Relaxation

Reiki is a wonderful tool to help trigger a relaxed state of oneself. Receiving a Reiki session can bring one to a deep state of relaxation. This is a comment I have often heard from people receiving Reiki for the first time as well as with people already acquainted with this practice. In itself it is very good, relaxation being a “luxury” for most of the people nowadays, plagued with the cares, anxieties and stresses of their own lives. Unfortunatly, this state of relaxation is generally of a short duration and gets dissolved rapidly in the usual stress of one’s life. There are several reasons for this, one being the state of identification one is constantly in about one’s life and all the cares and anxieties that go with it. Another reason is that this state of relaxation has been induced from the “outside” : one laid down on a table and let the Reiki practitioner did the session. So apart from the desire to get rid of tension that led one to request a session, the relaxed state didn’t involve any conscious act to be brought about; it “happened”.

In the system developed by Gurdjieff to bring one to self-knowledge, a great emphasis was put on relaxation, conscious relaxation. It is reported by Maurice Nicoll that Gurdjieff said that the essence of his teaching was contained in “relaxation and self-remembering”. Gurdjieff was pointing to the state of tension in wich we live our lives and gave the advice to his pupils to get the awareness of this fact by realizing how our body bears so much unnecessary tensions even in the act of just picking something light on the floor. And it even goes further than that : just sitting on a chair, we still are in a state of tension.

If you wish to have a glimpse about this, right now as you read, just try to turn your attention on yourself and especially on your body. Try to feel, or to be more precise, to sense your body in a general way : the way you are sitting. How do you feel ? How is your neck ? Your shoulders ? Your belly ? The arm you use to move the mouse of your computer ? How is your face ? How is your breathing ? Do you feel relaxed ? If you have sincerity towards yourself, and you are not someone that is used to practice conscious relaxation, the answer is probably negative. You probably caught your body in more or less this state : stiff neck and shoulders, contracted belly, tense face (clenched jaws, wrinkled brow), short breath.

Now, as you keep reading, you can try to relax in a conscious manner. Bring your attention to your face...and then bring it to your eyes...just sense the muscles of your eyes...and relax them consciously (here of course, not to the point they get closed, so you can keep on reading !)...then slowly move down your attention under your eyes...around your nose...and let it expand to your chicks...and relax them...consciously...let your attention spread to the other parts of your face...your lips...your chin....until it encompasses your whole face...then move to your forehead...feel the tension there...and relax it...consciously...then spread your attention to include your entire head...be aware of your head...and the tensions going on it...and relax them...consciously...then move down to your neck...the back of your neck...then the front of your neck...and let them relax...now move to your shoulders...relax them... bring down the attention to the arms...relax them...consciously...try to feel the relaxing effect combine with the outgoing breath...as you do this, can you notice a flow of energy spreading into your body ?...now bring your attention to your upper body, the torsoe and the back...and let them relax in the outgoing breath...do this for a moment : just try to feel your entire body...and let it relax in the outgoing breath, natural breath...do it for a moment...how do you feel now ? Can you feel a flow of force in your body ? Do you feel different ? More alert but at ease. Look around you at your direct environment. Isn’t everything more clear, more vivid ? And at the same time, isn’t there a stronger sense of presence and attention ? If this is so, you have a slight taste of what Gurdjieff called self-remembering. Of course, this is not going to last and you’ll be brought back to your usual state of tension without even realizing it. But you have a clue of what conscious relaxation means.

If you can practice everyday an exercise of this type, say for 10 minutes, you’ll be amazed to see what changes it can bring to your life. Gradually you’ll be able to evoke this state of relaxation in the midst of your activities and so take some distance with the tensions provoked by the events that you encounter everyday; events that invariably drain force out of you and leave you in a state of negative emotions. In short you will begin to understand what drags you down in your life and brings identification -- I still have to remind that it’s not going to happen in a few days (we’re so used today to have what we want by pushing a button). You will begin to grasp that another state of yourself is possible, even in the midst of your daily life, without having to engage into a spiritual retreat (short or long) or looking for the “secret practice” or the “ultimate mantra” or whatever of the sort.

This way of working on oneself has been beautifully summed up by Machik Labdron, a tibetan yogini from the 12th century, in these words : “Relax, be aware.”