In thinking of what to write about, I kept coming back to the idea of how busy life is for many of us. If you have a regular yoga practice, you probably have noticed the feeling of calm that washes over you just by unrolling your yoga mat and connecting with your breath. However if you are finding it difficult to maintain your practice, I have a simple technique to share with you called the relaxation response that can help elicit a sense of peace. The relaxation response was discovered by Herbert Benson, professor at Harvard Medical School and founder of the Mind/Body Institute. What I find remarkable about this technique, is you can feel agitated and restless while trying to let go of your thoughts and settle the mind down, and still induce the relaxation response.
To elicit the relaxation response:
- sit in any comfortable seat
- watch your breath and repeat a word, sound, phrase or prayer silently to yourself as you exhale.
- passively disregard everyday thoughts that come to mind, and return to step 2.
Practice the above every day (if possible) for approximately 10-20 minutes. The word you choose can be anything, from a sound like om, to a secular word like calm or relax to a prayer if you are affiliated with a particular religion.
The benefits or eliciting the relaxation response are cumulative and numerous. Instead of living under a constant state of stress, when the relaxation response is induced the physiology of the body is opposite of the “fight or flight” state that many of us constantly live under. Our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and muscle tension decrease. Clearing the mind in this way can also help reprogram negative patterns of the mind.
Psychologically, think about being – not doing. For many of us, this may be the first time of having no goals, no place to go, but instead just to “be” and “do” nothing. When we reach this state of being, our mind clears and our hearts can open and our sense of self expands.
