myself hard and expecting that like a machine, I will just have to keep going.
This is because of a false narrative I have carried inside myself inherited culturally, in society and from my own survival mechanisms, playing out in my behaviours. Originating from a set of unconscious or semi conscious beliefs I have about my worth coming from what I do in life.
Do, being the operative word.
Why is this important?
Because 95 % of beliefs are buried in the subconscious mind and these beliefs drive our behaviours!
Eeeek! So if I believe I am only worthy in the world’s eyes because of what I do, then I may well push myself beyond exhaustion to feel that sense of worth. And when I eventually fall in a heap (which I have done) I will feel ashamed because my doing "failed"
It’s a vicious cycle many get trapped in, but help is at hand!!
Regular relaxation opens us up to entering into the part of us where our beliefs are held (like our hard drive) and let go of unhelpful ones that are actually hurting us through our own actions. Then we can grow more sustainable and nurturing beliefs which ultimately will empower us to act in ways that are more self-compassionate and life enhancing.
Relaxation is a muscle we can build if you want to put it that way. Or it’s like a bank account we regularly deposit into so we avoid having to go into overdraft / debt.
Relaxation is not just about lying down and shutting our eyes. Therapeutic relaxation is a process that actually begins at the beginning of a yoga class.
In Dru, we begin by activating the body to release tension in the joints. Then through the practice of asanas and sequences we squeeze and release different parts of the body and the energy /chakra system. This allows more deeply held stress and tension to be gently released.
Then through practices of breathing / pranayama we bring our nervous system into a state of balance.
Think of baking a cake, it’s a process, a recipe, where we consciously create an atmosphere inside ourselves which communicates to our body and mind we are safe, we are “allowed” to relax. We don’t have to be “on” we can just be.
So eventually we come to lie down (or sit if that’s easier) comfortably, because we have released the tension from our muscles, bones, joints, tissues, from our energy system, from our minds.
And in that space we cultivate the potential to transform difficult emotions, physical pain and unhelpful beliefs into a sense of liberating freedom, peace and contentment.
There’s a catch though folks.
You gotta do it regularly!
So would you like to flow with more ease, well-being and joy through 2024?
Then make regular relaxation of your mind, body and soul a goal. This will actually be the fertiliser you need to fruitfully grow all your other goals.
I can help you achieve it.
Author - Rebecca Foster, Nurture Soul
