Deep Relaxation

Coming home to your body

When animals in the forest get wounded, they find a quiet place to lie down, and they rest completely for many days. They don’t do or think much. They just rest and get the healing they need. When we humans become stressed, we panic and try to do many different things, but we don’t stop the way the forest animals do. We have to re-learn the art of resting.

Stress accumulates in our body. Deep relaxation is an opportunity for our body to rest, heal, and be restored. We relax our body, give our attention to each part in turn, and send our love and care to every cell. We may recite, for example:

Breathing in, “I am aware of my eyes”
Breathing out, “I smile to my eyes”

When you breathe in and come back to your body, you may notice there is a lot of tension in your body that prevents you from being relaxed, peaceful, and happy. So you become motivated by a desire to do something to help your body suffer less. While breathing in and breathing out, you can just allow the tension in your body to be released.

If you know the art of deep relaxation, your capacity to heal yourself will increase and the process of healing will take place more quickly. When we pay attention to a part of our body that is sick or in pain, we can learn to recognize and embrace that part of our body and help it to release the tension. If you have trouble getting enough sleep, deep relaxation can nourish you and allow you to rest. So, let us learn the art of resting and allow our body and our mind to restore themselves.