Body Relaxation Meditation

Should we do meditation to relax our mind and body or should we relax our body to do good meditation? This is a question which one has to find an answer themselves? We are extremely conscious of the presence of our body without thinking about our body or analysing it. Lack of awareness of our body can give us many unwanted stress and tension which can in turn affect our mental peace and calmness. It is very important to be aware of the body consciously and after practicing it regularly making it an unconscious way of our life.

Body relaxation meditation is a meditation technique where one consciously gets aware of each part of the body from toe to head and simultaneously relax it by saying positive statement. This meditation can be done in any position, sitting, standing, lying down etc. The best result is of course achieved when one is lying down on the floor.

Process of Body Relaxation Meditation

Lie down on the floor (alternatively one can do this in any position). Keep the hands at a distance of to 6 to 8 inches from the body, palms open, facing the sky. Take 2 to 3 deep breaths. Free yourself from all the work pressure, past, future worries, everything. Remember that the world will not end nor it would stop working if you do not give it any attention. Give this few minutes (half and hour) just to yourself. Switch off your mobile phone and try not get disturbed while you are doing this meditation.

In lying down position, try to feel the sensation of your body first. Start from the finger tips of both the hands. Feel the vibrations in them. Slowly move upwards towards the palm of your hands and this way go up to the shoulders, concentrate on the hands, wrist, forearms, arms, biceps, triceps. While scanning each part, mentally say that the particular part you are feeling, scanning, sensing etc is relaxed. E.g. Mentally say, "There is no tension or pain in my arms. My arms are completely relaxed ". Feel the stress, tension or pain going out of the body. Remember not to mover your hands or any body parts as far as possible. There might be a feeling to itch somewhere sometime. Try not to. If it is unbearable go ahead and satisfy yourself :).

After your hands are relaxed, turn your attention towards the toes of your legs. Slowly move upwards towards the feet, calf, thighs, sex organ, hips, stomach, internal organs, kidneys, lungs, heart, throat etc. Same way feel the vibrations in each part and mentally say that each of the body part is completely relaxed.

Now go towards the face. Cover the face, cheeks, teeth, upper jaw, lower jaw, inside mouth, nose, eyes, head, etc . Try to cover each and every part of the body. All the time stay with the body and feels its awareness, vibrations, sensation etc. When you feel that your thought process is wandering outside, take deep breaths and be aware of the breath. Then again start.

This way cover the entire body from the head to toe.

Ending the Body Relaxation Meditation

Once you finish the whole exercise slowly get up without giving any jerks or sudden movements, sit calmly in a particular place and be aware of the breath. Get up when you feel like. Rub both the hands , generate some warmth and place the cupped palms over the eyes. Say a small prayer ( whatever you feel like) and finish this process.

Continuous practice of this body meditation will make this easier for you. During the meditation you will feel a warm current your body. And you can experience decrease in mental pain and stress as a result.

The time of this meditation is also very important. Initially you might take 30 minutes to do the complete body scan. But after consistent practice you can relax the entire body in 10 min or even less. Sometimes just a mental glance at the complete body will remove all the stress, tension etc from the body. Once you master this art apply this body awareness while walking, sitting, watching TV, travelling etc. In short wherever, whenever possible. See how much difference this makes to your lifestyle.

This whole body meditation and relaxation is recorded in a mp3 format and one can buy it here. It is called as Yog nidra - The complete body relaxation.

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