Relaxation with Self
Awareness
Bodily movements, speech and
mental functions are three-fold activities of our organism. One of the facets
of meditation practice is reduction or total cessation of each of these
activities. Three types of meditation practices thus ensure from the trinity
of activities. Kayotsarga, and its associates such as Kayagupti,
Kayapratisamlinata etc. come under one of these three types.
Kayotsarga literally
means ‘abandonment of the body coupled with high degree of conscious
awareness’. In practice, it is conscious suspension of all gross movements of
the body resulting in relaxation of the skeletal muscles and drastic reduction
of metabolic activities. This physical condition results in relieving mental
tensions and is an essential precondition for meditation practice. It becomes,
therefore, the first phase of Preksa Dhayana must be practised for a
few minutes at the commencement of all types of this technique. Apart from
this, Kayotsarga may be independently practised daily for longer
periods, If one learns and practices systematic relaxation everyday he would
remain relaxed, calm and unperturbed in any situation. Physically it is more
restful than sleep, and is the most harmless and direct antidote to
psychosomatic maladies resulting from tension. Spiritually, in this process,
the lifeless body is cast off, while the consciousness upwards freed from and
outside its material shell.
Method of Kayotsarga
Choose a comfortable position;
'Lotus-posture' is ideal, but other ones can also be adopted. Keep your spinal
cord, neck and head in a straight line without causing tension. For longer
period, lying flat on a hard ground on a blanket is more suitable. Relaxation
commences with the total cessation of the voluntary movements. Since breathing
and relaxation are linked together, be aware of your breathing. If it is
shallow, hasty and irregular, regulate it until it becomes even, slow and
rhythmic. After this, it may be forgotten altogether. Next persuade every
muscle in each part of the body to relax by auto-suggestion. Keeping the body
entirely motionless, allow the mind to move in small steps keeping in mind
that the technique is that of patient persuasion, and not forced by strong
will-power. Auto-suggestion is followed by an experience of relaxation in each
part. When the whole body has become relaxed, there is an acute and actual
perception of rest and relaxation, which is no longer auto-suggestion, but is
real experience. Once this stage is reached, the body is cast off and
forgotten, and the conscious element reveals its separate existence. Thus
Kayotsarga is not only total relaxation, but actual perception of the
self, quite apart from the material non-self i.e. the body.
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